Singers & Swingers in the Kitchen

For a sampling of the recipes and pix, visit here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 24, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Celebrities, Food, Cookbooks, Music, 1960s

Artists and their Sears appliances

In 1969, Sears ran a series of magazine ads to advertise its Kenmore line of appliances. The ads below all appeared in Better Homes and Gardens.

The ads featured well-known artists (musicians, novelists, actors, etc.) who owned Kenmore appliances. I guess Sears was hoping to make itself seem like a more high-end brand by suggesting that people with good taste owned their products.

It's interesting to see the homes, and appliances, of these artists. For instance, Dave Brubeck apparently kept his washer and dryer in his living room.



A week ago I had never heard of Pauline Trigere. Now she's appeared in two posts within the past few days. She should have had a loaf of bread wrapped in waxed paper in the background.



I wondered if one of the kids was Natalie Cole, but I think they're her younger twin sisters Timolin and Casey.





That's definitely not George Clooney (Rosemary's nephew). I'm pretty sure it's her son Miguel Ferrer.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Apr 26, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities, Advertising, Appliances, 1960s

The Vincent Price Art Collection at Sears

Read the whole story here.

Sears had commissioned famous actor and art collector, Vincent Price, to assemble a collection of art and gallery paintings that would be merchandised through its stores, making fine art more accessible to all Sears’ customers. They gave Price carte blanche to travel the world to put the collection together. After that first opening in Denver, the program was broadened with exhibits of art in ten additional Sears stores and after the first 1,500 pieces of art has been sold, it was expanded nationwide to all Sears stores. The program ended in 1971, but more than 50,000 original artworks had been sold during its time.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 29, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Celebrities, Hollywood, Retailing, 1960s

Twiggy Lookalike Contest

Searching the historical record for 1967 reveals numerous Twiggy Lookalike contests scattered around the USA and elsewhere. Here's the best one, at least photo-wise.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 05, 2023 - Comments (3)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Celebrities, Fashion, 1960s

Follies of the Madmen #576

Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 22, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities, Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Sports, Advertising, 1970s, Women

I Dream of Madonna

Thirty years ago, Madonna seemed to be invading the psychic spaces of sleepers. The phenomenon was recorded in I DREAM OF MADONNA, which may be read here, at the Internet Archive.

One wonders if today those dreams might tend towards the disturbing.

Read a contemporary review here.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 20, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities, Dreams and Nightmares, Music, Books, 1990s

Always Elvis Wine

Always Elvis wine was released in 1979, two years after Elvis's death. The front label had a picture of Elvis, while the back label featured a poem by Col. Tom Parker.

Parker reportedly said that Always Elvis was the kind of wine Elvis "would have drunk if he'd liked the stuff."

At the time it sold for $4 a bottle. Now an unopened bottle of it will cost you upwards of $150.

However, there are other, newer Elvis Presley wines on the market, such as 'The King' wine, available at ElvisPresleyWines.com.

Chicago Tribune - Nov 4, 1979

Posted By: Alex - Fri Aug 27, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Celebrities, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Music

Round the World with Nellie Bly

Entry at Board Game Geek.

Nellie Bly at Wikipedia.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Aug 10, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Celebrities, Games, Journalism, Travel, World Records, Writers

Polyform, Edison’s Topical Anesthetic

American inventor and businessman Thomas Alva Edison is legendary for his contributions to such technologies as the lightbulb, the telephone, the phonograph, and motion pictures, among many others.1In his lifetime, Edison obtained 1,093 US patents and some 1,239 patents in other countries. Little known among these efforts was his “improved anesthetic compound.”

In the summer of 1882, George F. Shrady (Founder and Editor, Medical Record 1866–1904) (1837–1907), reported that Thomas Edison invented a new anesthetic made of chloroform, ether, alcohol, and camphor and had applied for British and German patents.2The witty but misinformed editor added, “Edison may wish to use it on his stockholders until electric light was in successful operation.”

In fact, the “anesthetic” actually was an analgesic liniment that Edison had prepared in early 1878. He named it Polyform and advertised it for “neurologic pain.” Polyform was a mixture of chloroform, ether, camphor gum, alcohol, chloral hydrate, morphine, and oils of peppermint and clove. Edison believed that his compound’s various analgesics would potentiate each other and that the mixture would attack pain in a “shotgun manner.”3

More info here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 24, 2021 - Comments (1)
Category: Celebrities, Inventions, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Nineteenth Century

Farrah’s Glamour Center

Part of the 'Farrah mania' of the late '70s.

In 2011, it became part of the Smithsonian's popular culture history collection.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 27, 2020 - Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities, Toys, 1970s