Redartz: Hey, last week was a lot of fun- there's a lot of love out there for Saturday mornings (and after school, and evenings; anytime animation is available). I'm gobsmacked by the response you all had (picture me as Wile E Coyote getting clobbered by an ACME Anvil). So, to slake your thirst for more cartoonish capers, here is one more heaping helping of memory prompters. Some were inspired by your comments last week. Others, I just tried to mine a few more obscure clips. And to start us off, here's a few of those Saturday morning preview ads so prominently featured in the comics. They always appeared in late summer comics, so the anticipation they prompted for the new fall season helped take the sting out of the impending return of school...
Next up, before we hit the toons, here's a couple of fondly remembered Public Service-type spots that were common throughout the 70's and 80's. Bet you still know the lyrics...
Schoolhouse Rock: Conjunction Junction
Time for Timer
And now, let's settle back and feast our eyes upon some more cartoons. How many do you remember?
Thundarr the Barbarian (1980)
Jabberjaw (1977)
Return to the Planet of the Apes (1976)
Where's Huddles (1970)
The Jackson Five (1971)
Groovie Ghoulies (1970)
Star Trek (1974)
Roger Ramjet (1965)
Underdog (1964)
Super Friends (1973)
The Mighty Heroes (1966)
Smurfs (1981)
Wait 'Till Your Father Gets Home (1972)
Well, that about does it. We'd better turn off the set and get busy before we're told to "turn that off and go play outside". Hope you enjoyed another dose of classic animation; next week we'll be looking at some comics art. So until then, keep sharing those thoughts, and be well!
62 comments:
Red - congrats on last week's awesome post! 81 comments... is that a record?
Charlie likes to organize things e.g. putting comics with the same title, into numeric order, in boxes.
Can ya'll help me with these two cartoon categories?
For music cartoon groups: Beatles, Jackson Five, Osmond Family, Josie and the Pussy Cats. Any others? (Monkees were not animated, lol.)
Car-themed toons: Hot Wheels, Wacky Racers, Speed Racer. Any others?
(B.t.w. RIP Bond Girl Pussy Galore)
I remember seeing ads for Saturday morning cartoons in Marvel comics in the late '70s and early '80s. I particularly remember that one of the cartoons was based on the series 'Happy Days' in which Fonzie and the gang travel through time in a time machine (!!) - does anyone remember that cartoon? (I've never seen it, I just remember the ad in Marvel comics circa 1980).
On the subject of ads in Marvel comics - at Christmas 2018 I found a box of Twinkies in my local supermarket which I bought immediately (the Twinkies not the supermarket). I first saw an ad for Twinkies in Marvel comics back in 1976 and now 42 years later I finally got to taste a legendary Twinkie!! Sadly, it seems those Twinkies were only a one-off batch because I've never seen any more since. Oh well, I achieved my life-long dream of tasting a Twinkie. Next on my to-do list - tasting pumpkin pie :)
Charlie- thanks, and yes, that was a record for comments on this blog. Thanks to everyone for participating!
As for musical cartoons- the Archie's, and the Partridge Family cartoon.
Colin- I remember that Happy Days cartoon, but never watched it.
Congratulations on achieving your Twinkie goal! So, what did you think of it?
And Colin J knocks all of us on the western side of the Atlantic plumb-FLAT with a nearly-impossible-to-fathom nugget of Pop Cultural Divide---!! Wow-- a Bronze Age childhood with no availability to Twinkies. . . A very specific taste that seems to be a true commonality for our generation over here. Man--!
Heya Red-- I did a quick search for the Saturday morning seasons you sampled above: 1966, 1970, 1973, and 1978, respectively. (Doin' my bit to help keep the conversation informed!)
Five, Nine, Twelve, and Seventeen years old for those early-fall premiers-- and I totally remember the '66 CBS line-up. . . I'm pretty sure I was watching most of that super-hero-centric fare. '70 was just too much Archie-based programming, and the writing often wasn't the greatest, even for a kid. Plus-- Scooby-doo would have kept me on a different network. I was still a habitual viewer in '73-- though my interest was starting to waver-- but oh lordy, that NBC line-up was DREADFUL! Heck, even that ad looks like it was thrown together in an afternoon by summer interns ("Adam & Evy"-? Really??). Sealab 2020 was the only thing we watched-- and that must've been a fluke in programming, 'cause that was a pretty dull adventure series itself. . . And by '78 I was long done with cartoons-- never saw that iteration of the FF series, and the fact that it had HERBIE instead of the Human Torch made me feel openly hostile to it, regardless. . .
HB
Those comics ads remind me that ABC used to have a Saturday Morning Preview Special on the Friday night before the new season started. I can’t remember if they had live-action hosts or not. I think I watched them every year up to a certain point. I do remember preview clips of the Hair Bear Bunch and Funky Phantom and thinking they looked too dumb even for me.
Neal Adams drew one of those two-page Saturday Morning preview spreads. I want to say it had Isis, Shazam and Forest Tucker, Larry Storch and a chimp on it.
Charlie:
There was a Partridge Family cartoon by Hanna-Barbera (of course) and I think they were in Space (because why not).
And another car-based cartoon : Turbo Teen from Ruby-Spears, I think, in the early 80s. It was about a teenager who literally transformed into a super-charged car. Freaky.
-b.t.
You just can't loose when it comes to a toon topic!
More car-Toons CH, One of my faves at the time Speed Buggy and one I didn't watch so much, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch.
A comic connection with Wheelie, Byrne did one of his first works with Charlton using that toon.
Man, that Hunka Cheese commercial was so annoying! I don't really remember any of these other than the Smurfs. I guess my Saturday morning days were more in the 80s than the 70s. (In the 70s, we only had two channels and i don't really remember any cartoons being on; mostly reruns of old shows like Gilligan's Island, Jungle Jim, and Roy Rogers.)
During the '70s, it appeared that several cartoons tried soft reboots by sending characters into outer space, such as Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space (1972-1974).
Am I misremembering this as a trend?
What other cartoons took established non-scifi characters and sent them on fantastic adventures into space or through time?
I remember The Jackson 5ive cartoon (1971), the singing group were shrunk by a mad scientist and Michael would often dream entire episodes that had them in fantastic situations. On The Osmonds cartoon (1972), Donny Osmond was sent back in time, the whole group met vampires and mermaids. Jimmy was once mistaken for a leprechaun.
Colin: The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (1980-1981) traveled through time with a talking dog named Mr. Cool. Fonz and Mr. Cool were actually introduced in the Laverne & Shirley Cartoon, which debuted a a month prior. Laverne & Shirley in the Army, where their superior was talking pig Sgt. Squealy. In one episode, L&S hijack a spacecraft and are captured by alien invaders. In other episodes, they fight werewolves, Bigfoot, etc.
Let's see-- the live-action series with Storch and Tucker and a fella in a gorilla suit was a sometimes-amusing LOW-budget lark called . . . THE GHOSTBUSTERS. And this was years before the wildly popular film was even a glimmer in a producer's eye. Storch was Spencer, the gorilla was Tracy, Tucker was Kong. (Go figure-) What worked was the natural chemistry between the actors-- including the gorilla-suit guy (whose name escapes me), who spent years as the go-to person for that assignment.
In the genre of Doofs In Space, you could add two Kroft Bros. offerings: FAR OUT SPACE NUTS with Bob Denver and Chuck McCann-- which was just dumb as rocks, BUT-- again good chemistry between the two fellas, as well as some fun guest stars that were happy to ham-out-- so this one had surprising watchability at times.
THE LOST SAUCER had Ruth Buzzi & Jim Nabors as. . . loveable lost androids? It was just awful. And tbh, I'd dropped most cartoon viewing by the time it aired, so I didn't give it much of a go. . .
It always surprised me how the Krofts could pull in former stars to fill the rosters of their shows. IIRC, Margaret Hamilton was the ancient, grouchy aunt or grandmother or ol'lady next door on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. . .
HB
ANNNND @ Rick Dunn-- mentioning Bob Denver reminded me that there was a GILLIGAN'S PLANET cartoon at one point (in response to your question), which was the follow-up of a NEW ADVENTURES OF GILLIGAN cartoon the previous year. Exactly the scenario you describe. Yeesh-- what a trend for so many studios to hop onto as the Next Big Thing. . .
HB
The RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES intro / outro clip is freaking AMAZING. Positively nightmarish for namby-pamby Mid-70s Saturday Morning. That slow pan of the crucified upside-down ape corpses — Jesus, how on earth did THAT get past the censors?? And the eerie music is a pretty good pastiche of the Jerry Goldsmith / Leonard Rosenman sound. Unfortunately, the ‘steak’ couldn’t match the ‘sizzle’ — the actual shows themselves looked bland and crude by comparison. I don’t think I ever watched an entire episode.
More pop-band cartoon goodies for Charlie:
Filmation’s 1969 HARDY BOYS solved mysteries when they weren’t playing gigs and shooting up heroin and shagging groupies (ok, I made up those last two things)
Hanna-Barbera’s 1973 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUN-DANCE KIDS were pop stars by day, undercover crime-fightin’ government agents by night. Mickey Dolenz and Judy ‘Dyna-Girl’ Strangis voiced two members of the band. Frank Welker played their ubiquitous dog Elvis.
b.t., the Saturday morning spread by Neal Adams was for the CBS 1975/76 season; it's been posted twice at the Bronze Age Babies, once by Karen in 2014 and then again by our own Redartz in 2016. Whenever I see it, I have to comment on how cool, and how unlike her actual appearance on the show, Isis looks. And that she's smashing through a locomotive.
And yeah, as HB noted, the Storch/Tucker ad was for the live-action Ghost Busters show - which I loved when I was a kid (Tracy the Gorilla, by the way, was played by Bob Burns). The whole series is up on YouTube - I rewatched most of them about a year ago. Like HB said, it's low budget, and very much of it's time, but they're still a bit entertaining, mainly thanks to Storch, Tucker and Burns.
Like Colin, I recall seeing ads for American cartoons, most of which you knew you'd never see, which doesn't bother me now, but back in the mid-70s...
My memory though is that those double page ads appeared in import DC comics, while Marvel had smaller ads - single or half page? - for particular shows.
Never seen Thundarr - probably because it was a little after my time for kids tv, even if it was shown in the UK - but I understand it was created by Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby? Or at least they were heavily involved in it.
Was it any good?
-sean
PS I have yet to try a Twinkie.
HB- we agree (again) on the overall watchability of Saturday mornings in the later 70's. By that time, I still watched a few select shows (Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, Thundarr and yes, Smurfs) but the days of spending the whole morning parked were over.
b.t.- quite right, the networks did often feature a Saturday morning preview show right before the new season debuted. You can find a few of them on YouTube. They did feature lots of guest stars, but having watched one about a year ago it didn't hold up too well...
Mike W- there were some decent Saturday shows in the 80's: my college buddies and I would watch "Dungeons and Dragons" and "Drak Pack". Were there any in particular that you enjoyed?
Rick Dunn- oh man, you nailed it- that 'space' trope was as contagious as Coronavirus back then. Everyone was trying it...
Anonymous- yes, that Planet of the Apes intro really does stand out. It was quite the departure from everything else broadcast at the time. Can't recall anything about the show itself; you must be correct about it being fairly forgettable.
Sean- yes, Gerber did some work on the show, as did Kirby. It was better than most other Saturday morning offerings of the time, iirc.
Oh, and we may have to arrange to ship you a box of Twinkies...
Colin J - Hostess, a Chicago company that created the Twinkie line among other kid favs, many decades ago, went bankrupt a few years ago.
However, they did then (still are?) licensing the name and I assume the secret recipe.
That could account for why you saw a one-time offering.
I know that one company did make them for a few months here and then stopped.
It still boggles my mind that a company as eternal and deeply ensconced in the world of American baked-goods snack cuisine. . . could just go belly-up and disappear in practically the blink of an eye. . . (mind you, ALL of their products were so outrageously unhealthy that I hadn't eaten any of them in decades. But still----)
Oh! Did we get Pebbles & Bam-bam listed under the "Plus-we-ALSO-have-a-band!!" genre'? In hindsight, it's a flippin' miracle that the Scooby-gang avoided this trap for all their decades of activity. (Though they did have a season or two where the final chase sequence was done with a house-band pop song dubbed over-) Hey, and let me ask: Am I the only one who pretty much HATED the break-into-song convention? As soon as they picked up instruments, my interest in the show would utterly vanish. Little kids are PLOT and CHARACTER driven creatures-- not music-appreciators. It's like the creators never met a kid before. . .
Oh hey-- does anyone else recall that extremely cool Lone Ranger & Tonto cartoon series from '66? Animation was kinda limited in motion, but fantastic in its artistry, concept, and execution. And it was surprisingly surreal/sci-fi for a kids' show, iirc.
HB
Thanks Redartz, I appreciate the gesture, but I think I'll manage ok without the Twinkies.
Uh, no offence to your fine American delicacies intended.
-sean
@ Sean--
Wow.
THAT'S how it is, then. . .
HB
Ah well, thats Europeans for you HB - surely you know how ungrateful we are by now?
-sean
Harumph! Sean - you simply don't know what you're missing! The Hostess Fruit Pies were a serious hit!
Loaded with Corn Syrup and Sugar and even pieces of fruit, they were a favorite of all kids!
Marvel got in on the success of these Pies. See the link below wherein the Hulk takes on the Roller Disco Devils! Also note that Hulk seems to have true finesse by somehow not killing these chaps as he rolls them up in asphalt like a Hostess HoHo!
(Sean - if you dis on the HoHo we're going to have serious issues with international relations! I will personally find you, sit you in front of Youtube, and have you watch Nog the Noggin for 24 hours straight!)
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/cbishop/lists/the-incredible-hulk-vs-the-roller-disco-devils-hos/49709/
Red, on the topic of Saturday morning fare in the 1980s, my cartoon-watching years went into about my freshman year of high school, 1982/83, but then pretty much stopped after that - the only exception is that if I got out of bed in time, I would sometimes watch the Bugs Bunny/Warner Bros. cartoons.
I do recall watching the Happy Days show, but I hardly recall anything about it except that time travel was involved. I also recall really liking Drak Pack, but now the only thing I remember is that the consortium of bad guys operated under what is arguably the best acronym ever: the Organization for Generally Rotten Enterprises, or OGRE.
I'm with you Charlie!
The Hostess Pies (cherry for me) were delicious. They were packed in my school lunch many times, they seemed huge in size back then. Ho-Ho's were also packed if pies weren't. I used to refrigerate them so the thin chocolate coating would crack like an ice cream shell, mmmm!
When I was younger I had a job servicing vending machines, one of my stops in Detroit was the Wonder Bread bakery which also did Hostess. Many free samples to be had.
And maybe it was just in my head but they seemed to even taste better when King Don's and Ho-Ho's were individually wrapped in foil.
Edo- regarding "Drak Pack", one elememt that sticks in my memory: the villanous "Toad", who constantly was the target of abuse by the leader Dr. Dred. Usually including a bit of self-flagellation on the part of Toad, as in " Bad Toad, Baaaaad Toad!"
Killraven- You mentioned King Dons! Or, as they were known in my area, Ding Dongs. Don't know why they had differing names in different areas. I used to work in the Cincinnati, OH area, delivering photo supplies and film to retail stores back in the mid 80's. The grocery stores there carried "Kind Dons", which was totally bizarre to me. Grew up with Ding Dongs. Oh, and you are quite correct about the benefits of the old foil wrapping...
Charlie, you'll have to find something else to threaten me with - over here we have a well developed herd immunity to Noggin the Nog.
-sean
The Groovie Ghoulies also had musical segments of their shows.
Ding Dongs were called King Dons in other areas? Hmm, never knew dat. At least they didn’t call em King Dongs.
Loved Snowballs back in the day. Big ball of chocolate cake (with the requisite creamy filling of course) wrapped in a chewy super-sponge-y coating, and topped with bright food-colored sugary sprinkles. Sounds absolutely disgusting to me now!
And yes, all the Hostess chocolatey cakey treats WERE better when they were wrapped in foil.
The only serious rival to Hostess’ Fruit Pie Supremacy were Dolly Madison’s Apple fruit pies. The filling wasn’t as sweet, had a hint of tartness, and the pie crust was more savory. Yum! Around 1989 they just seemed to disappear in our area. Don’t know if the company went out of business or if Hostess’ distribution ground troops pulled some kind of Mafia tactics or what.
-b.t.
The main memories I have of those Saturday morning centre-spreads was that they often included the Harlem Globetrotters who I only knew from their appearances in Scooby-Doo.
Having the level of basketball knowledge that everyone in Britain had, I was always baffled how come America never entered them in the Olympics, as it seemed obvious a team of their invincibility was guaranteed to win.
I also remember there was often a plug for some people called the Hudson Brothers, whose ad always included a picture of what seemed to be Rod Hull and Emu. I always assumed there was an American act which looked exactly like Rod Hull and Emu, because it seemed unimaginable that Rod and his bird would be on American TV.
Oh yeah, Steve, Rod Hull & Emu had a fairly notable flash of fame over here for. . . a couple of years, maybe? I think he started with the Hudson Brothers Show (was it Bill, Mark, and Brett--? Is that right?). And he was kind of a stand-up comic/guest star of-the-moment for a bit-- and then wound up on Hollywood Squares. Possibly a kids'-show host in there somewhere?
I'm trying to remember his shtick-- possibly it relied a little too much on him being physically attacked by his own puppet. . .?
HB
Below was this Chicago kid’s before-school cartoon opportunities in the 1960s. Who’d a thunk there’d be so much diversity?!
If you have a couple minutes click the links. You will see 4 styles of cartoons that have nothing in common with each other. Fascinating!
Roger Ramjet – This is funny as heck. I recommend watching it for at least a few minutes. It was produced for syndication starting 1965 and not for any particular network.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIbFJmCUxsA
Tom Terrific on CBS’s Captain Kangaroo from the 1960s to the 1980s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33VE29RxtSk
Clutch Cargo – Produced for syndication, not a network. Shown on Chicago Station WGN on the Ray Raynor show in the 1960s. The moving lips are indeed creepy, LOL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0R3FtDgTZk
Diver Dan – Also produced for syndication, not a network. Shown on Chicago Station WGN on the Ray Raynor show in the 1960s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P1JAryyC_4
Wow Charlie, I forgot about those TerryToons from Captain Kangaroo, not sure which ones I watched though.
My dreams will now be haunted by those lips on Clutch Cargo!
Rod Hull & Emu, what a flashback! They made their rounds then, poof, gone.
I don't remember them on Hollywood Squares. I do remember Wayland & Madame on there, another puppet act.
I remember the cartoons from Captain Kangaroo - I used to watch that every weekday morning before I started to go to school, and then during Christmas, spring and summer vacations until about the second grade.
Another cartoon I remember from Captain Kangaroo is Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, with it's quite memorable theme song: "Well you know my name is Simon, and things I draw come true..." (Mike Myers later lifted that for an SNL skit).
Like Killraven, seeing Rod Hull & Emu was like a flashback - I totally remember seeing that act, but don't recall where (and yeah, I remember Wayland Flowers & Madame being in Hollywood Squares).
A few other 'poof and they're gone' acts I remember from that time include Ray Jay Johnson ("You can call me Ray, you can call me Jay...") and Shields & Yarnell (you know, the kind of creepy robot skits).
Ohhh you know what guys? I bet I am mis-remembering Wayland & Madame's H'wood Squares stint as Rod & Emu's. . . (LOVED Wayland & Madame!)
Annnnnd, yep-- good ol' Wikipedia has no mention of H'Wood Squares for this act. (Surprisingly, I'm not finding an online resource that has a comprehensive list of all the stars that appeared on the show over the years-- seems like a research project RIPE for the plucking!)
But boy, it looks like he had quite a busy career for many years in Britain for many years both before and after he flashed in the U.S. And-- got himself a bit of an unpopular reputation for his no-limits antics with that Emu. . .
HB-- always ready with an informed self-correction!
Red, I liked those Twinkies and I'll buy some more if I ever see any.
Charlie, the Twinkies I bought were Hostess Twinkies - that's what it said on the box.
Rick Dunn, thanks for the info about the time-travelling Fonzie cartoon.
Most American cartoons didn't come to the UK - maybe we got the best ones? Oh, hold on - we got Godzilla and Godzooky...
Wow, Rod Hull & Emu appeared on US TV?? My father absolutely loathed them but I thought Emu was hilarious :D
By the way, Happy Easter to everyone at BiTBA. I hope you remembered to buy an Easter egg amid all the pandemic chaos. This year I've bought a vegan egg - I'm not vegan or even vegetarian but I've tasted various vegan foods and they are quite nice so I was curious what vegan chocolate tasted like.
I am definitely a Captain Kangaroo kid! Even saw him in 1964 at the St. Louis Kiel Auditorium. Bob Keeshan was a hero of mine!
If anyone could rival my love for that show, it was Paul Winchell and his Winchell and Mahoney Show. Such a creative ventriloquist, with great talent to entertain kids. I looked forward to each show for the antics of Winch and his creations Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smiff, Tess and more.
I only remember watching Captain Kangaroo on days when I was staying home from school because I was sick. Honestly don’t remember much about it, to tell you the truth.
Oh! And another ‘Staying home from school’ memory : my younger brother and I both had the measles or chicken-pox, watched one of the ‘Carry On’ movies on the TV, and thought it was hilarious. I want to say it took place in a hospital? That’s the only one I’ve ever seen.
Used to watch the Bozo show. And Wonderama with Bob McAlister. And Romper Room. Local (L.A.) kids shows : Hobo Kelly, Mr. Wishbone, Dusty’s Treehouse. We met Mr. Wishbone at a public appearance at our local Ralph’s Market. He had a VERY mushy handshake so we all called him Mr. Fishbone after that! What little scamps we were...
I’ve mentioned local kids show Shrimpenstein before (last week’s thread) but what I didn’t say was that the writers and performers also created and wrote the excellent Roger Ramjet cartoon. Shrimpie had the same kind of dry ‘Stealth Adult Humor’ as RR. Mark Evanier had a good write-up about it on his blog a few years ago, and there are actually a few snippets of the Shrimpie on YouTube. Check em out! Unless you have something better to do.
- b.t.
Oh yeah, and I loved Paul Winchell and his puppet show too. Seem to recall one of my school chums had a full-size Jerry Mahoney puppet (I liked Knucklehead MUCH better.)
-b.t.
Edo- Wow Shields & Yarnell, I don't think I've heard their names in 40 years! What a blast from the past!! Great catch.
b.t.- My brother got to go on a Bozo show thru the Cub Scouts. The Windsor Ont. version.
Another "gone Poof" personality that seemed to be all over the place Saturday Mornings was little Rodney Allen Rippy.
Colin J - I love your enthusiasm for Hostess. Let's hope you get to try their pie and ding dongs!
All this cartoon talk is jogging my memory!
I'm not sure what year it was but I know I quit watching when I was watching Run Joe Run and Cpt Marvel / Shazam. Oddly, neither are cartoons! So, 1974-ish when I was 13.
But then I would sneak in a look at Fat Albert since it came around 11:00 AM Saturday which is quite late for a cartoon. Show was always good for wise cracks!
And then in the early afternoon there was that Kukla Fran and Ollie? Puppets?
Wow, Shields and Yarnell; and Rodney Allen Rippy. The 70's are cascading back ! Now who was the red- headed kid in all those commercials, Mason something?
Charlie- yes, Fran Allison and her puppets were early Saturday afternoon regulars. As was "Children's Film Festival ". Of course as I got older there was Dick Clark and American Bandstand...
Masson...Reese, was it?
HB
Yes, thanks HB! He seemed ubiquitous back then...
bt, several Carry On films took place in hospitals - Carry On Nurse, Carry On Doctor, Carry On Again Doctor, Carry On Matron (a matron was a sort of chief nurse but that particular job no longer exists).
Charlie, I was lucky to find any Twinkies - I think it's highly unlikely I'll ever find any Hostess fruit pies or ding dongs (whatever a ding dong is).
Hi Colin, Happy Easter to you too! Maybe I'll play "JC Superstar" today?!
Below is the link to the Hostess products! Generally, for a kid the pie was often preferred (I think) at lunch because it was simply a lot of food. It left one feeling full and satiated. The other confections... you'd want to eat like 10 of them!
https://www.hostesscakes.com/products
Regarding the origin of Hostess see the link below. It is a long history of mergers and acquisitions over a hundred years ultimately ending in bankruptcy around 15 years ago. Now, the company is simply "Hostess Brands" which suggests they license the brand names more than bake the goods. My general understanding is that folks eating habits changed and that was that. Just like the milk industry is collapsing now in the USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Bakeries
SO MANY rabbit holes to fall down on this thread! Ya crawl out of one just to topple down another. . . oy!
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES dragged me off all by itself: Turns out IMDB (where I should have gone in the first place) lists every celebrity that ever appeared on the show ever in its initial '66-'80 run (!!!). And OMG-- the fact that Rod Hull DIDN'T appear on it may be the more remarkable achievement-- heck, the Hudson Brothers themselves even showed up (sharing a single square-- oof, tight quarters). It was an extraordinary gathering place for semi-forgotten stars, flash-in-the-pan novelty celebs (Pia Zadora??), cast members of extremely popular shows (LOTS of folks from LAUGH-IN, WELCOME BACK KOTTER, BARNEY MILLER, etc), general "entertainers", and a core of folks for whom H-SQUARES had become their "home" (Charly Weaver, Wally Cox, Rose Marie, Paul Lynde--). I'm thinking I must have watched a LOT more of that show than I realized. . .
The DING-DONGS/KING DONS/KING DONGS/RING DINGS thingy. Hunh. According to Wikipedia and other sources, the name differences and changes had nothing to do with sexual innuendo, like, ever. It was all about trademark and regional branding. Ring Dings were their own thing, from a different bakery company. It was more about keeping brands distinct from one another-- especially since the product was, like, nearly identical. Man, what a complicated history of buy-outs and mergers and bankruptcies the baked-snack-goods industry has. . . !
CAPTAIN KANGAROO-- Man, I almost brought up Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred the Wonder-Dog myself! Wasn't their main nemesis an evil-scientist-type called "Crabby Appleton"-? I was deeevoted to the Captain's show probably from before my cognitive memory begins, because it is ALWAYS there from my earliest beginnings. Once Kindergarten & elementary school began it was on too late to watch in the morning-- but he stayed on in the summer probably into the early 70's, as my younger sisters loved him too. Man, when I was little I would be freaked out every time they remodeled the Treasure House set. And I was inconsolable when they stopped producing a Saturday morning program. (In retrospect-- that schedule had to be MURDER-- that's a heck of a lot of shows to be churning out every day for years on end-- even when much of the content is pre-packaged clips, films, stories, skits, etc--). Hmmm-- wasn't Lariat Sam one of the early cartoons on his show as well?
HB-- avoiding a mountain of family archival duties. . .
HB - you da man! I s.b. working from home but prefer reading yours and everyone elses posting!
All I can say is that if you had grown up within range of WGN, you'd a deep-sixed Cpt Kangaroo for Ray Raynor. It was a wild show. Even parents would check it out. Incidentally, Ray Rayner was also "Oliver ole Oliver" on Bozo's Circus.
Referring to the King/Ding-Dons/Dongs national security controversy.
While vacationing in KY in the early 80's, I befriened a kid from Indiana. Somehow one of our conversations got around to that chocolate covered hockey puck and it's name. We promised to send each other a cut out from our versions package. Sure enough a few weeks later a Ding-Dong box top arrived, which baffled me since the character had a crown and scepter.
How many of you guys cut out those 3 baseball card on the bottom of the box? They went straight into my collection.
Wonder Bread also had a variety of cards they would put at the bottom of the loaves, seems like the bread would stain those cards.
All this talk of Ding Dongs and Ho-ho’s and What-nots...
Anyone remember Scooter Pies? Nowadays there’s something similar called a Moon Pie — but the Scooter Pies from my childhood were FAR superior, of course :) If you’re not familiar, it’s a disc of chewy marshmallow with two thin ‘pie crusts’ on either side (like a sandwich), the whole thing coated in chocolate. The modern Moon Pie is a whole lot drier than I remember the Scooter Pies being. But that could just be nostalgia.
-b.t.
Moon Pie and an RC Cola and Speed Racer baby!
But, in my case, moon pies were rare living in Chicago, being dominated as it were by Hostess and Little Debbie. I think they are more a southern thing?
Let's here it for Little Debbies Nutty Buddy wafer bars. That was actually my fav. It was way more filling than anything hostess had, other than the fruit pies.
https://littledebbie.com/www/bakery-items/view/11/snack-bars
B.t. and Charlie- I never had a Scooter Pie, nor a Nutty Buddy. My snack of choice was always the classic Hostess Cupcake. So much chocolatey goodness. And then there were the Hostess Baseball cupcakes- chocolate cake with white icing and a red "stitching".
Killraven- speaking of Hostess and baseball, yes- those box bottom cards were fun. Do you recall back in the 90's Hostess offered "Baseballs"- kind of like Snoballs, but with baseball decoration. And they included a couple baseball cards in a wrapper. Still have a few of them...
Happy Easter everyone!
Those Hostess Cupcakes were a LOT of snack, too. We'd woof 'em down in a trice, of course, but you really felt it a few minutes later. Right before you started to vibrate from the sugar-poisoning. . . (heh). . .
All three of the "big" snack-bakers could be found in our little rural corner o' the state. With Little Debbie, tho, I didn't discover my TRULY FAVORITE item until well into adulthood-- The Star Crunch. They don't look good, the ingredient list would give a Nobel chemist pause, and they're not shaped like a star. But oh my heavens-- I discovered a love for those odd (and hilariously cheap) pucks when I began brown-bagging my work lunch daily, early in our tightly-budgeted years of marriage---! I haven't had one in--- wow--- decades. Really, just TOO flipin' unhealthy!
But hey-- howzabout Dolly Madison? They had a pretty nice piece of that market too, remember? Plus the backing of the Peanuts characters as their marketing strength. DM's mini-donuts remain my favorite by a long mile. . .
HB
Yes, I mentioned Dolly Madison earlier — I thought their apple pies were SO much better than the Hostess ones.
Since we’re starting to repeat ourselves, anyone remember Space Food Sticks? Or Koogle?
-b.t.
Fruit Float? 3-in-1?
-b.t.
(crickets)
Ovaltine?
-b.t.
b.t. I'll come out to play in a while. Hang in there buddy!
Okay Kids... I can play now!
My general recall about Dolly Madison products was that they were relatively expensive, like Hostess, as compared to Little (Li'l) Debbie products.
So, growing up with parents who were always conscious of their finances, we got the Little Debbie items mostly, LOL.
HB is right about those Little Debbie Star Clusters. Beguiling to the extreme! Not sure what they were but they were top shelf stuff!
Also, those Dolly Madison baby donuts were great too! I always went after the powder ones because I could mash them with my tongue against the roof of my mouth and that powder sugar would form a layer that would melt off slowly.
The joy of youth!
Ovaltine... It wasn't until I became adult in age that I started appreciating that malt flavor! I now prefer malted chocolate to plain chocolate in my shakes and such!
Ovaltine. Never had it until adulthood, like you Charlie. But it now is my favorite source for a cup of hot chocolate. You're right, that malt flavor really adds something.
Should have known it was good. After all, Frau Bluecher offered Dr.Frahnkensteen a cup in "Young Frankenstein "...
Oh, and b.t.- Space Food Sticks were a welcome addition to my school lunch box. Especially the peanut butter flavor.
I feel like Ovaltine's day had largely run its course by the time we were comin' up, yeah? Massively eclipsed during our childhood by Nestle's Quik. I'm not 100% sure either of our village grocers even carried Ovaltine when I was a kid. (Although Buy-Lo did stock the usually elusive Strawberry Quik!). Like you guys, I don't remember having it until I was an adult-- probably '84? And MAN did I love it! Always preferred malts over shakes as well. . . but the malt does tend to make my stomach burn a bit. . .
Ha-- I think we may have touched on Space Food Sticks at some point in the past-- but boy what a product of their times they were, eh? SO tasty! Unfortunately, my Mom (world's most gullible consumer AND the world's laziest school lunch maker) bought right into the "It's an entire meal in one stick!!" hype, so we had two or three very unpleasant days where THAT was what she put in our lunch boxes, because-- it was a whole meal, right?? After that they just turned into after-school snacks. I would generally eat two whenever we had them. . . annnnnnnd again, it would give me a stomach-ache. . .
Oh! C-Horse47 mentions parents being conscious of finances, in regard to buying these snack food items. Even moreso with my folks-- "Just a waste of money"; "We have food at home", etc, etc. Fortunately, I had a wide enough circle of pals whose folks bought this stuff with abandon, and were generous in doling them out. so I was never flat-out deprived of enjoying them. (Same mentality when it came to breakfast cereals. We spent years eating only Wheaties or Total--NEVER the popular kids' cereals from our youth. "Waste of money! You can eat the same cereal we're having-- that's all yer gonna get!")
Ohhh that kindly Depression-Era mentality. . .
HB
Well HB - the one thing we had, that our parents didn't (mine being born in 1935 and still in solid health) was cartoons and actually television, LOL!
Mine were not frugal per se.... I mean, they took us on annual vacations, always had a decent lifestyle.
But man... like buying one hotdog on a Saturday afternoon and splitting it three ways: my dad got half and me and me brother get the other half. Buying one soda pop to split among us four kids. It's just an inconsistency I can't figure out.
But my old man ate Pep Cereal, which we didn't have. And he had all the Pep Cereal buttons and the funky "jughead" hat to which he pinned the Pep Cereal pins, LOL. We didn't have that.
And he had Ovaltine.
And he / they had radio programs like Jack Armstrong the All American Boy, who drank Ovaltine, LOL.
Red- Yes, I think I remember those Hostess baseballs with their red "stitching's". Good marketing.I didn't like Snoballs but I probably would've got them for the cards and my "habit.
We were a Hostess family, but by the time I was in my teens Little Debbie had got into the local Chatham or Farmer Jack stores. And yes Nutty Buddy's are a favorite to this day!
BTW they changed to Nutty Bars some time ago, I wonder if it was because of the Nutter Butter cookie, the names were close?
Dollie Madison was a rarity in our home but after watching a prime time Peanuts cartoon I would crave Zingers for a week!
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