Wonder Woman Movie

With the success of the DC Universe animated direct to DVD movies, they're talking about filming a live action Wonder Woman movie this year.

Here's the theme song from the 1977 Wonder Woman TV series. Listen to it here.

So who will play Wonder Woman in the live action movie? Signs point to Australian model Megan Gale.

Works for me.

Hexed by Kohner - A Proto-Tetris?

Found this during a recent move. Kohner put out several versions of Hexed from 1968 to 1974. This edition was bought for 69 cents in a drug store in 1973.


All you do is dump out the pieces, and put them back into the box.
Sometimes you can solve it in a minute, other times it takes several hours.

Here's a solution that's not printed on the box.


Maybe Hexed was an inspiration to the creators of Tetris. Only the lawyers know.

Tip Toe To The Gas Pumps with Tiny Tim

There's been a gas shortage in the Nashville area for the last week, and gas lines not seen since the Carter years. Here's Tiny Tim from 1979, with "Tip Toe To The Gas Pumps". It's not the greatest parody song ever, but it does remind us that government has done nothing to change the situation in 29 years. Click here to listen or to get it now.

Radio Station License Plates

Here's a collection of license plates from some Nashville radio stations of the 1970s. Click any image to enlarge, and if you have any of these to show, post a link in the comments section.


WLAC -AM was still top 40 when this came out.


WSM-AM was news/talk all day and country at night, including the Grand Ole Opry Saturday nights.


SM95 was WSM-FM, soft pop and west coast rock.


Here's a bonus plate, the Exit/In, Nashville's hip spot for every kind of music in the 70s. Among the acts I saw there were Barefoot Jerry, Harry Chapin, Jan Hammer, and Stanley Turrentine.


If you want to see more souvenirs of Nashville radio in the past, check out the NashRadio group on Yahoo.

Martin Mull's "Serial" is on DVD

One of the greatest movies ever is out on DVD, "Serial" from 1980 with Martin Mull, Tuesday Weld, Bill Macy, Sally Kellerman, Peter Bonerz, Tommy Smothers, and Christopher Lee, among others. Here's the original VHS cover, click to enlarge:


Martin is a family guy named Harv in Marin County, California facing all of the trends of the 70s at once: a newly liberated wife, bratty kid, drugs, free love and macrobiotic lifestyles. All of his friends react in different ways, but Harv doesn't really freak out until his daughter is swept up by a religious cult.


That's about all the plot, but the characters are enough to keep anyone interested. Highly recommended, click the link below to buy at amazon.com.

Click here to hear Michael Johnson sing the title song of the movie, "It's A Changing World".

Swine Flu Radio PSAs 1976

Back in 1976, Gerald Ford and the Center for Disease Control wanted you to get a shot for the Swine Flu. Here are some government produced public service announcements sent out to radio stations across the country that summer:


Give a listen:

Passalong :60
Passalong :30
Skeptic - Truckdriver :10
Skeptic - Woman :10
Skeptic - Male Executive :10

Awesome Family Portrait

You've all seen the bad Olan Mills, Sears, and other picture galleries around the web. One of the better ones is here.

Now for the secret shame of my family - THIS photo!

It was 1971 in a suburb of Winston-Salem, NC. My mom was excited. Our next door neighbor, who was a traveling photographer, was going to be set up in the local shopping plaza the next day. My mom booked the local beauty parlor for the next afternoon. After my dad got home, we all were stuffed into our jackets and had our hair brushed. Then it was off to the plaza. Our neighbor was set up with a minimal amount of equipment. Not enough lights, and no choice of backgrounds. Here's the result. Click for larger pic.


Some notes: My mom's hair never looked like that before or since that day. Apparently the only 'do they knew at the beauty parlor was beehive. I'm the oldest, in the top right, resplendent in my brand new Robert Hall blazer and orange tortoise shell glasses. Of course, every jacket in the photo was a hand-me-down from me. And what can I say, everyone in my family is nearsighted. We could have gotten a sponsorship.

Update from my sister: "The best thing about that shoot that you didn't mention was that the "studio" was the open area just beyond the cash registers in the Ben Franklin store, so we were all laid out for all the kids from my school to watch and make fun of during the shoot, and for the next couple weeks at school."

To top off the embarassment, a short while later our neighbor was arrested. He wasn't a fulltime photographer, but an operative in a New York to Florida car theft ring.

It was not until 1983 that we assembled for another family photo.

Gene Gene The Dancing Machine

Eugene Patton, or "Gene Gene The Dancing Machine" was a Gong Show stagehand who got into the act. He would come out and dance to Milton De Lugg's orchestra playing "Jumpin' At The Woodside" when the show needed a boost. This became so popular that a record was released in 1978:

Click either pic for a larger version. Listen to the music here.

I saw Gene every once in a while on The Tonight Show in Leno's early days. He's had some health problems and is now retired. Go watch him on YouTube and think some good thoughts his way.

Vanderbilt Cartoon And Comics Symposium 1972

My freshman year at Vanderbilt, I went to a cartoon and comics symposium that was held on campus right across the field from my dorm room. Check the guest speaker list:

This was supposedly the first time Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had appeared together since Jack left Marvel. I left to go to the Friday night portion of the show.

I was super impressed just to see these guys, much less to hear them talk. Dave Berg came on and talked about Mad Magazine. Allen Saunders was older but very cool, and Stan Lee was Stan Lee. Gahan Wilson was very dry. Someone asked him if he was influenced by Charles Addams, and he looked at him a moment and said, "Yes".

Click either of the pics for much larger versions.

The next morning Garry Trudeau led off. Doonesbury was probably the hottest strip in the country then, and Garry got more questions than anyone else.

I wish I'd taken notes at the talks, cause I don't remember as much as I wish I could. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee both said nice things about each other, and Mell Lazurus drew a lot of his Miss Peach characters on a big easel.

T.K. Ryan was very quiet at first, but ended up showing off a very good sense of humor.

At the end of the talks, we all went out to Curry Field for a barbeque sandwich and questions and answers with the artists. I tried to ask an intelligent question of Garry Trudeau about the state of the Ivy League humor magazines since National Lampoon had all the talent, and he said the state of Ivy League humor was pretty sorry.

A great show, and I'm much more impressed at it now than I was at 19.

Darryl Starbird's Hall Of Fame Auto Museum

It was always a good time when Darryl Starbird's Auto Show came to town. They had the three ingredients for a good time - cars, girls, and rock 'n roll. Listen to a 1970s radio spot here.


Years later, Darryl's got his own museum close to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The pics you see here are from the museum website. See more here.

E-Man Comics

E-Man was a great comic I ran across in the 70s. He was an energy being from another planet who took on human form to fight crime. He also had a skeptical attitude about all things Earthian.

E-Man's creator went on to work on Plastic Man, another superhero with an attitude. Find out more about E-Man and other cartoon characters at the Toonpedia here.

Wade Hampton Hotel Columbia South Carolina

"Opposite the State Capitol, the Wade Hampton gives you the best in hotel living, attractive guest rooms, TV and radios, excellent food and service. Completely air-conditioned".

And yeah, it's been bulldozed. From 1971, click for larger pic.

I'm pretty sure that's Wade Hampton's statue in the foreground.