From the hilarious misunderstandings to the lovable characters, “Three’s Company” has an enduring appeal. Reminisce with us!
Vintage & retro entertainment
In her short, but impactful life, Patsy Cline managed to change the landscape of country music forever. Read on for feature stories and photos about the famed singer, both before and after her death.
Check out this extensive interview with a young Dolly Parton (only 24 years old!) that was published back in 1970.
Take a look back at “The Odd Couple” — a classic comedy about friendship, divorce & making the most out of life’s second chances.
Millions know ‘Say, Say, Oh Playmate’ – also known as ‘Playmate’ – but few today know much about the rhyming song & hand clapping game. Find out more here!
From 1966 to 1973, televisions worldwide were tuned to the thrilling exploits of the Impossible Missions Force in the groundbreaking Mission Impossible TV show.
In 1976, Marriott’s Great America theme parks were born from a simple yet ambitious idea: give families an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experience. Here, see the parks in California & Illinois in the 70s & 80s!
See how “Chico and the Man” made an early and enduring impression in the world of 70s sitcoms!
Reel-to-reel tape recorders hit the commercial market in the 1940s — and their evolution was boosted by the financial support of none other than Bing Crosby, who saw great potential in the technology.
Nominated for 7 Oscars, the 1970 Love Story movie starred Ali MacGraw as Jenny, the romantic-tragic girl, and Ryan O’Neal as the rich college boy who won her heart.
Ali MacGraw was unmistakably a star at the age of 33, following the success of her first movie, Goodbye Columbus, and the overwhelming popularity of her second, Love Story.
Sesame Street started in 1969 as a daily TV show for preschoolers, featuring a street filled with puppets and humans who told stories, sang and danced. But it became so much more than just a television program!
Before it was just Max, it was HBO Max — before that it was just plain old HBO. And it was a huge deal.
Remember when every kid you knew couldn’t get enough of the literary phenomenon known as the Choose Your Own Adventure books? Take a look back, and see lots of old covers here!
Gary Coleman stars as Arnold, a street-wise youth from Harlem, who is adopted by a white millionaire and becomes confused and suspicious about his sudden change of fortune on the comedy series, Diff’rent Strokes.
On TV, the I Dream of Jeannie bottle was magical – from the pretty painted outside to the plush, jeweled interior. Find out about the wizardry that made it work!
Who had one of these ‘My Name Records’ when they were kids? We found a few vintage covers from personalized 45 RPM record singles featuring Captain Kangaroo songs!
NBC TV’s midseason situation comedy series, ‘Sanford and Son,’ about an aging black Los Angeles junk dealer, appears to be an instant, impressive hit.
Laverne & Shirley was a series about two spirited young women – Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney – who worked in a brewery and managed to have fun on and off the job in Milwaukee in the 1950s.
This classic advice from the 1970s helped consumers choose and take care of audio cassette tapes.
While Lisa Marie Presley had very impressive parents – Elvis and Priscilla Presley – that’s not what made her so memorable. It was all about her presence: her strength, dedication, and independent spirit.
Living rooms changed entirely when these vintage console stereos came on the market – they were technology and furniture all in one!
Introduced in the late 1970s, Underoos were a popular brand of colorful children’s underwear featuring characters from popular franchises like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Star Wars.
The old Disneyland TV show, known by various titles since its introduction in 1954 (and currently entitled The Wonderful World of Disney) was Walt Disney’s first foray into the weekly television show format.
A box social, sometimes called a box supper social, was an old-fashioned way for communities to connect, share a meal and raise money for local
Capitalizing on the success of The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman was a spin-off that ran for three seasons from 1976 to 1978. The show starred Lindsay Wagner as the physically augmented Jaime Sommers.
The Doors turned every concert into something unpredictable. Here’s what it was actually like to see Jim Morrison and the band perform live in the 60s and 70s.
Thousands of kids loved these custom-made Vintage Me Books from the 70s, including titles like My Friendly Giraffe, My Birthday Land Adventure, My Special Christmas & My Jungle Holiday.
What was the Disney World opening like? See how it looked and get some facts and figures about Disney’s grand opening here.
M*A*S*H debuted on TV in 1972, and centered around a team of doctors during the Korean War in the early 50s. M*A*S*H was a huge success, lasting for 11 seasons, and broke records on its way out.
Check out these vintage Tiger Beat magazine covers to see who teens were screaming about and obsessing over back in the 70s — decades before there were K-Pop and reality TV stars.
Let’s look back at the popular sitcom The Facts of Life – meet the actresses, hear that catchy theme song one more time, and get the lyrics for the hit show’s opening credits!
Despite a slow start, by the mid-’80s, REO Speedwagon’s hit singles ‘Keep On Loving You’ and ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’ had topped the charts, and they were known across the globe. Here’s the story.
Even in his late 70s, Barry Manilow still performs relentlessly — much to the delight of “Fan-ilows” everywhere. Check out this bicentennial-year interview he gave early in his singing career.
Take a look back at actress Elizabeth Montgomery — from the early days of her career in 1955 up until her 1972 heyday!
The original Star Wars trilogy was like a comic strip come to life, with eye-popping special effects of flashing light swords, ray guns, strange creatures, spaceships and eerie planets.
The new comedy series is a story of a mountain family who suddenly finds itself with $25 million after oil is found on its property, and then moves to Beverly Hills, California. See the opening credits, hear the theme song, and get the lyrics here!
For decades after their introduction in 1963, Easy-Bake Ovens showed up on wish lists for Santa and for birthdays, and millions of them were sold. Take a look back!
Merlin, the ‘electronic wizard,’ was a red telephone-shaped toy used buttons, lights and sound effects to let kids play a variety of simple games, and was one of the earliest gaming consoles.
Judging by audience response to PBS new children’s show, Zoom may turn into the kind if household word television hasn’t heard since the halcyon days of Uncle Milty.
Vintage book clubs have been around since before the Depression – and while the titles have changed, the concept behind the membership isthe same. Here’s a look back!
Take tic-tac-toe, toss in nine celebrities, stir in some questions and add fabulous prizes. What do you get? The original Hollywood Squares game show!
In Hawaii in the ’70s, Waikiki was more than a beach. It’s a vibrant, exciting, cosmopolitan resort city on Oahu, only a few miles from bustling downtown Honolulu.
Here Come The Brides was an hour-long comedy/Western TV series set in Seattle in the 1870s about a family of loggers who brought in 100 women as potential brides. The show launched Bobby Sherman and David Soul as teen idols.
Look back to the ’70s and ’80s at vintage Sea World San Diego, when Shamu the Killer Whale was the ocean-themed amusement park’s star attraction.
Many critics were surprised that the ‘Emergency!’ TV show was a success. One factor for sure: actors Randy Mantooth and Kevin Tighe, who played paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto, made indelible impressions on viewers.
It’s like going to the movies. Only better. With Fisher-Price Movie Viewer toys, kids could run short films all by themselves, just by turning a handle. In slow motion, speeded up or backwards.
We have heard Mathis’ voice for years – but who’s the man behind that rich, smooth sound? Find out more about this extraordinarily talented singer here, and see Johnny Mathis as he lived in his Hollywood home back in the 1970s.
Bald, Tootsie Pop-snacking Kojak was the king of the police procedural on TV, from 1973 through 1978. Here’s a look back!
‘All in the Family’ was a huge hit TV show that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1979, and was number 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. Find out about the series here, and see the famous opening credits, too!
Based on the famous books, The Hardy Boys-Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series debuted in 1977, starring Parker Stevenson & Shaun Cassidy as the brothers Frank & Joe, and Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy.
It used to be that superheroes zipped through the air, pure & uncomplicated. In vintage Marvel comics, however, they became complex, abnormal, alienated and schizoid. The comic book universe hasn’t been the same since.
CHiPS, a light-hearted one-hour action-adventure series, follows the exploits of a pair of young California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers on the busy Los Angeles freeways, and their encounters with the infinite variety of people who drive there.
What was the Partridge Family TV series about? In an eggshell: Five siblings made the big-time playing rock ‘n’ roll music, and, led by their mom, toured the country. Squabbles, catchy tunes and hijinks ensued.
Back in the seventies, the vintage soap operas ‘Another World’ & ‘Days of Our Lives’ escaped the short half-hour program format, and were the first to hit the airwaves in one hour blocks.
In 1973, The Mamas & The Papas singer Michelle Phillips took on a new role – that of the lead actress in the movie Dillinger. Here’s what she said at the time.
In 1975, Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws single-handedly drove more Americans away from beaches and into theaters than any other force of nature ever could have.
Gene Wilder reached a level of stardom that no one would have predicted, least of all himself. Here are interviews with the actor himself from the ’70s.
Through vintage interviews, meet Theodor Geisel – aka Dr Seuss – the man behind The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Green Eggs and Ham and many more classic books for children.
‘The Jeffersons’ was an offshoot of ‘All in the Family’ that took on a life of its own, and made a star out of Sherman Hemsley, who played George Jefferson.
Mork & Mindy was a sitcom that starred a hilarious young Robin Williams as alien visitor Mork, and Pam Dawber co-starred as his earthling girlfriend (later his wife) Mindy McConnell.
Originally played with people in place of the pieces, vintage Parcheesi had a long and unusual history before becoming the popular board game we know today.
Studio 54 was arguably the most famous – or at the very least, infamous – nightclub of the 1970s & 1980s. It was filled with stars, even when the owners were sent to prison.
Neil Diamond has had more than 38 hits on the Top 10 charts, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Here’s a look back to his life and career in the ’70s!
Unlike most rock groups, Creedence Clearwater Revival doesn’t have a booking agency or a manager, yet they were the most successful pop-rock group in the world – and the richest.
The popular Benson TV show, a sitcom offshoot of Soap, starred Robert Guillaume as Benson DuBois, director of household affairs for a widowed state governor.
Take a jump back in time to hear from Hall & Oates in their prime – the ’70s & ’80s, when the duo had a string of #1 singles and sold millions of albums.
During the 1978 Saturn Awards ceremony, William Shatner, as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, performed what can most accurately be described as a bizarre spoken-word rendition of ‘Rocket Man.’
Shields & Yarnell, the talented and dynamic husband-and-wife mimes, entertained audiences all across America courtesy of the television. Take a look back!
Bad News Bears, about a drunken ex-pitcher who transforms a bedraggled group of kids into a winning little-league baseball team, won raves for showing kids as real people.
Larry Hagman has a juicy, lip-smacking role, and he plays it to campy perfection. His J.R. Ewing on Dallas is rotten to the core. If he had a redeeming feature, he’d probably swap it for cash.
Few people thought Bonanza would last long, but the mythical Ponderosa, the larger-than-life inhabitants and the horseback morality plays will glow on tubes around the world for years to come.
For 7 seasons, the original Fantasy Island TV show featured Ricardo Montalban as the mysterious Mr Roarke, the overseer of a mystical island where people could live out their fantasies,
Gilligan’s Island was the hit sitcom that ran for a total of 98 episodes over three seasons – from 1964 to 1967. Find out more about the show and sing along to the theme song here!
Each episode of Adam-12 portrayed a day in the life of an LAPD ‘policeman’ as realistically as possible, with officers Malloy and Reed facing the tragic and amusing events of life in a big city.
When Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! originally aired in December 1966 no one expected the cartoon to become a part of American pop culture legend.
Eight Is Enough premiered on March 15, 1977, and ran for five seasons before wrapping up in August of 1981. Starring Dick Van Patten, the show focused on Tom Bradford and his eight children.
“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” became an unexpected – and unforgettable – classic. It combines the story of a boy who wins a lifetime supply of chocolate and a colorful musical with intricate sets and wild visual effects.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show stars Mary in the role of Mary Richards, a small-town single girl who moves to the big city and lands a job as associate producer of a news program on a local TV station.
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was innovative Saturday morning TV with a message for kids (1972-1985)
In the ’70s & ’80s, many parents didn’t mind Saturday mornings at home with the kids. One reason was “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” one of the best examples of how television had improved for children.
Back in the ’70s, Broadway couldn’t miss with Annie – especially when starring actress Andrea McArdle, the spunky, talented 13-year-old who played the title role.
For nearly 30 years, Captain Kangaroo said good morning to kids across the country. Here, meet Bob Keeshan, the man behind the beloved character!
Find out about the classic TV sitcom Rhoda, and meet the star, Valerie Harper, in two different vintage interviews!
It would be hard to find anyone between the ages of 30 and 50 who didn’t watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid. And there’s a good reason for that.
Do you remember these groovy TV catchphrases of the ’70s? Are there any that you still find yourself saying every now and then?
Get a blast from the past with this 1978 article about the popular TV sitcom, “What’s Happening!!”, which soared past expectations and entertained millions.
Maude was a groundbreaking television series starring Bea Arthur that broke all the molds when it first aired in 1972.
Little House on the Prairie ran on NBC for nine seasons starting in 1974 — and now it’s back on Netflix. Here’s the full story.
By the time A Game of Thrones was published, George R R Martin had written millions of words over thousands of hours. Here, see where his long career began.
The Flintstones TV cartoon sitcom ran for 6 seasons in the ’60s. Find out how the story began, plus see the opening credits & the catchy theme song lyrics!
Take a look back at ABC television’s family-friendly Friday night offerings back in 1970, which included the hit sitcoms Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor & The Partridge Family… and total of 14 kids between the shows.
The early-70s TV sitcom ‘Nanny and the Professor’ starred Juliet Mills, Richard Long, and a very young Kim Richards – best known now for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Here’s one of the most unforgettable songs from Schoolhouse Rock: Conjunction Junction. One of the first in the “Grammar Rock” series, it made its debut on televisions nationwide in 1973.
The Elvis Presley death in 1977 sent shockwaves through America. See rare original news coverage and tributes from the day the King died.
This TV movie debuted in 1973, and played occasionally in reruns at least until the 1980s. The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical, Mystery Trip: Musical fantasy
The Betty White Show was a snappy, well-executed 1970s comedy TV show that was meant to appeal to anyone who likes to laugh at real humor – witty, cerebral humor.
Motown Records wasn’t just a record label – it was a sound. Thanks to their success, we had stars like Michael Jackson, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder & Marvin Gaye.
In a spangled vest and elbow-length gloves, black bikini, black opera hose and steep ankle-strap wedgies, Tim Curry as Dr Frank N Furter, makes his grand entrance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an outrageous camp musical based on the stage hit.
