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.
Vintage & retro entertainment
Before he was Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings, young Sean Astin was a hardworking up-and-coming actor. But he wasn’t just any actor – he was the son of Patty Duke and John Astin. Here’s a look back at Sean’s early career, from when he was a teen!
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.
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!
Billions of 80s stickers were collected by millions of kids – and appeared on everything from binders to books, cassette tapes to sticker collection albums. Do you recognize any of these vintage stickers?
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.
What did Carowinds theme park look like back in the 1980s? Here’s a look at the vintage Hanna-Barbera-affiliated amusement park that straddled the line between two states.
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!
For two years, Tom Hanks pounded the streets of the city searching for a job. Then he was flown to LA, screen tested, and finally selected for the role of Kip Wilson in ‘Bosom Buddies.’ And so a star was born.
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.
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!
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.
Back in the late ’80s, who would have thought that young Robert Downey, Jr – the kid who acted in a few random films – would, a couple of decades later, be one of America’s biggest movie stars?
When the Disney Channel started in 1983, it was a cable subscription service with shows like Mousercise and Mickey Mouse Club, along with many of the famous Disney movies. See some of the schedules and more here!
Do you remember these vintage Mad magazine back page Fold-Ins – where, with a couple of folds, you could change the page’s picture, and its message? Look back at a few of these clever pieces of art created by Al Jaffee.
While popular cartoon kids talking about life insurance and IRAs might not seem like a natural match, in the ’80s & ’90s, the combination was a hit. Take a look back here!
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.
On this 1982 sitcom, the Square Pegs were Patty Greene (a young Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren Hutchinson (Amy Linker). Patty was the smart, skinny, nearsighted one; Lauren was the one with baby fat and braces. The round hole was Weemawee High School.
While the stars were still aligning for her first big acting role, young Mariska Hargitay, daughter of the legendary Jayne Mansfield, took on other jobs.
From just the trailer, it seemed like just another John Hughes movie, but ‘The Breakfast Club’ was something different. For many ’80s teens, it was more real and more relatable. Find out why here!
What was vintage ’80s tech like? The Good Guys were a big consumer electronics specialty retailer selling brand-name audio and video gear. See the hottest retro TVs, stereos and more from 1987!
Campy or vampire spoof, call it what you like – The Lost Boys, a movie starring Kiefer Sutherland – is decidedly offbeat entertainment… with a twist.
Live Aid in 1985: Feed the world The goal of the Live Aid concerts was to raise money to help relieve the ongoing famine in
When The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera first hit the airwaves in the eighties, they probably didn’t imagine the show would be still going after even 8000 episodes. Here’s how it began!
The man who moved on to play ‘McDreamy’ on Grey’s Anatomy was just 21 years old when this article was published. Find out more about young Patrick Dempsey here!
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.
The handheld Atari Lynx was a one-pound, portable video game system that (for the time) featured detailed graphics, sharp color and sound effects.
The classic Nintendo Entertainment System came with a robot, a light-sensing video gun, ‘true-to-life’ graphics and a library of games. Here’s a look!
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!
Few movie sequels overshadow their predecessors. Yet ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ – the chapter following ‘Star Wars’ – does just that.
From Liverpool lad to Beatle & enduring icon – revisit the life of John Lennon. His legacy is more than songs; it’s a committed pursuit of peace & love.
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.
Shields & Yarnell, the talented and dynamic husband-and-wife mimes, entertained audiences all across America courtesy of the television. Take a look back!
The Annie movie from 1982 was based on the award-winning Broadway play, and was a no-lose combination of sweet-faced orphans, a lovable dog, foot-tapping musical numbers, and an all-star cast.
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.
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,
The Back to the Future movies from Steven Spielberg & Robert Zemeckis were incredibly successful, and remain family favorites 30 years later. Find out more about the stories here!
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!
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.
Blade Runner, the classic movie from 1982 starring Harrison Ford, imagined a dystopian world in 2019
The classic 1982 movie Blade Runner, about the genetic development of androids, imitates the style history’s great detective films, and is set in a bizarre vision of urban America in 2019.
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.
Charlie Sheen has written and directed over 200 Super-8 films in his 22 years, with pals like Sean and Chris Penn, Rob and Chad Lowe, and older brother Emilio Estevez in the lead roles.
In the popular ’80s sitcom Silver Spoons, a child-like millionaire meets the son he never knew – and that kid (Ricky Schroder) teaches his newfound dad how to be a grown-up.
MTV, a ’round-the-clock television channel for viewers who grew up on rock ‘n’ roll, started with a library of 400 80s music videos, and went on to delight millions of viewers.
In the mid-80s, Dallas actress Linda Gray & Ed Thrasher had an open, informal ranch house north of Los Angeles – complete with a dog, two horses, three cats, and five adopted peacocks.
Walkmans and other portable cassette tape players – ‘personal stereos’ – were hugely popular in the ’70s and ’80s, and packed more sociological punch than a load of hula hoops.
‘The Greatest American Hero’ swooped in to save America with laughs – and a catchy theme song (1981)
On the ’80s TV show The Greatest American Hero, an average guy got a suit that gave him superpowers… but then he loses the instruction book. Believe it or not, the show was a hit.
For nearly 30 years, Captain Kangaroo said good morning to kids across the country. Here, meet Bob Keeshan, the man behind the beloved character!
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.
Tommy Howell – aka C Thomas Howell – the ’80s teen heartthrob, was a veteran of five films at age 17 – E.T., Tank, The Outsiders, Grandview USA & Red Dawn.
With a cast headed by Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Dan Aykroyd, the original ‘Ghostbusters’ movie from 1984 had blockbuster written all over it.
Sometimes life is like a movie, like actor Matt Dillon’s life. Nothing much happened to him until age 14, when he was discovered at a New York junior high.
Maybe she’s no little darling on the set, but then Kristy McNichol never intended to be America’s sweetheart. All she wants is to work hard — and play hard.
Was this the earliest recorded instance of Rickrolling? You sign up for a magazine… and, whether you wanted it or not, you’d get a Rick
Here’s an interview with Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter from 1980, when she was just about to star in her own CBS special – and just before she started to model for Maybelline makeup.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have seemingly boundless energy, and that energy is unharnessed in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ – a startling spectacle, starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.
For six years, the NBC series St Elsewhere literally set the standard for network programming, offering a consistently high level of realistic writing, ensemble acting, narrative experimentation and outrageous humor.
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
Young Jason Bateman’s life sounds like an 18-year-old’s dream an apartment in Brentwood, a Jeep Cherokee, and a private dressing room with a color TV.
Maxell was long one of the leaders in the cassette tape world, and produced one of the most iconic ad campaigns of the era, featuring the man fondly (now) known as ‘blown away guy.’
Here’s a look back from 1984 at the career – and huge success – of Billy Joel, along with some insight into what makes his concerts so memorable.
The band Blondie was discovered one night by some wealthy people out slumming after the theatre, and hired to perform at a party in a posh apartment.
The Jackson Five – explosive soul brothers from Indiana – were the hottest young group in entertainment history, and led to Michael Jackson’s stellar musical career.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 1985 TV season is the success of ABC’s “Growing Pains,” a family sitcom starring former talk-show host Alan Thicke as psychiatrist Jason Seaver.
Airplane! uses disaster movie conventions as platforms to interject humor at every turn. Like a streamlined club act, it’s all over before the welcome gets worn. Stars Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Julie Hagerty, Robert Hayes. Also: See the Airplane movie trailer!
Opulent enough even for fashionable Linda Gray – Dallas’ superspender Sue Ellen Ewing – she models these high-style silk dresses were stylish in the eighties.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood a television show aimed at preschoolers, debuted in the US on February 19, 1968, and original episodes aired until August 31, 2001.
“Thelonious,” a tune from his very first Blue Note session, had verses fashioned from a single ingeniously hammered note, with three horns playing shifting dissonances behind it. He developed the one-note motif in his solo and then abruptly broke into some pure, old-fashioned Harlem oompah stride.
Timothy Hutton’s performance in Ordinary People won him an Oscar, and he became something of a symbol of vulnerability and tenderness for teens.
