The original Gilligan’s Island pilot had three actors who were cut before the series began, a slightly different name, and a completely different theme song. Get the scoop here!
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McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes: The story of how a simple shake became a holiday tradition (1970s & 80s)
McDonald’s shamrock shakes have been a St. Patrick’s Day favorite for decades. Here’s the surprising history behind this minty green fast-food classic.
Misheard lyrics have fooled music fans for years — turns out, “Hold me closer, Tony Danza” was never right. See the funniest lyric mistakes from classic hits!
The vintage Spirograph toys let you create millions of colorful, startlingly beautiful extraordinarily intricate designs in infinite variety – all you needed were pens, paper and the kit’s plastic gears and wheels. Take a look!
The Love Boat set sail in 1977 and became a TV favorite. Here’s how it mixed romance, comedy and guest stars to create a lasting pop culture hit.
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father was a TV sitcom about a widower and his son, Eddie that debuted in 1969. The memorable theme song was by Harry Nilsson.
While television hardly needed another cop series, ‘Starsky and Hutch’ was one of the better reasons to turn on a TV back in the ’70s. Here’s why.
Screen legends Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire sang and danced their way into America’s hearts in one of the most timeless holiday classics of all time, the Holiday Inn movie, which introduced the classic hit song, White Christmas.
Here, take a look back at the Xanadu movie – an ’80s musical that has become best known as a campy cult classic.
Mr Whipple: Please don’t squeeze the Charmin! 20 years of legendary TV commercial toilet paper drama
Discover the story of Mr Whipple and his famous “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” commercials, one of the most memorable ad campaigns of the 20th century.
Between Saturday morning cartoon shows, animated Schoolhouse Rock was on TV from 1973-1985. Here’s a Grammar Rock classic, Schoolhouse Rock: A Noun Is a Person, Place or Thing!
Remember I Love Lucy & the chocolate factory episode? Many people consider this classic scene from ‘Job Switching’ one of the series’ funniest.
A heavenly idea! Pudding in a cloud. So lovely. So light. So luscious. You get two delicious tastes in every spoonful.
The vintage ‘Real People’ TV show debuted in 1979, and focused on everyday folks and their stories, ranging from heartwarming to silly to strange.
Diana Ross is an icon of grace and powerhouse talent, charting a course from Motown’s heart to global stardom. Here’s a look back at her career!
Revisit the ABC Afterschool Special episodes that shaped our childhood! We’ve listed every one of the vintage TV movies, along with photos and dozens of promos and full-length videos.
The Incredible Hulk TV show from the 70s, starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, proved that fans liked Dr David Banner even more when he was angry.
In the 1974 Rankin-Bass holiday spectacle, The Year Without a Santa Claus, the unforgettable Heat Miser & Snow Miser captured imaginations with their signature musical showdown. See it here!
From 1948 to 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show was synonymous with entertainment & a central hub for talent — introducing new acts & creating unforgettable moments.
Wendy’s has been a top player on the American fast food scene since not long after their first restaurant opened back in 1969. Established in
Good Times wasn’t just about humor; it tackled pressing social issues of its time — including unemployment, racism, and poverty.
Take a look back at “The Odd Couple” — a classic comedy about friendship, divorce & making the most out of life’s second chances.
In the early 1960s, The Supremes emerged as Motown’s brightest stars. Their infectious blend of pop & soul was irresistible. Have a listen!
Sweet Charity musical: The adventures of a girl who wanted to be loved
Safety Last! was one of the best-known movies of the silent film era, and gave us the iconic image of Harold Lloyd, dangling off a huge clock.
New York in 1911: Watch Edwardian New Yorkers come to life in this amazing rediscovered film footage
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have lived a century ago, or to have wandered the streets of a much younger Manhattan, you will be amazed by the footage in New York 1911!
Sunset portrays an imaginary meeting between legendary western hero Wyatt Earp (played by James Garner) and legendary western movie star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis), who team up to solve a murder in 1929 Hollywood.
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.
Say, kids, what time is it? Kids: It’s Howdy Doody Time! First gracing the airwaves in 1947, marionette Howdy Doody was a pioneer of American TV programming.
In the ’80s, The Incredible Hulk & Courtship of Eddie’s Father actor Bill Bixby was the spokesperson for Dietac diet pills… at least until the over-the-counter medication was taken off the market.
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.
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.
Anyone who lived through the great videotape format war of the late 1970s to early 1980s will never forget the big question: VHS or Beta? Here’s the Betamax side – the player that ultimately lost.
While chocolate milk will always be the rock star of milky mixed drinks, strawberry drink mix has a charm all its own. Here’s a look back at the debut of Nestle’s Strawberry Quik back in the sixties!
The Kodak Disc camera was was lightweight, foolproof (with auto-exposure and built-in flash), affordable, and used a brand new kind of film cartridge… but it was only sold for six years.
See Jimi Hendrix play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ live at Woodstock on August 18, 1969 – and what he thought of his own performance.
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.
Though she was born famous, then grew her fame as an actress, Jane Fonda’s workout videos were one of her greatest successes. Here’s how it happened.
In 1975, Chrysler released the Cordoba – and sales were helped along by TV ads featuring the great Ricardo Montalban and his famous mention of the car’s soft Corinthian leather.
Star Trek’s original run lasted three seasons – but soon thereafter, it became a huge hit in syndication, inspired several TV series and more than a dozen movies.
Considering it spawned two revival series, a movie, books and comic books, it’s hard to believe that the original Battlestar Galactica TV series had such a humble beginning.
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!
While boxes of Jell-O pudding pops may be but a memory, we can still remember their glory days through these magazine ads and TV commercials!
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour lasted only 31 episodes, but its funky psychedelia had a lasting impact. Take a look – and a listen!
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.
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!
One of the most unusual ad campaigns of the seventies featured gruff Western star John Wayne pitching Datril, a pain-relief medicine that was competing against Tylenol. Find out more about the ads here.
See Fred Astaire in a clip from 1946’s ‘Blue Skies,’ performing ‘Puttin’ On The Ritz’ – a song associated with him like no other – and find out more about the film itself.
This vintage ad featured the tagline ‘I had a headache this big… and it’s got Excedrin written all over it.’ That sentence ended up becoming one of the most enduring slogans of the eighties.
Before he was a star among stars, Leonardo DiCaprio was a kid taking jobs where he could – including playing an awesome gum-lover in this vintage 1980s Bubble Yum TV commercial.
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!
While orchestra leader Glenn Miller himself disappeared, his music has done rather the opposite – reaching and speaking to generations well beyond his untimely death during WWII.
In the ’80s, vintage Crispy Critters cereal had little animal shapes like rhinos, hippos, lions and camels, and a lightly-sweetened crunch. Remember it?
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
Here’s Groucho singing the song he’s famously associated with from his time with the Marx Brothers: ‘Hello, I Must Be Going,’ as seen in the 1930 film Animal Crackers.
Take a few minutes to reflect on the awesome and terrifying power unleashed on the world in the summer of 1945 during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki while remembering the lives lost – and those possibly saved.
After a teen gets a record score on a video game called The Last Starfighter, an intergalactic visitor tells him the game was just a test – and asks him to come help fight a space battle.
In the movie Cocktail, Tom Cruise goes behind the counter to play star bartender Brian Flanagan, who works the Manhattan watering holes in spring and summer and spends his winters in the tropics.
The Andy Griffith Show – with its memorable theme tune – ran between 1960 and 1968, which was more than enough time to establish itself as an icon of Americana, and start the career of a Hollywood legend.
‘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 monumentally-successful ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ ad campaign was heard all over the world back in 1971. See the commercial here!
While demonstrating a prototype of the Boeing 707 passenger jet, the pilot decided to show just how remarkable the plane was… and flew it upside down. Twice.
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.
See clips of past Civil Defense films from the ’50s & ’60s, plus how to make a bomb shelter, what to stock, and more details from the Cold War era.
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.
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.’
In ‘Full House,’ a widowed talk-show host whose brother-in-law and best friend, a comic, helped him raise his three young girls.
The original Hawaii Five-O TV show hit the airwaves in the ’60s, and the Aloha State would never be the same again. Here’s a look back.
Take a look at young ‘Leave it to Beaver’ actors Jerry Mathers & Tony Dow — and then see what the two men looks like as adults!
Meet the one and only Neil Sedaka in these two interviews – the first from early in his career, and the second after his ’70s comeback – plus a few videos.
The first ‘children’s liberation’ album, ‘Free To Be… You And Me’ – featuring stars like Marlo Thomas, Mel Brooks, Harry Belafonte, Alan Alda, Diana Ross and Shirley Jones – was catchy, upbeat, and like nothing else, and by 1976, had sold half a million copies.
Donna Summer burst onto the disco scene in the 1970s with a bang – her four #1 singles all reached the top chart spot within 13 months of each other – including ‘I Feel Love.’
After moving to a new house, a man named Wilbur finds the previous owner left behind a horse. It’s Mister Ed, a talking horse! But Ed will talk only to Wilbur, meaning confusion and hijinks soon ensue.
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 Twist was one of the first big dance crazes, and dozens of artists recorded copycat songs. But there was a question: Is The Twist immoral? Religious leaders weighed in.
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.
John Travolta’s charismatic moves in Saturday Night Fever didn’t just light up the dance floor — they ignited a cultural craze. Let’s revisit the phenomenon!
“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.
“Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down” is the memorable slogan that helped sell millions of these wobbly wee folk from Hasbro/Romper Room. Take a look back at some vintage Weebles here!
The Addams Family TV series portrayed the everyday life of one kooky and spooky family. Although the show had a huge impact on pop culture, it only ran for two seasons – from 1964 to 1966. Meet the cast and hear the snappy theme here!
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.
Disco dancing was characterized by a casual, controlled, rhythmic movement of the whole body, with a pulsing vertical motion through the knees. Try some of the top moves!
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.
Remember the old Palmolive dish soap ads, featuring Madge the Manicurist (actress Jan Miner), who was always telling women how terrible their hands looked?
A chewy retro ’60s energy snack developed for astronauts became known as Pillsbury Space Food Sticks – treats in chocolate, caramel & peanut butter flavors.
Maude was a groundbreaking television series starring Bea Arthur that broke all the molds when it first aired in 1972.
Widely regarded as one of the most innovative television shows of all time, The Twilight Zone premiered in 1959, and would go on to dazzle, delight and frighten audiences for the next five seasons.
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 little 60-year leap back in time, and see how San Francisco looked back in 1955 in this video homage to the city by the bay.
Once part of everyday life, now only people of a certain age will remember this stuff. Here are 25 obsolete products most people under 25 have never seen in real life!
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.
Sunday sightseeing around town and afternoon jaunts in the countryside are shiny new adventures when you’re driving a fun-loving ’56 Chevy!
Take a look at this vintage White Rain shampoo commercial from 1954 — so achingly wholesome and sincere, it’s easy to see why some ’50s stereotypes persist today.
After the war, industry was booming, and they needed workers. This 1946 vocational guidance film gives us a little insight into the world of telecommunications at the midpoint of the 20th century, from switchboard operators to engineers.
