In the early ’70s, Sonny and Cher turned to television, and to everyone’s surprise, became the hit of the 1971 season, paving the way for many other successful musical variety shows on TV.
‘Let’s Make a Deal’ is the most successful audience participation show in television history. It has lasted for more than 10 years on ABC, always at or near the top in daytime ratings.
Woodstock was supposed to be ‘3 days of peace and music’ – but as these stories from right after the concert describe, it didn’t exactly end up that way.
in 1929, gangsters linked to mobster Al Capone lured eight men into a garage in Chicago, lined them up facing the wall, then opened fire.
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.
Sid & Marty Krofft didn’t just create TV shows like ‘Land of the Lost’ and ‘HR PufNStuf’ – they also created a fantastical indoor amusement park in Atlanta.
Considering it spawned two revival series, a movie, books and comic books, it’s hard to believe that Battlestar Galactica had such a humble beginning.
What if the trip to the Moon had been one way? White House speechwriter William Safire wrote a statement that Nixon could read in the event of a disaster.
This classic lemon pound cake is truly American, luxuriously Texan – with its eight egg yolks and all that butter – and was President Johnson’s favorite.
With a cast headed by Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Dan Aykroyd, the original ‘Ghostbusters’ movie from 1984 had blockbuster written all over it.
‘Casablanca’ actor Humphrey Bogart – known to millions as ‘Bogie’ – gave a behind-the-scenes look into his mind and his life in this story from 1942.
America flipped over Farrah Fawcett’s famous feathered hair back in the seventies, and the trendy retro Farrah hairstyle was copied by millions of women.
Back in 1902 – and despite knowing how painful and unhealthy it was for women – many guys still wanted their wives to have small corseted waists.
Everybody’s doing it. Swingers, congressmen, housewives, businessmen, engaged couples, secretaries and kids. They’re all out there jogging.
Ask Bea Arthur how she resembles ‘Maude,’ the female chauvinist she plays on TV, and the stately, gray-haired actress lays it on the line – just like Maude.
Peter Frampton’s road to superstardom had lots of ups and downs before he finally scored big with the multi-platinum double album ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’
Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to Petticoat Junction – and the Shady Rest Hotel – in this classic TV sitcom from the sixties!
The popular and highly-acclaimed ‘Little House on the Prairie’ TV series was based on the beloved books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, about the pioneer days.
For generations, the Little House books have enchanted adults & children, historians & romantics, with stories of the Midwestern frontier of the late 1800s.
Here’s a look back at the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, along with some of her most memorable quotes from throughout the years.
Houdini’s underwater box escape was one of his most famous tricks – he was was shackled, chained and nailed into a box before being thrown overboard.
How much of today’s tech did Nikola Tesla predict a century ago? Here’s a look back at some spot-on predictions from Nikola Tesla — along with a few, that, well… we haven’t quite seen yet.
See what it looked like during President Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address speech, plus eyewitness accounts, analysis, full text & and a handwritten copy.
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.
Spooky sitcom stars Fred Gwynne & Yvonne De Carlo talked about their lives & what it was like to film The Munsters TV show in these classic cast interviews!
Dick Van Dyke has never loved giving interviews or making personal appearances, but we found a few time the talented man talked about his life and career.
Disney’s magical Mary Poppins arrived in 1964. See classic movie clips, hear some of the songs, plus find out more about the film & its stars!
Good Times aired from February 1974 through August 1979. Developed by Norman Lear, it was a spin-off of Maude, which was an All in the Family offshoot.
In August of 1969, actress Sharon Tate and four others were found dead in what police said resembled a ritualistic mass murder. Four months later, Charles Manson and the Manson ‘family’ would be charged with the crime. Here’s how it all happened.
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.
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.
A brief introduction to serial killer H H Holmes: The torture doctor Ah, the Good Old Days. Bicycles built for two. World’s Fairs, “Daisy Bell”
If you’re in the mood to get some laughs from a physical comedian with brilliant timing & improv skills, see these videos starring the late, great Tim Conway!
Check out these vintage Tiger Beat magazines to see who teens were screaming about and obsessing over back in the seventies – decades before there were Kardashians and BTS.
Check out some original ‘Wizard of Oz’ cast photos from 1903, and see if you don’t think the characters seem creepy — maybe even a little bit ghoulish.
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.
Legendary beauty Lillie Langtry was a statuesque blonde with blue eyes, a perfect complexion and a ravishing figure. She was acclaimed by the social set, and became the mistress of The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
He’s rich as Croesus, with achievements that are many and brilliant. He has a soft voice, half Southern, half Western, shy eyes and an infectious grin. He’s Howard Hughes. There should be a law against him.
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.
Take a look back at actress Elizabeth Montgomery — from the early days of her career in 1955 up until her 1972 heyday!
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.
DB Cooper, a courteous middle-aged man disappeared, apparently by parachute, with a $200,000 ransom Wednesday night while a jetliner he hijacked was en route from Seattle to Reno.
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.
Twiggy’s big, blue eyes, set in fantastic black lashes, were just one of the things you’d quickly notice about one of the very first supermodels, the often-imitated Twiggy.
Do you want to get organized? Have you longed for the uncluttered life? Actress Doris Day reveals her plan for becoming an ‘ex-Aimless’ and an ‘ex-Chaotic.’
After a lengthy crime spree, Bonnie & Clyde were finally caught and killed in 1934: Clyde Barrow, the Southwest’s No. 1 outlaw, and his gunwoman companion, Bonnie Parker, were trapped and shot dead by Texas and Louisiana officers.
“All in the Family” was a huge hit TV show that aired on CBS from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979, and was number 1 in the Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. Find out more 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.
Check out some classic hit songs that all have a common theme: a lot of us have misheard the lyrics, so we’re singing them wrong – sometimes hilariously so.
Beneath words “Titanic sank” is the tale of a tragedy that gave birth to heroism and cowardice: Greatest of leviathans went to oblivion in 100 minutes
H G Wells met civil rights leader Booker T Washington, and wrote: ‘Every such man stands… fighting against foul imaginations, misrepresentations, injustice, insult, and the naive unspeakable meannesses of base antagonists.’
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Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic. Material on this site is provided for education, criticism, commentary, cultural reporting, entertainment, historical reference, and news reporting/analysis.
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