1900s
The original ‘Wizard of Oz’ Broadway musical pretty much looked like nightmare fuel
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.
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.
Before vintage Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt Disney said the huge amusement park would be ‘the most fabulous playground on earth.’ See what it looked like!
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.
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.
Unbelievably enchanting and ever-changing, the Wham-O Magic Window toy created countless designs, landscapes, seascapes, birds and butterflies as the crystals fly, slide and erupt into one pattern after another.
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.
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.
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.
New York City has provided entertainment to millions over the years. See vintage seating charts from some of the city’s most famous theaters!
“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.
How did the Kentucky Derby get started? Now, the famous Louisville horse race is the first part of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, but when it started, people didn’t know how important and iconic the Derby would eventually become. Here’s a look back at its history.
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.
Upon the news of Elvis Presley’s sudden and untimely death, the nation mourned – and the singer’s records charted again after fans across the country immediately started to buy lots of his albums.
“Laugh-In” got people talking about television again. Its rapid-fire gags, many of them dreadful, were repeated by millions every Tuesday morning.
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.
Musical fantasy is a tour of the body “The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical, Mystery Trip,” a highly-acclaimed presentation in the prize-winning “ABC Afterschool Specials” series
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.
Take a look back at ten old roller coasters from the early 1900s, and admire the courage of the riders who sat down in those rickety little cars and sped off into the wild blue yonder.
No longer do superheroes zip through the air. They’re complex, abnormal, alienated and schizoid. They are the heroes of today’s college campuses, the new escape mechanisms for 10-year-olds, and the grist for social psychologists a generation from now.
The top-rated TV show, I Love Lucy, ran from 1951 to 1957 – around the time these magazines with Lucille Ball on the cover were published.
You’re not considered ‘in’ in some circles if you don’t have a Pet Rock. And now, for only $4, the perfect pet can be yours – if you don’t mind taking a rock for a walk.
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.
The show’s unorthodox theme: A family of youngsters ages 5-17 makes the big-time in rock ‘n’ roll, and, led by their mother — in real life, series star David Cassidy’s stepmother — Shirley Jones, tour club dates as the Partridge Family aboard a psychedelic bus.
A lighthearted look back at the 50s housewife during the sunny days of yesteryear, when a woman’s home was her castle — and her kitchen was the heart of that home.
39 years before the classic movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was released, see what people had to say about ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ book back in 1900!
Choose your own Adventure book series #2: Journey Under the Sea (1979) You are the hero of a fabulous deep sea adventure Choose Your Own
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.
Presenting the first family of the future, The Jetsons – in ultra-dynamic spectoramic, everlovin’, living color.
Laverne & Shirley ran on ABC from January 27, 1976 to May 10, 1983. The comedy starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio, Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, as well as Michael McKean and David L Lander as Lenny & Squiggy.
Happy Holidays from some of your favorite characters from newspapers & the TV! These vintage Christmas cards from the ’80s should bring you a little old-school cheer.
Find out about the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, get some behind-the-scenes from the actual jewelry store, and hear from Audrey Hepburn herself in this collection of articles from the 1960s.
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.’
Anyone who remembers Frankenstein and his monster might think the actors’ favorite recipe would have wolfbane and batwings, but no. Here’s Boris Karloff’s guacamole recipe.
Revisit the picture-perfect view of the ’50s with the Cleaver family, and their oh-so-retro daily ups and downs on the classic TV show, ‘Leave it to Beaver.’ You’ll also find out how Alfred Hitchcock was involved with this success story!
Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid,’ based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, is a movie with the richest colors, the brightest melodies, and the most vivid illustrations.
Sleeping Beauty is a must for a Disney fan. Most unforgettable character: The witch Maleficent. Compared to her, Dracula’s daughter was a social worker.
“I Love Lucy,” a domestic comedy TV series, reduces the role of husband to roughly that of the male spider, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, at the end of the season, Miss Ball ate him.
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.
Silent movies were not part of a primitive style of filmmaking, but an alternate form of storytelling – with artistic triumphs equivalent to or greater than those of the sound films that followed.
If you haven’t heard of ‘Rocky’ or Sylvester Stallone, welcome back from Mars – about the only place where you could not see or hear about this movie about a boxer, and the rags-to-riches story of the guy who wrote it.
Mickey Rooney, an actor at the age of 11 months, veteran trooper at 10, and screen star at 16, writes his autobiography.
Teen guests will swing at a party of food, fun and favors that a young hostess can make herself. Greet your invited ghosts and goblins with a Halloween party!
You liked the side action upstairs in the bedroom during the wedding from the book The Godfather? In the movie, you got it. Liked the horse-head bit? You got it. The restaurant caper with the crooked police captain? You got it, you got it.
Just 18 years old, Aretha Franklin moves flawlessly in her vocals — from spiritual, to blues to jazz and to pop; and her ability as a pianist is something more to reckon with. Aretha is the girl to watch!
‘I seem to be the king of the middle of the road,’ bestselling singer Barry Manilow said in 1976. ‘And that’s a very fine place to be these days!’
Want to remember to remember? Our weekly newsletter shows you the latest vintage, old-fashioned & historic stuff that we have published or refreshed during the past seven days. Sign up here.
ClickAmericana.com is made with ★ and ♥ by Synchronista LLC | © 2011-2020
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.
Don’t miss out on the latest and greatest vintage stuff!
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter here.
