Birthday Bonanza
Let's all wish GDB friend Bu a very Happy Birthday! Sue B. has gone above and beyond the call of duty and provided an entire post's worth of fun. Starting with this rare photo print, featuring an amazing look at Burt Reynolds on his birthday. I'm guessing that he'd just finished filming "Smokey and the Bandit II" - Sally Field was invited but she is running late as usual. Burt is balancing his cake on his knees, and he is surrounded by his movie star friends, I'm sure you recognize all of them. Man, life in Hollywood sure is glamorous.
The rest of today's photos were taken by Lou Perry, THE MAN WITH THE CAMERA. He got some fun photos of a parade from May of 1984, perhaps Bu saw this very parade with his own eyebones. As you can see, El Monte's Viking Band is about to grace Main Street with music and movement. (What the heck is that backstage building that looks like a garden shed purchased at Lowe's??).
I'm always curious about the local college and high school bands who got to march at Disneyland. Did they fill in for the Disneyland Band? How were they chosen? How often did such a thing occur?
The El Monte Viking Band wears bearskin-type hats, only these were made from the skins of polar bears (which are native to El Monte). The Drum Major used that baton to stun some of the bears. Perhaps the band was playing the eponymous song from "Footloose"? Gotta gotta get loose! It's nice to see the old Bekins/Global Van Lines building before it was TRE'd.
Somehow a marching band parade is always welcome at Disneyland. Now the band is playing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (it's a medley, you see).
Hooray, it's the Viking cheerleaders! No hats with horns for them though. "Our cheerleaders will look like saucy waitresses, with aprons and everything!". I guess May was still sort of the off-season, because Town Square looks wonderfully uncrowded.
I guess these ladies are majorettes? I'm a bit weak on my marching band terminology. It's embarrassing. I can tell from their movements that they are dancing to "99 Luftballoons".
Yes, definitely Luftballoons! This is kind of a neat and unusual angle looking from Town Square toward Main Street proper. Notice the lamppost signs for Donald Duck's 50th Birthday.
"Uptown girl, she's been living in her uptown world...". Makes ya think (as all Billy Joel songs do). All of those young people were playing and dancing their hearts out, for all those lucky Disneyland guests!
MANY THANKS to Sue for sharing more of her Dad's wonderful photos with us!
18 comments:
Major-
Yes, Sue has done it again-! That's not a very 'manly'-looking cake, is it-? (Perhaps "Burt" is holding the cake for the blonde lass with the extreme bangs).
Note to self... buy a [very tall] fuzzy white hat with horns before Xmas.
I think the gals in the 6th image are using the specialized hand language to 'recite': To all who come to this happy place: WELCOME.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Bu-! And thanks to Lou and Sue.
Happy Mickey Birthday, Bu! Don't get cocky, kid. After all, you've rubbed elbows with the 'Greats' of show biz, like Sandy Duncan! Now get out there and sell that popcorn. AND DON'T SLOUCH! (And keep those hands out of your pockets!)
Ha! I do indeed recognize some of the "stars" in the first photo: Above Burt, the two gentlemen are (left) Arthur C. Clarke and (right) Isaac Asimov. In the same row as Burt, on the left is Alice from The Brady Bunch. Below her is Nellie Oleson from Little House On The Prairie. And to the right of her is, of course, Donny Osmond. A star-studded party!
I can't read the writing on the cake but , evidently, Burt just turned six!
Oh boy! A whole set of LouPics! I guess this is also Donald Duck's birthday judging from the plaque on the lamppost.
Major, avert your eyes from the garden shed; we're not supposed to see it!
I have to admit, those uniforms look pretty snazzy. I bet they're very expensive too. The kids probably had to sell 532 billion boxes of candy to purchase them!
Behind the cheerleaders, wifey is smacking her husband in the arm, "Stop looking at those waitresses like that!". Hubby is prominently displaying his ample pink-clad belly to impress the gals.
In the "99 Luftballoons" photo, I'm pretty sure the young lasses are making tortillas.
In the last photo, it looks like would be kinda painful; kneeling on the rough pavement (and the streetcar tracks) like that. Even though it IS the happiest, most magical pavement in the world!
Many thanks to Sue and her dad, Lou! And to Major for an enjoyable commentary.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BU!!!
Bu - like myself has Viking heritage so it’s appropriate on BU’s birthday he gets a ACTUAL Viking band!!! Thank you sue!!
Burt Reynolds birthday might be in a trailer home … the ceiling seems extremely LOW! That would drive me nuts!! Besides impending my “bell kicks”!!
Outside of the Main Street lockers you can see the restored 1903 Autocar parked out front. It actually is 1/2 the inspiration for the original 1956 Horseless Carriage ….. I don’t know if Disneyland owned it or if National Car Rental did - they sponsored the lockers and Main Street Vehicles at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World …. The car even appeared on the main St. vehicles poster displayed back then.
Man Disneyland looks extra busy … maybe as many as 200 guests on Main Street !! They should have tried a reservation system to help disperse the 1984 outta control crowds!!
Is that a young brunette Pat Sajak, in the Burt Reynolds birthday party pic? Sally had no excuse for being late to the party, she could have flown above all the traffic. I know, I know, how many critically acclaimed films has she starred in? How many Academy Awards does she have? Still, she will always be The Flying Nun to me. That, and the Boniva® lady. Oh, and she was also in that Dolly Parton film, "Steel Magnolia's" (Drink your juice, Shelby!)
As for that backstage shed, and I know Bu will confirm this....that was used as a waiting room, for all of the high school and college bands that would perform at the park. Everyone had to wait inside that shed, until the parade was announced, and then they would all come pouring out of that one door. It was funnier than a dozen clowns spilling out of a tiny car at the circus, I tells ya.
I'm not an expert, but those girls with the white gloves might be the school's drill team. I'm wondering if the girl with the rifle, at the front of the parade, could be school's majorette? Maybe she twirled the rifle instead of a baton? And can schools today, still have cheerleaders, drill team members, or whoever, carrying fake rifles? Maybe by now, they have replaced them with light sabers or bubble blowers.
I love the 80s song references, Major! A VERY gnarly birthday to our pal, Bu! And thank you for the 80s pics, Lou and Sue!
Happy Birthday to Bu!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday from Lou and Sue!
Happy Birthday to Bu!
Bu, right after your birthday parade is over, let’s all meet at Blue Bayou to celebrate!
Sue
Happy Birthday, Bu! Many Happy Returns of the Day!
(I’m not really sure what that means, but Winnie the Pooh always says it, and that’s endorsement enough)
Thank you Lou and Sue for the photos, and Major for the excellent commentary.
Burt can’t wait to run out and start up his trans-Am. Worst. Movie. Ever.
Major if the young ladies are not majorettes, then perhaps either minorettes, or lieutenantettes (which is a naval rank, I believe).
Tokyo, describing that hut sounds like something from “Bridge Over the River Kwai”, maybe the band is playing the “Colonel Bogey March”, which would then make the girls Colonelettes.
JG
Happy Birthday Bu. Looks like we have rolled out a special party on Main Street to announce it! KS
Nanook, I assume that the cake was made by a woman (men don’t bake cakes!!!) which might explain the “girly” decoration. You can only have horns on your fuzzy white hat if you are the Grand Poobah. And I can see that you are experienced in the art of interpretive dance, picking up on the opening-day speech by Walt!
JB, if only we had photos from Sandy Duncan’s birthday. But I may as well wish for a billion dollars, right? Some things will never happen. I didn’t know that Burt Reynolds was friends with two of the most influential sci-fi writers of all time, but it makes me think more highly of him. As for the other celebrities, I only know the cast of “Hee-Haw”, so I’m not good at identifying the others. Cheerleaders are there to be looked at, no smacking necessary. However, I know a couple who went to Las Vegas, and one of the things they did was go to one of those shows with scantily-clad showgirls. The wife was furious at her husband for “looking”! I guess he was supposed to close his eyes?
Mike Cozart, thanks for pointing out that 1903 Autocar, which I somehow didn’t even notice. In a way it was a replacement for the Bekins moving van, though not as “bespoke”. As for the low ceiling, is it possible that the first photo was taken in a basement? The idea seems a little odd, but the wood paneling checks out. I think that the 1980s predated the concept for OC locals that Disneyland was a place to go to ALL THE TIME. That really seemed to start kicking in when the 90s came along.
TokyoMagic!, of course, Pat Sajak, how could I have missed him? Did you know that he used to live near my grandmother in Encino? Up on a street that was pretty steep, I would sometimes ride my bicycle up the hill. A lot of famous people lived in Encino at the time, including (when I was a kid) Diane Disney. Or so I was told, anyway, I never saw her, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have known what she looked like at the time. I believe you about the little waiting room for high school bands and will include that fact in my new book! “Drill Team”, oh yeah. I always forget about Drill Teams. I remember our school had very fake looking rifles, basically white vaguely gun-shaped things that the girls could spin and twirl. But you’re right, that probably isn’t don’e anymore.
Sue, I hope Bu knows that you are behind ALL of the birthday celebration stuff today!
JG, yes, what DOES “Many happy returns of the day” mean? Who is returning things, and what are they returning? Are you telling me that “Smokey and the Bandit” is worse than “Cannonball Run II”? Come on JG, don’t be silly! By comparison, “Smokey and the Bandit” should have won six Academy Awards. Maybe seven. So that song from “Bridge On the River Kwai” is called the “Colonel Bogey March”?? Now I know! I saw a bogey the other day but it was no colonel.
KS, I hope the special party includes clowns, I’m sure Bu wants LOTS of clowns, the more the better.
Happy Birthday, Bu!
Love the tradition of college and high school bands at Disneyland.
Thanks, Lou & Sue and Major too.
Major, I've never seen Cannonball Run I or II, so I can't offer an opinion. A man has to have "some" standards.
We watched the Smokey and the Bandit once because it was supposed to be such an iconic film. I'll never get those hours back. In fact, I feel that way about most "iconic" 70's and 80's films I've watched. I have never seen Titanic, and don't plan to do so. I'm just a grump.
JG
Happy birthday, Bu.
I noticed that Donald Duck medallion on the light post immediately. Now I'll have that Donald's Birthday Parade song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. It's been stuck in recesses of my brain since I was 8.
Loupix may be a close cousin of Bupix...a more robust selection of course. Thanks to all for the birthday wishes! I'm not really that "Birthday Guy"...I know that is probably a shocker. Yes...Sandy Duncan and Bu...that's who you are stuck with. The Viking Blood runs deep, and most of the time I am skulking about like a berserker. Bersekr which means bearskin in Norsk...makes sense. "A member of the unruly warrior gangs that worshipped Odin, and attached themselves to royal courts as bodyguards and shock troops"...well that all makes sense as well. I fancy myself as a shock trooper, but I just think that's French for "Grumpy Old Man." The Viking band from El Monte? I would "get" Vikings from Minnesota...but from El Monte? sounds more like a can of tomatoes: El Monte Stewed Tomatoes. Smoky and the Bandit: I actually really liked that movie when it came out. In the biz of show we called those sort of movies "popcorn movies". Eat some popcorn, watch some silliness. All good. When you want an art film, you go to an art house. I still enjoy both popcorn movies, and the latter. Popcorn movies are like vaccinations: in and out, and don't hurt too much. And as you know, popcorn is my favorite food, so all makes sense. The odd thing about these 1984 photos is that I indeed was there...I have no recollection of that car in front of Lost and Found...and I HAD to have passed it several times a day. I also have no recollection of Donalds birthday. I do have recollection of spartan crowds, which led to more funny business...actually not so funny...as 1984 traveled along it's path. With Donald, I know that there was a "something" because I ran into "Ducky" Nash at the Market House, where he went into "Donald Mode" and suddenly was mobbed like he was Sting or something....I was of course myself, and just a little miffed that my pickle I wanted to eat on my break wasn't happening fast enough. I will say though, in rolling back the tape in my mind, the REAL Donald Duck voice was something that would stop you in your tracks as it was so familiar and had certain intonations that other mortals playing Donald would not have. Ducky was a bit of an odd bird, sorry for the pun, and many of us while working the comp booth would see (and hear him)...and he would ask for his tickets in Donalds voice. Thanks again to everyone for all of the birthday wishes. Thanks to Lou and Sue for all of the photos...of us VIKINGS! Thanks to Major too!
JG, I’d watch “Titanic” four times before watching “Cannonball Run II” once! And I don’t even particularly like “Titanic”. I haven’t seen “Smokey and the Bandit” since I was a kid, so it’s hard for me to weigh in on that one.
Dean Finder, ha ha, we’ve planted an earworm. YOU’RE WELCOME!
Bu, I’m not much of a birthday guy either, but it’s still nice to get some birthday well-wishes. Or even wishes for happy returns of the day! I would be OK being stuck with Sandy Duncan, star of “Million Dollar Duck”, which should have won ALL the Oscars. Including a special Oscar for “Best Performance By a Duck”. I’m less of a berserker and more of a “lookatmyiPad-er”. Hey, “Vikings” is at least a name that is not icky. Or is it? Not sure. The main thing I remember about “Smokey and the Bandit” was how cute Sally Field was - I mean, she was cute as Gidget, but by SatB she was all grown up. I’d never appreciated her before! Who doesn’t like a good Popcorn Movie? I watched “My Cousin Vinnie” a few weeks ago and enjoyed it lots. Marissa Tomei, A+. Cool that you ran into Ducky Nash, I never saw or met him. I did meet Tony Ansalmo, Ducky’s successor, he was very nice. I’m glad Clarence Nash was loved by fans, it must feel good after a long career to know that people appreciate you. Supposedly the “Donald Voice” was originally a goat (pre-Disney), or so the story goes. Happy Birthday, Bu!
Yes… that 1903 Autocar was one of America’s FIRST most popular and “affordable” automobiles . It was only available in a Brunswick green or a red color. In a two seater or a 4 seater toneau ( the version. Bob Gurr used as inspiration from the 1956 Horseless Carriage. That Autocar in Main Street appears in a pictorial guidebook and on a postcard ( but it’s miss-identified as a “model T” lol. If you are a car rental company it’s appropriate to have a livery auto infront of your sponsorship building as opposed to a moving wagon or van.
The Donald Duck 1984 Birthday Parade was the 2nd time since the 1976 AMERICA ON PARADE that an identical parade /promotion was held at both DL & WDW. After the promotion the DD Main Street lampost were sold at the Disneyanna Shops at both parks for 75.00 each . This was the start of both shops selling used park artifacts at random times …. Sometimes stuff just showed up and sold quickly. In 1984 on trip to DL or WDW you couldn’t walk 10 feet without hearing guests singing parts of the DD 50th parade song!!
Happy birthday Bu! GDB has been made all the richer by your comments, to say the least!
JG, I've never seen "Bridge Over The River Kwai," but I'm familiar with the song. I believe all of the campers whistle it in The Parent Trap, when Miss Inch and Miss Jane Hathaway are marching Susan and Sharon out to their remote cabin as a punishment
I was going to mention the Donald birthday song earlier. It always pops into my head whenever I see those signs on the lampposts.
"Happy Birthday, it's Buuuuu's birthday, happy, happy birthday to you...hey Buuuuuu!"
I also meant to mention that my mom taught school for 25 years, for the Mountain View School District, in El Monte. Although I don't think Mountain View High School is actually in that same district, because it's a high school. My mom taught elementary school and I'm pretty sure they were separate districts. By the way, a rival high school to the one pictured, is El Monte High School. Their mascot is a lion, and they have a statue of a lion out in front of their school, which originally sat at the entrance to Gay's Lion Farm, in El Monte. Just an "FYI."
Major, I bet your grandmother also lived near Lauri Hendler! She and Pat Sajak were on Super Password (from the 1980s) the other day, and she mentioned that she had just bought a new house, and that she was now Pat Sajak's next door neighbor. And don't ask me who Lauri Hendler is. If you do ask me, I am going to scream, "GIMME A BREAK!"
Yaayyy!!!! Loupix on National Bu-serker Day!
The cheerleader costumes look like Alice's outfit. No complaint from me.
You can tell by their hand signals that the drill team girls are dancing to the German-language version of "99 Luftbaloons." There are no umlauts in the English version of the song.
I remember some of the nicknames they had for the band flag girls when I was in high school - "Thrill Team," "Seduction Squad," and "_____ Corps" (not going to say it, but it rhymed). Not a fair description of that group of girls. People can be mean.
I have actually marched to the "Colonel Bogey March." But it wasn't at a POW camp; it just felt like one. Honestly, unexpectedly hearing the band play it as we marched to lunch was a huge morale booster, right up there with the time they played the march from "Patton." I understand how the WW II air cadets standing in formation felt when hearing Captain Glenn Miller's band unexpectedly strike up the "St. Louis Blues March" for the first time.
Thanks again, Lou & Sue (& Major too), and many happy returns to Bu! (Just make sure you keep the receipt.)
Mike Cozart, hmmm, I doubt I have any souvenir guidebooks from the 1980s, but even if I did, I probably would not have been observant enough to notice the Autocar. So for me this is a new detail! I love new details. I do remember seeing those Donald Duck birthday lamp post signs for sale in various places, but I think I saw them being REsold, so they were much more than $75.
Andrew, hey, there you are! How’s school going?
TokyoMagic!, you must now watch ALL David Lean movies, in order. In one day. Please report back to me when you are done. Did the “Colonel Bogey March” exist before “The Bridge On the River Kwai”? I don’t remember the Happy Birthday Donald song, I wonder if it would ring any bells if I heard it now? Interesting about El Monte High School and its ties to Gay’s Lion Farm, an early SoCal attraction. Lauri Hendler, I don’t even know the name. I think Whoopie Goldberg lived a short distance away, and some guy from REO Speedwagon. My grandma said that when they moved to Encino, they would go to city council meetings and people like Clark Gable, John Wayne, and Spencer Tracy were there. Can you imagine?
Chuck, I like the German version of “99 Luftballoons”, especially when Nena says “Captain Kirk” in English. “Hey, I could understand her!”. Whoa, I can’t believe that kids called the flag girls “Cutie Corps”! I’m sure that’s what you meant. It’s just disrespectful to judge those young ladies on their appearances. I thought for SURE that you were going to say that you’d marched your Scouts to the Colonel Bogey March theme. If not, something to do in the future??
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