I think today's selection of STUFF FROM THE BOX is pretty nice! Hopefully you will agree.
First up is this fun "encased cent" from the Stork Club in New York City - as you can see, this one also commemorates the 1939 New York World's Fair. Back in the old days, encased cents were common souvenirs and were used as "good luck" giveaways by hundreds of businesses and tourist destinations. There's a nice 1939 Lincoln "wheat back" penny in this one! The Stork Club was one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, and aristocrats all mixed in the VIP 'Cub' Room. It debuted in 1929 (a year where nothing else happened).
Next is this very nice pin in the shape of the Atomium, which was originally built for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. This unique structure, which you can still visit today, stands 102 metres (335 ft) tall, making it one of the tallest structures in Belgium. Its nine 18-metre-diameter (59 ft) stainless steel clad spheres are connected in the shape of a unit cell that could represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Cool!
As usual, you'll see more examples of my fondness for various kinds of employee pins, including this tiny (about .75" tall) pin that was once worn by an employee of Greyhound bus lines. Leave the driving to them!
This next item is extra-cool, a rare employee pin from Hal Roach Studios! Hal Roach was a film producer, director, and screen-writer, notable for such things as the "Our Gang" comedies, Laurel and Hardy films, early Harold Lloyd films, and so on. After owning a number of studio spaces, he eventually built one at 8822 Washington Boulevard in Culver City, which became known as "The Laugh Factory". Many years ago, somebody on eBay auctioned off a series of beautiful employee badges, mostly from Universal Studios. Those all went for big money, but I was the only person who bid on this Hal Roach employee badge. I'm happy to have it!
Here's a 1959 photo of Hal Roach Studios.
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Another one of my "mini-collections" involves die-cut tin-litho badges, you'll find them for everything from political campaigns and TV shows to cereal and automobiles - you name it. This one is from an organization dedicated to helping "crippled children" ("Easter Seals", is one example), though I'm not sure which specific charity gave this one out.
This last one is another teensy employee pin, presumably given out for 30 years of service at General Motors. Even teensier logos for Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac are above those pink "rubies".
I hope you have enjoyed today's STUFF FROM THE BOX!
At least a couple of animated cartoons had characters in a Stock Club full of storks sipping drinks. One was "Symphony in Slang", Tex Avery's short about Noah Webster visualizing a hep cat's language literally; the other was a Bugs Bunny where the rabbit and a pursuer simply run through. There was a Betty Hutton movie of that title, but I never got around to it.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDeleteLove the encased penny. It looks similar in style to one I owned years ago - but not of the Stork Club. Biff's would probably be more up my alley.
What happened to that poor Greyhound bus - it looks as though it's melting-! (Probably not a fun journey).
Based on the styles of the logos, I'm gonna guess that General Motors pin can't be any older than 1960, and perhaps no older than 1964.
Thanks, Major.
I wonder why an encased penny was considered good luck? Probably just because the makers of such things, said so.
ReplyDeleteIs the Atomium made of neutronium? Or maybe condominium? How about pandemonium? I've always liked the shape, and concept, behind this structure. I didn't realize it was 335 ft. tall! That would dwarf Disneyland's Matterhorn!
Hmm, the bus in the Greyhound pin looks like it's melting! Maybe this pin was created by Salvador Dali.
I knew that Hal Roach made the Our Gang comedies, but I didn't know about the others. Makes sense though.
I tried to find the Little Rascals "He-Man Woman-Haters Clubhouse" in that aerial photo. But it's so jam-packed with stuff! It probably wasn't there anymore in 1959 anyway.
I guess my favorite today is the GM pin with the pink 'rubies'. Mainly because the craftsmanship of the pin looks especially nice. As small as those logos are, they're still sharply detailed... and the rubies look nice.
Nanook, haha! We both focused on that melting bus.
Thanks for the Stuff, Major. (I suppose we have to give it back though, right?)
I like all of these, but I especially like the two World's Fair items!
ReplyDeleteJB, maybe the "luck" associated with the encased pennies comes from Dinah Manoff's famous line, "Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck!" Or was it Dinah Shore who said that? No, wait...she said something about having luck in your Chevrolet. ;-)
Thanks, Major!
Fort Roach! Hal Roach Studios was leased by the USAAF during WW II to house the 1st Motion Picture Unit, which produced training and informational films. Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable, William Wyler, Ted Geisel (“Dr. Seuss”), Alan Ladd, Jack Warner, Rudolph Ising, Deforest Kelley, and Frank Thomas were all assigned there at various times.
ReplyDeleteThese are all pretty neat, but for some reason the tin litho with the boy carrying his no-longer-needed crutch as he reaches for the stars is my favorite today. I think it’s the unbridled hope in that image that brings me so much joy this morning. It’s literally changed my outlook for today.
Thanks, Major (even more than usual)!
I had an encased Penny like that once, haven’t seen it for years and no idea what it was advertising. Unlikely to have been from the Stork Club tho.
ReplyDeleteFor some odd reason, I like the Grayhound pin. The colors and classic design are appealing, but the Roach badge has to be the winner. Thanks for the photo of the studio plant too. What an enormous operation, I had no idea.
Thanks Major!
JG
DBenson, “Symphony in Slang” is one of the most famous Tex Avery cartoons (and that’s saying something)! I sure miss the days when I could watch Warner Bros (and MGM) cartoons easily, all day long!
ReplyDeleteNanook, is “Biff’s” a real place? That Greyhound bus enamel graphic is tiny, maybe 1/4”… I guess the enamel got a bit runny. I thought that the General Motors pin was from the 1970s or later, but would be pleased if it’s from 1964.
JB, they don’t talk about the witchcraft aspect of those encased pennies, but that’s where the magic comes from. Later on, they made encased “irradiated dimes” for the 1964 NYWF. I think dimes were still silver in ’64? Maybe not. Hal Roach sold the “Our Gang” comedies to MGM at some point (late 1930s? Maybe the 1940s?), when they became “The Little Rascals”. I liked those, but the ones made during the Great Depression were the best in my opinion. In the MGM era, they often “put on a show”, like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney did. I think the He-man Woman-hater’s Club came from the MGM era. You can’t go wrong with a pin with real rubies!
TokyoMagic!, I wish there were more fun Atomium items, there are other examples, but I’m not willing to pay very much! Who is Dinah Manoff? Did she know William Holden?
Chuck, when I read about Hal Roach Studios, I was sort of amused when Hal ceded control to his son, who seemed to have no aptitude for running a studio, and who eventually ran it into the ground. Poor Hal! I like your reasons for liking the tin litho badge, very persuasive!
JG, I’ve had encased pennies from grocery stores, realtors, car dealerships, you name it. At one point I sold them all off except for two or three - the Stork Club example is the most interesting to me, with its World’s Fair tie-in. I’ll bet Hal Roach in his early days never imagined that he’d run a studio of that size, he was quite a guy.
The Roach badge is definitely today's winner, besides some pink rubies...or whatever they were. These gem encrusted GM pins WERE a thing, and when I was loaned out by Disney to GM for a couple of years, all of the execs wore similar things...meetings consisted of brown booze and large pieces of meat at the Disneyland Hotel...lots of booze. Those guys liked to drink. In any case: Hal Roach: who I studied in film class in High School. Yes, when you go to school in LA Unified: there are many film classes to partake in: and Hal Roach was one of them. A teacher in the same school was a B-Player "Little Rascal" however I forget what his Rascal name was. He had photos in his classroom that he would show students when they asked. And also smoked in his classroom so there was always a bit of a fog. He was a math teacher, and math even though intellectually is "my bag"...it's so not my bag. I think I passed Algebra with a C-, and also took up smoking. Just kidding. (I was smoking long before that). So Hal Roach: the "Music Box": brilliant physical comedy. Watch it if you haven't. The stairs in the movie are still there (you need to see the movie to understand that), and have been noted by historical signs and whatnot. Hal lived to be 100 and died in '92. Interesting story: the couple that revitalized "The Derby" also bought Hal Roaches house. That "Derby" location was built by Cecil B Demille who lived a few steps away in Laughlin Park (amazing property btw)...and was home of "The Derby" club: featured in the movie "Swingers" which I love as it completely encapsulates my time and experience in Hollywood at that time. The Derby was a "kind of" hangout....I would eat at the attached restaurant frequently...(forget the name)....and if I was bar hopping we would go down to the Dresden Room and listen to Marty and Elayne....yes...they were real, and also featured in Swingers, they are "lounge singing" "Staying Alive"....it's worth a watch and wonderfully cringy. After the movie came out, all those things became way too hip for the likes of me, and I moved on to the Frolic Room on Hollywood Blvd...also very historic itself. Welllll...all of that was a great detour. Don't go looking for the Hal Roach Studios in Culver City: was demolished in the 60's. There is a lot of Hollywood left in Hollywood however: even where they filmed a certain sitcom in the 50's. Ironically the lot is now called RED. Also ironically the stage where Golden Girls (mentioned a few days ago) was filmed, and ironically as well: where I had an audition and finally got my SAG card.
ReplyDeleteMajor-
ReplyDelete"... is “Biff’s” a real place?"
Naturally. Do you think I'm clever-enough to create that name-? (I thank you)... W. W. "Tiny" Naylor started the Biff's coffee shop chain (named for his son) in 1948. At one time there were at least 12 Los Angeles-area locations. I dined at several of them, all very-much in the Googie style. LOOK HERE. AND HERE - this is their Cahuenga Blvd & Yucca Street location - image from 1950. HERE'S A MENU, although I don't know the year.
NOW... if instead I said Egbert's, I could understand your being somewhat in doubt. But it too, was a real coffee shop, located on the south side of Pico Blvd., at Mansfield Ave, just west of La Brea Ave.,AS YOU CAN SEE. It's hard to tell from this image, but it had shades of Googie architecture, as it was built in the late 1950's. (I suspect this sign was updated some time later). Just beyond the widows was the short-side of the counter, where I dined at that spot more than once.
HERE'S the correct final link.
DeleteBu, I doubt that the “rubies” are genuine, although I still remember showing an old employee badge to my mom, it had a tiny clear stone of some kind. “That’s a real diamond”, she said immediately. How did she know? I still have it! Ha, it sounds like you enjoyed some real corporate shenanigans. Brown liquor, not my thing, but I know I’m weird. Cool that you studied Hal Roach! The “Our Gang” and “Little Rascals” films were a big part of my childhood, I truly loved them. It’s so funny to think that kids would want to watch ancient content like that. No explosions, or robots, or aliens! Just regular kids going to school, etc. Smoking in the classroom, wow. Even in the days of “peak smoking”, I never had a teacher light up during class. We have a photo on this blog of Lou Perry at the famous stairs from The Music Box, it’s one of those film clips that we used to see without context, all the time. I once went with some friends to The Derby, they wanted to learn swing dancing (after “Swingers” of course). One of the guys in our group was really good, the girls loved him. I am not a dancer, so it seemed like a very long night to me. We were all amused by the people in their “old time” outfits, they looked like kids wearing their dad’s clothing. I did see Marty and Elayne once, I’m glad I had that experience. The Dresden Room was NOT crowded. Marty really really wanted us to buy their CD. Now I wish I’d done it. I thought Golden Girls was filmed in Florida? Didn’t they talk about it on the Disney/MGM Studio tour? Not that I ever saw it, but I’m sure I read about it.
ReplyDeleteNanook, AH, now I actually do remember Biff’s, and I might even have a souvenir menu from there! I’ll have to look in one particular box. 12 locations, wow. Significant for SoCal. “Egbert’s”, wow, now that’s a name. Thank goodness my mother named me “Major”, something normal.
Nanook, my menu isn't from Biff's. It's from "Frank's". I am so ashamed.
ReplyDelete"Who is Dinah Manoff? Did she know William Holden?"
ReplyDeleteMajor, Dinah Manoff said that line about the penny in "Grease." She was also in "The Golden Girls" spinoff, "Empty Nest." She is the real life daughter of Lee Grant, who is now 100 years old, and who's greatest role was in "Airport '77", which is possibly the greatest film ever made. Lee Grant was also in "Damien Omen II" with William Holden. So Dinah might have met William Holden, but we may never know for sure.
Major, "The Golden Girls" filmed at the Sunset Gower Studios (just north of Paramount Studios) for the first two seasons. After that, they filmed at Ren-Mar Studios, which is also the studio that was used to represent the Maroon Cartoons Studio, in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." The original Golden Girls house exterior is locate in Brentwood. When the Disney/MGM Studios opened, they built a copy of both "The Golden Girls" house, and the "Empty Nest" house next door (where Dinah Manoff's character lived with her dad (Richard Mulligan) and her sister (Kristy McNichol). While there was a copy of the Golden Girls house in Florida, the show continued to be filmed in Hollywood, at the Ren-Mar Studios. But for the Disney/MGM Studio opening TV special, they did have the cast of the Golden Girls go to Florida, so that they could briefly lean out the front door of the fake facade, and wave to us, the viewers.
JB, the Atomium was made of an alloy of adamantium and unobtanium.
ReplyDelete^ "unobtanium". Wow, all the way from pandora?!?!
ReplyDeleteHa! That greyhound is sooo sleek-looking, while that bus is sooo lumpy-looking…and has a skull-like face, too. I wouldn’t ride in that thing.
ReplyDeleteLove the GM pin. Major, I bet those pink rubies are real…especially if it’s from the 60s.
Major, thanks for sharing more fun pins.