Snoozles™ From December 1962
I just scanned a batch of slides date-stamped "December, 1962", and there are some very nice photos in the batch. Mostly! Today I'll share two of the problematic pix.
I give the photographer credit for attempting to take a picture of Sleeping Beauty Castle at night, presumably without a tripod. It's a little bit blurry, but honestly, it's not that bad!
Earlier in the day, the Oom-Pa-Pa band marched through Fantasyland; or is it a band?? Only one of the costumed fellows seems to be holding an instrument (What is it? A French horn? A mini-tuba?). Maybe the other guys yodel. Again, not a bad photo, but it could be better!
13 comments:
Major-
I like the image of the SBC. It would be nice to see more of its "1st floor", but this provides a soothing vibe, as-is.
Thanks, Major.
Hmm, I didn't realize that they lit up the Castle with these multi-hued colors in 1962. I thought it would just be mostly white light to illuminate the different castle areas. I can see The Dent... NOT!!! I can see The Stain... NOT again!!! The photo does look rather beautiful, but, as Nanook noted, it's disconcerting not being able to see the bottom of the Castle; chopping off a bit of the top would have been preferable. Notice that I didn't mention the blur at all! ;-p
Major, that guy is holding a fancy Seussian camera... with a really big flash attachment! And, as you speculated, this isn't a band at all. These are ambassadors from Whoville. We can see one(1) Skyway bucket; a copper-colored one, I think. Is that more of the Skyway cable in the upper right corner of the image?
Not bad for Sunday Snoozles, not bad at all! Thanks, Major.
That is a pretty nighttime image of Sleeping Beauty Castle!
The guy with the horn is a soloist, but the other gentlemen are the tap dancing troupe that used to perform on top of the Matterhorn.
Thanks for the Sunday Snoozles, Major!
The Castle lighting looks very much "Wonderful World of Color" circa 62. Interestingly enough, I suddenly remember looking at that show when I was a wee one in '67 in England, and being very enamored with that castle. Of course, I was looking at a black and white TV, and I think real castles were down the street from us...but I was mesmerized. There was another show "The Magic Roundabout" which I attributed to Disney at the time for it's carousel, and very cute characters....which today I found out was created (and narrated) in the UK by Emma Thompson's dad in '65. And speaking of roundabouts, carousels, and oom pah bands....I've noticed this before, and see it in the photo, where the chains around the carousel are mounted at an angle. And the original version I find much more grand with it's sheilds instead of the more current today's "Victorian-ish" style roof...and a sign that says "Carousel"...but ...I'm sorry...isn't it kind of obvious? I won't get into unbuttoned vests on musicians, as I can see the costume was designed that way, I'm not sure the sturdy guy on the right could button his anyway, and the guy at the back right doesn't even have buttons (?) Is this hierarchy? Switching to shoes: I find it very proper that the shoes from this time...to my time...did not change at all. Oxford. Defined heel. Plain toe. Black socks. And this was for all positions/roles for the boys. The "shoe mobile" came once a month to make it easy to buy "approved shoes"...and you could pay in installments taken directly out of your paycheck automatically. So very thoughtful. I remember those shoes were $40 at the time: $10 a paycheck (we were paid weekly). And the shoe mobile shoes lasted a LONG time. Don't mess with shoes: you would be sent home...not polished: shoe shine kits available on site, or there was a shoe polish station backstage. Just some facts. Happy Sunday and Happy Snoozles! Thanks Major!
As others have noted, that first photo is very reminiscent of the credits sequence of The Wonderful World of Color.
Considering these were shot in December of 1962, there’s a good chance that the annual Holiday Festival was in progress. Disneyland would invite outside cultural groups to come and perform traditional dances in costume. The group in front of the carousel could very likely be from one of these clubs, perhaps heading to or from a demonstration of the traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler, or “shoe-slapping,” dance (not to be confused with the Fish-slapping Dance, fellow Pythonistas).
Bu, thanks for the interesting info on the Shoemobile. Were shoes and socks the only visible costuming items for which cast members were required to foot the bill? (Pun intended - it’s me, after all - but a serious question.)
Thanks, Major and a Happy Boxing Day in July to all!
It's a Euphonium or maybe a Marching Baritone. They blow at the low end of the register. My son plays them or repairs them at his brass instrument repair shop.
Trivia of the day: Euphonium was once an answer on Jeopardy.
That's a pretty picture of the castle but weird in a way.
Thanks, Major!
Zach
I like this picture of the Castle, it’s like walking around with my glasses off, which is something I do a lot now. Everything is a little fuzzy and blurry, but still familiar. It’s nice how this lighting is fairly crude, instead of the magical LED sparkles we have now. Of course the designers want to use all the best new tech, but sometimes the old ways were just fine (looking at POTC).
I never knew there was an oom-pa-pa band at the Park. There seems to have been a resurgence in that music about this time. I have several albums with German and Swiss music from the early 60’s, and of course, Lawrence Welk too. I’d stop to listen to these guys. Nice how the little popcorn lights show, even in daytime. Great pic, imho, I don’t mind the blur at all.
Thank you Major!
JG
Chuck: yes: shoes and socks...underpants...I think you had to buy your own hairnets if you were in kitchen duties....everything else was supplied as far as I know. Belts, Boots (if it was part of the costume)...basically: Oxfords and black socks. I think custodial guys wore white socks underneath their black socks...would have to check. Also: for that custodial guy who jumped into the Rivers of America: hope he was wearing shorts under those whites...they are completely transparent when wet. In custodial: you kind of got wet a lot from hoses and things backstage...dumpster rinsing....which made big puddles of grey dumpster water. You could pretty much tell who decided to go commando, and there was always razzing from the other guys. In orientation they specifically said "guys: you gotta wear shorts". And that is a direct quote I remember very specifically...only because it was kind of old fashioned to call them "shorts". In England it's "pants"...trousers are trousers not pants. And he didn't say "wear underwear"....and in a mixed group of people...including management: we were all lumped together in that first day no matter who you were....I thought it was curious that they were talking about underwear....and that was the beginning of many other curious things...another curious thing that day: for orientation you were only paid minimum wage: not your "working salary"....that may have been because you weren't doing "union work"...which: I was in the culinary union. ...... the things you remember....
Nanook, somehow I don’t mind looking up at the spires of the Castle, but that’s just me.
JB, I think even at the beginning of “The Wonderful World of Color”, you see the Castle at night, lit up with colored lights. Not sure if they did that since 1955, or if that took a few years. I guess I’m not very knowledgeable about cameras, maybe that one in photo #2 is from Russia? Bulky but it takes good pictures. I guess that must be the Skyway cable, but I had to zoom in to see it!
TokyoMagic!, they should definitely bring back the Matterhorn tap dancers!
Bu, I forget when the Disneyland TV show moved to NBC, but I’d wager that it was by 1962 so this definitely makes me think of the opening of that show. It’s funny, what you said about watching a black and white TV - I feel like my family was late to convert to a color TV, and it was so crazy to go to a friend’s house and see shows in FULL COLOR. It was like magic. Also, remember some shows would brag that they were in color? “Batman - IN COLOR!”. I’m not familiar with “The Magic Roundabout”, I prefer in-depth political shows, and have since I was three. Ha, it does seem dumb that they need a sign to tell people what that ride is. “Maybe it’s a roller coaster, ma?”. I’ll bet anything that Oxfords were the “approved shoe” for all applications in Disneyland. Just pick one style, it makes things easy. A “shoe mobile”, really? Wow, $40 back then was a lot, that must have been painful. Could you go buy your own Oxfords someplace else? Maybe they weren’t any cheaper.
Chuck, good point about it being the Holidays. And I’ve shared photos of various Christmas parades, which almost always featured people “from around the world” in the costumes of their native lands. I never dreamed of a day when we’d talk about Schuhplattler, but here we are. On my family blog!
zach, ah, I’ve heard of a Euphonium! Do I get points, or imperial credits, or something? I’m almost certain there’s a cartoon with a character called Professor Euphonium, but I’m too lazy to look it up.
JG, I can’t imagine walking around Disneyland without my glasses these days. I’d miss so much! I used to do contact lenses, until I just got tired of how they irritated my eyes, no matter how diligent I was about cleaning them. LED sparkles are pretty, but sometimes simple effects are the best. I was unaware of an oom-pa-pa fad in the 60s, but hey, things were crazy then. Maybe it was Lawrence Welk’s influence, that guy was beloved.
Major-
The Wonderful World of Color first aired on NBC starting in September, 1961.
Our family didn't get a color television set until 1970 - pretty late. I think the first color set I saw in someone's home was in 1960 and was either the very first RCA color set, with a 15" screen (the CT-100 / CTC-2) from 1954, or perhaps the next Model, CTC-2B or CTC-4, from 1955 or 1956. By late 1954, 19" size screens were introduced; and by 1955 all sets were made with a 21" picture tube.
Both CBS and ABC were 'also rans' when it came to broadcasting color - CBS, 'cause William Paley was pissed at the FCC for first approving and then essentially reneging their bat crazy idea of Field Sequential [non-compatible] color television system. (It wasn't the 1920's, after all-!)
In 1954, the FCC wisely adopted RCA's [compatible] system, commonly referred to as the NTSC system (National Television System Committee). The pros and cons of the NTSC system can be debated elsewhere, but is now a moot point with HD and digital technologies.
And for many, many years, ABC was always the bastard stepchild of the Big Three Networks, and I can't imagine them having a ton of money stashed-away in their cookie jar for such niceties. Besides, the all-mighty 'sponsor' needed to fork over the dough so the shows could originate in color, etc. It wasn't just the networks, their O and O's, and their affiliates who needed to invest in the infrastructure to enable the final link in the color television chain, prior to the signals reaching the television-viewing homes across America.
As far as being able to SEE color shows, it was NBC who was pushing shows, naturally, as it was owned by RCA. The reason you remember [usually] prime time shows adding IN COLOR! to many opening credits was surrounding the big push [FINALLY] for full, prime time color schedules, in the Fall of 1965. This meant not only NBC would have a full color prime time lineup (not to mention many shows sporadically appearing throughout their daytime lineup). The original version of The Price is Right, starring Bill Cullen, aired in color on NBC beginning in 1957, for example. But, BOTH ABC and CBS would finally have a Full Color primetime lineup. Obviously, color television manufacturers were pushing color sets, at all price levels, screen sizes, remote controls, etc., to help usher-in this 'grand moment' in television history.
Thanks, Bu. Those details are fascinating. I appreciate you giving us the long and the shorts of it.
"Trivia of the day: Euphonium was once an answer on Jeopardy."
Zach, now you've got me wondering what was the question. Maybe someone, here, will have a good guess. :op
I've been digging back in my memory bank and thinking about our TV sets. As a little kid, I recall watching TV on a small B/W set (I don't remember a big TV??), until we moved to our new house when I was 8....then we got a new, bigger [color] TV. I believe it was a Panasonic--and NOT one of those big cabinet TV's. It was definitely modern for its time (1968).
Chuck, you're definitely on a roll, today!
I'm chuckling, thinking about those Matterhorn tappers, performing on the top of the Matterhorn. :o)
Fun day of comments, today.
And very pretty picture of the castle. Thanks, Major.
The best I can remember it was a photo clue.
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