Wednesday, January 01, 2020

Happy New 2020!

Happy New Year! 2020, it feel weird to even say it. I wasn't sure what to post today, other than the usual stuff, but I remembered that I had a few slides from the Tournament of Roses Parade (in beautiful Pasadena, CA) from what I believe is January 1st, 1959.

Hey, it's Zorro! "The fox so cunning and free". Walt Disney's "Zorro" was a smash hit (running from October 10, 1957 to July 2, 1959); the "bold renegade" played by Guy Williams had also appeared in the 1958 Rose Parade. Looks like they had a typical beautiful January day for the event, tempting thousands of folks freezing in the midwest and east that it might be time to move to California.

I love this picture!


Next is another cowboy star, "Paladin" from "Have Gun, Will Travel", starring Richard Boone. The show ran on CBS from 1957 to 1963, and for the first four years was consistently in the top four Nielsen-rated programs. The premise was that Paladin was a gentleman investigator/gunfighter (a "knight without armor") who travels around the Old West working as a mercenary for people who hire him to solve their problems. 

I used to live in Pasadena, and was always jealous of the folks who knew somebody who could get them into one of those second-story windows for a prime view of the parade!



25 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
For a fresh start in the [new] Roaring Twenties, I'd like to go shopping at that F.W. Woolworth, when all those crowds clear out. (I trust their lunch counter is open for business, as I've a hankerin' for a nice ham sandwich on white bread, along with a chocolate soda).

Happy 2020 to all.

K. Martinez said...

You used to live in Pasadena? Did you ever run into the "little old lady"?

The first pic with Zorro is awesome! Love the people watching the parade from the upper windows of Woolworth's. Thanks, Major.

Happy New Year!

K. Martinez said...

Nanook, speaking of going to the lunch counter, did you ever have their soda served in a cone cup with holder? That's the way I remember the lunch counter at the local Woolworth in Santa Cruz which had closed long ago now.

TokyoMagic! said...

That is a great shot of Guy Williams! Seeing the man with his leg hanging out of the window in both shots, is now making me wonder if anyone has ever fallen out of a window or off of a rooftop, while watching the Rose Parade? I am also wondering if that Woolworth's building is still standing, today?

Happy 2020, everyone!

"Lou and Sue" said...

Fun scans to start out the new year - thank you, Major! These pictures are tempting me to move to California NOW, as it's FREEZING tonight, here, in the midwest.

I loved watching Zorro on TV, as a kid (I guess it was the re-runs that I watched in the mid 60's).

Nanook, speaking of chocolate sodas - remember chocolate cokes? I still love those.

The shop to the left of Woolworth's is "Jo Ann's Young Idea(?) Shop." Any idea what they sold?

HAPPY NEW YEAR to Major and all of you Junior Gorillas!! I am looking forward to 2020 with all of you!

Sue

Nanook said...

@ TM!-

It would appear the F.W. Woolworth building was razed in 2002, and at least a part of it was incorporated into a backing for a sculpture - Ayama, by Jun Kaneko. IN THIS IMAGE you can see the upper story of the Woolworth building, with its [former] window openings. The sculpture is part of the courtyard of the Western Asset Plaza, 385 E. Colorado Blvd.

Nanook said...

@ Sue-

Isn't it obvious... they sold 'young ideas'-!

"Lou and Sue" said...

Nanook :) . . . young ideas such as . . . ??

Nanook said...

@ Sue-
How's about: the Moon is made of green cheese...

"Lou and Sue" said...

Nanook, speaking of ideas . . . if I knew how to do Photoshop, I would've taken your Palm Springs pictures (posted here on GDB on 11/30/16) and put a black top hat on you, along with a white sash across your chest with "2020" written on it - and made you the "New Year's Baby" for today. Those pictures are ADORABLE . . . what a CUTE kid you were/are!

MIKE COZART said...

To the right of that Woolworth’s is PAUL’S What’s the Big Idea? (Shop). When I was little we would eat at Woolworth’s for lunch sometimes with my mom and grandma. I usually would order the same thing as my grandma: a club sandwich. I so desperately wanted to eat at the actual lunch counter but we always had a booth. I would look at the round plastic displays of pies and was under the assumption if you ate at the counter you could have as many slices of pie as you wanted. One time my mom and grandma let me sit (alone) at the counter to eat my lunch. Just before I was done, I told the waitress which three slices of pie I wanted. She at some point went over to my mom and checked if that was ok or for all of us. My mom then got up and informed me it was NOT a pie “buffet” and I was forced to re-join my family at their booth. I think I had to share a slice of cherry pie with my grandma.

Have a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow in the year 2020 everyone!

JC Shannon said...

Wow, I loved Zorro when I was a kid. These are great shots. Seeing Woolworth makes me want to buy school supplies. Happy New Year everyone. I look forward to reading all the comments every day. Thanks Major for another great year.

Chuck said...

That Guy Williams photo is indeed worthy of love.

Like many of you, I enjoyed watching Zorro as a kid, too, although they would have been mid-'70s reruns. I think Guy Willimas was the first actor I noticed in more than one TV series, since I was also a fan of Lost In Space.

After I moved to IL from CA in the middle of the second grade, neither show was being broadcast in the St Louis market. I remember being really excited when they pulled several grades together one afternoon and ran three Zorro episodes back-to-back on a 16 mm projector.

Speaking of Zorro, the bride & I watched the 1960 Disney version of Babes In Toyland on Christmas Eve. In the middle of the film, it suddenly occurred to me that Henry Calvin, who played Gonzorgo, one of Barnaby Barnacle's (Ray Bolger) henchmen, had also played Sergeant Garcia in Zorro.

TM!, that fellow's leg hanging out the window reminds me of Goldie's Place at Knott's. Judging by the shadows, the film he was shooting was probably all backlit. Still a pretty neat perch to watch the parade from.

Thanks again, Major, and Happy New Year all!

TokyoMagic! said...

Nanook, thanks, but that link takes me to a "Google Error."

I started to do some research after I left my comment about wondering if the building was still standing. I found that a big ugly monstrosity was built in place of the Woolworth's and many other buildings which were on either side of it. The strange thing is (and you found this out too), is that they saved the facade.....or just the upper portion of the facade, actually. There must have been someone screaming very loudly for the building to be saved, in order for them to go to the trouble of saving just the upper half of the facade. It now sits in a garden, behind the building that replaced it. I took some screen shots from Google Maps "street view." There was a parking lot to one side of it and also behind it. However, it appears that they are building some other huge building around it on what used to be those parking lots. I had to go back a few years to find a clear shot of the facade, and even then, it's kind of from far away. I also found a close-up pic of what I think is the sculpture you were talking about. Maybe it's even the photo that you tried to link to. ANYWAY, if anyone is interested in seeing what remains of the Pasadena Woolworth's, they can click here and scroll down to the last four images: Pasadena Woolworth's Facade

I think if I am ever in that area, I will sit in the same window as that man in the picture, and hang my leg over the side. Of course, I'll have to move that potted plant that now sits in the window opening. I'm sure nobody will mind.

Andrew said...

I've never watched the Rose Parade before. Maybe today is the day. Excellent detective work in figuring out the whereabouts of the facade, Nanook and TM!

You know it was New Years' Eve when there's 14 comments this early in the morning! Best wishes to all.

DKoren said...

Happy New Year, Major! I know I don't comment often, but my day isn't complete unless I've visited and gotten my Disneyland and/or classic picture fix. I love these two pics! Have Gun: Will Travel is my favorite Western tv show, so that is super cool to see him riding in the Rose Parade. Zorro too. Best wishes for the new year!

Nanook said...

@ Sue-
Aw, shucks-!! I’m speechless...

@ TM-!
Sometimes the links seem to break, after initially working; but I see you found one that works; and then added some more. Thank you.

Major Pepperidge said...

Blogger says my reply to all of you was too long so I have to do it in 2 parts! Here's part one:

Nanook, I hope that ham sandwich has plenty of pickles on it! I will have the BLT, or a club sandwich, depending on how hungry I am. I’ve never had a chocolate soda!

K. Martinez, the little old lady ran into ME! Yeah, it’s fun to look at the expressions on the people in the crowd.

K. Martinez, those cones sound like a sneaky way to give customers less product, but it’s so cute that nobody cares!

TokyoMagic!, I hope lots of people fell out of those windows, it would serve them right for being so snooty. I don’t want them to be hurt though, so hopefully they landed on nice soft children.

Lou and Sue, are you telling me it is cold in Illinois in December?!? As a mostly-California kid, we would sometimes spend winter in the midwest (like on my aunt’s farm in Wisconsin), and the snow was so pretty and such a novelty to us; meanwhile the people who lived there thought we were idiots because they were sick of the snow. I would assume Jo Ann’s Young Idea” shop sold clothing for younger people, but it’s just a guess.

Nanook, the link doesn’t work for me, but I did look up 385 E. Colorado Blvd. on Google Maps. Ugh! I still go to Pasadena occasionally, and charming Colorado Blvd, and Old Town Pasadena are falling victim to developers. You can see the big ugly mall just up the street that replaced a cute shopping center, and god only knows what they are building directly across the street. More mall? “Mixed use” luxury condos and shopping? Almost guaranteed it will be an ugly box like 385 E. Colorado is now.

Nanook, here’s a young idea: “Why can’t I have candy for dinner?”.

Lou and Sue, here’s another one: “Maybe grownups should go to school, and kids can fly airplanes and stuff”.

Nanook, as a kid I always wondered why the moon was supposed to be green cheese, since it didn’t look green to me at all. In fact I’m not really sure what green cheese IS, unless it just means it is moldy.

Major Pepperidge said...

Here's part two:

Lou and Sue, no wonder there’s so many comments this morning (I seriously thought, WOW, this post is popular!), it’s mostly you and Nanook talking to each other! :-)

Mike Cozart, what did “Paul’s What’s The Big Idea?” shop sell? Clothing for big and tall men? I always loved club sandwiches, especially because of the toothpicks with the colored cellophane on them. I love that you thought you could get all the pie you wanted… not a crazy conclusion for a kid to make. Sharing a slice of cherry pie with your grandma sounds like a pretty nice conclusion.

Jonathan, I think my mom took us to Sears for school supplies, though I could be mistaken. We’d also go to some discount shoe place for cheap sneakers - maybe my dad’s Navy salary didn’t go that far for four kids.

Chuck, I only watched a little bit of Zorro - I would have watched it in repeats, and it probably seemed old-fashioned even in the 70’s. I liked “The Wild Wild West” as a kid! And Gilligan’s Island, and Speed Racer, and Batman, and probably 50 other shows. I’m not sure when I recognized an actor from one show being in another, but definitely remember seeing William Schallert (who was in Wild Wild West, The Patty Duke Show, and 10,000 other programs) popping up all the time. Same with John Anderson.

TokyoMagic!, as I said to Nanook, there are large stretches of Colorado Blvd. (which I’ll call CB) that are being ruined by over-development. Maybe hipsters all want to live in apartments on that busy street. I have fond memories of moving to Pasadena before CB was spiffed up to be more high-end, and having fun going to junky antiques shops that were dark and dusty and full of wonderful stuff. I remember finding a huge old German glass marble for my mom (who collects those) for cheap. And I got a box full of “Disneykins” which I still have somewhere, as well as a Donald Duck drawing that I thought was from the 1930’s, but Howard Lowery told me was a FAKE! It is very well-drawn, clearly not clumsily traced, but… live and learn. Howard said the kind of paper used is not consistent with the 1930’s.

Andrew, I used to love watching that parade on TV, but only went in person once. It was an experience!

DKoren, I like that you can see that Richard Boone has a big smile on his face, he seems to be enjoying himself a lot. I wonder if any episodes of “Have Gun Will Travel” are on YouTube?

Steve DeGaetano said...

In my 20's, way back in the 1990s, I twice spent the night shivering in the cold on Colorado Blvd., with 500,000 of my closest friends, staying up all night to stake out a spot to watch the parade. They were amazing experiences both times, but now, the warmth of my bed shortly after midnight hits the spot.

Melissa said...

Man, I miss Woolworths! It never seems quiiiite like Christmas anymore without them.

I used to run home from high school to watch the early-1990's version of Zorro on the Family Channel. Still get the theme song stuck in my head every now and then.

Dean Finder said...

I watched the parade today on RFD-TV, who show it without cutting to commercial. It's a pretty good parade to watch since it's all floats, marching bands and equestrian teams (with the exception of a Disney stage show song in the middle). The Macy's Thanksgiving parade isn't as good on TV with the constant breaks for commercials and Broadway song and dance performances; maybe because I've been in it and know that's it's better in person.

Sunday Night said...

I always wondered what kids outside of California thought of the lines "she's the terror of Colorado Boulevard" in Little Old Lady From Pasadena and "I got the pink slip daddy" from Little Deuce Coupe.

I used to love Pasadena. It's been a number of years since I've been there and I'm sorry to hear about the changes. I used to have fun browsing through the antique stores there.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, Major, and all the Junior Gorillas.

One year in extreme youth (had to be under five years) we sat shivering on the curb. I don't recall anything of the parade except that we were there and that I was cold. This may have contributed to my notorious distaste for parades as an adult.

I found some pictures of the floats that had to be taken that year since we only went once.

I DO remember sodas served in the pop-in paper cup in the holder. Not sure if that was Woolworths, but we had one in my home town, so it probably was.

Cheers all, best to you in 2020. May 2020 be the year we all see ourselves in one of the Major's historic photos.

JG

DrGoat said...

Looks like I got in on the tail end of this, but every self respecting kid in my neighborhood had the Zorro theme song record.
Richard Boone. What a huge treat.
Happy New Year one and all.