Here's a pair of fun photos featuring Snow White and only one of the Dwarfs... it's ironic that Sleepy made it to work, of the seven. The kids don't seem too interested in Snow, all of that kid energy is directed right at the narcoleptic Dwarf.
Well howdy! There's my new favorite kid of all time!
Hey look, it's Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato! "Say, Lana, this Disneyland place is a gas". They're about to step right in front of Snow White and Sleepy, who are clearly posing for a photo. You don't want to rile Sleepy, it's like waking a dozing bear. His eyes open fully, and he bares his yellowed, broken teeth -- he always goes for the throat first. It's true, I seen it with my own eyebones!
Nanook, in the first photo, the boy on the left looks like you...but I guess you would be maybe several(?) years older than him, in 1965.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, Major! I’m looking forward to everyone’s comments on these!
@ Sue-
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean; but that's not me.
Major-
I think that young fella is going to be 'everyone's new favorite kid of all time'-! The way he's mugging for the camera, all the while "modeling" that Mom-made-? shirt - he has all the makings of a future "star". (Interesting, but his younger brother-? sporting that blue/white vertical striped shirt - bears a striking resemblance to one of the same as pictured in Friday's post...)
It's difficult to tell from the image, but that [apparent] design on "Johnny's" cigarette pack makes it look like a pack of Piccadilly cigarettes. That would be kind of a stretch, as that would mean those cigarettes came all the way from 'Across the Pond'. But, you never know.
Thanks, Major - Now I gotta buy me a straw hat, with a plastic feather-!
In that first pic, Snow White is saying, "What about me kids? I was in the film too, ya know!"
ReplyDeleteNanook, maybe it wouldn't be such a stretch for Johnny's cigarettes to be from "across the pond." He did fly all the way to London, and threatened Sean Connery and Lana Turner with a gun on the set of a movie they were filming there. Maybe as Scotland Yard was escorting him through the airport while forcing him to return home, they let him stop at the airport gift shop and pick up some ciggies.
SLEEPY is sleepy because he has Lymes disease.
ReplyDeleteSeeing people in the 60’s and 70’s with cigarettes constantly in there hands is like seeing people with Cel phones constantly in their hands ......
I remember as a kid that while it was interesting to see characters like Snow White, my sister and I always preferred the costumed variety because they were on-model. I guess it was the fact that the actress playing, say, Snow White, didn't look enough like the cartoon character that it wasn't that exciting - "Eh, a lady with a Snow White costume. Cool, but not worth getting worked up over." Of course, this was before the marketing-driven princess feeding frenzy of today. And I was always bothered with Mary Poppins and Bert as "face" characters because in the film they were portrayed by actual people whose faces you could see, and it was painfully obvious that they weren't Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke.
ReplyDeleteMike, while there are some similarities, it's an imperfect analogy. It was a lot more fun playing with push-button ashtray dumps than with a phone charger.
In the first image, note the obscured red Skyway bucket and House of the Future. Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteExcellent pavement convergence in #2, as well :-D
If that's Lana Turner I'm U Thant.
ReplyDeleteBlonde Bombshell also looks like Jayne Mansfield, who had such a thing for pink that even her swimming pool was painted that color. She sure isn't with Mickey Hargitay, who didn't build Charles Atlas muscles by smoking cigs.
ReplyDeleteI think it is in MOUSETAILS that the story of a Jayne visit to Disneyland was related; she was allowed to pose with animals on the Jungle Cruise, and had a security team with her to say "Please don't crowd Miss Mansfield", etc... but no one seemed much interested. Her son Mickey Jr runs Hargitay Nursery in Hollywood, and is always pleasant to chat with and buy plants from.
A post with Sleepy in it and I'm sleepy right now! Coincidence?
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of hats in these pics and a Kodak Picture Spot. Pavement Convergence sounds like it would make a great movie someday on SciFi.
Thanks, Major
Zach
I think I saw Pavement Convergence open for the Cowsills, but if you remember the 60’s, you weren’t there.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics today, Major, but in this classic GDB style, the commentary makes the photos.
Thanks all.
JG
Moments after the second picture, a huge rumble broke out between "Mansfield" and Snow. Sleepy was packing a shiv. Enough said...
ReplyDeleteNice pics Major. Personally, my uncle was a very cynical person and it definitely rubbed off on me and my sister. When we ran into a character in the park portrayed by a real person, it was like eh! We knew it couldn't have been the real Snow White, but it was a Disney person, so it worked for us.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Piccadilly Johnny and the felonious Lana, they could be Boris and Natasha with spy camera in hand. They just got there orders from Fearless Leader, the "lady" wearing the blue drapes behind them.
Hey U, it's Dag!
Great pics Major, fun stuff today.
Major, I was thinking the same thing about Johnny and Lana. That said, I am pretty sure I'm in love with Snow White. Wow. But it looks like it's all about the dwarf today. Thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteLate night last night... got up this morning... pulled up GDB to help wake up... saw Sleepy... got sleepy... going back to bed... I'll comment more later... ;)
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, I do see a certain resemblance to our great hunter from the North!
ReplyDeleteNanook, the moment I saw that kid, I couldn’t help laughing. Some people hate to have their photos taken, but he doesn’t mind one bit! I think the resemblance between the shirts that you mentioned is purely coincidental. “Piccadilly” brand cigarettes, never heard of those. I prefer Spuds (my favorite tobacco name). I think the “plastic feather” is supposed to be a fern frond? Which is odd, I admit. Leftover from the Flower Market?
TokyoMagic!, Snow White was just not cool enough to be of interest to those kids. She’s nice to animals, but that’s about it. Ol’ Johnny - there’s nothing like flying across the Atlantic to threaten another man with a gun to let a lady know you care.
Mike Cozart, well, Sleepy does live in the woods. Deer ticks everywhere. Maybe that’s why Grumpy is so angry, too.
Chuck, I don’t remember getting that excited by the “face characters” - it was always those giant plush costumes that got my attention. However, I was too shy to ever approach any of them! Pathetic. Once in a while I’ll see a contemporary photo of a Snow White, and the actress will really do a great job of playing the part. It’s really cute to see how small children believe in them completely. Meanwhile, I mentioned once before, but I saw a “Mary Poppins” in her Jolly Holiday getup, and MAN, was she pretty!
Andrew, jeez, I really had to look for that red Skyway gondola! And even the House of the Future is not easy to see.
Alonzo, I would never say that you are U Thant. Because I don’t know what (or who) that is.
Stefano, I have known little girls who have a thing for pink, but in general they seem to outgrow it. A pink swimming pool sounds interesting and odd! But hey, why not? I think Daveland has some photos of Jayne Mansfield at Disneyland. “Hargitay Nursery”, I had no idea!
zach, since you posted your comment at 7:26 in the morning, it makes sense that you were sleepy! “Pavement Convergence”, starring John Gavin and Zsa Zsa Gabor; I’d watch it.
JG, there actually is a band called “Pavement” … not so sure about the Convergence part.
Stu29573, I can’t decide who I would want to see as the victor in that battle, but Snow White has seen some stuff.
DrGoat, I’m surprised that your uncle was so cynical, since he did that lovely book for children, and I don’t get a cynical vibe from the artwork that you’ve shown me. But hey, artists! They can be a cynical bunch. I feel like I am missing something with the “Hey U! It’s Dag!” quote. What’s that from?
Jonathan, if you pay attention to some of those costumed princesses (and sometimes just the ordinary CMs) you will see some real beauties. Snow White is adorable.
Grant, you are livin’ the life! I’d love to go back to bed RiGHT NOW!
Alonzo & DrGoat, I can't say I am UN-impressed by your comments.
ReplyDeleteMajor, U Thant and Dag Hammarskjold were both Secretary-Generals of the United Nations.
ReplyDeleteJG
or maybe that's Secretaries-General...
ReplyDeleteJG
Face characters...a little "too" real for me. I'd rather have a plush dwarf than a Snow White who is not Adriana Caselotti. Speaking of...she (AC) had a VERY Snow White/Japanese (?) inspired house on Larchmont in Hollywood. Do some Googling...was kind of sweet in a Norma Desmondy sort of way. LOVE Jayne and the Mickey H. smoking "replacement boyfriend." YES! MC: Cell phones ARE the new Cig box!!! The nicotine couple are totally in their own world- uhhh...did you notice that there is a princess and giant dwarf there on your left? Snow White jarred my memory of a grade school visit from Ms. White, Mickey, Pluto and Goofy. I wrote a letter to Mickey Mouse asking him to come to my school...and they showed up! (albeit to help promote Disney on Parade which was then was coming to the LA Sports Arena.) It was very surreal to see characters outside the berm of Disneyland, and in your classroom, AND because I actually made it happen. Had no clue they would answer the call. The school was in on the surprise visit (I was surprised my mother knew nothing about it). We were in some sort of studying thing in class and they just strolled on in. Imagine the reaction by 30 2nd Graders! And then Snow White asked for me by name (!) The press then strolled in behind, I made the front page of the local paper, and later appeared on an episode of "Elementary News" which was a news program on Saturday mornings in LA. Just remembered that event which was such a gigantic thing for me in 1970 or was it '69 (?), so thanks for posting the pics. Gotta dig that press photo out of "the box" with all the other stuff. It was actually a great photo of me petting Plutos nose while Mickey and Friends looked on. I was a very happy 8 year old.
ReplyDeleteBu, did you see Daveland’s photos today? The kid is about to pet Pluto’s nose.
ReplyDeleteBu, please show us your pictures!!!
Bu,
ReplyDeleteI don't use the way overly used word awesome, but that's an awesome story. Well done!
Chuck - puns. Why did they have to be puns?
ReplyDeleteJG, I knew of Dag Mammarskjold, though I never heard anybody just call him “Dag”!
JG, I’d guess that the latter is correct.
Bu, the face character that always disturbs me is the Mad Hatter with his prosthetic nose. Would I prefer an immobile, vinyl head? YES! I always wondered if Ms. Caselotti got sick of talking about Snow White? Maybe she did, and then at some point realized that it was the best thing she was ever involved with! As for people ignoring giant dwarfs and beautiful princesses, that’s just par for the course at Disneyland. It’s amazing how quickly the unusual becomes “usual”. Wow, amazing that you wrote a letter to Mickey Mouse, and they actually came to your school! So awesome! I would have been embarrassed if Snow White had asked for me by name, but hey, I was a shy kid. “Don’t make me the center of attention!”. I’d love it if you could find those photos, or newspaper clippings!
Lou and Sue, guess I need to head over to Daveland after this.
DrGoat, sometimes you can use the word “splendiferous” to mix things up!
Major,
ReplyDeleteI remember Dag and U Thant's names because they were unusual and they were in the news and newspapers a lot back then. I was still a kid but my parents and uncle were very big on keeping up with what was going on (like a lot of people in the 50s-60s), and they talked a lot about world affairs around the dinner table etc. I know I probably did not care a bit about that stuff but it must have stuck in my brain along with Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird, Frankenstein, the Wolfman and other assorted figures of importance.
Bu, thats a great story, thems as asks, gets.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that.
JG
I know I’ve said it before, but I prefer the pre-wig princess look Snow is sporting here. I know the wigs make it possible for a wider range of performers to look on-model, but it also makes them look less “real.” IDK, maybe they just need better wigs.
ReplyDeleteI think the lead singer of "Pavement Convergence," used to sing with the group, "Cement, Gravel & Rock Co." on the Tomorrowland Terrace stage. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBu, I saw that very first version of Disney On Parade, at the Anaheim Convention Center. But the characters didn't come to my classroom! That's such a neat story!
Ol’ Johnny - there’s nothing like flying across the Atlantic to threaten another man with a gun to let a lady know you care.
ReplyDeleteMajor, he could have shown Lana that he cared, just by sending her a Hallmark Card! ("When you care enough to send the very best.")
DrGoat, I thought everybody discussed professional wresting at dinner! “Did you see what The Hulkster did yesterday?”. “No pa, I hope he gave ‘em what fer”. (Actual transcript). But I guess politics is something to talk about too. Dag Hammarskjold (which I have typed correctly this time) is definitely a name that I noticed, but somehow “U Thant” passed me by.
ReplyDeleteJG, yes, Bu should win some sort of prize today.
Melissa, the hairdos really were all over the place in the old days - look at all of the different “Alices”, with everything from straight surfer girl blondes to “sleeps in curlers every night” waves.
TokyoMagic!, oh why didn’t I think of that joke? Now I am going to cry.
TokyoMagic!, if he had included a Whitman Sampler (awful chocolates that have somehow been around forever), Lana would have swooned and punched Connery herself.