Classic Amusements
Happy Birthday to GDB friend ANDREW! I chose some slides that I think he will appreciate.
Those of you who are fans of vintage amusement park rides will enjoy today's photos! They are undated, but probably from the early-to-mid 1950s. I don't have a location either, unfortunately.
I love this first one, the "Little Dipper" roller coaster was captured at just the perfect moment by our photographer. Presumably the four kids in the front car part of her group (with a friend or two, perhaps). Those fluffy white clouds make me think of Florida, but I know that that state doesn't have a monopoly on fluffsters (the technical name for those clouds). There is a "Little Dipper" at Six Flags Illinois that has been there since 1950, but I don't know if it's the same one as this. In the background is a double Ferris Wheel, and maybe a Scrambler - some of you may be able to ID more.
Next is this nice photo of a Round Up (I erroneously thought it was a Trabant, but Ken Martinez set me straight), dramatically tilted up toward the blue sky. At the bottom of the photo we can just see a sliver of a sign with planets and stars, I wish the rest was visible.
Zooming in to the lower left, we can see some wonderful old hand-painted sideshow banners."Eeka the killer"! "Eeka the cannibal"! Eeka, eh? Maybe that would be a clue as to the location of this event.
Doing a search for "Eeka" resulted in quite a few similar banners, some from as recent as the 1980s. I could not find out if Eeka was found at one particular amusement park, or if there were many Eekas over the years and around the country. If anybody knows, please chime in!
Clearly Eeka was a wild woman found on a tropical island. I was going to pixellate the bare bosom, but I think you can handle it.
Giant snakes were no match for Eeka. Did I mention that she was alive? That's right, they did not display a corpse for the amusement of fairgoers.
More snakes! Maybe if Eeka took a few moments to understand the snakes, they could live together in peace and harmony. Makes you think.
Whoops! Eeka has ripped off the arm of an unfortunate castaway and is chomping away. I'd make a joke about "handouts", but it has been done. Besides, I am way too classy and also groovy.
As far as I can tell, Eeka was a variation on the classic geek show, with an uncivilized person performing all kinds of acts of crudeness and savagery, with some partial nudity for added thrills. Yours to enjoy for just two bits!
36 comments:
Is that an "Astro Jet" type spinner, on the far left of the first pic?
There are two Roll-O-Planes in that second pic. One is trying to hide behind the Round Up ride....but we can see right through it. There is a man in the Roll-O-Plane on the far left, who looks like he barely fits inside the car. I wonder if his head was touching the "ceiling"?
Eeka and her bare bosom make me think of Julie Andrews, when she starred in her husband's film, "S.O.B."
A very happy birthday to you, Andrew!!! I hope you are doing something fun, today!
Aww, thanks Major! If Sue reminded you, thank you so much too! You are so kind.
There were several variations of the Allan Herschell (note the AH above the front car's grill) Little Dipper model, but this is the earliest. I love the light fixtures along the track! I'll guess that the tent to the right of the Ferris wheels is a Herschell carousel. And in the far right of the Hrubetz Round-Up image, I'm pretty sure that's the platform of a Herschell Twister. We can see people waiting to board at the to the left of the Roto-Jet in the first pic. Also in the Round Up picture, there's a Rock-O-Plane peeking out at left. The double Roll-O-Planes are pretty neat, but sadly they don't have fireworks.
The sideshow posters are neat too! I have to go now but will come back later.
Thanks for the kind words, TM!
I ssw a few (very few) sideshows when they still had them at The State Fair of Texas. Mainly, I just gawked at the canvas signs out front. Now, mind you, in the Bible Belt Eerka's...uh...you know...never would have been shown.
I saw one classic show where a "Beautiful Young Woman" changed into a gorilla. She was in a cage and after the changeroo proceded to bend the bars and rush the crowd. Luckily the back of the tent opened and everyone could run out. Every time. To a kid, it was pretty intense, though!
Of all those rides, I only ever went on The Scrambler. Now you know.
Happy birthday, Andrew!!!
Happy Birthday, Andrew! Is this the big 17?
I wish you the best - you deserve it!
(Major gets all the credit for today’s post.)
I’ll be back later...
Happy birthday, Andrew! Thanks for all the lessons in amusement ride history!
Somewhere I have a picture of my sister and me riding a Little Dipper that looks a lot like that one.
Andrew, Those Herschell Twisters were a rare sight when I was a kid along with the Chance Turbos. I've only ever ridden one Twister when it made its one and only appearance at the local carnival only to never be seen again.
Happy Birthday to you, Andrew! Hope you have fun today!
That Round looks like a no-frills Round Up with little ornamentation. It could use a nice centerpiece.
The last Eeka banner with the female cannibal is bat guano crazy. I love it! Thanks, Major.
Happy Birthday, Andrew! I hope you find an amusement park some time today. I appreciate all the teachin' you do on this blog.
I've been on some of these rides, either at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or at the County Fair. I know for sure I've been on a Roll-O-Plane, erk, and a Round Up.
No trash cans what so ever that I can see.
When I was little (and even today) I was never really fond of spinners. My stomach isn't a fan, either. That said, places like carnivals, most of Knott's and Six Flags aren't my favorite places. I love to check out the grounds, though, and the side shows look interesting. Maybe that's why Disneyland was so much fun, I wasn't being spun around (though I stayed off the Rocket Jets for many reasons).
Happy Birthday, Andrew.
Does the Little Dipper look a bit sketchy to anyone else? How old are those track sections?
I remember the Little Dipper I rode on feeling kind of sketchy as a little kid.
Happy birthday, Andrew! Have a root beer on me! No, no, I didn’t mean pour it on - [sigh] That’s what I get for being so literal. “Nanook’s Revenge”…
Glad to see that Eeka was alive. Displaying a corpse for the amusement of fairgoers was really more of a Long Beach thing, anyway.
Stu, I saw an identical girl-to-gorilla show at the 1983 Calgary Stampede. Loved the old-time sideshow feel to it. We enjoyed it so much, we saw it three or four times (the magic of unlimited midway passes).
Eventually figured out the transformation was done using a “Pepper’s Ghost” effect. Brilliantly low-tech and utterly charming. And still somewhat alarming, even as a 14-year old who understood what was really happening.
Happy Birthday Andrew! Many happy returns of the day!
Major has served up a fine helping of classic Midway today. I love the Junior Gorilla commentary, such a depth of knowledge here (and humor).
This reminds me very much of the Fresno Fair, the main event near my childhood home. Our locale would never have tolerated that Eeka poster. I’m with Mark Raymond, though, these places were never my cup of tea.
Looks like, towards the end, Eeka was reducing to selling arms in the Middle East.
JG
Happy birthday Andrew and hope you don't have any EEkas in your world today. Or...perhaps that would be a good thing? Everything in those photos looks a bit sketchy and rusty- reminds me of the Long Beach Pike in it's last days...rusty and more rusty. They filmed a 6 Million Dollar man episode in one of the dark rides and found a human arm in one of the "animatronics" (term used very loosely). Finding that arm was a huge deal in our school for some reason and everyone was talking about it. I'm rather charmed with carnivals and the sort, and when I made my Disneyland with Legos back in the 70's we did mix a few carnival rides in here and there...I have yet to go to a side show in my lifetime, however, working in NYC is like a type of side show, and you never know where a limb might show up- or a real life EEka for that matter.
@ MRaymond & Bu-
No 'sketchiness' here. These coasters were designed and built back at a time when mere "brute force, common sense, 'good old American ingenuity, can-do attitude' and layers of rust " is all that it takes for success and safety. As for the age of those track sections - the older they are, the better they are-! [It's an old engineering axiom. Trust me-!]
Happy Birthday Andrew. Your presence and contributions to GDB make it a better place. Many happy returns of the day.
Thanks, Major. I think just for the next week I'm going to sign all my emails as "Eeka the Killer", and see how well that goes over-!
TokyoMagic!, that sure does look just like the early Astro Jets! I guess they needed two Roll-O-Planes to increase capacity if it was a popular ride. I sure wish I knew where this was! I remember seeing “S.O.B.” and when the big scene happened, it was not as revelatory as I’d expected, ha ha.
Andrew, Sue did remind me, but I was already prepared! I was hoping that you would take one look at these and know what park it was, but I realize that there’s not a lot to go by. As always, your knowledge of these old rides is amazing. And the fireworks on that Rock-O-Plane, wowee! Hope you have fun plans for today.
Stu29573, the only time I ever saw a sideshow was at a small circus in Pennsylvania - I wish I could remember which circus it was. They had a guy who hammered spikes up his nose, but there was no bearded lady or siamese twins or giant (all the classics). My brother saw a variation on that woman turning into a gorilla (maybe around 1970), but I didn’t see it - my mom thought it would be too scary for me. Sounds like fun! I’ve been on a Scrambler for sure, and also The Zipper, which really knocked a person around.
Lou and Sue, Andrew is not wrong, you DID remind me!
Melissa, I’m sure your photo is impossible to locate, but I’m sure we’d all love to see you and your sister on the Little Dipper!
K. Martinez, too bad I don’t have a better view of the Herschel Twister - it’s barely there in today’s photo. Even though I know that the Round Up is perfectly safe, the open spaces on the sides and that big open space in the center kind of freak me out! Yes, those Eeka banners are pretty crazy, in a good way.
zach, Andrew is all through with amusement parks and is switching his attention to jumping his motorcycle over as many buses as possible. I’ve never been on a Roll-O-Plane, but I’ve been on something that was much like a Round Up, perhaps at Hersheypark.
MRaymond, you aren’t alone, I’ve heard plenty of accounts from people who hate spinning rides. The Teacups are a big “NO” when those people go to Disneyland. I love a good carnival, in fact they were just setting one up in my mom’s town last week, and we walked through as they were setting it up. Unfortunately many of the rides were so tiny and chintzy, not these big classics.
MRaymond, hey, that Little Dipper has been rusting away for years, and nobody has been hurt yet!
Melissa, there’s always the legend that these rides were assembled by “carnies” who’d had too much to drink.
Chuck, Eeka would have devoured Elmer McCurdy, but might have needed some ketchup to get that mummy down. Fun that you saw the girl-to-gorilla thing in 1983, I wonder if that show exists anywhere today? Having never seen it myself, I figured it must be a sort of Pepper’s Ghost effect, though I’d love to see the setup of how it was achieved.
JG, I’d be very happy if I had boxes full of photos like these! Sadly I only have a few. I’m sure that many State and County fairs had many of these same exact rides. Funny how a poster with a painting of a topless woman might be fine as far back as the 1930s in some places, but others would balk now, 80 years later. “Selling arms in the Middle East”, OUCH. Wally Boag would be proud.
Bu, yes, that story of Elmer McCurdy’s mummy being discovered during the filming of The 6 Million Dollar Man is a classic - if it didn’t really happen, it wouldn’t be believable! It has come up on this blog a number of times. I think Venice Beach must be our closest thing to a side show! There are all sorts of weirdos there. I wish I could find out more about the history of Eeka.
Nanook, I’m sure you are right, even though it sounds like you are being funny! Those rides were built like tanks. Lots of heavy steel and iron. The little rides I saw at the local fair a few days ago looked so cheap and lame. I’m all for your plan to sign your letters with “Eeka the Killer”!
I always had trouble just looking at a tilt-a-wheel or any spinning thing. Bad motion sickness guy here. I discovered it the hard way on the Disneyland Tea Cups as a little kid. :P
Bu, I experienced the last days of the Long Beach Pike too. It was really rundown and with some sketchy looking people. My parents lamented the decline and told stories of going there as teens in the late 30s when it was the happening place.
The Eeka posters took me back to the carnival side shows that came through So Cal in the 50s and early 60s. Real freakshow stuff that was both scary and intriguing at the same time.
Thanks Major, I'm definitely a fan of old amusement parks!
And a big Happy Birthday to Andrew!!
Happy Birthday Andrew!
Neat photos today- thanks Major.
In the Sean Connery/James Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever" (which mainly takes place in Las Vegas), there
is a scene with a girl-to-gorilla transformation.
Everyone have a good weekend.
-DW
DW, I had totally forgotten that scene in aDiamonds. Didn’t that sequence take place at the Circus Circus Casino? Man, it must be 30 years since I last saw that movie. It’s the film where the Bond franchise really took a hard turn towards camp; even though it starred Sean Connery, I tend to think of it as the first of the Roger Moore-era Bond films. Still, any movie with Shane Rimmer in it has at least some redeeming qualities.
@ Chuck-
That scene did indeed take place at Circus Circus Casino. And although I can't disagree with you about the franchise turning a bit towards 'camp' by that point, it's hard not to like a film where a good portion of the story is shot in Sin City, before the skyline began to really morph from the more 'classic Vegas' to that of Mega, well EVERYTHING.
Indeed, “Diamonds” might be my favorite Bond; Connery, Vegas, that big Mustang, the fight in the Palm Springs house… …and Jill St. John.
She beats Eeka any day in my book.
JG
Thanks for the birthday wishes Stu, Sue, Melissa, Ken, Zach, MRaymond, Chuck, JG, Bu, Nanook, Grant, and DW. I feel honored. Please comment your own birthdays so you aren't left out. :-)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm!
Eeka became a spokeswoman for NAIR - EpiLady and retired in the early 1980’s fairly smooth, and will forever be associated with the company’s “hair today ; gone tomorrow” slogan and her famous wink at the camera.
I got to see my only sideshow in the mid 70’s at the DL Mar Fair ( now known as the San Diego County Fair). I’m pretty sure real sideshows were illegal by then .... but I begged my part what’s to let me go in ... the exterior banners had things like the elephant skinned man and the spider body with the lady’s head type of things . I finally got to go in but a parent had to go in with me . I was so exited for also terrified. I had my hands over my eyes as we walked into the tent and it smelled like a lamb or goat pen. Eventually I became less afraid to see the creatures and deformed monsters but it was almost all taxidermy animals and animals in giant glass jars - sheep with 4 eyes .... pugs with two heads stuff like that . Then there was a display with very old photos of mildly deformed people - side show people who had probably died 50 years before . A lady spoke into a megaphone in a creepy tone describing the story of the exhibits. I felt kinda gipped and disappointed ...... but also kinda relieved I didn’t see a lady with a giant spider body or a man with skeleton arms!!
Today side shows like that are illegal but you can still see them on tv on shows like MY 3000 lb sister , MY OLD LITTLE BOY, BOTCHED, DR. PIMPLE POPPER and THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS and THE VIEW.
Major, I must say you've done a great job raising Andrew right! He not only checked-in on GDB, first thing in the morning - but he said he'll come back later, too. I bet he was celebrating with his family at a fun amusement park, today. (From all of his comments on GDB and on his own blog - he goes to lots of cool places with his family, often.) Andrew also takes lots of extra time to attach fun links, just like he did today. You must feel like a proud Papa, Major!
I assume Eeka is the female version of Eeko??
Andrew, you just commented while I was commenting that you would comment, again, "later." Good job!
I echo what Andrew just said...
Please give Major your birthday so that we can celebrate with you! I know we’re missing quite a few birthdays....Nanook’s, KS’s (who only gave us a clue that he’s a Virgo in last year’s comments), and lots more of our Jr Gorilla regulars....
I remember going to the L.A. County Fair in the seventies and eighties, and always seeing a traveling exhibit that advertised a "Real Whale" inside of a semi truck. I just looked it up. The whale's name was "Little Irvy." The owner took him around to fairs, grocery store parking lots, etc., from 1967 through the mid-nineties. Apparently, many people got upset after paying money to go inside the truck, only to find it was a frozen whale. The suckers thought they were actually going to see a real whale, splashing around inside the truck. Wasn't it P.T. Barnum, who said that there is one born every minute?
@ TM!-
It was most-certainly P.T. Barnum who is credited with famously uttering these words: "There's a sucker born every minute". Many famous quotes have been mis-attributed over the years - Mark Twain; Henry Ford, etc., but it just feels so right this quote was uttered forth from P.T. himself.
For the record, I didn’t say I didn’t like Diamonds, just that it was campier than what came before. It was actually the first Bond film I saw all the way through (after having read several of the novels). It’s a fun movie for all of the reasons you guys listed above. And to prove it, I am going to watch it right now. So there!
Chuck, good call!
Of course, like most of the books, it’s nothing like the movie…
JG
@Tokyo, that’s a whale of tale, I’m sure it’s all true, swear by your tattoo…
I’m off to find that Julie Andrew’s film.
JG
Grant, I would have to guess that the Teacups is the ride that requires the most “cleanup” of any at Disneyland. Unless you guys can think of a better candidate? What a job that would be! Search this blog for some amazing photos of the Long Beach Pike in its final days, from Ken Martinez, they’re pretty extraordinary. I’m glad you liked these!
DW, OK, the funny thing is that the girl-into-gorilla show that my brother say (that I wasn’t allowed into) was advertised “As seen in James Bond!”, but I haven’t seen “Diamonds are Forever” since I was a kid - I understand that it is probably the weakest of the Connery-Bond pictures.
Chuck, well it sounds like you are confirming that “Diamonds” is not exactly the most beloved Bond film. I have no idea who Shane Rimmer is!
Nanook, I have seen clips of the Las Vegas scenes online, and it is amazing to see the city from that era, in crisp, wide-screen glory.
JG, WOW, it’s your favorite Bond?? However, Jill St. John, that automatically moves it up a few ticks.
Andrew, yes, if anybody is interested in some birthday acknowledgements, just let me know!
Mike Cozart, I didn’t know sideshows were ever made illegal. They are surely exploitative, but the performers were adults, and maybe (in some cases) a sideshow could be the only way they could make a living. Who knows. You can watch beautiful color home movies from the 1939 New York World’s Fair that feature some sideshow attractions - wow, what an incredible experience that would have been. And yes, plenty of mostly-nude women too. It seems that 1939 America was not quite as prudish as it is in 2021. I used to really get uncomfortable at the thought of those poor deformed animals that appeared (usually dead) in exhibits. My mom had a book from when she was in college that had engravings of “nature’s accidents” that gave me nightmares. “My Old Little Boy”, ha ha!
Lou and Sue, ha ha, yes, I am very proud of Andrew. Our boy is all grown up! ;-). I’d love to hear if Andrew did indeed go to one of his favorite local amusement parks today.
Lou and Sue, you must always believe in Andrew! I have a bunch of birthdays now listed in my computer’s calendar, but can always add more.
TokyoMagic!, so funny, there really IS a sucker born every minute. I wouldn’t have necessarily expected a “real whale”, but my curiosity would have probably gotten the better of me. “What do they have in there??”. A frozen whale, oh brother. How does one freeze a whale, anyway??
Nanook, there is a whole industry (or so it seems) of misquotes on the internet. How many quotes have I seen that are attributed to Kurt Vonnegut, that he never actually said??
Chuck, the first Bond film I saw was “Live and Let Die”, so for me, Roger Moore was THE Bond. I still enjoy some of his movies, but a few do get more campy than I would wish.
JG, I’ve never read any of Ian Fleming’s books, but I have heard that the movies are often entirely different.
JG, it sounds more exciting than it actually is!
Major, from what I was reading this morning, the whale was frozen with liquid nitrogen. Even as a kid, I thought it was probably a scam and not a real whale, even though there was a voice over a microphone telling people that it was a real whale inside, weight 20 tons, and measuring 38 feet in length. I remember being near the trailer and seeing a classmate go inside. This was during a high school "club" trip to the fair. My friend and I waited until that classmate came out of the trailer and then asked him exactly what it was, and what it looked like. All these years later, I couldn't remember if he told us that it was frozen, or if it was in formaldehyde, but he told us that it was a real whale. A real dead whale! We skipped it and went for a ride on the suspended monorail, instead. Not that we were really tempted to go inside that trailer truck.
Nanook, thanks for that confirmation. I thought it was Barnum who said that. I was pretty sure that it wasn't his partner, Mr. Bailey! Or Mr. Vargas, of Circus Vargas fame! ;-)
JG, it's true! Just ask Kirk Douglas and James Mason!
Sue, I did not go to a park yesterday. It's good to avoid the weekend if you can when visiting amusement parks, and I usually have to work on Saturday. But don't worry, I've been to more than enough parks so far this summer! :-D
Major, I guarantee you’ve seen Shane Rimmer in a movie or TV show. He was a Canadian ex-pat who worked in the British film industry essentially as a “rent-a-Yank,” used when an American was needed, usually in small parts but occasionally as an important or important supporting character. He played three different parts in three different Bond films, shared a scene with John Ratzenberger in Superman II, played the B-52 co-pilot in Dr. Strangelove, and was the voice of Scott Tracy in the Thunderbirds TV show and movies. He even had a small part in Batman Begins. But the one part that I know everybody’s seen him only gave him one line: “This R2 unit of yours seems a bit beat up. You want a new one?"
Cannibal or not, Ekka gots some sick abbs.
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