Big Birthday, and Sealtest Big Top Badges
First thing's first - let's all wish GDB pal Nanook a Happy Birthday! As usual, Sue B. has provided some special scans for the occasion (not "Lou and Sue" pix). Like this first one, with a rowdy party that looks like it's more than I can handle. Keep it down, you people! A quiet party is a successful party. The girl to the left is giving me the willies!
Sue knows of Nanook's expertise with microphones and speakers - or PA systems in general; so this photo from a red canyon (Canyon de Chelly? Just a wild guess) fills that bill. Presumably the truck (?) is a tour vehicle of some kind. "If you look to your left, you'll see some rocks. And over to your right... more rocks".
This one had turned a deep shade of red that was unfixable, so I had to convert it to black and white. I know, lame. But once again, Sue was thinking about Nanook's love of gizmos. I personally couldn't tell you what any of these machines do, but hopefully at least one of them makes a high-pitched "BEEP" every ten seconds or so.
NOW BACK TO OUR REGULAR BLOG STUFF
Most of you are aware of my love for "little stuff" - pins, badges, small toys, advertising items, and so on - from years ago. I find them to be full of charm, and they often evoke the eras from which they come; eras that seem simpler to us now (through rose-colored lenses).
I'd managed to acquire a few tin-litho badges with bold colorful graphics advertising something called the "Sealtest Big Top TV Circus". Never heard of it! I think I had about nine of the badges, and assumed that it was the complete set. Then I saw this vintage ad:
Here are the first four. A bear, a camel, a chimp with a bellboy's hat, and a clown. Yep, checks out.
I suppose a circus can have two clowns. And a trained dog act, classic Ed Sullivan stuff. Elephants and Giraffes? I don't think I've ever seen a giraffe at a circus, but hey, anything goes.
A fearsome gorilla wants to eat us! A rare green hippopotamus would make a great pet. A horse that can probably do advanced mathematics is there, as is a goofy lion.
The mustachioed ringmaster is the emcee for the whole show, did he wear jodhpurs? A seal probably played horns, and balanced a ball on its nose, very impressive. The only nod to a sideshow is the strong man. And that tiger must have just eaten an clown, judging from the way it is licking its chops.
Big Top (was) a children's television show that aired on CBS from July 1, 1950 to 1957. The cast included Ed McMahon (Johnny Carson's future sidekick) as Ed the Clown and America's Most Muscular Man Dan Lurie as "Sealtest Dan The Muscle Man". The program originated live from the 32nd St. and Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia Armory.
The series debuted on July 1, 1950, and ran at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday until September 1950, when it moved to 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday, where it remained through January 6, 1951. It then moved to Saturday at noon, where it remained through the end of its run in 1957.
Don't they look great all together? I love 'em.
I hope you've enjoyed these Sealtest Big Top badges!
25 comments:
Major-
Leave it to Sue to find just the right images for a proper birthday celebration-! That little "girl to the left" is definitely causing a disturbance in the force. Maybe it's due to that fake Wedgwood vase sitting over in the corner.
That looks like a rather cheap outdoor 'trumpet' or 'horn' loudspeaker. It appears to be aimed right back towards the bed of the truck where [presumably] folks are seated-?
The electronics are a bit more 'high-brow'. In the upper left corner is a Hewlett-Packard HP150A Oscilloscope - an early entry for them, as Tektronix was/is considered the top-of-the-line in that field. And speaking of Tektronix, underneath the oscilloscope is a Tektronix 105 Square Wave Generator. Haven't the vaguest idea what is housed in that short equipment rack with the large cooling fan at the bottom. It's all those damn vacuum tubes... so much heat.
Were 'Chills' and 'Thrills' exclusively reserved for circus'-?? It certainly seems that way.
Thanks to Sue and the Major.
Major, I love the graphics on those little badges. You do know that they aren't as valuable, if their little tabs haven't been bent, right? You need to bend them, in order to increase their value! ;-)
I bet the speaker was needed on that truck, to tell sightseers what type of rocks they were looking at. Otherwise, the people would've just taken them for granite.
The little girl in the first pic could literally cut people in half, with her glowing red "laser eye." Don't tick her off!
Happy birthday, Nanook! I hope you get that toaster that you have been wanting, and also a pair of theater tickets for Over The Teacups!
@ TM!-
Over the Teacups. You didn't miss a beat-! Thanks.
Happy birthday, Nanook! Our birthdays are close to each other (mine's in about a week). It looks like Sue has picked out some good presents for you.
The gal next to [shudder] the willies girl, looks a lot like Laurie Metcalf, who plays Jackie on The Conners. And look, we can see other people reflected in the window glass! I wonder if that cake was home-made. It's decorated quite skillfully and its many layers look like they're separated by (maybe) apricot jam. I'd like a piece of it! There are daffodils on the table, so perhaps this was early spring. I bet that black box next to the cake is an early version of "Alexa". You had to submit your question or command in writing, put it in the box, and mail it to Amazon. You would get your reply 6 to 8 weeks later. (Plus, however many years before Amazon even existed.)
Is that a splotch of 'bird stuff' on the speaker's support? How pleasant.
I tried to read the text at the top of that boxed gizmo on the lower left. It seems to be "Type [something] Square Wave Generator (or Separator? or Apparatus? or...)". Maybe this collection of electronics is an early music synthesizer. (I doubt it.) It's neat that it has a cooling fan; a hefty one, too! Intriguing stuff, whatever it is. EDIT- Ah! Nanook confirmed the Square Wave generator!
Wow, these badges really ARE colorful, especially when viewed all together like this. I have no idea where you would find the ones you were missing (plus others). Probably didn't just look down and see them lying on the sidewalk. It's OK if the tiger just finished eating a clown. It would be at least six months before anyone realized he was missing. Besides, there are still two others.
They were made by Green Duck Co., Chicago. Makes you wonder what else they made?
Thanks to Sue for Nanook's special birthday photos. And to Major for the badge collection. In addition to bending over the tabs, as TM! suggested, you can triple their value by pounding them flat with a hammer!
Happy birthday, Nanook! Hope you have more fun than a barrel of muskrats!
One second after that picture was taken, the sofa collapsed. And then the cat licked the cake.
No wonder the tiger looks so satisfied - clowns taste grrreat!
Happy birthday, Nanook! I identified the oscilloscope (just what it was, not the make and model) although other than looking cool in every TV science lab, I'm not sure what the practical application is.
The circus pins are fun, even if I've never heard of the show. You mean Ed had a show before The Tonight Show? I thought NBC cloned him especially for it!
And, Melissa, I always thought clowns were supposed to taste kinda funny...
Happy birthday Nanook! Hopefully you receive a birthday gift that is almost as cool as a "Tektronix 105 Square Wave Generator." (Who are we kidding, that isn't possible!)
Cake and ice cream! Save me some!
I’ll be right over to celebrate - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANOOK!
Sue
BTW, did anyone notice the classy decorating in the first picture? The ‘branches’ in the fake Wedgwood vase match the ones in the curtain pattern.
Sue
Happy Birthday Nanook! Many Happy Returns of the Day!
Wow, Creepy Girl is Creepy. Looks like an array of sweet liqueurs spread out with the cake & coffee, perhaps some home made?
Truck driver will have a hard time tapping that sign, up on top of the cab.
Yup, all my oscilloscopes in college were Tektronix but I’ve tweaked a few HP also. I’ve used a square wave generator too, but have forgotten why or what for. Notice the brick and steel sash are painted over and those floor tiles undoubtedly contain asbestos. That’s a great pic all on its own. Some secret mystery laboratory whose air ducts are big enough to crawl through?
Major, I love the pin collection, there’s a mass effect seeing them all at once. Your persistence is inspiring. Thank you!
Two cannibals are eating a clown. First cannibal says “Does this taste funny to you?”
I’ll be here all week, try the veal.
JG
Major...you have another house to store all the stuff? Living in Cincinnati at the time, I have no recollection of these badges...or anything similar as I suspect children's shows would copy each other between station and cities. Happy Birthday Nanook! As for that young girl..."No cake for YOU sourpuss! " KS
Happy Birthday Nanook! Hope you enjoy the delicious cake in this photo. This photo looks VERY European...cake eating was very fancy, with the fancy tablecloth, and relatives from the old country squished on the sofa with "weird girl" and Laurie Metcalf. Fancy china too. This had to be a "thing". I went to many of these "things" as a child, and probably also gave off a "weird girl" vibe. Children were to sit still, not speak, not smile, just sit, eat your cake, and then...when the adults are done with you, be excused from the table. I still have PTSD over these types of FFE. Forced Family Events. The pins are awesome. Would like to see these graphics larger. Ed McMahon + Wilard Scott + countless others: normals that became clowns to become normals again. I do not like clowns, or clowning. In acting school we had a guest star "clowning class"....I spent hours "sweeping a floor" and "turning a doorknob"...emoting like a clown would. It was a movement class technically. That teacher didn't last long. We all thought at the time: "that was weird...." moving on...to Dan Lurie who was kind of a force to be reckoned with with gyms, weights, etc. etc. Apparently, that Sealtest show was the first color TV program ever in the US. Now that I've mentioned Sealtest, I do have to point out that it is the weirdest name for a dairy company, ever. Carnation is sweet and lovely. Sealtest...are we testing seals...like the seals on a freezer or seals at Marineland? Seal Test. it doesn't even make grammatical sense. "Hey Roger? See those seals over there? The ones on the dock? Hey...we got a new testing program for them: the Seal Test. It tests....something....?" See....still doesn't make any sense. I remember them in WDW and thought the same thing...stupid name. Where is Carnation? or something like "Grandma's Best"....I'll stop now. Happy Birthday Nanook!
@ Stu29573-
You can use the oscilloscope to 'look at' the square waves created by that square wave generator. (Now - if I only had a sine wave generator - think The Outer Limits...) Thanks, everyone.
@ Bu-
I'd never heard of the Sealtest Show (Big Top) being the first in color. As the show was broadcast on CBS, it would have to be broadcast in [non-compatible with B&W] Sequential Color System - mechanical television; and CBS only shipped about 200 sets. Initially approved by the FCC; then given 'thumbs down' when RCA developed the 'dot sequential color system' "compatible color".
The Cisco Kid is usually credited with being the first television series "to be filmed in color" - in 1950. RCA's first color TV offering - the 'CTC-100' - wasn't available until 1954, so. The Adventures of Superman that began airing for the 1954 Season were all broadcast in color.
Early Color TV Shows...
My Friend Flicka - 1955-56
Sergeant Preston of the Yukon - 1955-58
Judge Roy Bean - 1956
and so on...
Nanook, the little girl to the left is probably a Scanner, she can make people’s heads blow up just by thinking about it. Also, that horn speaker actually produced some of the richest, most vivid sound ever. It was like having an orchestra in your truck! It also made a tour guide sound like James Earl Jones. I wish I had a Tektronix 105 Square Wave Generator, it would really help keep my stacks of paper from blowing away. Happy Birthday, Nanook!
TokyoMagic!, you are right, but I am waiting for just the right moment to bend all the tabs. Maybe the next Superbowl? These things have to be done right, you know. As for rock jokes, you can never go wrong working “schist” into a sentence. I wish I could cut people in half with laser eyes, especially on the freeway.
Nanook, I don’t get it, and perhaps I don’t want to.
JB, funny, I was thinking that “Laurie Metcalf” reminded me of Helen Hunt. I guess we are going to have to fight about it, though I don’t want to. It’s just the rules. That is a pretty fancy cake, presumably home made, somebody knew what they were doing. Hey, if you have a vehicle outdoors, birds are going to “bird”. Again, it’s the rules. I’m wondering why anybody would take a photo of that electronic stuff. “I’ll frame it and hang it on my wall”. As for finding the missing badges, it was all thanks to eBay; one person was selling a while bunch of them (individually), and I was amazed to see examples that I wasn’t even looking for. I still want to upgrade the strong man badge, but the one I have is the only one I’ve ever found for sale.
Melissa, muskrats are now sold in vacuum-sealed bundles of 12. I don’t expect everyone to know that, but let’s just say it’s all thanks to NASA.
Stu29573, oscilloscopes are useful for… for… well, they just are. Go ask your mother. I’d never heard of the Sealtest Big Top either, and was amazed that it ran for over 7 years. I wonder if any episodes survive? And did Ed McMahon every say “Hey-oooooh!”?
Andrew, I’ve never seen a square wave, but I don’t get out much. Maybe they have them in Europe?
Sue, we will save you a corner piece of cake, with an extra big frosting flower!
Sue, I actually did notice the branches in the vase, and remember when Ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging) was sort of a fad. I’m sure my mom tried it.
JG, I noticed all the bottles on the table; they were all there for the little girl. The grownups are clearly worried about being wished into the cornfield. “Tektronix” sounds like a great name for stereo speakers, they really dropped the ball on that one. “We make the speaker cones out of cracked plastic so that they really buzz!”. I have a mental issue with collecting, nothing drives me crazier than having all but one thing in a set. And there are some sets of things that are still incomplete. So… I’m crazy!
KS, well in a way you are not wrong… a lot of my stuff is still in boxes at my mom’s house! I’m fascinated by regional kid’s shows… I think when I lived in Virginia there was a program hosted by Bungles the Clown. We saw him live at a Navy Christmas event, it was like seeing Olivier onstage.
Bu, my friend Mr. X loves cake, and he’s always jealous when I go to San Luis Obispo, since the Madonna Inn is famous for their cakes. I recommend the toffee cake, it’s amazing. I have vague and fleeing memories of attending many childhood birthday parties, and they all kind of mush together. Pin the tail on the donkey, water balloons (somebody always wound up crying), party favors, etc. As a kid, aren’t ALL events “FFEs”? No choice in the matter. I’m not crazy about clowns in general, though I hate to disparage the people who perform as clowns. They admittedly do tend to give me the creeps though. That’s my own issue. I knew a girl who went to clown college, at the time I’d never heard of such a thing. Now I understand that many actors study “clowning” to become serious actors. I think “Sealtest” sounds like it is something that is safe for consumption. Not full of nails and hair like other ice creams. Have you ever seen seals play horns or balance balls on their noses? They would pass most high school tests.
Nanook, yes, I want a sine wave generator. Square waves are too crunchy.
Nanook, I remember seeing something about “mechanical television”, and it sounds so clunky and crude, but I guess they had to start somewhere. The idea of them being able to do color with that method seems beyond belief. Hearing about all of those old shows that were filmed in color makes me assume that nearly all of them no longer exist in any form, even crude kinescopes.
Happy Birthday, Nanook! I wish you all the best on your special day.
All I remember about Sealtest is that there was the Sealtest Ice Cream Parlor at the Magic Kingdom in the 1980's.
The Sealtest badges are wonderful! So is the Sealtest Big Top TV show promo. Great stuff! Thanks, Major.
Thank to you too, Sue!
The one circus show I remember was "International Circus". Each week they'd be at a different European circus -- often a comparatively small indoor affair -- and Don Ameche, sitting in a back row, would turn to the camera and introduce each act.
Beyond that circus-type performers would turn up on Ed Sullivan, Mickey Mouse Club (the syndicated version with new and old segments) and some other programs. Many were described as night club acts. I imagined growing up and dining in the kind of swank establishment you'd see in old movies, where somebody was always being found dead in a singer's dressing room, and the entertainment would include plate-spinners and acrobats as well as a chorus line and Martin and Lewis.
I just noticed that the first photo is reversed (I think). Laurie Metcalf's shirt is buttoned like a guys' shirt, and the gent next to her has his shirt buttoned like a ladies' shirt. I flipped it over. Laser girl still looks just as creepy though.
Major, I'm guessing that the electronics setup is located in a college somewhere, where they teach such stuff. Or on the set of an Outer Limits episode, as Nanook noted.
And those bundles of NASA-made muskrats taste like Tang! (And dissolve instantly in water.)
I haven't seen a square wave, either... but I have seen a geek smile.
Major, I was thinking the same thing about the girl wishing people, and things into the cornfield. I believe that's where her little brother, Anthony, resides now.
Sine waves sound like flutes; square waves sound like clarinets and pulse waves (narrow square waves) sound like oboes. Sawtooth waves sound like trumpets.
Sealtest Vanilla Bean Ice Milk was our default frozen dessert when I was a kid.
I have a friend who teaches at a circus school, but she does more of the stilt walking and acrobatics than the traditional clowning.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANOOK!!
That electronic contraption looks like many HEATHKIT projects by dad used to build. Our color family room TV was a HEATHKIT built by my dad …. It felt like it took forever.
As a professional model maker I thrive off of building and fabricating intricate precise things …. But I would NEVER have the patience to build my own electronic things ……
Major-
"Hearing about all of those old shows that were filmed in color makes me assume that nearly all of them no longer exist in any form, even crude kinescopes".
As the original source material was film - no need for any Kinescopes - all of which were crummy - and supposedly using lenticular film, could record color - but I don't believe any color kines were ever done.
K. Martinez, huh, I never knew that Sealtest was a park sponsor! Or if I did know it, I forgot it (which is more likely). I still haven’t had time to look on YouTube to see if there are any clips of the old TV show, but after I’m done answering comments, I’ll do it.
DBenson, yes, in those days, so many shows were “variety shows”; dancers, singers, jugglers, dog acts, broadway performers, rock bands, EVERYTHING. Even when I was a kid, variety shows were still the big thing - Sonny & Cher and such. Plate spinners - a lost art? Does anybody do that anymore?
JB, I forgot to mention that the first photo was taken in Australia, so that solves all of the issues you mentioned. The Outer Limits! When I was really little, the intro to that show used to kind of scare me. Of course I watch it now and it’s nothing. But I think I expected it to lead to something with monsters. I’m mad that the series was on Amazon Prime a while ago, but it has since been removed, I’d love to watch it (that and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”).
Melissa, all we got was a cold rock to lick. But we were happy!
Mike Cozart, good old Heathkits, I remember seeing them at Radio Shack. I should have expressed an interest in them, maybe my mom and dad would have bought me one to see if I had any aptitude for such a thing! I’m not sure I’d want to build my own electronic thing from scratch, but a kit is a kind of model. No?
Nanook, just the thought of “lenticular film” is kind of mind blowing!
Happy (belated on the East Coast) Birthday, Nanook.
@ Dean Finder-
Thank you. Much appreciated.
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