Mark Twain Guys
It's time for even more scans, courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor. He gives so much, and asks nothing in return. EXCEPT FOR YOUR IMMORTAL SOUL! Just kidding, sorry if I frightened you. We're going to hang out with some of the Mark Twain's crew today. The Order of the Red String Tie. I just made that up, but it's brilliant, and somebody should give me one million dollars.
"Hey Marty, how is Doc Brown?". Marty would laugh, but (as far as I can tell) this photo is from 1984, so he just gives us a slightly baffled smile instead. It's OK, I have the benefit of being from THE FUTURE!
I don't know this fella's name (where is his name tag??), but he could very well be an old-timer who goes back to the Walt Days. "Walt called me Charlie. That isn't my name, but it was a thrill, anyhow!". What a story.
Uh-oh, look at this guy. "C'mon kid, Miss Crabtree knows you are playing hooky, and the truant officer will be here any minute". "Aw, gee whiz!".
Mike and Christopher. Together they were known as the "Gruesome Twosome". Well, not really, but they liked to pretend that was true. "I've changed the password to our clubhouse. Now it's two knocks and a 'ca-CAW'!". "Gosh, I'll never remember that!".
I know this one seems redundant, but I included it because a young Weird Al Yankovich is walking past Christopher. He's like a sturgeon!
A different crew member named "Mike" satisfies his sweet tooth with a Snickers bar. I'm guessing that it is a no-no to eat while on duty as a CM, so I hope Mike enjoys his unemployment. Rules are there for a reason, sir! His supervisor will punch a hole through his hat as the final coup de grâce. It would be different if he'd been eating a Dolly Madison Zinger, but what's done is done.
MANY THANKS to the Mysterious Benefactor!
15 comments:
Interesting....that first guy is wearing a "30th Year" name tag, so it should be from 1985. The others are wearing regular name tags. Is Christopher wearing a light saber on his hip?
Mike wasn't feeling like himself earlier. In fact, he was feeling more like Betty White.....until he ate that Snickers. Snickers satisfies.
Major-
"With Snickers you get a fistful of peanuts in every bar". Exactly... who cares if you're 'eatin' on the job-!'
Thanks to the M B.
I think "Charlie" does have a name tag; on the left. But it's turned away from us. What else could it be? Maybe the pic is flipped, left to right, and the tag should be on the right like the rest of the photos.
I wonder if Christopher's pals, "Pooh" and "Eeyore" are nearby? Probably not. I don't think they were allowed to stray out of Fantasyland.
Mike looks a little impish. I wonder if he engaged in "shenanigans"... like someone else we know.
I wasn't even aware that they had Snickers in Disneyland. Maybe he brought it from home? Maybe he has a stash of goodies hidden somewhere?
I guess all us Junior Gorillas have already lost our immortal soul to the Mysterious Benefactor, after all the pics he has provided for us. Oh well, like you said above, "what's done is done". Thanks, MB and MP.
The second unidentified cast member is JIM EASON. He was a well known cast member who received several cast awards. Off hand I do not know when he started , but he was actually the first cast member selected to open the “new” HAUNTED MANSION in 1969 - at that time he was already a seasoned DISNEYLANDER. I remember reading an article about his experience with the opening of the Mansion and he said when they first opened guest would walk into the foyer and say “did the butler do it!??” As if they were the first clever guest to say that. Lol. It looks from todays photo it looks like Jim worked well into the 1980’s.
I've got one of those "Captain" hat badges as seen in the first photo; I'd love to get a matching hat for it, but I'm not sure what style hat that is!
Unbuttoned vests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYT_gsOyaGU I am not sure what else to say, and I don't care how shiny white your teeth are. The older guy I do remember: but at the Haunted Mansion always looking ominous and indifferent. I worked for someone who was also on the Haunted Mansion opening crew: then went to WDW to head up resorts...then to the Queen Mary to help "fix". I found out that decades later after reading an old Disneyland Line. I'll take a Snickers over an unbuttoned vest: and here we have poured gasoline over a fire. Eating on stage: absolutely verboten. Unless you are leading a VIP tour: then you can. Otherwise mortals cannot. Yes: there were Snickers in Disneyland in the vending machines: along with other things you would never find in the park INCLUDING Zingers!!! Although I think it was another brands Zinger: not the Dolly Madison brand. Or maybe they were ACTUAL Zingers? I often got little pink donuts covered with pink coconut. I am pretty sure the vendor was Hostess. Mike and Christopher: hmmmm....I don't think Mike is Mike: I have seen that guy before and his name was not Mike: and these particular photos may have been taken after my time: due to the headset radio system. In the 80's they looked more CIA headset, than these little black ones. Christophers name tag has some service pin or something. If you had a service pin you would have to request a little hole to be drilled into your name tag and it was blank rather than having a castle or a Mickey. Service pins and "Flags of other nations" were the only acceptable embellishments to be worn, and issued by wardrobe. Tour guides had the shiny "D" pins, and some others had little things: participant pins and whatnot: like the Orville Redenbacher pin that always broke and was too heavy for the costume and it drooped: so people rarely wore them. The broken ones collected on the bottom of my locker...before I tossed them all out. The flag pins would communicate to guests what other languages you may speak. You got more money for that. Not a lot: I think it was .10 more an hour. Any pin/name tag was to be worn on the side of the body dictated by your costume/wardrobe. In most cases it was on the right. Some people made up their own rules: "Verboten". As a supervisor we had clips on the back of our name tags to clip to a tie, shirt pocket, etc. I'm pretty sure I remember there was a pocket protector with a place for a name tag too. Did I see those on painters or other trades? hmmmm....in any case: thanks MB and Major for the morning meltdown!
Many thanks to the MB for providing a great opportunity to descend into minutiae. It’s what GDB does best!
Fun to see the CM faces, most look like they are having fun, probably because of unbuttoned vests and candy bars.
Thanks Major!
JG
I had moved on some 7-8 years before these were taken. But I do recognize Jim Eason. He was one of those 'fixtures'...the 'old man' in the Park. Lots of Southern grace and humor coming from Georgia. This is a great shot of him. Sadly, Jim passed in 1987. I'm going to add this picture to the FB site dedicated to those we lost. KS
I don’t know about Dolly Madison and Disneyland but in the 1980’s HOSTESS FRUIT PIES ( cherry or apple ) were sold at FISHING PIER SNACKS shack on Tom Sawyer Island , in the Fort Wilderness Canteen and the LUNCHING PAD in Tomorrowland …. And I’d speculate elsewhere.
SARA LEE deserts were served at CAFE ORLEANS and Le Petite Window in New Orleans Square and The Main Street Bake Shop and Walt Disney World - both locations were sponsored by Sara Lee . I know the white coconut cake was very popular at Cafe Orleans it was served with two strawberries. I still see the coconut cake for sale in the frozen section of supermarkets.
The metal pin Bu mentioned was a program initiated by Disney costume designers when EPCOT CENTER was being developed.. this was to discontinue the use of costume patches with sponsorship identification … so if the sponsor left the costume didn’t have to be damaged removing the sewn in patch so a series of metal sponsorship pins were used … COLUMBIA COFFEE GROWERS …DOLE… ORVILLE REDENBACHER , AT&T etc are some Disneyland examples …. But these eventually were abandoned as the pins broke , castmembers lost them and the continual removal / applying of the pins caused fabric damage . The pins are very collectible today especially try to get the full set of opening year EPCOT CENTER ones.
It’s interesting to see that sometimes Disney didn’t even attempt to remove the sponsor patches at all after the sponsorship ended : an example was GOODYEAR PEOPLEMOVER … GOODYEAR vacated in 1981 and the attraction costumes with the Goodyear Logo ( and goodyear colors blue & yellow)on the jumpsuit and coats were used until 1987 when a whole new costume was designed!
BTW:
Is the slogan :
“Nobody does it like Sara Lee”. Or
“Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee” ???
^ “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee”
“Everybody doesn’t like something,
But nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee”
I think we members of the Order the Red Hankerchief better look into a Trademark of the name... KS
KS, wow, it sounds like Jim Eason passed not long after today’s photo was taken. I think he’d be glad to know that so many people remember him all these years later!
Mike Cozart, I guess when I think about it, the Dolly Madison ads were in Vacationland magazines (and possibly Disney News as well?), which is why I associate those snacks with Disneyland, but the ads actually never mention Disneyland at all! It’s not like the famous C&H Sugar ad with the bag of sugar on the fountain. It’s funny how the mind works though, I really did associate Dolly Madison with Disneyland for years. I knew that Sara Lee was a sponsor of one of the restaurants (Cafe Orleans, thank you). Growing up, I don’t remember getting a lot of treats at the park, maybe an ice cream bar on a hot day. I don’t even recall ever going into Carnation for a cone! I’m sure my mom and dad didn’t want to spend the money, or give us “junk”. Gosh I’d love to see some of those sponsorship pins - I have a few old patches, including a few that I later learned were modern fakes, I literally threw them in the trash to remove them from the world. But I have maybe three or four genuine examples! Wow, that’s crazy that they kept the Goodyear patches so long after that company bowed out.
Anon, I’ve always thought it was “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee”. What an odd slogan, almost as odd as “With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good”.
Lou and Sue, I concur
Lou and Sue, I can hear the jingle in my brain!
KS, it’s different enough! I will make millions of dollars - somehow!
I remember the vending machines that were located behind Main St. (behind the Hills Brothers Coffee House/American Egg House). I think that was the first time that I ever saw "modern" vending machines with the springs that turn, to release the items positioned between the coils. And I do remember them having Dolly Madison items....not sure about the Zingers, though. But I remember buying Dolly Madison cinnamon rolls that came two per pack, and with a thick white frosting. I also remember buying Grandma's Cookies from those machines.
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