Lenticular Pinback Buttons

Say, have I ever told you about my Big Bag O' Buttons? It's big. And full of buttons. Pinback buttons, that is. Swimmin' pools. Movie stars. Due to my incompetence, I have had to move many posts around (hither, and also thither) so these were originally going to be seen by you, the Junior Gorillas, months from today. Oh well. Anyway, I will  be focusing on lenticular ("flasher") pins. I obviously liked those, because I have quite a few!

Well I'll be a.... A WHAT? A silly goose? WHAT WILL I BE?

Oh, a Monkey's Uncle! This one is (of course) from the 1965 Disney film starring Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello. (Yes, yes, I see that the button has a 1964 copyright, don't worry about it). You may be familiar with the theme song, sung by the Beach Boys before they'd made it big. Whoa-whoa!

John F. Kennedy? Say, I've heard of him.

Presumably this was produced during the dark days not long after JFK's assassination, which makes it historically interesting.

Remember the 1979 movie "The Black Hole"? It was Disney's answer to "Star Wars", with a plot that had many similarities to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Only with more goofy robots "hovering" on very visible wires. The last time I saw a portion of it on TV, I was astonished at how cheap some of the sets looked - a control panel with buttons and blinky lights appeared to be made of painted foam core. Yikes.

Still, I have a fondness for this movie, in spite of its many flaws. And so I am happy to have this flasher pin with the name of the movie swirling into the inexorable gravitational pull of THE BLACK HOLE!

After JFK's death, Lyndon B. Johnson became President. And of course his candidacy for the 1964 election would not go uncontested. Here we can see LBJ, his wife "Lady Bird" looking bewildered as they moved out of the White House.

And who was supposed to be moving in? Why, Barry Goldwater (Senator from Arizona) and his wife Margaret ("Peggy"), riding on a smiling yellow elephant. Peggy looks like Keely Smith! Turns out LBJ won the election in a landslide.

I've always liked Cap'n Crunch (did you know that his full name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch?). More info: The character was created by Jay Ward and voiced by Daws Butler (in imitation of actor Charles Butterworth). Cap'n Crunch sailed the Milk Seas in the S.S. Guppy in search of adventure, joined by his loyal crew, Seadog, Alfie, Dave, Brunhilde, and Carlyle.  

In both 1985 and 1999, Cap'n Crunch went missing and the kids of the world had to find him. I'm not sure where he was eventually discovered, but I hope it wasn't one of those places that sailors tend to frequent. And by that I mean video arcades.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this batch; I have LOTS more pinback buttons to share with you.

Costumed Characters, April 1975

Here's a pair of fun scans featuring some costumed characters from the 1973 animated feature, "Robin Hood". Even though this was two years later, Disney wouldn't release "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" until 1977. So by some standards, it was still a relatively recent "classic". 

There's the scheming Prince John, I like his big nose and beady little eyes! He's hanging out next to a trash can, which is a bit odd. You're royalty, Prince John! Even if you are conniving and heartless. And probably stinky. Two young girls have been granted an audience with the Prince; check out that coat on the one to our left! Maybe it reflects her big personality. The girl on the right seems to be a bit more shy and demure.

Lovable Baloo - oops, I mean Little John - wears mostly green so that he can vanish into Sherwood Forest after robbing from the rich. I do that too! Maybe Baloo is a distant cousin? Kids seem to be drawn to him, though the one to the left (with the light blue shirt) is frustrated. "I'm Little John's biggest fan, and he doesn't even know I exist". Life is unfair, kid.

Omnibus, June 1970

If you're going to build a bus, and you want to carry more passengers, you might consider making your bus longer, or wider (or both). But you could also add a second story to your vehicle! GENIUS! Let's call it the "Omnibus", shall we? 

Here's a nice photo of an Omnibus as it passed the Swift Market House. Ironically, the market house just sat there, it wasn't swift at all. The folks on the upper level can see into the second story windows, I hope that the people inside are "decent". What if a child saw a bare ankle? There's nothing more shameful or traumatizing. Notice that C&H Sugar gets a mention on the Market House sign, they shared the space starting in 1965, but 1970 would be their final year. 

This next one is from a different lot, but is also dated "June, 1970". The bus is jam-packed! Those guests will ride all the way to the Plaza, while the rest of the suckers have to walk. Let's point at them and laugh, shall we? You can throw things too, just don't be too obvious about it.   

Snoozer Storybook Land, March 1962

Here are two very boring photos of Storybook Land. We don't even get half a Monstro! No canal boats either. When you consider all of the things that a photographer can capture at Disneyland, it's easy to wonder why our hero decided to take these pictures.

Well, at least we see a bit of the Casey Jr. Circus Train - just barely. Otherwise it's the Storybook Land sign, and some bare earth embankments. And a glimpse into "Never Never Land" to the right (though not a very good one).

This guy just loved that sign! I give it points for getting some of the old wood and chain link fencing that used to be common all over Fantasyland. And hey, I even like the exit turnstiles; just imagine the clicky noise they made as they counted each guest as they exited! Click - click - click. So satisfying.

Whew! It feels good to get these published so that I don't have to worry about them again.

Universal Studios 1950s

I recently found some slides of Universal Studios that are undated, but they seem to be from before it became a big tourist attraction (Wikipedia says that what we consider the "modern" studio tour began in July of 1964). I admit that I don't recognize a lot of these backlot locations - to the point where I started to wonder if these photos really were from Universal. But some additional scans (to be seen in a future post) confirmed it.

OK, I don't even have a guess as to what this massive structure is supposed to be. It's not exactly medieval, even though the towers have crenellations. Oh yeah, say it with me... CRENELLATIONS. But it also has those fancy spiral columns, and those Romanesque (?) arches. Maybe it's supposed to be Constantinople. Yeah, probably not.

There it is again, I could probably stitch the previous photo together with this one, but that involves effort. And you know how lazy I am! 

Universal Studios has suffered from several devastating fires over the decades, so much of what we might see in old photos is likely long-gone. Apparently there were fires in 1932, 1949, 1957, 1967, 1987, and another in 1997. Hey, where were YOU in 1997? Your eyes suddenly got very shifty! Anyhoo, this set appears to be set in France. Or Belgium. "Livres d'occasion", that means "Liver for every occasion". 

"Anselmo Fine Italian Foods"... so... little Italy? That building looks pretty fancy for Italian Foods. Where are the bricks and the fire escapes and the kids playing in the open fire hydrants? Those trailers are where astronauts spend weeks in quarantine, in case you were wondering.

Check out the houses to the right, up on the hill's ridge; I always thought it would be fun to overlook the studio, you never know what you might see. Charlton Heston punching a monkey? Steve McQueen driving irresponsibly? Audrey Hepburn wearing a floppy hat? ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

I sure wish I knew what they were filming; Universal Studios is a real working movie/TV studio after all. This looks like Old Mexico, perhaps. "Vineria", that's where they sell Red Vines. I prefer Twizzlers. 

Well, I know that my commentary wasn't very edifying, but at least it was terse. Stay tuned for "part two", whenever I get around to it!

Two Beauties From the '50s

Here's a pair of extra-nice scans from the 1950s! Let's start with this great look at the Tomorrowland Skyway terminal - which means that this one is from no earlier than mid-June, 1956. I've always loved the ultra-modern look of this structure, mostly no-nonsense horizontals and verticals; but there's also the addition of the tower with the colorful shapes that would turn in the breeze - like something that the Eameses would cook up. Below the tower and a little to the right, we can just see some of the vending machines at the Space Bar, where guests could presumably buy sandwiches, or maybe a hot cup of coffee, just like the automats in big cities.  The pine tree to our right blocks a decoration above the Space Bar showing Santa sitting astride a rocket.

If you walked through the archway of Sleeping Beauty Castle, you'd find yourself in this charming courtyard, with Merlin's Magic Shop to the left. I've always liked the half-timbered look of Merlin's, as well as the winding waterspout, and even the hanging sign. This photo is from a different lot than the first one, which is why we can see the entrance to the castle walk-through. That opened in April of 1957.

Storybook Land 1950s

I'm delving into a lot of slides from the '50s; in spite of them being Kodachrome transparencies, they've turned an odd murky yellowish shade. So strange, since I have other Kodachrome slides from that same era that are vivid and beautiful. Still, these aren't a total loss.

Somehow the lighting makes this shot of Cinderella Castle resemble a Mayfield Parrish illustration. All good castles have a tunnel underneath them, though they don't all have colorful circus trains that pass through those tunnels. Sadly, the framing of this image does not show the tiny pumpkin coach, my favorite detail.

I almost skipped this one, but then figured, "What the heck!". That's what I said to my pet parrot, Perry, and he said it right back to me. The Seven Dwarfs live in that cottage, and the surrounding forest is the kind of dark place where it's easy to believe that witches and scary, grasping trees could be found.

This is actually a pretty nice look at Geppetto's Village, one of the more intricate scenes in Storybook Land. So many charmingly-crooked little buildings. I love the details, such as the bridge leading to the village gate. "Who goes there?". Even the cobblestones on the street and tiny marionettes in Geppetto's window are there. Not to mention the show-covered mountains that watch over the village.

A Pair From August, 1966

Here we are, in Disneyland, near the end of the summer. August that is; soon, the kids will be heading back to school. But for now, there's still plenty of time for some theme park fun. This trio is taking the opportunity to rest their weary feet in the afternoon. The younger couple is laughing at a dirty joke that Grandma told, even though she appears to be very prim and proper. She's a firecracker, though! The woman in the middle has a large bag from the Hallmark store, what could be in it? 

Judging from the crowd, you'd think that there was a sale on Zamfir albums (he was the Master of the Pan Flute, after all), but instead, Goofy and Pluto are in the Plaza, greeting guests and taking photos. Or having their photos took. Tooken. Taked. Man, I don't talk so good. It sure looks like the adults are as thrilled to see these big stars as the kids are. "Get out of my way, I'm the vice president of a prominent fertilizer conglomerate! My employees worship me!". Goofy and Pluto just shake their heads in amusement, they've seen it all.

Yellow Monorail, March 1962

The Disneyland monorail looked like a friendly shark that you could ride on; in this case, a friendly yellow shark. I have two fun photos from 1962 featuring Monorail Saffron - the jolly Mark II unirail that we all love. 

There it is, a-waitin' at the station. It didn't need to steam up, or anything. The nuclear engines were quiet and efficient, propelling the Monorail much in the way common star drives are used today (to put it in  "layman's terms"). I like the tropical plants that surrounded the lagoon, sort of a precursor to the lagoon at WDW's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" attraction. To our right is the funny little bandstand where The Yachtsmen (an excellent folk band) often performed. Hang down your head, Tom Dooley!

You know my philosophy: why take one photo when you can take two? This one captures a Skyway gondola, swinging wildly. Looks like fun.

A Pair From April 1959

Let's take a look at more photos from Disneyland, circa April 1959! We'll start with this nice shot of the Autopia, as a boy with his red driving cap drives with the intensity of someone in the Monaco Grand Prix. In the next lane over, a mom looks much more relaxed, as if she was on the way to the store. Notice the fire extinguisher strapped to the street light - I wonder if any Autopia cars ever burst into flames? Now that's excitement! Just visible above red cap's head we can see evidence of some construction, probably for the soon-to-open Monorail.

Next is this fun view of two ladies at a window near what would be the exit for most mortals. I'm not sure what special services were available at that window; any ideas? We get a nice look at the passenger train rolling stock as it sat at Main Street Station on a beautiful day. It might be April, but it was warm enough for a light dress or Capri pants!