1970s Cartoons and Tunes

A common thread runs through Saturday morning cartoons of the 1970s. Music. Rankin-Bass produced Kid Power for ABC.  Think Peanuts and Our Gang go through diversity training as songs convey messages of peace, love, and harmony for children.  ABC aired original...

James Bond: Gadgets and Gals

James Bond has gadgets that would make Thomas Edison green with envy for not inventing them.  Q, of course, monitors Bond’s gadgets from conception to execution. The exchanges between Q and Bond reveal how and why the gadgets can be used.  Later in the film,...

Origins: “All in the Family”

All in the Family dominated prime time programming in the first half of the 1970s.  It was a jewel for the Tiffany Network, a nickname for CBS because of the network’s high quality news and entertainment programming. Created by Norman Lear, All in the Family...

Origins: “Happy Days”

A logical nexus can be drawn between the 1973 film American Graffiti and the television show Happy Days, ABC’s prime time juggernaut that debuted in 1974.  Drive-In hamburger stand.  Rock and Roll.  Teenagers.  Ron Howard. Actually, the conception of Happy Days...

“Movin’ With Nancy” (Sinatra)

1967 was quite a year for Nancy Sinatra, the daughter of the Chairman of the Board.  She starred in a prime time television special and achieved #1 song status.  Sponsored by Royal Crown Cola, Movin’ With Nancy aired on NBC on December 11, 1967. Predictably,...