1960s Sex Symbols: Catwoman Is Purrrfect

Julie Newmar’s sex appeal as Catwoman on the 1960s television show Batman stemmed not only from a statuesque figure, a skin-tight outfit, and a beautiful visage.  Newmar’s self-assuredness was a powerful force, too. In The Twilight Zone episode Of Late I...

1960s Sex Symbols: Ginger or Mary Ann?

Ginger or Mary Ann?  It’s a question that’s puzzled baby boomers and Generation Xers that watched Gilligan’s Island, a show that lasted three years on CBS (1964-67) and enjoyed a thriving life in reruns in the 1970s and 1980s. Ginger Grant was a...

1960s Sex Symbols: Spy Girls

The success of the James Bond franchise during the Cold War inspired several imitators.  Like any trend, the spy genre invited parody.  In the 1960s, especially. Get Smart partnered Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, with a woman possessing the combination of brains and beauty....

1960s Sex Symbols: Private Eyes

Honey West only lasted the 1965-66 season on ABC, but it proved that a sexy, sassy, smart woman can be just as good a private detective as the guys from 77 Sunset Strip, Surfside Six, or Bourbon Street Beat. A spinoff, Honey West began with Anne Francis playing the...

1960s Sex Symbols: Witch or Genie?

Who would you rather have as your other half in romance, marriage, and domesticity?  A witch or a genie? Elizabeth Montgomery played Samantha Stephens, a sorceress of sorts in Bewitched.  It aired on ABC from 1964 to 1972.  A housewife, Samantha had powers exceeding...

Hollywood and the Homefront

Warner Brothers churned out animation during World War II like an assembly line.  Its animated short films injected optimism into the American spirit. In Super Rabbit (1943), Bugs Bunny takes on the persona of the title character, a parody of Superman.  He battles the...