James Bond: The Beginning

When President John F. Kennedy declared Ian Fleming to be a favorite author, he unknowingly triggered a popular culture trend.  Kennedy’s statement established Fleming’s creation of fictional spy James Bond as the standard against which spy genre...

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....

“King Kong” and “Tom of T.H.U.M.B.”

King Kong is a New York City film icon.  He climbed to the top of the Empire State Building in the 1933 and 2005 King Kong films.  In 1976, he climbed to the top of the World Trade Center. But the 1966-67 Saturday morning cartoon series King Kong depicted the title...