How Boris Karloff Stole the Grinch in '66

Wish Books

What did people get for the holidays in '66? Check this site out to see complete Wish Book catalogues from Pennys, Sears and others!

http://www.wishbookweb.com

Sid Milward and the Nitwits

Music hall comedy from England that was popular for many years prior to 1966 and remained so for many years afterward, Sid Milward and His Nitwits are seen here filmed off of British TV in that year. They were known throughout Europe and appeared at various times in the US including a HOLLYWOOD PALACE clip available on YourTube.

The Bible...In the Beginning

Biblical epics had been huge in the 1950s, topped by the Oscar-winning BEN-HUR at the end of the decade. The 1960s--perhaps due to the failure of the long-in-production CLEOPATRA--was not a decade kind to epics in general. But that didn't stop some big name folks from trying another one with an all-star cast n '66. It was NOT a hit.

The Group

Endlessly parodied for years, THE GROUP was from from director Sidney Lumet who would go on to be an A list director throughout the '70s with such fare as NETWORK, THE WIZ, SERPICO and DOG DAY AFTERNOON.

It was the first acting role for young Candice Bergen and established the cool blonde persona that she was never really able to shake until MURPHY BROWN many years later.

The plot followed a number of women from graduation in the early 1930s through the beginning of the War.

A great cast included Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Jessica Walter, Larry Hagman, Hal Holbrook and  a young and uncredited Peter Boyle.

Facets-Jim Croce

Here we have someone whose 1966 debut album release was barely noticed. It would, in fact, be another few years before Jim Croce made his mark.

From Wikipedia:

Facets is a self-published album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in 1966. (See 1966 in music). Croce had five hundred copies of the album pressed, financed with a $500 cash wedding gift that he and his wife to be, Ingrid Croce, received from his parents. Croce's parents were certain that when Jim would fail completely at selling the record, and, realizing that couldn't support his family as a singer, he would abandon music and finish his college education. To their surprise, he not only sold every last record but also turned a profit of almost $2500. The majority of those records were sold at Croce's shows. Original vinyl copies of Facetsare extremely rare today; well-preserved copies are known to fetch as much as $1,000 from collectors. Shout! Factory released an expanded two-disc version in 2004.

Barbarella

With her French strip debut two years in the past and her pop art big screen portrayal by Jane Fonda still two years in her future, '66 saw sexy space heroine Barbarella's first US appearance in book form in the Grove Press hardcover seen and reviewed here.  

El Mago de Los Suenos

Former Hollywood singer Andy Russell provided a voice for this animated Spanish hit from '66. Also known as THE DREAM WIZARD, the dreams of 6 different cartoon characters are shown in 6 different animation styles.

The Ballad of the Yellow Beret

Since Barry Sadler's Green Beret record was the # 1 song of the year in '66, it naturally invited parody. This one, spotted on Facebook, came from a Detroit garage band that reportedly featured Bob Segar.

WSAI in Cincinnati

Here's a few 1966 minutes of WSAI-AM, one of the first radio stations and easily the most popular Top 40 station in Cincinnati, Ohio from the early sixties to the late seventies before sadly switching to a country music format.

Model Super-Heroes

Aurora monsters had been a hit so here the plastic model company tried super-heroes. Spidey was a major hit and the Hulk's instruction booklet/comic featured the very first Marvel-related work from Neal Adams. I don't recall the Cap or the promised FF figures.

Kid Colt Special

Cowboy comics had been as big or maybe even bigger than horror comics in the fifties and Marvel put out more of them than anybody. By '66, however, there were only a handful left and KID COLT, OUTLAW was still popular enough to merit an annual or special.

Bat Stuff # 63

Bunny Calander

Bat Stuff # 62

Leonard Cohen-Parasites of Heaven

A '66 book of poetry from the eclectic singer, including  the lyrics for what would become one of his most important and covered songs, SUZANNE.

Tales of the Unexpected

I had missed TWILIGHT ZONE when it had aired a few years earlier and I was too young to know what a Comics Code Authority was but since it prevented these comics from being out and out horror comics, they were often rather TZ-like. Interestingly enough, they were often drawn by artists like Joe Certa and Jack Sparling who also did work on the actual TWILIGHT ZONE comic book for Gold Key!

Black Tight Killers

Proving that not all movies from Japan were about giant monsters in '66.

Frank Gorshin's Bat-Humor

From September of '66

Music of '66

It wasn't all the British Invasion!