00 Division # 7

On Broadway # 2

CABARET was a huge Broadway hit with songs by Fred Ebb and John Kander. Actress Jill Haworth created the role of Sally Bowles, a British entertainer in pre WWII Germany. Later game show host Bert Convy was the young American man in her life. (In the later film version, those countries would be reversed)

Jack Gilford and Lotte Lenya not only co-starred but took the Tony nominations for best Actor and Actress.

Underneath it all was Joel Grey in his career-defining role as the creepy, enigmatic emcee. Grey would be the only one of the original cast retained in the 1972 film version which became a signature vehicle for Judy Garland's daughter, Liza Minnelli.

The Cartoonist Cookbook

Originally posted at BOOKSTEVE'S LIBRARY in 2006 in a slightly different form.

THE CARTOONIST COOKBOOK from 1966 features new artwork from many of the famous strip cartoonists of the day, all with the theme of food. The first half of the book is an alphabetical listing of the creators themselves, giving a picture, a brief bio and usually a food-related anecdote before listing their favorite foods and offering a drawing of their famous strip creation. The recipes themselves appear in the second half of the book. The real treats here are the vintage photos of the various artists as well as the probably never seen anywhere else artwork. Comic book legend Neal Adams was still turning out his BEN CASEY medical strip (long after the source TV series had ended) and so leads off the listing with the page and rare art seen here. Also seen here is Chester Gould’s pasta-loving DICK TRACY, Alfred Andriola’s KERRY DRAKE and Leonard Starr’s lovely ( and soon to be reprinted. Yay!) MARY PERKINS ON STAGE. Elsewhere in the book you’ll find Charles Schulz, Al Capp, Mort Walker, Johnny Hart, Al Jaffee and the rest of the A-list along with more-or-less forgotten creators whose strips were having some success during the mid-sixties. These include Pete Hansen (LOLLY), Bill Lignante (LET’S EXPLORE YOUR MIND) and Harry Haenigsen (PENNY).

Patty Duke Game

THE PATTY DUKE SHOW was one of the most memorable sitcoms of its day. Essentially a TV version of the Disney film, THE PARENT TRAP, it doubled as a vehicle for the brilliant former child actress who had scored so winningly as Helen Keller in THE MIRACLE WORKER. In the show, as explained in its memorable theme song, Patty plays lookalike cousins...but cousins who are completely different in most ways. She actually managed to play the roles so well that many thought they really were two separate girls. THE PATTY DUKE SHOW game came out in 1966, the last year the show aired new episodes before a lifetime of reruns that continues today.

Tony Bennett-The Shadow of Your Smile

The ever-popular Tony Bennett with my very favorite of his songs. In fact one of my favorite songs in general. From the movie, THE SANDPIPER, this is Tony on THE ANDY WILLLIAMS SHOW in March of '66 doing a rather low-key version of THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE.

The Enterprise Crew

I first saw STAR TREK in 1966 but I didn't watch it regularly until the first round of seventies reruns. I saw enough of it to know who the crew members were, though, so memorably played by actors who would become oh so familiar. Over the years, I've had the pleasure to meet or at least see in person the entire main Enterprise crew except for Shatner and Nimoy.

I saw DeForrest Kelley in person at the height of the STAR TREK afterlife success. It was at Omnicon in Louisville, KY in 1976. I stood next to him while he was being interviewed by a local television news reporter. Later that evening, I watched that clip on TV in my hotel room.

It was about fourteen years before I saw another Trek star in person and that was George Takei, oddly enough in Louisville. I was working for Waldenbooks and we actually had a table at the Con so I was just able to watch him speak but he was incredibly charismatic and funny and well-deserving of the odd celebrity success he's encountered in recent years.

My wife had just had her gall bladder removed a couple of years on but wouldn't let that allow her to miss a STAR TREK Convention so we rented a wheelchair and went to see James Doohan. He had no way of knowing she wasn't permanently in the wheelchair so he had her led up front to sit next to him as he met with other signers. He was very, very friendly but rather vitriolic when he was talking about Mr. Shatner.

As a young girl, my wife, like many of her age no doubt, related most to Nurse Chapel and her unrequited love for Mr. Spock. We saw Majel Barrett Roddenberry at a downtown Cincinnati Convention and she was a hoot! Scheduled signings had lines forming way in advance but we caught her just sitting at a table casually meeting with fans and signing things so we stood and waited our turn. When my wife got up to her, Ms. Roddenberry asked her name...and all she could do was go 'homina...homina...homina..." I told her that her name was "Rene." She smiled and signed. My wife currently writes Spock/Chapel fanfic and has a cool Nurse Chapel action figure.

There was a huge snowstorm and we thought sure a Trek Con north of Cincy would be canceled but we called the hotel and they said it was on. We slowly and carefully made our way out only to hear that Nichelle Nichols' plane had been delayed by the weather. Late in the day, however, she arrived, looking absolutely the vision of loveliness. We heard her speak and then watched a thousand people line up for autographs. Instead, we sat across from her as she met with fans and she would constantly make eye contact with us and wink and smile as if everything she said to the fans she was actually saying just to us. That was neat!

Walter Koenig was recovering from a minor stroke when we saw him at a Cincinnati Con. He was, as are all the Trek veterans, a delight but he seemed to tire quite easily. We spoke with him later and my wife spent a lot of time chastising him for not staying home and resting and coming out another time. That made him laugh.

Leonard Nimoy was rumored to be the upcoming guest at the second STAR TREK CINCINNATI con organized by one particular group but that group went out of business instead. William Shatner came through my airport bookstore one day a few years back but he was, I'm told quite petulant and actually almost ran from fans. I missed him by about ten minutes.

Coca~Cola

Soft drinks were a big part of the ambiance of the 1960's. Around here, we just called them that--soft drinks. In other areas they were known as pop, soda or generically, after the most popular one, as Cokes. They only came in glass bottles, maybe three different sizes. You could buy cartons of six and then return the bottles later to be washed out and recycled. The corner grocery would actually give you a little money if you returned an empty bottle you found in the gutter! At amusement parks, they had metal racks for you to park your emptied bottles.

Cokes cost a dime for the classy, curvy bottle I considered just the right size. Fountain cokes at lunch counters were even better! There was no caffeine-free Coke, no Diet Coke, no Cherry Coke, no canned Coke, no Coke Zero. Not even Coke Classic. Or rather, ALL there was was Coke Classic!

Andy Warhol helped contribute to the concept of Coke as part of pop culture when he used the bottles in his art the way he had previously used soup cans.

All vintage ads are fun to look at but Coke has had more than its share of groovy print, radio and TV ads. Here are just a couple from 1966. Over the years it's cost me a few teeth and added more than a few pounds but Coca~Cola is still the Real Thing. In fact...I'm drinking one now.