Conan especially likes his protein powder when it’s chocolate-flavored and served in fancy crystal—with a strawberry on the rim.
(Image via Catch the Sparrow/Flickr)
Archive Page 77
Fruit of the Loom ‘Funpals’ Ad, 1984
Published May 14, 2014 '80s Decor/Design/Fashion , Ads 4 Comments
“Your son can have a lot more fun when you put his pals behind him”? Are you serious, Fruit of the Loom?
Movie Theater Marquees: Alien (1979)
Published May 13, 2014 '70s Movies/TV , Alien Trilogy , Movie Theaters/Marquees , Sci-Fi Production Design 3 Comments
The first photo shows the Alien premiere at the Criterion Theater, New York, 1979. The second two are of the premiere at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
The showing at the Egyptian was special. Many of the props, models, and even parts of the set were on display. After you stood in line for an hour or two, you got to walk through a corridor of the Nostromo to get into the lobby, and in the courtyard sat Giger’s massive “Space Jockey.” The masterpiece was promptly vandalized and had to be removed (note the hand touching it in the photo).
All of the pics below are from Lisa Morgan, who unearthed them a few years ago.
(Images via Bow Tie Partners, Aliens and Predators Tumblr, fancollectorgeek.com, and cinriter/Lisa Morgan)
Kid Posing with Conan, Circa 1985
Published May 13, 2014 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks , Conan the Barbarian 6 Comments
Says Deborah on Bookbox (the Scholastic Reading Club blog):
My mom made me pose with the guy who played Conan the Barbarian on our trip to Universal Studios back when I was nine; she said my friends would be “jealous” that I got to be in a picture with such a “hunky monkey.” But all I could think about was how I wish he was wearing a longer loincloth.
Also check out an entry from our hero’s (I’m talking about the girl, not Conan) 7th grade diary:
Dear Diary,
Things I want to do when I’m in high school:
- Have a boy pick me up from school one day, in a car.
- Have a boy drive me around in his car.
- Go to an all-boys school during the middle of the day.
- Meet a boy for lunch.
- Go out on a school night.
Yours,
Deborah
Doesn’t Conan bear a pretty good resemblance to Arnold?
The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular (1983 – 1994)
Published May 12, 2014 Amusement Parks/Theme Parks , Conan the Barbarian 1 Comment
The Universal Studios attraction was a “$3.75 million production featuring state-of-the-art, never-before-seen laser and pyrotechnic special effects, combined with the skills of actors, magical illusions and computer-coordinated animated characters.” I never got to see it, sadly. I went to Universal Studios once or twice, before 1983, and remember only the Jaws and Battlestar Galactica rides.
The fire-breathing dragon sequence in the Conan Spectacular was inspired by the climactic scene in Sleeping Beauty (1959). I’d forgotten how scary the original Disney classics could be. Not only is the battle convincing and way ahead of its time conceptually, it’s one of the earliest screen examples of the sword and sorcery trope.
TV promo is below. Check out a short documentary (1988) and the full show (circa 1990) at thestudiotour.com.
(Images via skyscrapercity.com and thestudiotour.com)
Complete Set of Bob Pepper’s Dragonmaster Cards (1981)
Published May 9, 2014 Board Games/Tabletop Games , Bob Pepper , Fantasy Art 15 Comments
A sequel to my first post on Milton Bradley’s Dragonmaster. Click to make big. We owe the scans to Tom Beiter, champion of pop culture posterity and author of Garage Sale Finds, a detailed profile of “garage sale treasures and sometimes trash.” (You will not believe the amazing stuff that Tom finds—and often restores.)
It’s clear that Pepper had a deep understanding of Medieval, Renaissance, and Pre-Raphaelite art, and his method—mixing charcoal and watercolors—produced some incredibly vivid colors and textures. His impeccable imagination did the rest. Each card is a work of art, and the originals, if they still exist, belong in a museum. (Is there a fantasy art museum? A commercial art museum?)
I’m betting that one or more of you can come up with a game that does Pepper’s work some justice. From what I’ve heard, the original version is not very compelling.
1986 Schaper Toy Fair Catalog: Animax
Published May 8, 2014 Catalogs , Fantasy Toys/Playsets , Toy Fairs 5 Comments
Decadent! Derivative! But look at that Bridge of Doom Playset and tell me you wouldn’t lock yourself in a room with it for hours on end, running your cheeks and fingers along the… Sorry, where were we?
Read the Animax story and see more amazing pics at Mel Birnkrant’s Animax page.
Dan Aykroyd and Duran Duran Playing Video Games, 1983
Published May 7, 2014 '80s Music , Arcade Cabinets/Coin-Ops , Atari , Magazines/Zines , Video Games 1 Comment
From Vidiot #5, 1983. Vidiot, “The Magazine of Video Lunacy,” was an offshoot of rock magazine Creem, and lasted only 6 issues.
It just so happens that Space Duel and Gravitar are two of my favorite cabinets. I’m a sucker for vector graphics. Space Duel also appears on the front and back covers of The Who’s It’s Hard (1982).
Double Trouble (1984) Was a Real Show on TV and I Can Prove It
Published May 7, 2014 '80s Movies/TV , TV Guide 3 Comments
Kate and Allison (Jean and Liz Sagal) are identical twin teenagers with totally opposite personalities! One is serious; one is happy-go-lucky. I don’t remember which has what trait, and it doesn’t matter, because they look exactly the same. They’re dancers, see, and dad (Donnelly Rhodes) owns a dance studio that’s also sort of a health club. Hilarious antics ensue, right? Nope.
In the second (and last) season, the setting was moved from Des Moines to New York. Dad was replaced by the cool aunt, and the girls pursue acting and design school. It doesn’t matter which one pursued what occupation, because they look exactly the same.
Patricia Richardson, a terrific actor who held Home Improvement together for eight years, appears in the first season of Double Trouble.
The openings from both seasons are below. If you wanted to describe the mainstream vibe of the ’80s to visitors from outer space, the first one has you covered.
Radio Shack Commercial: ‘A New Generation of Affordable Cellular Phones’ (1987)
Published May 6, 2014 Commercials Leave a CommentOnly $1399! But you may as well spring for the “totally portable” model—only $2495!
Two years later, Radio Shack’s Transportable Cellular Phone System was “just” $799.
2 Warps to Neptune 