NCAA South: Duke Reaches Final Four For First Time Since 2004

At Houston:

Nolan Smith scored 29 points as Duke laid claim to their first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four appearance since 2004 as the top-seeded Blue Devils defeated #3 Baylor 78-71 Sunday in the final of the South Region.

NCAA Midwest: Another Final Four For Michigan State As Spartans Edge Vols

At St. Louis:

Raymar Morgan, who grabbed 10 rebounds, hit a free throw with less than two seconds remaining as Michigan State, seeded #5, defeated #6 Tennessee 70-69 Sunday to win the final of the Midwest Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.  Durrell Summers scored 21 points to pace the Spartans who are heading to their second straight Final Four.

NCAA East: Mountaineer Top Kentucky To Reach First Final Four In 51 Years

At Syracuse, New York:

De'Sean Butler scored 18 points and Joe Mazzulla dropped in a career-high 17 as #2 West Virginia defeated top-seeded Kentucky 73-66 in the East Region final Saturday in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, earning the Mountaineers their first Final Four appearance since 1959.

NCAA West: The Butler Did It As Bulldogs Claim First Final Four Appearance

At Salt Lake City, Utah:

Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as Butler locked up its' first-ever NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four berth as the #5 Bulldogs defeated #2 Kansas State 63-56 in the final of the West Region on Saturday.  The Bulldogs also earned the Horizon League's first Final Four appearance.  The Indianapolis school will be heading home for the Final Four riding a 24-game winning streak.

Okay, So Where The Hell's The Larry Hooper Pure Pork Sausage?!

In this clip from a 1962 ABC telecast of The Lawrence Welk Show, here's Larry Hooper performing his version of "Big Bad John," a song that, or course, was popularized by Jimmy Dean.

NCAA South: Baylor Demolishes St. Mary's; Kyle Singler Leads Duke By Boilermakers

Two games took place Friday in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournment's South Region.

At Houston:

In a game not as close as the final score indicated, #3 Baylor smothered #10 St. Mary's 72-49.  LaceDarius Dunn scored 23 points to pace the Bears into the Elite Eight----and one win away from their first Final Four since 1950. Ekpe Udoh had 11 rebounds for Baylor.

Kyle Singler scored 24 points and Brian Zoubek grabbed 14 rebounds as top-seeded Duke defeated #4 Purdue 70-57 to reach their first Elite Eight since 2004.

NCAA Midwest: Vols, Spartans Set Stage For Sunday Battle

Two games were played Friday in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

At St. Louis:

Wayne Chism scored 22 points and Brian Williams--who scored the game winner on a tip-in with 32 seconds remaining--grabbed 12 rebounds as #6 Tennessee reached their first-ever Elite Eight with a 76-73 win over #2 Ohio State.

Durrell Summers scored 19 points and had 7 rebounds as Michigan State laid claim to another Elite Eight appearance as the #5 Spartans ended #9 Northern Iowa's tourney run with a 59-52 triumph.

How About Some Kool-Aid?

From the 1950s, here's a Kool-Aid animated commercial directed by the legendary Tex Avery at his Cascade studio, and designed by Ed Benedict.

NCAA West: The Butler Did It ; K-State Wins Wild Double-OT Thriller

The West Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament had its' semifinal round on Thursday.

At Salt Lake City, Utah:

Gordon Hayward scored 17 points as #5 Butler reached the Elite Eight for the first time ever with a 63-59 win over top-seeded Syracuse.

Jordan Crawford scored 32 points and Jason Love grabbed 15 rebounds as #2 Kansas State outlasted #6 Xavier 101-96 in double overtime to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988.

NCAA East: Kentucky Ends Cornell Run; Mountaineers Top Huskies

Four games were played on Thursday as the NCAA's Men's Basketball Tournament Sweet Sixteen got under way, including the semifinals of the East Region.

At Syracuse, New York:

Kevin Jones scored 18 points and secured 8 rebounds as #2 West Virginia defeated #11 Washington 69-56

DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 points, Patrick Patterson secured 12 rebounds, and John Wall contributed 8 assists as top-seeded Kentucky ended #12 Cornell's magical tournament run 62-45.

Holiday For Strings

From 1955, here are Lawrence Welk's Champagne Music Makers, featuring the string section (Bob Lido, Dick Kesner, and Aladdin) performing "Holiday For Strings" (popularized by David Rose and best remembered as Red Skelton's longtime theme song) on an early ABC telecast of The Lawrence Welk Show. Accoridionist Myron Floren is also featured.

Johnny Maestro, R.I.P.

Johnny Maestro, lead singer of the rock n' roll/doo-wop vocal group Brooklyn Bridge, passed away on Wednesday night at age 70 following a battle against cancer.

Born John Mastrangelo in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Maestro had earlier been the lead singer of The Crests and whom in 1958, recorded a doo-wop classic entitled "Sixteen Candles."  It was an well-produced record, and it put New York-based independent Coed Records on the pop music map.

In 1961, Johnny broke away to embark on what turned out to be an unsuccessful career on his own, before forming the Brooklyn Bridge in 1968.  "The Worst That Could Happen" was a #3 hit in early 1969.

Johnny was living in Cape Coral, Florida at the time of his passing.

Robert Culp, R. I. P.

Actor Robert Culp, who co-starred with Bill Cosby in the classic espionage-adventure 1965-68 television series I Spy, passed away on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles at age 79.

Overtime Modified For Postseason

Frankly, they might have been better off voting for, let's say, a ten-minute overtime period with unlimited scoring, then, if the overtime period left the game unresolved, then, on to sudden death.

Despite what some might say, the current overtime system for playoff (and regular-season) games was good enough.  

NCAA South: Duke Downs Cal; Purdue Take Overtime Thriller Over A&M

Sunday action from the South Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

At Jacksonville, Florida:

A 24-point 13-rebound night for Nolan Smith powered top-seeded Duke to a 68-53 win over #8 California.

At Spokane, Washington:

Chris Kramer scored 17 points and added 7 rebounds as #4 Purdue defeated #5 Texas A&M 63-61 in overtime. 

NCAA West: Muskateers Down Pitt; Orangemen Dominate Zags

Here is Sunday action from the West Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

At Milwaukee:

Jordan Crawford scored 27 points as #6 Xavier knocked off #3 Pittsburgh 71-68.

At Buffalo, New York:

Wes Johnson scored 31 points and pulled in 14 rebounds as top-seeded Syracuse overpowered #8 Gonzaga 78-65. 

NCAA Midwest: Spartans Pull-Out Last-Second Victory; Buckeys Top Yellow Jackets

Sunday action in the NCAA Men' Basketball Tournament's Midwest Region.

At Spokane, Washington:

Korie Lucious hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as #5-seeded Michigan State defeated #4 Maryland 85-83.

At Milwaukee:

A 24-point, 9-rebound, and 9-assist day for Evan Turner paced #2 Ohio State to a 75-66 win over #10 Georgia Tech. 
 

NCAA East: Cornell Tops Wisconsin; Mountaineer Beat Mizzou

Here is a look at Sunday action in the East Region of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

At Jacksonville, Florida:

Louis Dale scored 26 points and Ryan Wittman added 24 as #12-seeded Cornel upset #4 Wisconsin 87-69.  The Big Red became the first Ivy League team since Pennsylvania in 1979 to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

At Buffalo, New York:

Da 'Sean Bulter racked up 28 points as second-seeded West Virginia defeated #10 Missouri 68-59.  

Come See The Exciting New 1955 Nash With Mickey and Pluto

Here's a commercial for the 1955 Nash Ambassador and Nash Statesman with a highly-stylized Mickey Mouse and Pluto which probably aired on ABC's Disneyland show.  




American Motors was a sponsor of this series in its' early years.

NCAA West: Butler and K-State Sweet-Sixteen Bound

More Saturday NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament action.

WEST REGION:

At San Jose, California:

Ronald Mored scored 15 points and Gordon Hayward grabbed 7 rebounds as #5-seeded Butler held off #13-seeded Murray State 54-52.

At Oklahoma City:

Jacob Pullen scored 34 points (making all 11 free throws in the process) as second-seeded Kansas State defeated seventh-seeded Brigham Young 84-72.

NCAA East: Kentucky and Washington Reach Sweet Sixteen

Here's more Saturday from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

EAST REGION:

At San Jose, California:

Quincy Poindexter scored 18 points and Isaiah Thomas added 15 as #11-seeded Washington defeated #3-seeded New Mexico 82-64 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.


At New Orleans:

Darius Miller scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as top-seeded Kentucky blasted ninth-seeded Wake Forest 90-60.

NCAA Midwest: Panthers Shock Jayhawks; Vols Down Ohio U

More Saturday action from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

At Oklahoma City:

Ali Farokhmanesh scored 16 points as ninth-seeded Northern Iowa pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tourney history, a 69-67 win over top-seeded Kansas.

At Providence, Rhode Island:

J. P. Prince scored 18 points and Wayne Chism pulled down 12 rebounds as #6-seeded Tennessee defeated #14-seeded Ohio 83-68.

NCAA South: Gael Force----St. Mary's Top Nova

The Round of 32 of the NCAA's Men's Basketball Tournament commenced on Saturday.

South Region:

At Providence, Rhode Island:

Omar Samhan scored 32 points as #10-seeded St. Mary's knocked off #2-seeded Villanova 75-68 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

At New Orleans:

#3-seeded Baylor defeated #11-seeded Old Dominion 76-68. LaceDarius Dunn paced the Bears with 26 points.

Maybe He'll Keep Tabs On Lee Corso

He may be using this as a means of biding his time until he gets another head coaching job.

NCAA: Yellow Jackets And Spartans Advance; Buckeyes and Terps Too

More action from Friday in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

MIDWEST REGION:

At Milwaukee:

Gani Lawal scored 14 points as tenth-seeded Georgia Tech knocked off #7 Oklahoma State 64-59.


Second-seeded Ohio State defeated #15 UC-Santa Barbara 68-51. Jon Diebler scored 23 points while Dallas Lauderdale grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked a career-high eight shots for the Buckeyes.

At Spokane, Washington:

Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 25 points as fifth-seeded  Michigan State won a tight contest, 70-67,  over #12 New Mexico State.

Fourth-seeded Maryland defeated #13 Houston 89-77.Terrapins freshman forward Jordan Williams scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

NCAA: Xavier, Pitt, Zags Come Out On Top; Orangemen Get Revenge On Catamounts

More Friday action from the NCAA men's Basketball Tournament.

WEST REGION:

At Milwaukee:

Jordan Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half as sixth-seeded Xavier held off #11 Minnesota 65-54.

Gilbert Brown scored 17 points as third-seeded Pittsburgh recovered from a slow start to overcome #14 Oakland (Michigan) 89-66.


At Buffalo, New York:


Matt Bouldin scored 17 points and had 3 assists as eighth-seeded Gonzaga held off #9 Florida State 67-60.


Wes Johnson scored 18 pionts as top-seeded Syracuse defeated #16 Vermont 79-56.

NCAA: Duke, Siena, And Cal-Berkeley Win Openers; Texas A&M Take Battle Of Aggies

More Friday action from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

South Region:

At Jacksonville, Florida:

A double-double from Kyle Singler (22 points, 10 rebounds) led top-seeded Duke to a 73-44 blowout win over #16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson each scored 21 points as eighth-seeded California defeated #9 Louisville 77-62.


At Spokane, Washington:

Khris Middleton scored 19 points as fifth-seeded Texas A&M topped  #12 Utah State 69-53 in the battle of Aggies.

JaJuan Johnson contributed 23 points and 15 rebounds as fourth-seeded Purdue turned back #13 Siena 72-64.

NCAA: Cornell Upends Temple: Wisconsin Fights Off Pesky Wofford; Mountaineer Rip Morgan State; Mizzou Takes Battle Of Tigers

First-round action in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament continued on Friday.

EAST REGION:

At Buffalo, New York:

Second-seeded West Virginia recovered from a slow start to blast #15 seed Morgan State 77-50.  Kevin Jones scored 17 points to lead the Mountaineers.

Kim English and Keith Ramsey each scored 20 points as #10 Missouri defeated #7 Clemson in the battle of the Tigers 86-78. 


At Jacksonville, Florida:


Louis Dale scored 21 points as #12 Cornell picked up their first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a 78-65 triumph over #5 Temple.  It was the first tourney win for an Ivy League school since 1998.


A 20-point, 8-rebound night from Jon Leuer enabled #4 Wisconsin to withstand a gritty challenge from # 13 Wofford 53-49.

So Long, Davy (And You Too, Dan'l): Fess Parker, R. I. P.

Actor Fess Parker, who soared to fame for portraying coonskin-capped Davy Crockett in a series of segments on the old Disneyland television show in the mid-1950s, and who also starred as fellow coonskin-cap-wearer Daniel Boone on the 1964-70 TV show of the same name, passed away on Thursday at his Santa Ynez Valley, California home at age 85.

Wildcats Have Easy Opener; Washington, New Mexico, Wake Forest Win Close Contests

Still more NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament action from Thursday.

EAST REGION:

At New Orleans:

Top-seeded Kentucky blew out #16 East Tennesse State 100-71.  Eric Bledsoe paced the Wildcats with 29 points.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 20 points and 15 rebounds and Ishmael Smith hit the game-winner with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime carried ninth-seeded Wake Forest to an 81-80 win over eighth-seeded Texas.

At San Jose, California:

Quincy Poindexter hit the winning bank shot with 1.7 seconds remaining to lift 11th-seeded Washington past 6th-seeded Marquette 80-78.

Roman Martinez scored 19 points as 3rd-seeded New Mexico held off 14th-seeded Montana 62-57.

Bobcats Stun Hoyas; Northern Iowa Shock UNLV; Jayhawks And Vols Also Win

Here's more from Thursday NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament action.

MIDWEST REGION:

At Oklahoma City:

Ali Farokhmanesh hit the game-winning three-point bucket with 4. 9 seconds remaining as #9 Northern Iowa knocked off #8 UNLV.

After a slow start, top seeded Kansas pulled away from #16 Lehigh, winning 90-74.  Marcus Morris had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks.


At Providence, Rhode Island:


Armon Bassett scored 32 points as #14-seeded Ohio knocked off #3 Georgetown 97-83.  It was the Bobcats' first NCAA tournament win since 1983.


Melvin Goins hit his fourth three-point basket with 19 seconds remaining as #6 Tennessee held off #11 San Diego State 62-59.

Monarchs Reign Over Fighting Irish In Tight Contest; Baylor Gains First NCAA Tourney Win Since '50; Nova Wins OT Thriller Over Colonials

More Thursday action from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

SOUTH REGION:

At New Orleans:

Frank Hassell scored 15 points as Old Dominion, seeded #11, defeated Notre Dame (#6) 51-50. 

Ekpe Udoh scored 20 points and tallied 13 rebounds as #3 Baylor defeated #14 Sam Houston State 68-59.  It was the Bears' first NCAA tournament win since 1950.

At Providence, Rhode Island:

Scottie Reynolds responded to his benching with a 20-point performance as #2-seeded Villanova came from behind to force overtime, then defeated #15 Robert Morris 73-70.

#10 St. Mary's upended #7 Richmond 80-71.  Omar Samhan scored 29 points and came up with 12 rebounds as the Gaels won their first NCAA tournament game since 1959.

Pacers Stun Vandy At Buzzer; BYU Over Gators In 2OT Thriller; K-State and Butler Also Advance

Thursday marked the first full day of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

WEST REGION:

At Oklahoma City:

Jimmer Fredette scored 37 points as #7-seeded BYU defeated #10 Florida 99-92 in double overtime.

Kansas State (seeded #2) overpowered #15 Texas State 82-62. Denis Clemente had 17 points and 6 assists for the victorious Wildcats.

At San Jose, California:

Danero Thomas connected on a 15-footer at the buzzer as #13-seeded Murray State knocked off #4 Vanderbilt 66-65.

Fifth-seeded Butler topped #12 UTEP 77-59. Shelvin Mack scored a career high-tying 25 points for the Bulldogs.

Memo To Porky: Beware Of The Leprechauns!

From 1950 (actually released originally on July 28, 1951), here's a classic Porky Pig cartoon from Warner Brothers as part of the studio's Looney Tunes series (this one is a Merrie Melodies Blue Ribbon re-release) entitled "The Wearing of the Grin." In this one, while vacationing in Ireland, Porky falls victim to a series of pranks from a pair of---------------leprechauns.  




This cartoon was directed by the legendary Chuck Jones, with story by Michael Maltese,  animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris, and Phil Monroe, layouts by Robert Gribbroek, background by Philip de Guard, voice characterizations by Mel Blance, musical score by Eugene Poddany, and orchestrations by Milt Franklyn.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

A happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all from Bob's House!

It's All About The New Arena---And Phil Knight's Money

The University of Oregon officially lowered the boom on the winningest men's head basketball coach in the history of his alma mater on Tuesday.

Well, that's one way to knock the thuggish behavior of several gridironers out of the news.  For the time being.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Knocks Off Winthrop To Earn Shot At Duke

At Dayton, Ohio:

In the opening contest of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Allen Smith scored 14 points and connected on a pair of three-pointers as Arkansas-Pine Bluff defeated Winthrop 61-44 Tuesday night.  The Golden Lions, who picked up the Southwestern Athletic Conference's first NCAA tournament win in 17 years, will face Duke, the South Regional's top seed on Friday in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Duke Is On The Screen

From 1947, legendary jazz composer/pianist/bandleader Duke Ellington stars in the George Pal Puppetoon "Date With Duke."  The short features The Duke's self-composed "Perfume Suite."  Produced and Directed by George Pal and released by Paramount Pictures.

Tiger TV

Looks like Augusta National will become a media circus next month.

It's A Krazy Hot Dog Roast

From 1931, here's a Krazy Kat cartoon, "Weenie Roast."  This cartoon, just another in a series of animated bastardizations of George Herriman's comic strip character, was produced by Charles Mintz and released by Columbia Pictures. 






 This cartoon, in which Krazy has a beachside picnic with his girlfriend, was co-directed by Ben Harrison (story) and Manny Gould (animation), with music by Joe De Nat.

Time For Music

From 1937, here's Scrappy, starring in "Scrappy's Band Concert."  Here, we see bandleader Scrappy, Oopie, and friends performing in a band concert at a local park.  Things don't exactly turn out perfect in this one. 






With story by Allen Rose, animation by Harry Love, and music by Joe De Nat, this cartoon was produced by Charles Mintz and released by Columbia Pictures.

No More Self-Destructing Tapes: Peter Graves, R. I. P.

Actor Peter Graves, best remebered for his role as IMF agent Jim Phelphs on the old Mission Impossible television series, passed away on Sunday at age 83 at his Pacific Palisades, California home from a heart attack.

Mr. Graves was also the brother of James ("Matt Dillon") Arness of Gunsmoke fame.

What's Gilligan Doing Working At A Restaurant

From 1968, here is a CBS promo for a sitcom entitled The Good Guys.  Bob Denver and Herb Edelman played best pals/restaurant owners with one quick-rich scheme after another.  Joyce Van Patten played Herb Edelman's wife.  The show lasted roughly a year and-a-half.

Heluva Way To Try To Gain Margie's Attention, Scrappy

From 1931, here's Scrappy, starring in "Showing Off."  In this one, our "hero" tries to impress little Margie, without much success.  





This cartoon, released by Columbia Pictures, was produced by Charles Mintz and basically supervised by story man Dick Huemer and animators Sid Marcus and Art Davis, with music by Joe De Nat.

Idiot

Well, Jeremiah, you may have made a difference for the Ducks again, but this time, for the wrong reasons.

Time For Champagne Music! IN COLOR!!!

In this videotape clip from a 1969 ABC telecast of The Lawrence Welk Show, here are the Champagne Music Makers performing "Josephine."

Merlin Olsen, R. I. P.

Merlin Olsen, the longtime defensive lineman who was part of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" of the 1960s, who went on to a successful television career, passed away on Thursday at his Los Angeles home at age 69.

Mr. Olsen had been suffering from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining.

Merlin spent his entire 15-year NFL career with the Rams, having been selected to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls enroute to his election in 1982 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He became an established television actor with a role on Little House on the Prairie, then starring in the title role in his own series Father Murphy, which ran from 1981 to 1983.

Merlin was also an accomplished anylist on NFL telecasts on NBC and CBS during the 1970s and 1980s.

Time For A Milky Bar

This commercial that aired on Australian television probably came from the late 1960s or early 1970s for Nestle's Milky Bar, featuring The Milky Bar Kid.

Big Tiny Little, R. I. P.

Dudley "Big Tiny" Little, the ragtime pianist who was seen for four years (1955-59) on various Lawrence Welk ABC telecasts before going out on his own, having a tremendously successful career in the process, passed away last Wednesday (March 3) at Carson City, Nevada at age 79.

Here's a clip of Tiny in action, performing "Marianne" on the December 30, 1957 ABC telecast of Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent.



Tiny will sorely be missed.

Oi!

Here is another vintage Australian television commercial for Four 'N' Twenty Pies.

The Great Australian Pie

Here is a 1960s commercial that aired on the tube in Australia for that country's beloved Four N' Twenty Pies.

 

For You Folks Down Under: Maybe This One Will Jar Your Memory

From 1963, here's an Aussie TV advert for Kellogg's Corn Flakes, starring Bobby Limb.

 

Where's Tony The Tiger, Mate?

Here's another old commercial from Australia, this one probably dates back to the 1950s.  This one is for Kellogg's Sugar Frosties, which was probably the Australian name for our Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes.  

 






Since there was no Tony the Tiger on the box, maybe our friends Down Under could have been better served with either a wombat or dingo.

Perhaps You Folks Down In Australia Also Remember This.....

Here is a 1968 Australian TV commercial for Dr. McKenzie's Menthoids, which was supposed to help treat all types of backache trouble.

 

How's YOUR Laxative?

Here's another commercial from Australia, this one for Ford Pills, dating back to 1963.

 

You Wonder Where The Yellow Went, Down Under

Here's a commercial for Pepsodent Toothpaste which aired on Australian television in 1964.

 

Doreen And Her Bactine

From 1956, here's a commercial for Bactine.

 

Make Me A Whopper!

From the late 1960s or early 1970s, here's an early Burger King commercial.
 

Hey Kids! Wanna Build Your Own Radio?

From the 1950s, here's an old television commercial for the Remco Electronic Transistor Radio Kit. 

 

Howza Boutza Some-sa Pizza?

From back in the day, here are some commercials for pizza that were shown at drive-in movie theaters.

 

Go Ahead! Start Huffin' and Puffin'!

From 1964, here are Woody Woodpecker, along with his nephew Knothead and niece Splinter, in "Three Little Woodpeckers" from Walter Lantz Productions, released by Universal Pictures.

Directed by Sid Marcus, with story by Cal Howard, animation by Ray Abrams and Art Davis, settings by Ray Huffine and Art Landy, and music by Walter Greene.

Grace Stafford Lantz (Walter's wife) did Woody's voice, with other voice characterizations provided by June Foray (as Knothead and Splinter), and Daws Butler (as the Big Bad Killer Wolf).

 

Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It

Here's a 1968 commercial using stop-motion for Gulf No-Nox Gasoline.

 

Time For An Entertaining Little Ditty

From 1960,

In this clip from an ABC telecast of the Lawrence Welk Show, here's Larry Hooper singing "The Big Bass Violin Song," joined on the double bass by Buddy Hayes.

Time For Some Skiffle

In this clip from a 1958 British telecast, here's Skiffle king Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group perforning Woody Guthrie's "Gamblin' Man."  Joining Lonnie are Les Bennetts (lead guitar), Pete Huggett (bass), and Nick Nicholls (drums).

 

The Pause That Refreshes Down Under

An early Australian Television commercial for Coca-Cola from around 1960.

 

Wanna Pop A Beech Nut Hot Shot In Your Mouth?

Here's a mid-1960s commercial for Beech Nut Hot Shots candy.

 

Hold On To Your Hats

From the 1950s, here's a British television commercial (advert) for something called Ribena Black Currant Syrup.

 
I wonder if this stuff goes well with fish and chips. 

Let George Do It

From 1940, here's George Formby singing "Mr. Wu's A Window Cleaner Now" in this clip from the British motion picture "Let George Do It."  The instrument that George is playing is a Banjo-Ukulele, or Banjulele.

Justice, Rudy Vallee Style

From 1931, here's Rudy Vallee and his Connecticut Yankees, starring in "Musical Justice," originally released theatrically by Paramount Pictures.  The short, directed by Aubrey Scotto, with music by Sammy Lerner and Sammy Timberg, also features Mae Questel, who would be best remembered for her portrayals of Betty Boop, Olive Oyl, and Little Audrey in various Fleischer/Famous/Paramount Cartoon studios animated shorts.


This short is shown in two parts.




Here's part one.





And part two.

Early Ginger

Here is an unknown Ginger Rogers starring in a 1930 comedy short entitled "Office Blues," originally released theatrically by Paramount Pictures.



Directed by Mort Blumenstock.  In this one, Ginger plays a perky young stenographer who has a big-time crush on her boss.

Wow! Danny Thomas With Sideburns!

Here's a promo for the 1970-71 ABC sitcom, Make Room For Grandaddy.

Mister Salty

Here is a commercial from 1971 for Nabisco's Mister Salty Pretzels.

Hey Snooky, You're No Elvis!

Here's Snooky Lanson, perforning "Heartbreak Hotel" in this clip from a 1956 NBC telecast of Your Hit Parade.  

 The show was beginning to have problems by then.  Before the emergence of rock 'n' roll, it was the song that was the thing, regardless of who sang or played it.  After the mid-1950s, it became the performance that was the thing.  The youngsters weren't interested in anyone other than Elvis Presley singing "Heartbreak Hotel." Rock n' roll fans did not want their favorite songs performed by the likes of Snooky, Dorothy Collins, or Gisele MacKenzie.  They wanted Elvis, Fats Domino, and The Platters.  YHP, which started on radio in 1935 and on TV in 1950, switched networks from NBC to CBS in 1958, and went off the air in April, 1959.

Be Sure To Watch "The Real McCoys" In Black and White On ABC!

Here's a 1961 ABC Network promo for The Real McCoys.  

The show ran for five years on ABC before moving over to CBS in 1962 for one last season.

Nothing Does It Like Seven-Up

Here's a pair of late 1950s commercials for Seven-Up.

Have Some Corn Pops With Wild Bill and Jingles

Here's a 1950s television commercial for Kellogg's Corn Pops cereal that aired during an episode of Wild Bill Hickock, which was sponsored by the cereal maker.  Stars Guy Madison and Andy Devine are featured here.