The Pink Panther

Remember the catchy tune that ran in the Pink Panther cartoons? It is a song that will always bring to mind the clever and funny Pink Panther cartoon character.

Although he had his own series of animated TV shows and short films, the Pink Panther first arrived on film in 1963 in the Blake Edwards movie, “The Pink Panther,” starring Peter Sellers as the clumsy French detective Inspector Clouseau. In the film, the “Pink Panther” referred to a large diamond with a flaw at its center resembling a pink pouncing panther. This was the inspiration for the character, the Pink Panther. He starred in the animated opening and closing for the movie, and was set against jazzy music by Henry Mancini. The Pink Panther is almost completely silent in the movie, preferring to rely on slinky pantomime-like moves. Audiences liked the Pink Panther so much that his animators, DePatie-Freleng, were asked to create a series of animated short films starring the character.

Amazingly, the first animated film, “The Pink Phink,” won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1964! More than 100 Pink Panther animated shorts were created, entertaining moviegoers until 1981.

Besides these theatrical shorts, the Pink Panther still made appearances in all of the “Pink Panther” movies featuring the French detective Inspector Clouseau. These films are still being made today, with a 2009 release date set for “The Pink Panther 2,” starring Steve Martin.

In 1969 the Pink Panther made his first appearance on television in “The Pink Panther.” Two animated short films made up each episode, which were thirty minutes long and shown on Saturday mornings until the show went off the air in 1979. In 1980, United Artists Television put together a new half-hour show using the theatrical shorts and new cartoons and syndicated it to TV stations.

Not only was the Pink Panther in movies and on television, he had his own comic book called “Pink Panther.” Published by Gold Key Comics, the series was first released in April of 1971, and 87 issues were released until the series ended in 1984.

The Pink Panther is one of those unforgettable characters that have been able to stay in the public eye for many years. What is amazing is the amount of merchandise featuring the Pink Panther, and the advertising history of the clever character.

The first product the Pink Panther advertised was a Post breakfast cereal named “Pink Panther Flakes” In 1973. Since 1980, Owens Corning has used the Pink Panther to sell fiberglass insulation, and now he is the mascot for their “Basement Finishing System.” In 2001, the Pink Panther became the mascot for Sweet’N Low artificial sweetener. He now shares the advertising duties with Regis Philbin.

For 45 years the Pink Panther has entertained Americans and the international audience. He shows no signs of slowing down, and it looks like he will be around for many more years.

Check out our website for the Pink Panther Bendable Figure, and create your own Pink Panther stories!

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

World News & the American Experience:

1932 – Amelia Earhart completed her non-stop transcontinental flight, setting the women’s speed record of 2,447.8 miles in 19 hrs 5 minutes.

1939 – The leader of Murder, Incorporated, Louis ‘Lepke’ Buchalter, turned himself in to columnist Walter Winchell who brought Buchalter to FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover.

1963 – Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech, “I Have A Dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Movies & TV:

1939 – A major league baseball game was shown on television for the first time. The Cincinnati Reds vs Brooklyn Dodgers game was telecast on W2XBS NY.

1964 - Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins” released

1969 – “Alice’s Restaurant” a movie based on Arlo Guthrie’s famed song premiered in New York City and Los Angeles.

1974 – The last episode of “The Brady Bunch” was aired.

Music & Radio:

1949 – “Father Knows Best” debuted on NBC radio.

1950 – The radio show “Somebody Knows” was broadcast for the last time. It was a show that gave cash rewards for information leading to the solving of crimes.

1954 – Elvis Presley has his first hit single “That’s All Right (Mama)” on the Memphis local charts.

1966 - The Beatles performed at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA. It was the group’s last live appearance before they disbanded in 1970.

1968 – John and Yoko Lennon hosted the “One on One” concert in Madison Square Garden to raise money for mentally retarded children.

1970 – Elton John made his U.S. concert debut in West Hollywood at the Troubadour.

1984 – The Jacksons’ Victory Tour broke the record for ticket sales, reaching the 1.1 million mark in only two months.

The Arts:

1980 - “42nd Street” opened at Winter Garden Theater in New York for 3486 performances

Celebrity Headlines:

1974 - Charles Lindbergh, aviator, died at 72

1982 - Ingrid Bergman, actress, died on her 67th birthday

Sports:

1950 – Sugar Ray Robinson knocked out Jose Basora to win middleweight boxing title.

1963 - Don Schollander was the first to swim the 200 meter freestyle in under 2 minutes (1:58).

1968 - 1st US Open tennis match (Billie Jean King beat Dr Vija Vuskains)

1972 – Mark Spitz won the first of 7 gold medals in swimming at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany

1989 – Pete Rose was banned from Baseball forever after admitting that he bet on games.

Automobile News:

1957 – The Edsel by the Ford Motor Company was introduced to the public.

Famous Birthdays:

1930 - Sean Connery, actor

1931 - Regis Philbin, television personality

1936 - John McCain, Republican Nominee for President

1949 - Gene Simmons, KISS

1954 - Elvis Costello, singer

1958 – Michael Jackson

Dr. Wells Soda

“Always Drink Dr. Wells”

Dr. Wells was introduced in 1935 to compete against Dr. Pepper and its many imitators. It was developed by Ludford Fruit Products of Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Wells was acquired by the Monarch Company of Atlanta in 1987. They believed that Dr. Wells was among those soft drinks, that yet they had a strong following, could benefit from a wider distribution. In 2007, Dr. Wells was sold to Hedinger Brands in Jasper, Indiana, and it was then licensed to The Dad’s Root Beer Company, also in Indiana.

The Dad’s Root Beer Company, LLC
PO Box 790
Jasper, Indiana

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Coca-Cola Vendo 81, 44 & 39 Soda Machine Service Manuals

We are offering a free PDF download of the service manuals for three 1950’s Coca-Cola soda machines: the Vendo 81, Vendo 44 and the Vendo 39. If you are interested in a copy of one or all of these manuals, click the image of the model you wish to download from our Retroplanet PDF Library.

Please note that the first part of this manual shows photos of machines that were restored by Vintage Vending Inc. and may not totally match what your original machine may look like. The second part of this manual is a copy of an original product manual with schematics, photos and parts lists. We hope you find them helpful.

Please note we are no longer in the restoration business, we do not sell parts nor are we up to date with current values of items you may own.

Vendo 81 Soda Machine Manual

 

Vendo 44 Soda Machine Manual

 

Vendo 39 Soda Machine Manual

Popeye the Sailor Man

For almost 80 years the loveable Popeye has been entertaining us with his funny accent and his love of spinach. His adventures with Brutus and romantic times with Olive Oyl and Sweet Pea make us laugh and warm our hearts. Popeye is a one-of-a-kind character that will forever be a part of American culture and history.

Popeye was created by E.C. (Elzie) Segar, and first appeared as a guest character on January 17, 1929 in “Thimble Theatre,” a daily King Features comic strip. This strip featured the character Olive Oyl, her brother, father, and boyfriend Ham Gravy. By popular demand, Popeye continued to make appearances in this strip and in 1931 the name was changed to “Thimble Theatre … Starring Popeye.” Popeye was an ordinary man, but when he ate spinach, he turned into a man with extraordinary strength. People began eating more spinach in the 1930’s, with a 33% increase in spinach consumption in the U.S. (Popeye.com)

The daily strip was very popular in the 1930’s and continues to be a favorite today. The name was eventually changed to “Popeye” and daily segments were run in newspapers across the country. The strip continues to be printed in today’s newspapers and the Sunday comic strip is still new every week.

In 1933, Paramount Pictures had “Thimble Theatre” adapted into a series of animated cartoon shorts and named them “Popeye the Sailor.” The very first appearance Popeye made in film was actually in a Betty Boop short. He was shown dancing the hula with Betty, and singing his now famous song “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.”

It is in the film shorts that we first see the correlation between Popeye’s strength and spinach, and the characters take on the attributes we recognize today. These short animated films catapulted Popeye into superstardom. Americans loved the funny little man. It has even been said that Popeye’s fan base exceeded that of Mickey Mouse. (Wikipedia.com) Like the “Mickey Mouse Club,” children could become part of the “Popeye Club” and be issued a membership card and a kazoo as they watched the Saturday matinee at the movie theater.

Popeye was so popular that merchandise such as toys, books, and games flew off the shelves. Popeye is also the first cartoon character to have a statue erected in his likeness in Crystal City, Texas, the self-proclaimed “Spinach Capital of the World.” (Popeye.com)

In the mid 1930’s Popeye was a household name. He not only appeared in comic strips and movies, his stories could be heard in every household in America that owned a radio. On September 10, 1935 “Popeye the Sailor” debuted on NBC radio. The show ran until August of 1936 when it moved to CBS radio and continued to play 3 times a week until July 29, 1938.

In the 1950’s, the theatrical short films were sold to television. The Popeye cartoons could be seen in any living room in the country, and a new generation of viewers fell in love with the strong little sailor man. The cartoons were originally in black and white, but were quickly changed to color. Some of the black and white cartoons were even sent overseas to be colored in by animation studios.

In the 1970s a whole new batch of Popeye cartoons were drawn up. These appeared on the Saturday morning cartoon line-up, and once again a whole new generation of children could be seen singing the Popeye song and eating their spinach. The 1980s brought Popeye into the home video market, and later on in the 1990s Popeye could be seen on DVD.

It seems that Popeye will be with us for a very long time. No matter how much time passes or what type of media is invented, Popeye will be a part of it. He has come from comic strips in newspapers to comic books, to animated filmstrips, to television, home video, and the internet. Popeye has made a place for himself in every generation since the 1930s, and shows no signs of leaving. The Sailor Man has a permanent place in history and is firmly a part of American culture.

Check out our website for Popeye posters, bendable dolls and other Popeye merchandise. We even have a set of collectible figures featuring Popeye, Olive Oyl, Brutus and the rest of the Popeye characters!

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

World News & the American Experience

1930 - Eastern Airlines began passenger service.

1934 - Hitler was elected Fuhrer.

1959 - The Islands of Hawaii became the state of Hawaii, the 50th state in the United States of America.

1961 - The building of the Berlin Wall began.

1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Anti-Poverty Act.

1978 - The first transatlantic flight by hot-air balloon was completed by three Americans. Max Anderson, Ben Abruzzo, and Larry Newman took almost a week to fly from Presque Isle, Maine to Misery, France.

Movies & TV:

1950 - ABC began showing Saturday morning kid shows starting with Animal Clinic & Acrobat Ranch

1958 - Betsy Palmer joined the Today Show.

1965 - The Beatles’ movie “Help!” premiered in the US. It was the first color motion picture for the Beatles.

1979 - Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” premiered.

1981 - “Charlie’s Angels” was broadcast on ABC TV for the last time.

Music & Radio:

1939 - The Wizard Of Oz premiered on August 17 at Loew’s Capitol Theater in New York.

1958 - Perez Prado “Mambo King,” received one of the 1st gold records for his song “Patrica” by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).

1962 - Peter, Paul & Mary released their 1st hit song “If I Had a Hammer.”

1964 - The Beatles began their first North American tour with 26 cities planned.

1965 - The Rolling Stones release “Satisfaction.” It became their 1st #1 US hit.

1967 - “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles went #1.

1976 - Sales from Elvis Presley’s records passed 400 million according to RCA Records.

1977 - The song “Best of My Love”, by the Emotions stayed at #1 for 4 weeks

1979 - “My Sharonna” by the Knack hits #1

1986 - The Howard Stern Radio Show premiered in Philadelphia on WYSP FM.

The Arts:

1943 - The Lindy Hop (named after Charles Lindbergh) was featured on the cover of “Life” magazine. The popularity of this dance also known as the “Jitterbug” or “Swing” skyrocketed after people saw George Snowden dance at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem.

1958 - Vladimir Nabokov ‘s “Lolita,” published.

Celebrity Headlines:

1968 - Cynthia Lennon sued John Lennon for divorce.

1969 - Mick Jagger was shot accidentally while filming the movie “Ned Kelly.”

1974 - John Lennon reported seeing a UFO in New York City.

1977 - Groucho Martin, comedian (Marx Bros), died in LA at 86

Sports:

1933 - The first Televised Boxing match took place between Archie Sexton & Laurie Raiteri in London.

1938 - Henry Jackson Armstrong defeated Lou Ambers at Madison Square Garden to become the first fighter to hold the feather, welter, and lightweight crowns at the same time.

1938 - Lou Gehrig hit his last grand slam, topping the record at 23.

1947 - 1st Little League World Series took place. The Maynard Midgets of Williamsport PA win.

Famous Birthdays:

1934 - Barbara Eden, actress, I Dream of Jeannie

1936 - Wilt Chamberlain, basketball player

1937 - Robert Redford, actor, director

1943 - Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin vocalist

1946 - William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton, 42nd US President

1949 - Rick Springfield, singer

Squirt Soda

Squirt is a carbonated grapefruit drink that was created by Herb Bishop in 1938. His intention was to make a soft drink that required less fruit and sugar than other sodas, since America was involved in the Great Depression. He started with a soft drink by the name of Citrus Club that was bottled in Phoenix, Arizona and very popular in that part of the country. His experimentation resulted in a soft drink made from grapefruit juice and sugar that Bishop believed to be the freshest tasting soft drink available on the market. He thought it tasted like a slice of grapefruit exploding in the mouth, and so he called it “Squirt”.

In 1941 Herb Bishop and his partner, Ed Mehren, created a character called “Little Squirt” to use in the marketing of their soft drink. The little tike encouraged people to “Drink Squirt”. He caught on right away with the consumers and sales increased. The soft drink did well through WWII, when others did not, because of its reduced sugar content. In the 1950’s, Squirt became a popular drink mixer. And by the mid-1970’s, Squirt was sold in Central and South America.

In 1977 Squirt was bought by a Michigan bottler, Brooks Products, that went on to introduce a new product logo and a reformulated Squirt. Diet Squirt was introduced in 1983 and was the first diet soft drink in the US to use aspartame. A Ruby Red and Diet Ruby Red were also added to the product line of Squirt soft drinks.

Today Squirt is the best-selling grapefruit soft drink in the United States. It is one of the many brands under the corporate umbrella of London-based The Cadbury Schweppes Group, having been purchased as part of Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up, Inc. in 2000.

Cadbury Schweppes Bottling Group
5950 Sherry Lane
Dallas, Texas

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Felix The Cat

Felix the Cat is a loveable character that has been with us since the silent film era. The first incarnation of Felix is seen in 1919 in a Paramount Pictures short animated film called “Feline Follies.” In this film, Felix goes by the name Tom Kat. There is confusion in Felix’s history regarding when he got his name, Felix the Cat, and who is credited with his creation. The conflict is between Pat Sullivan, the owner of an animation studio, and Otto Messmer, a cartoonist who worked for Sullivan. The debate still continues in the present day.

By the end of 1919, Felix the Cat had starred in “The Adventures of Felix” and other short films, and his popularity soared. A Felix comic strip was syndicated in over 250 newspapers internationally, and ran daily and on Sundays. A new short film was created and shown every two weeks, and this helped push Felix to superstardom. Felix merchandise started to pop up everywhere. Charles Lindbergh even brought a Felix doll with him on his flight across the Atlantic Ocean, and Felix has the credit of being the first balloon ever made for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927!

By the late 1920’s “Talkies,” films with sound, were being released with animated characters such as Mickey Mouse. Sullivan’s studio made several Felix short films with sound, but they were never as popular as the original silent films.

In 1928, Felix was chosen by RCA Television Studios to be the model used to precisely calibrate television transmissions for New York Channel #1. The paper-maché Felix doll was placed on a turntable and stayed under the burning studio lights for a few hours each day as the technicians worked on the transmitted image of Felix to get the correct definition. In 1931, the channel became part of NBC, and Felix continued to be the model used to test transmissions for nearly a decade.

In 1943 the Felix Sunday comic strips were cancelled, but the Felix daily strips continued on. At this time Felix was given his own comic book, which came out monthly for Dell Comics. Also around this time production started on Felix cartoons to be aired on television. Felix’s appearance changed slightly and his Magic Bag of Tricks was introduced, along with new characters such as the Professor and Poindexter. Starting in 1958, over 250 Felix cartoons aired, and were syndicated to run for over 20 years!

In the eighties, the feature length film “Felix the Cat: The Movie,” was released. It was shown throughout the world and it ran on the Disney Channel for 10 years. In the nineties, a television series called “The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat” was released. Also created was “Baby Felix and Friends,” which has run on television in the Japanese market since 2000, soon to be coming to the US. In 2004 another feature film “Felix the Cat Saves Christmas” was released, adding to his notoriety.

Recently DVDs of all the old Felix TV shows and animated short films became available. This has created another surge in Felix’s popularity, and all kinds of Felix merchandise are being sold. There are Felix fashion clothes, DVDs, key chains, clocks, dolls, a Nintendo video game, and even a special slot machine at Bally’s Casinos. Even a Felix Mira automobile by Daihatsu has been built! (According to felixthecat.com) In 1996, Felix was seen in advertisements for Wendy’s Restaurants and was offered as the prize toy in kid’s meals. He was also the official logo of the American International Carnival in 2004.

Felix’s popularity has continuously grown throughout the years. He was featured in TV Guide as the 25th most recognizable and famous cartoon character in the world. (felixthecat.com.) Felix the Cat is a symbol of where we started in animated film, and he will always be remembered for being a part of the first television transmission signals. He is a loveable character that will continue to entertain generation after generation of Americans and people all over the world with his antics and his Magic Bag of Tricks.

Check out our website for Felix merchandise and collectibles. We have bendable dolls, key chains, mugs, movie posters and much more!

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

American Experience:

1945 - Japan surrenders unconditionally to end WW II on Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day)

1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened on Friday August 15 at Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm in upstate New York. 450,000 people met to watch two-dozen bands play music for 3 straight days. It was a happening like no other in a time of American history that no one will ever forget.

Movies & TV:

1939 - “Wizard of Oz” premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood.

1948 - “Candid Camera” with Allen Funt debuts on ABC TV.

1948 - CBS_TV broadcast the first nightly news show with Douglas Edwards as anchorman.

1964 - The Beatles’ “A Hard Days Night” opens in New York City.

1981 - “The Waltons” last broadcast took place on CBS-TV.

Music & Radio:

1952 - Willie Mae Thornton (Big Mama) recorded the original version of Hound Dog that Elvis Presley brought to superstardom 4 years later.

1958 - Elvis Presley’s single Hard Headed Woman went gold.

1962 - Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as the Beatles drummer

1965 - “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher hits#1

1966 - The Beatles play their final tour show in the US at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

1967 - Fleetwood Mac made their stage debut at the National Blues and Jazz Festival in Great Britain.

1974 - Ramones concert debut at New York City’s CBGBs.

1981 - Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie hit #1 and stayed there for 9 weeks.

1985 - The album Like A Virgin by Madonna sold five million copies, making it the first solo album by a female artist to do this.

The Arts:

1987 - A Chorus Line celebrated its 5,000th performance.

Celebrity Headlines:

1958 - Buddy Holly weds Maria Santiago

1977 - August 16th. Elvis Presley dies, leaving his family and millions of fans devastated.

1985 - Madonna weds Sean Penn

Sports:

1935 - Babe Ruth played his final game at Fenway Park, with 41,766 fans packed in to see him.

1935 - The first trans-continental roller derby match took place at the Coliseum in Chicago, IL. 25 teams had to skate 3,000 miles. It took the winning team, Clarice Martin and Bernie McKay, over a month of grueling 11 ½ hour days to finish the derby on September 22.

1948 - Babe Ruth, Baseball legend (NY Yankees), dies in NY at 53

1951 - The 1st baseball game in color was broadcast on TV (Braves vs Dodgers) (WCBS-NYC)

1954 - The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine reached newsstands

1970 - Patricia Palinkas became the first woman to play in a professional football league game. She held the ball for the placement kickers of the Orlando Panthers.

Technology & Inventions:

1953 - The Wiffle Ball was invented by David Mullany and his son. They had been trying to invent a ball that would curve at every throw.

1981 - IBM, International Business Machines, introduced the personal computer Model 5150 PC with PC-DOS version 1.0. It cost $1,565.00. The PC was very popular and soon IBM was the #1 computer company, with Apple slipping to #2.

Automobile News:

1954 - Workers at the Studebaker automotive factory agreed to pay cuts of $12 - $20 a week to try and help the company to stay afloat. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors eventually drive Studebaker out of business.

Famous Birthdays:

1930 - Don Ho (Donald Tai Loy Ho), singer, entertainer and host of The Don Ho Show.

1941 - David Crosby from Crosby, Stills & Nash

1957 - Richie Ramone, drummer for The Ramones

1958 - Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)

1959 - Magic (Earvin Jr.) Johnson, basketball star

1960 - Timothy Hutton, actor

1961 - Susan Olson, actress, Cindy on The Brady Bunch

Pequot Soda

The Pequot Water Company was a soda and spring water bottling company where I grew up in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Pequot soda came in a long list of flavors. Some of the ones I remember are orange, root beer, and lemon-lime. Trucks came directly to our door to deliver the specific flavors my mother had ordered. The glass bottles with a cork-lined cap were transported in heavy wooden crates, with 12 bottles per crate. When the soda bottles were empty, the truck returned to take the crate of empties back to the bottling plant to be reused.

The Pequot Water Company was a business started in 1916 by the Roser family of Glastonbury. The water used to make the soda was from an onsite spring that was purported to have magical powers by the local Indians. Pequot soda was delivered on trucks from the early 1960’s into the 1970’s. The company is gone now, and the building stands empty, having been recently sold. But the name of “Pequot soda” brings a smile to my face as I remember how great it tasted and how much by brothers and I enjoyed it as kids.

Pequot Water Company
320 Spring Street Extension
Glastonbury, CT

Have you got any memories to share about Pequot soda? Please blog in and let us know.