Vintage Headlines: Adult Cartoons circa 1960

Lest you think that The Simpsons and Family Guy were groundbreaking in regard to being animated fare targeted at grownups, realize that over fifty years ago, a certain stone-age family was initially targeted to an adult-based demographic.  The Flintstones debuted in prime time in September of 1960, and then television reporter Ray McConnell made these interesting observations in response to the show's premiere:

SUBURBIA IN THE STONE AGE: A thousand years from today "The Flintstones" may be evidence of history, goofed-up, or of science fiction, also goofed-up but an eerie, prophetic caricature of life after The Bomb fell. TV fans will get a chance to make their own guess about this tonight when "The Flintstones" comes on ABC-TV and Channel 7 as a weekly cartoon comedy designed for adult viewing. It is television's first animated assault, outside the commercials, on adult funnybones. The cartoon series has been created by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, who tailored "Huckleberry Hound," "Quick Draw McGraw" and "Rough 'n Ready" for the TV tube. These were kid cartoons, primarily. The Flintstones are something else. Their fanciful out-of-kilter world is the Hanna-Barbera answer to what they believe is an adult demand for an adult cartoon. (Who demanded this? I didn't).

It goes something like this: With their pals, Barney and Betty Rubble, Fred and Wilma Flintstone bumble through life in Bedrock (Pop. 2500), the seat of Cobblestone County. They are average couples, with the same problems, foibles, ambitions and frustrations of any couples anywhere, anytime. The difference is that the Flintstones and Rubbles live in hollow boulders and wear bearskin kilts. .It's a version of Suburbia in the stone age; a homily of life among cave dwellers — in the light of some modern improvements. But whether the time is 25,000 years ago, or a couple of hundred years hence, is your guess as much as anyone's.

Another article from the same time quoted both Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera on the show's intended adult appeal:

"We had so much success our other cartoon characters —'Quick-Draw McGraw" and 'Huckleberry Hound' — and there was so much adult public reaction and acceptance that we decided to try an adult cartoon series." says Joe Barbera.

"Older people just took a liking to 'Quickdraw' and 'Huck'." Bill Hanna asserted. "Joe and I thought that possibly a cartoon series with an adult approach might be something that would please the oldsters."

Greetings from the AMF Monorail

We recently featured a post that showcased Archie's comic book adventures at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.  Prominent in that article was a panel excerpt that showed Archie and the gang riding the AMF Monorail, one of the Fair's best remembered icons.  This postcard features an artist's rendition of the Monorail and included the following caption on the back side:

THE AMF MONORAIL
New York World's Fair 1964-65
''Peace through Understanding."

The AMF Monorail ride at the New York World's Fair provides every member of the family with an enjoyable new experience aboard the transportation of the future. While riding in silent air-conditioned comfort three stories above ground, passengers see and can photograph many scenic Fair sights during the eight minute trip. Many riders return for a night time view of the Fair. Shown is one of seven two-car trains which transport passengers to and from the spectacular eighty-foot high station.

The Mystery of the Missing Space Station

My Mom still pleads ignorance on this particular subject.

At some undetermined point in my youth, likely prior to my tenth birthday, my Major Matt Mason Space Station vanished.  I'm sure I didn't notice it immediately.  I was the type of kid that cycled through my toys.  I would focus on Johnny West for a couple of weeks at a time, dust off the Strange Change Machine about once a month, go on a board game kick for a few days, not to mention heading down the street and working my way through my best friend's inventory as needed.  So the date and time of this crime will forever remain a mystery.

Again, the item in question, as pictured here--the Major Matt Mason Space Station.  Yes indeed, the holy grail of the Major Matt Mason toys.  This was the top of the line.  Your Mom or Dad didn't let you casually toss this one into the shopping cart in say, May or September.  A toy of this caliber, this level of cost, this degree of complexity, required a prerequisite special occasion.  Either your birthday or Christmas.  I landed mine on the latter.  And bear in mind, this wasn't just any Christmas present, this was the main event.  The Major Matt Mason Space Station was, allegorically speaking, my official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle.  Collector Keith Meyer christened his Major Matt Mason website The Space Station and noted on its history page, "The Space Station was perhaps the most impressive toy of the entire collection. It stood just over two feet tall, with towering girders and impressive 'Solar Shields". Many a youngster fell asleep in a darkened room, lit only by the purple glow of the Station beacon."

Major Matt Mason was introduced to the world in 1966, and proved popular until Mattel retired the line in the mid-1970s.  His tenure in the toy chest coincided with much of NASA's peak years, epitomized by the first lunar landing in 1969.  It was quite likely that there was a MMM toy nearby in my bedroom when my Dad woke me up to watch Neil Armstrong take those famous first steps.

The standard MMM figures were notorious for their lack of durability.  Made of rubber, their internal wire skeletons were prone to breaking at the joints, leaving Matt and his crew with sadly dangling arms and legs.  Your average young MMM enthusiast typically had a box full of "crippled" astronauts and a disgruntled parent tired of driving to K-Mart to purchase replacements.  I have often wondered if this in fact was the potential motive behind the aforementioned Space Station crime.

I owned numerous other Major Matt Mason toys and accessories.  The Space Crawler was the one that received the most playtime.  Of the other crew members, I did possess multiple Sgt. Storms, but regrettably, astronauts Doug Davis and Jeff Long never made it into my collection.  The oversize Captain Lazer arrived on another Christmas morning accompanied by the Firebolt Space Cannon Super Action Set.

The mystery of the missing Space Station remains unresolved to this day.  It was last seen near the laundry area in the basement of my childhood home.  My mother, the prime suspect in the case, has never wavered through four decades of questioning.  Her typical response:  "I have no idea what you're talking about.  You expect me to remember a stupid toy from forty years ago?  You're crazy, you know that?"

Sure Mom, sure.  It's a wonder you can sleep at night.

Weeki Wachee's Biggest Fans

What to Don Knotts, Roy Rogers and rocket scientist
Wernher Von Braun all have in common?

They appear to have been very enthusiastic fans of one of Florida's most famous pre-Disney tourist attractions: Weeki Wachee.  This according to our latest artifact from Tony's Attic, a Weeki Wachee tourist brochure, dating from sometime during the early 1960s.  Bob Hope and Arthur Godfrey were among a few other celebrities who also endorsed the Gulf Coast attraction.  Godfrey in fact called it " . . . one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World."

In early 1964, the world premiere of Knott's feature film The Incredible Mr. Limpet was held in the park's famous underwater theater.

The Upside-Down Map

In this age of GPS, we have lost sight of some of the simple pleasures of highway navigation.

Such as the Upside-Down Map.

Esso produced this particular map in 1964 and graciously provided this explanation:

"Nearly all road maps point North. But we've found that many travelers turn their maps upside down when going South. It helps them to know whether to turn right or left. Naturally it's hard to read anything upside down.  So Esso has designed this special map for the increasing number of drivers who go South each season. Florida-bound motorists need not turn this map upside down — it's pointed the direction they're headed. Town names, route numbers, state names are right side up, easy to read and follow. Your route South is clearly before you.  Of course, when you're heading back North you'll want our regular Esso map of Eastern United States, on which this map is based. Before you start, or along your way, pick up a copy. Put it in your glove compartment. Enjoy Yourself."

Fair-Going Flintstones

Though Walt Disney has quite famous connections to the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, rival cartoon makers Hanna-Barbera also made their presence felt by way of their then very popular Flintstones characters. The stone-age family was featured in an Official World's Fair Comic Souvenir titled The Flintstones at the New York World's Fair. The stories in the book featured cameo appearances by other Hanna-Barbera cartoon stars including the Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Top Cat, Snagglepuss and Huckleberry Hound. The stories took place throughout the fairgrounds at Flushing Meadows and many of the Fair's more famous landmarks were highlighted:

The U.S. Royal tire-themed ferris wheel.

The Tower of the Four Winds sculpture at the Pepsi-Cola pavilion.
The pavilion also played host to the Disney-created it's a small world attraction.

And appropriately enough, Sinclair's Dinoland.

The Fair was also featured in episode of The Flintstones television program that aired during the show's fifth season. Originally broadcast on January 15, 1965, the episode "Time Machine" preceded the Fair's 1965 season. In the episode, Fred, Wilma, Betty and Barney attend the Bedrock World's Fair where they discover, appropriately and amusingly, an empty Hall of Science. The building's only occupant, an eccentric bespectacled inventor sends the two couples into the future by way of his newly invented time machine. After a series of adventures through time, the four end up at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.