Trailer Tuesday: ‘The Towering Inferno’ (1974)

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The Towering Inferno, 1974. Burn, baby, burn.

“one tiny spark – becomes a night of blazing suspense…”

It took both Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox to bring The Towering Inferno to movie theaters in December of 1974. Irwin Allen’s “disaster” flick featured a large roster of stars such as Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Faye Dunaway and O.J. Simpson, fighting for their lives while a blaze engulfed the 138-storey tower in San Francisco they were trapped in.

Faye Dunaway (center) and Mike "Bobby Brady" Lookinland (right)

You may be surprised to learn that the picture was nominated for numerous Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and ended up winning in three categories; Best Cinematography, Film Editing and Best Song, “We May Never Love Like This Again“.

The Towering Inferno Wiki, IMDb

Music for Monday: The Kinks, ‘Apeman’

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The Kinks perform 'Apeman', 1970

The Kinks released “Apeman” in November, 1970 in the UK and December ’70 in the US. The tune was a follow up to the smash-hit “Lola” but didn’t fare quite as well in the States. It did, however, hit #5 in the UK and #9 in Australia.

Jack Wild, star of Oliver! and H.R. Pufnstuf covered the song on his 1971 L.P. Everything’s Coming Up Roses. Have a happy Monday!

Mattel Electronics: Pocket Electronic Games

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The excellent retro-site Plaid Stallions recently featured a post on the 1978 Mattel Electronics catalog. Mattel’s hand-held games; Football, Basketball, Auto Race and Space Alert are shown.

I had each and every one of these Mattel hand-held games and enjoyed them immensely. Football, however, was my absolute favorite.

The “players” were tiny red LED dashes but it didn’t matter. I played that thing to death, making lists of teams and playing them against one another.

I learned how to “game” the system and consistently score a touchdown. By pressing the down arrow, drawing all the defenders low, and then shooting up to the top tier and rushing forward to score. Bleeeep! I can still hear that glorious sound effect ringing out.

Basketball, Matell Electronics catalog 1978 (Photo courtesy Plaid Stallions)

Check out the complete catalog pages at Plaid Stallions.

Funshine Friday: ‘Fabulous Funnies’ (1978)

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Fabulous Funnies, 1978. 'Sit right back and put on your smiles!'

Filmation’s Fabulous Funnies originally ran for a single season from September to December, 1978. A total of 13 episodes were produced and featured newspaper comic strip stars such as Alley Oop, Broom Hilda, Nancy and Tumbleweeds. The fantastic June Foray provided the voice of Broom Hilda.

Have a fabulous Funshine Friday!

March 22, 1977: A Tuesday to Remember

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Airport '77 released in March of 1977

In honor of my wife’s birthday, March 22nd, let’s grab a year out of the 1970s and see what occurred on this fine day. 1977 – I choose you!

Bruce Springsteen played the Boston Music Hall in Massachusetts; songs included “Backstreets”, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out” and “Born to Run”.

“Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates took over from “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born)” by Barbra Streisand as the #1 song on the Billboard pop charts.

Movies released in March and currently in the theaters included Airport ’77, Wizards, Islands in the Stream, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

In NBA basketball: The Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102 to 86.

Indira Gandhi resigned as Prime Minister of India.

Stoney Cooper, country music star and Grand Ole Opry member passed away.

US President Carter met with Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda in Washington.

The cover of Time Magazine for March 21, 1977:

70s Spots: Jack Jones for the ’77 Chrysler New Yorker

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Jack Jones says: 'What a beautiful New Yorker. It's the talk of the town.'

Here’s singer Jack Jones (crooner of The Love Boat theme) for the 1977 Chrysler New Yorker.

The New Yorker was produced from 1946 to 1996. In the 70s, during oil embargoes and tough economic times, Chrysler suffered trying to sell these lovely, gas-munching street boats to the populace.