May 2023 No. 26 $10.95
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A MR. T HISTORY
Go cross-eyed over DAKTARI’s lion lover, CHERYL MILLER
S ’ G N I N R MO Y A D R U SAT ES O R E H R SUPE
The actress who was almost
Emma Peel,
ELIZABETH SHEPHERD Meet EL VAMPIRO and other Monsters, Mexican style!
TV’s Avengers, Steed and Mrs. Peel • John and Yoko’s nation of Nutopia & more! 1
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Featuring Andy Mangels • Will Murray • Scott Saavedra • Scott Shaw! • Mark Voger • Michael Eury Super Friends © DC Comics. Daktari © Warner Archives. Mr. T © Ruby-Spears Productions. All Rights Reserved.
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ALTER EGO #182
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An FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) special, behind a breathtaking JERRY ORDWAY cover! Features on Uncle Marvel and the Fawcett Family by P.C. HAMERLINCK, ACG artist KENNETH LANDAU (Commander Battle and The Atomic Sub), and writer LEE GOLDSMITH (Golden Age Green Lantern, Flash, and others). Plus Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt by MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!
SUPER ISSUE! Superboy’s Bronze Age adventures, and interviews with GERARD CHRISTOPHER and STACY HAIDUK of the Superboy live-action TV series. Plus: Super Goof, Super Richie (Rich), Super-Dagwood, Super Mario Bros., Frank Thorne’s Far Out Green Super Cool, NICK MEGLIN and JACK DAVIS’ Superfan, and more! Featuring a Superboy and Krypto cover by DAVE COCKRUM! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
A special tribute issue to NEAL ADAMS (1941–2022), celebrating his Bronze Age DC Comics contributions! In-depth Batman and Superman interviews, ‘Green Lantern/Green Arrow’—Fifty Years Later, Neal Adams—Under the Radar, Continuity Associates, a ‘Rough Stuff’ pencil art gallery, Power Records, and more! Re-presenting Adams’ iconic cover art to BATMAN #227. (Plus: See ALTER EGO #181!)
BRONZE AGE SAVAGE LANDS, starring Ka-Zar in the 1970s! Plus: Turok—Dinosaur Hunter, DON GLUT’s Dagar and Tragg, Annihilus and the Negative Zone, Planet of Vampires, Pat Mills’s Flesh (from 2000AD), and WALTER SIMONSON and MIKE MIGNOLA’s Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure. With CONWAY, GULACY, HAMA, NICIEZA, SEARS, THOMAS, and more! JOHN BUSCEMA cover!
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KIRBYRETROFAN COLLECTOR#27 #86
KIRBY COLLECTOR #87
COMIC BOOK CREATOR #30
BRICKJOURNAL #79
Canadian comic book artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist MICHAEL CHO in a career-spanning interview and art gallery, a 1974 look at JACK ADLER and the DC Comics production department’s process of reprinting Golden Age material, color newspaper tabloid THE FUNNY PAGES examined in depth by its editor RON BARRETT, plus CBC’s usual columns and features, including HEMBECK! Edited by JON B. COOKE.
VISUAL Interview COMPARISONS! with CaptainAnalysis Kangaroo of BOB LAW & ORDER! Kirby’s lawmen from unused KEESHAN, vs. known The Kirby ROCKFORD covers and FILES, art,teen the Newsboy Legion’s Jim Harper and BARRY monster WINDSOR-SMITH movies, the Kung on his Fu and stylizaBRUCE “Terrible” Turpin, to Western gunfighters, tionsLEE in crazes, CaptainJACK America’s Bicentennial KIRBY’s comedy comics, and even future policemen like OMAC Battles, incorporation of real-life DONKirby’s DRYSDALE’s TV drop-ins, outrageousand Captain Victory! Also: how a Marvel images his work, of WILL con-and cop led to the creation of Funky Flashman! toys,inChallenge the MURRAY’s Super Friends, versations withfab topfeatures! pros justFeaturing after Jack’s more fun, columns Justice Traps The Guilty and Headline passing, unused Mister Miracle cover inked Comics! Plus MARK EVANIER moderating by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, by WALTER SIMONSON,SCOTT and more! Edited SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and 2022’s Kirby Tribute Panel (with Sin City’s by JOHN MARKMORROW. VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.FRANK MILLER). MACHLAN cover inks.
Create Brick Art with builders ANDREAS LELANDER and JACK ENGLAND! Learn how to build mosaics and sculptures with DEEP SHEN and some of the best Lego builders around the world! Plus: AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!
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Special NEAL ADAMS ISSUE, featuring in-depth interviews with Neal by HOWARD CHAYKIN, BRYAN STROUD, and RICHARD ARNDT. Also: a “lost” ADAMS BRAVE & THE BOLD COVER with Batman and Green Arrow, and unseen Adams art and artifacts. Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more! Edited by ROY THOMAS. (Plus: See BACK ISSUE #143!)
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The Crazy Cool Culture We Grew Up With
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Issue #26 May 2023
Columns and Special Features
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Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning Super Friends
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Departments
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Retrotorial
Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon Steed and Mrs. Peel: TV’s The Avengers
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Scott Saavedra’s Secret Sanctum John and Yoko’s Nation of Nutopia
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Too Much TV Quiz TV character occupations
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Retro Interview Elizabeth Shepherd, ‘The Emma Peel That Almost Was’
Retro Collectibles All in the Family Merchandise
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RetroFad Bra burning
Voger’s Vault of Vintage Varieties Mexican Monsters
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Retro Television Daktari’s Cheryl Miller
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Oddball World of Scott Shaw! Mr. T
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Retro Travel Cleveland, Ohio, hometown of Superman’s creators
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RetroFanmail
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RetroFan™ issue 26, May 2023 (ISSN 2576-7224) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 4490344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RetroFan, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: RetroFan, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Six-issue subscriptions: 73 Economy US, $111 International, $29 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Super Friends TM & © DC Comics. Daktari © Warner Bros. Mr. T © Ruby-Spears Productions. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2023 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
BY MICHAEL EURY
Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow CONTRIBUTORS Susan Bailey Michael Eury Richard Kolkman Ken Lynch Andy Mangels Will Murray Scott Saavedra Scott Shaw! Bryan D. Stroud Anthony Tayler Mark Voger DESIGNER Scott Saavedra PROOFREADER David Baldy SPECIAL THANKS Hake’s Auctions Tana Helfer Heritage Auctions Marc Tyler Nobleman Studiocanal S.A. VERY SPECIAL THANKS Ralph Helfer Elizabeth Shepherd Mr. T
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Super Friends may seem primitive to today’s viewers accustomed to big-budget super-hero movie blockbusters, as well as the live-action super-hero TV shows airing and streaming into our homes and devices. But let me tell you, back in the day, when Super Friends first made the scene in 1973, it was a big deal. By that time, super-hero television cartoons were nothing new—Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons were filled with them during the Sixties Batmania boom. But the majority of those toons starred a single hero (Superman, Underdog, Space Ghost) or a dynamic duo (Batman and Robin, Aquaman and Aqualad, the Lone Ranger and Tonto). Super-teams were rare on Saturday mornings, limited to Marvel’s Fantastic Four (which was really a “family” instead of an assemblage of heroes who normally operated solo) and made-for-TV teams like the Mighty Heroes and the Herculoids. But imagine, the world’s greatest super-heroes, joining forces to battle menaces bigger than one hero can handle! Aside from a handful of Justice League of America shorts produced by Filmation for its Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, which premiered in 1967, the idea of a team of super-heroes seemed lost upon animators… until Hanna-Barbera partnered with DC Comics to produce Super Friends. Super Friends combined Superman, Batman and Robin, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman— narrated by one of RetroFan’s favorite personalities, Ted Knight. How could you not love that? Super Friends wasn’t just a Saturday morning cartoon—it was an innovation. It was so popular that it continued for years to come, in different permutations, which our Retro Saturday Morning columnist Andy Mangels explores in his patented in-depth manner in an exclusive four-part series beginning this issue. While RetroFan doesn’t rely upon a thematic structure like our sister TwoMorrows magazine, Back Issue, when reviewing this issue’s ultra-cool contents I noticed a subtle thread connecting its eclectic features: this is an issue of trailblazers. RetroFan columnist Will Murray peeks under John Steed’s bowler to unveil the history of the iconic British TV spy show The Avengers, which was ahead of its time in its depiction of liberated women. An accompanying interview from guest writer Anthony Taylor introduces us to Elizabeth Shepherd, The Avengers’ original—pre-Diana Rigg—Emma Peel. Another strong, self-reliant Sixties TV female trailblazer was a pretty blonde tomboy on a popular CBS program who was friend to virtually any animal imaginable, even dangerous ones—no, not The Beverly Hillbillies’ critter-lovin’ Elly May Clampett, but Daktari’s adventurous adventuress, Paula Tracy. Cheryl Miller, the actress who charmingly played Paula, is profiled this issue by guest writers Susan Bailey and Ken Lynch, who maintain a Daktari website. Another trailblazer featured in these pages is Mr. T, whose breakout roles in Eighties classics like Rocky III and The A-Team made him one of the most influential Black celebrities of his day. Columnist Scott Shaw! pities the fool who doesn’t read his Mr. T history in his Oddball World column this ish. All in the Family reinvented the television sitcom in the early Seventies, and as guest writer Richard Kolkman shares, the show was an innovator when it came to clever merchandising that mostly attracted adult consumers. It’s unlikely that anyone reading RetroFan needs me to tell you that The Beatles were the most influential band of the Sixties. But did you know that Beatle John Lennon, with his wife Yoko Ono, actually founded a nation? Scott Saavedra’s Secret Sanctum presents the story of their nation of Nutopia. And heck, I’ll even argue that the Mexican monsters whose freaky fright-fests are chronicled this issue by columnist Mark Voger were, despite their blatant appropriations of horror tropes and characters, trailblazing in their sheer audacity. C’mon, how often in American cinema do you get to see a wrestler fight a monster? This issue’s subjects are all over the map—but isn’t that what you’ve grown to love about RetroFan? From the familiar to the bizarre, we cover it all, with professionalism and pizzazz! So get ready for another groovy grab-bag of the crazy, cool culture we grew up with!
ANDY MANGELS’ RETRO SATURDAY MORNING
PART 1 BY ANDY MANGELS TM & © DC Comics.
“In the great hall of the Justice League there are assembled the world’s four greatest heroes,created from the cosmic legends of the universe: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman… and those three junior Super Friends, Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog. Their mission: To fight injustice; to right that which is wrong; and to serve all mankind!” This narration for the opening of 1973’s Super Friends—Ted Knight’s announcing paired with Hoyt Curtain’s percussive opening music—would drive fans to Saturday mornings on ABC for 13 years to follow, through nine different incarnations and as many titles. Over the next four issues of RetroFan, Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning will be your guide to the longest-running animated superhero series ever!
SATURDAY MORNING VIOLENCE BECOMES FRIENDLY
DC Comics’ super-heroes had been well represented since the dawn of Saturday morning television, with Filmation’s The New Adventures of Superman on CBS from September 1966–September 1967 [see RetroFan #25, available to order in print or digital at www. twomorrows.com—ed.], followed by The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and its Justice League and guest hero shorts on CBS from September 1967–September 1968 [see RetroFan #3], and The Batman/ Superman Hour on CBS, from September 1968–September 1969. But as the Seventies dawned, so-called “moral watchdogs” like Action for Children’s Television (ACT) were making their voices heard, and critical editorials were written in newspapers and magazines, debating about “violence” on Saturday morning shows, specifically RETROFAN
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andy mangels’ retro saturday morning
to make it more vivid, intercutting scenes of flying with people staring up at them in excitement, shaking the animation camera in scenes with explosions to add more movement, and adding an enormous amount of sound effects. “I got to the footage,” said Barbera, “specified the changes on Tuesday, we shot them that night, recut the picture on Wednesday, and showed it on Thursday to Fred Silverman and a crew of ABC executives, poised for the kill. None of these people had any idea of the frantic work that had gone into doctoring the picture.” Barbera’s gambit worked, and Silverman and his crew were mollified. Super Friends had been saved from the villain named Dr. BadAnimation.
CREATED FROM THE COSMIC LEGENDS… OR THE COMIC LEGENDS?
On Friday, September 7, 1973, ABC aired a preview show called Saturday Morning Sneak Peek [see RetroFan #9], hosted by comedians Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber. In the special, not only were viewers treated to the first-ever live-action meeting between Superman (Chuck Woolery) and Batman (possibly Kurtwood
(TOP) Background painting of the iconic Super Friends Hall of Justice based on Cincinnatis Art Deco beauty Queen City’s Union Terminal. (ABOVE) Discarded early concept for the Hall of Justice. Drawing courtesy of Heritage, TM & © DC Comics. 6
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andy mangels’ retro saturday morning
Smith), but they also got to see a clip from the next day’s Super Friends pilot, of an exciting mission at a damaged dam. Super Friends debuted on September 8, 1973, with an adventure in which the heroes had to stop energy thieves who came from an resource-depleted planet. It was typical of most of the stories to follow: no super-villains would appear; the “bad guys” were often misunderstood scientists trying to save mankind with some out-of-control scheme, or they were guys in suits and hats who never used violence to cause problems; ecological disasters and pollution were the worst humanity could fear; and heavy-handed moralizing was often delivered to and from Batman and Robin. Many of these pro-social messages were approved by HannaBarbera’s educational advisor, child psychologist Dr. Haim Ginott. If the animation was occasionally—okay, often—dodgy, the voice cast for Super Friends was rock-solid. Joe Barbera cast the voice actors, which included Ted Knight (the narrator), Danny Dark (Superman), Olan Soule (Batman), Casey Kasem (Robin), Norman Alden (Aquaman), Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman), Sherry Alberoni (Wendy), Frank Welker (Marvin and Wonder Dog), and
(ABOVE) Restaging a section of the storyboard for the sixth episode of Super Friends. TM & © DC Comics. (LEFT) Voice cast of Super Friends as seen in this Sherry Alberoni photo from an issue of Starlog. (BACK, LEFT TO RIGHT) Olan Soule (Batman), Casey Kasem (Robin), Danny Dark (Superman), Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman), and Norman Alden (Aquaman). (FRONT, LEFT TO RIGHT) Sherry Alberoni (Wendy) and Frank Welker (Marvin and Wonder Dog).
Alex Toth interior sketch of the Hall of Justice. TM & © DC Comics.
John Stephenson (Col. Wilcox). Each of them could also play two other characters per episode. In a 2004 Starlog interview, Dark would say, “I saw Superman as big, strong, and a man with high morals. I came up with his voice—nobody could really talk that way—but I used my own voice for Clark Kent… I didn’t realize how important it was to kids.” Dark loved the non-violence of the series. “I never hit one person on that show. I may have pushed them back with super-breath, but I never punched anyone.” In the same interview, Shannon Farnon found the non-violence humorous. “We couldn’t hit anybody… As the Super Friends, we would do everything but fight—which totally went against our comic-book origins!” Still, Farnon loved doing the show. “Every girl read Wonder Woman comics and imagined themselves as her. She was an icon… When I played Wonder Woman, I envisioned her as she was depicted in the comics I read as a kid: a bigger-than-life Amazon who defends the downtrodden.” Olan Soule and Casey Kasem had voiced Batman and Robin on Filmation’s earlier Batman/Superman Hour, and they returned to the RETROFAN
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THE BEST OF SIMON & KIRBY’S
MAINLINE COMICS
by JOE SIMON & JACK KIRBY Introduction by JOHN MORROW
In 1954, industry legends JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY founded MAINLINE PUBLICATIONS to publish their own comics during that turbulent era in comics history. The four titles—BULLSEYE, FOXHOLE, POLICE TRAP, and IN LOVE—looked to build off their reputation as hit makers in the Western, War, Crime, and Romance genres, but the 1950s backlash against comics killed any chance at success, and Mainline closed its doors just two years later. For the first time, TwoMorrows Publishing is compiling the best of Simon & Kirby’s Mainline comics work, including all of the stories with S&K art, as well as key tales with contributions by MORT MESKIN and others. After the company’s dissolution, their partnership ended with Simon leaving comics for advertising, and Kirby taking unused Mainline concepts to both DC and Marvel. This collection bridges the gap between Simon & Kirby’s peak with their 1950s romance comics, and the lows that led to Kirby’s resurgence with CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN and the early MARVEL UNIVERSE. With loving art restoration by CHRIS FAMA, and an historical overview by JOHN MORROW to put it all into perspective, the BEST OF SIMON & KIRBY’S MAINLINE COMICS presents some of the final, and finest, work Joe and Jack ever produced. SHIPS SUMMER 2023! (256-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-118-9
All characters TM & © their respective owners.
DESTROYER DUCK GRAPHITE EDITION
by JACK KIRBY & STEVE GERBER Introduction by MARK EVANIER
In the 1980s, writer STEVE GERBER was embroiled in a lawsuit against MARVEL COMICS over ownership of his creation HOWARD THE DUCK. To raise funds for legal fees, Gerber asked JACK KIRBY to contribute to a benefit comic titled DESTROYER DUCK. Without hesitation, Kirby (who was in his own dispute with Marvel at the time) donated his services for the first issue, and the duo took aim at their former employer in an outrageous five-issue run. With biting satire and guns blazing, Duke “Destroyer” Duck battled the thinly veiled Godcorp (whose infamous credo was “Grab it all! Own it all! Drain it all!”), its evil leader Ned Packer and the (literally) spineless Booster Cogburn, Medea (a parody of Daredevil’s Elektra), and more! Now, all five Gerber/Kirby issues are collected—but relettered and reproduced from JACK’S UNBRIDLED, UNINKED PENCIL ART! Also included are select examples of ALFREDO ALCALA’s unique inking style over Kirby on the original issues, Gerber’s script pages, an historical Introduction by MARK EVANIER (co-editor of the original 1980s issues), and an Afterword by BUZZ DIXON (who continued the series after Gerber)! Discover all the hidden jabs you missed when DESTROYER DUCK was first published, and experience page after page of Kirby’s raw pencil art! SHIPS SPRING 2023! (128-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $31.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-117-2
ALTER EGO COLLECTORS’ ITEM CLASSICS
By overwhelming demand, editor ROY THOMAS has compiled all the material on the founders of the Marvel Bullpen from three SOLD-OUT ALTER EGO ISSUES—plus OVER 30 NEW PAGES OF CONTENT! There’s the STEVE DITKO ISSUE (#160 with a rare ’60s Ditko interview by RICHARD HOWELL, biographical notes by NICK CAPUTO, and Ditko tributes)! The STAN LEE ISSUE (#161 with ROY THOMAS on his 50+ year relationship with Stan, art by KIRBY, DITKO, MANEELY, EVERETT, SEVERIN, ROMITA, plus tributes from pros and fans)! And the JACK KIRBY ISSUE (#170 with WILL MURRAY on Kirby’s contributions to Iron Man’s creation, Jack’s Captain Marvel/Mr. Scarlet Fawcett work, Kirby in 1960s fanzines, plus STAN LEE and ROY THOMAS on Jack)! Whether you missed these issues, or can’t live without the extensive NEW MATERIAL on DITKO, LEE, and KIRBY, it’s sure to be an AMAZING, ASTONISHING, FANTASTIC tribute to the main men who made Marvel! NOW SHIPPING! (256-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $35.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-116-5
CLIFFHANGER!
CINEMATIC SUPERHEROES OF THE SERIALS: 1941–1952 by CHRISTOPHER IRVING
Hold on tight as historian CHRISTOPHER IRVING explores the origins of the first on-screen superheroes and the comic creators and film-makers who brought them to life. CLIFFHANGER! touches on the early days of the film serial, to its explosion as a juvenile medium of the 1930s and ‘40s. See how the creation of characters like SUPERMAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, SPY SMASHER, and CAPTAIN MARVEL dovetailed with the early film adaptations. Along the way, you’ll meet the stuntmen, directors (SPENCER BENNETT, WILLIAM WITNEY, producer SAM KATZMAN), comic book creators (SIEGEL & SHUSTER, SIMON & KIRBY, BOB KANE, C.C. BECK, FRANK FRAZETTA, WILL EISNER), and actors (BUSTER CRABBE, GEORGE REEVES, LORNA GRAY, KANE RICHMOND, KIRK ALYN, DAVE O’BRIEN) who brought them to the silver screen—and how that resonates with today’s cinematic superhero universe. SHIPS SUMMER 2023! (160-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-119-6
SCOTT SAAVEDRA’S SECRET SANCTUM
John and Yoko’s Nation of Nutopia BY SCOTT SAAVEDRA
I am a citizen of Nutopia, and if you aren’t already one yourself you could be soon. But don’t expect to vacation there anytime ever, because Nutopia is a state of mind rather than an actual state. Simply, Nutopia is a conceptual country. And it was founded by Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1973 on the first day of April (no foolin’) when the following statement was signed:
We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA. Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA. NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic. All people of NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and its people. [Signed by] Yoko Ono Lennon John Ono Lennon
The very next day, Lennon and Ono held a press conference at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York to announce the founding of Nutopia. John Lennon’s voice was strong and clear as he read the letter but Yoko Ono, who read along, was barely audible despite sitting in front of a microphone. Lennon wore a “Not Insane” button representing the “National Surrealist People’s Party” (never heard of it). Their demeanor appeared rather sober, though deadpan might be a better description. The couple also (ABOVE) John Lennon (LEFT) and introduced the flag Yoko Ono (RIGHT) at the 1973 press of Nutopia, which confrence announcing the creation appeared to be of Nutopia. Bernard Gotfryd photograph simple white handcollection/ Library of Congress Prints and Photographs kerchiefs. Asked by Division. (INSET) The seal of Nutopia a reporter what the (get it?) as drawn by John Lennon. RETROFAN
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scott saavedra’s secret sanctum
white flag meant, they each waved one around above their heads: “surrender and submission.” Lennon then used the tissue in a more traditional fashion and blew his nose. Ono would later point out that the full meaning of the flag was to surrender and submit to “peace and love.” Nutopia appeared to be utterly nonsensical. After all, what’s Cosmic Law? In space, no one can hear you scream? Thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s heavenly body? (I could do this all day.) What on Earth did it all mean? Well, they were artists and artists do unexpected things. At least that’s how Ono explained the abrupt creation of Nutopia to their lawyer Leon Wildes after the press conference. Wildes was unfazed, even though he had serious work to do for the couple. Lennon and Ono were in the midst of a difficult personal time. Ono’s daughter had been abducted by her ex-husband, and ex-Beatle Lennon was on the verge of being deported from the U.S. That escalated quickly, didn’t it?
ALL WE ARE SAYING
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married in 1969, following divorces from their previous spouses, in Gibraltar. The ten-minute cere-
(ABOVE) Souvenir stamp sheet from Gibraltar commemorating the 30th anniversary of the wedding of Lennon and Ono. The actual stamp leaves out Ono (there’s a metaphor in there somewhere). (RIGHT) Ono and Lennon at their first Bed-in at the Amsterdam Hilton in 1969 following their wedding. © National Archives, Netherlands. Photographer Eric Koch/ Anefo. Wikimedia. (INSET) The
second Bed-in in Montreal had some well-known guests including radio disk jockey Murray the K. Some 200 hippies also showed up. Courtesy of Heritage.
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mony was held at the local registry office, where they managed to avoid the explosion of press and paparazzi they could expect at a more accessible venue in the U.K. But they knew there would be strong interest once their marriage was announced. Wanting to take advantage of the press attention, they spent their honeymoon at the Amsterdam Hilton, Netherlands, where they held a weeklong “Bed-in for Peace.” As expected, the press showed up enthusiastically. Not expected were the journalists who thought the couple might have marital relations (wink) in front of the press while they covered the Bed-in. This did not happen, as Lennon would say he and Ono were both “angels” the entire time. He wore pajamas and Ono wore a nightgown. It was all very Ozzie and Harriet, with a counterculture spin. In keeping, more or less, with the theme that love leads to peace Ono did say at the Bed-in that she could have reformed noted historical monster Adolf Hitler (oh, no) in only ten days (stop) as his girlfriend (please stop) with some non-marital relations (ick). This comment didn’t land well in the expected places (nearly everywhere), but like Lennon’s previous comment about The Beatles being “bigger than Jesus,” it did blow over. A follow-up Bed-in was intended for the U.S., but Lennon’s request was turned down. So the couple headed to Montreal (after a night too hot for Bed-ins in the Bahamas). For this Bed-in they were joined by famous guests including Tommy Smothers, Dick Gregory, Petula Clark, Timothy Leary, and a crabby, hippie-hating Al Capp (who at least managed to keep his “L’il Abner” in his pants). You didn’t have to be famous to come to the Bed-in. Everyone was invited to come to the hotel, although access to the room was limited. And people came. Why, the Breckville Recorder & Times of Ontario reported that roughly “200 hippies” showed up!
scott saavedra’s secret sanctum
(LEFT) Much to the alarm of the government at the time, Lennon and Ono were known associates of anti-war protesters like National Lampoon cover model Abbie Hoffman. © National Lampoon, Inc. (RIGHT) Prez, a 1973 DC comic book about the Establishment’s nightmare scenario of a peace-loving teenage president of the United States, attempted to reflect the zeitgeist as only a group of middle-age men can. Prez lasted four issues. TM & © DC Comics. When reporters asked what the Bed-in was all about, Lennon responded, “Just give peace a chance.” He kept repeating this phrase, and a new song was born. Even though Paul McCartney shares credit with Lennon, it was Yoko Ono who helped write it. A recording engineer and equipment was found which allowed the song be recorded in the hotel, hubbub from attending guests and press included. “Give Peace a Chance” became an anthem for anti-war protesters, as did Lennon’s post-Beatles “Imagine,” as resistance to the Vietnam War was on the rise.
YOU KNOW IT AIN’T EASY
Life in the U.K. during Beatlemania was chaotic and invasive for Lennon and Ono. Following the break-up of the band, it was all that and even threatening. Yoko Ono, who was born in Japan, was widely believed to be the cause of the band’s end, and some fans made their displeasure known insisting that she “go back to her own country.” They moved to New York in late summer 1971. Ono already had a green card allowing her to live and work in the U.S. permanently. Lennon had a visitor’s visa. A judge had granted Ono custody of her daughter Kyoko, so long as she and Lennon raised her in the U.S. The judge, and this is kind of interesting in light of later immigration actions, felt that Lennon and Ono would provide a more stable home than the
apparently unemployed ex-husband, Anthony Cox. Following the judge’s order, Cox abducted his daughter eventually taking her to live in a cult with a new wife under an assumed name. Efforts to find—and in one instance even counter-abduct—Kyoko failed, despite the couple’s resources. Believing Kyoko to still be in the U.S., they wanted to remain in the country as long as possible. Meanwhile, Lennon and Ono were drawn to the more radical individuals of the American anti-war cause, people like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin and the pro-marijuana White Panther John Sinclair. This did not go unnoticed by elements of the U.S. government. So when Lennon asked for an extension to his visa he was denied. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina had sent a double-super-secret memo to an aide of President Richard Nixon on the very day of my 12th birthday, February 4, 1972. The memo, also sent to U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell, our nation’s top law enforcement official, strongly recommended that John Lennon be deported as an undesirable alien (a good enough person to be a parent, just not in the U.S.). Senator Thurmond described this action as a “strategic counter-measure” due to concerns that the anti-war musical performer had overt influence on young voters (the voting age had recently been lowered to age 18). Meanwhile, the matter had been referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Despite the FBI’s open and obvious RETROFAN
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scott saavedra’s secret sanctum
Peter Jackson’s 2021 three-part, eight-hour documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, featured footage shot during the making of the Let It Be album and related live performance. The documentary clearly showed that the Fab Four were falling away from each other on their own and didn’t need help from anyone else. Some viewers of Get Back suggested that “we owe Yoko Ono an apology.” As artistic expressions go, the country of Nutopia was more accessible and a lot less strange than, well, some of Lennon’s and Ono’s experimental work. I just re-listened to “Revolution 9,” written by Lennon, Ono, and George Harrison, from 1968’s The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album). Eh. Still don’t care for it. But then, I enjoy “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” a tune even The Beatles didn’t like. As satire, Nutopia seemed more effective as a public-relations effort though I don’t doubt the sincerity of the message of peace. Looking in the rearview, it’s clear to see that many journalists of the day did not “get” Lennon and Ono, Nutopia, the Bed-ins, or other peace protests that they were involved with. When asked if the Amsterdam Bed-in had been successful as in, did the couple help bring peace to the world, Lennon was a bit exasperated.
He pointed out that it wasn’t his and Yoko’s “policy” to be taken seriously. “We are humorous.”
ALL THE PEOPLE
Leon Wildes’ arguments in the Lennon case have influenced immigration matters and government action since. Of the famous couple that put him in the limelight, Leon Wildes said that Lennon was “some kind of visionary” and of Ono that “she always seemed to ask the right questions.” Wildes would teach a class on the case at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University for 30 years. It was that big a deal. Wildes wrote a book, John Lennon vs. the USA: The Inside Story of the Most Bitterly Contested and Influential Deportation Case in United States History (Ankerwyke Publishing, 2016). A documentary similarly titled The U.S. vs. John Lennon was released in 2006. On April 1, 2022, the 39th anniversary of the creation of Nutopia, Ono shared a message at www.imaginepeace.com about how John Lennon had placed a plaque on the kitchen entrance to their home at the Dakota. It read: “Nutopian Embassy.” Friends prefer to use that door when they visit, Ono admitted. “We all belong to Nutopia… living life in peace.” Many thanks to Lennon fan and fellow popular-culture writer Richard Kolkman for his input on the Nutopian anthem. SCOTT SAAVEDRA is a Retro Explorer operating from his Southern California– based Secret Sanctum. He is a writer (more or less), artist (occasionally), and graphic designer (you’re soaking in it). Check out his Instagram thing, won’t you, at instagram/ scottsaav/
(ABOVE LEFT) Ono and Lennon’s immigration attorney Leon Wilkes wrote about their legal journey together in John Lennon vs. The U.S.A. (ABOVE RIGHT) There was also a similarly titled documentary, The U.S. vs. John Lennon. Courtesy of Heritage. (RIGHT) The Imagine mosaic at the John Lennon memorial Strawberry Fields in New York’s Central Park, across from the Dakota. Damzow/Wikimedia.
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WILL MURRAY’S 20TH CENTURY PANOPTICON
C ool Br
a c i n n a it
g e n r e s v A e h T s ’ n o i s i Telev Steed and Peel, The Avengers © Studiocanal S.A.
BY WILL MURRAY The British invasion of the Sixties is remembered as a time when America was inundated by English music, beginning with The Beatles in 1963. Those shaggy-haired imports re-energized rock ’n’ roll, paving the way for a cultural revolution that reverberates to this day. But that creative and cultural invasion was not limited to popular music. British television programs started popping up on the three American networks. The James Bond craze was responsible. The earliest British shows were espionage-oriented: Danger Man, a.k.a. Secret Agent. Similar fare such as The Saint, The Champions, and others followed. [Editor’s note: See RetroFan #6 for James Bond and #14 for The Saint… and come back in four months for RetroFan #28’s spotlight on the British Invasion and Beatlemania.] But one rose above all others: The Avengers. In the summer of 1967, ABC offered the series in the U.S.
JOHN STEED
The Avengers was a far different viewing experience for American audiences than it was for British television viewers. In America, the show exploded fully developed. But its roots were much more
complex than Patrick Macnee playing rakish government agent John Steed with Diana Rigg as his saucy sidekick, Emma Peel. The Avengers started in 1961 as a retooling of an Ian Hendry vehicle called Police Surgeon. The actor was recast as another medical man, this time named David H. Keel. Patrick Macnee was introduced as a shadowy intelligence agent with whom Keel crosses paths when his fiancée is murdered in the inaugural episode, “Hot Snow.” “The role will be a kind of extended version of the police surgeon,” explained Hendry, “because Keel will be more directly involved with fighting crime. And as he tangles with villains himself, he’ll have more of the action.” John Steed was originally conceived as a George Sanders type. Producer Sidney Newman
For he’s a brolly good fellow… Patrick Macnee as The Avengers’ John Steed in an autographed publicity photo. Also shown is Steed’s actual bowler from the series, which sold for $12,000 in an auction on December 21, 2013. Both, courtesy of Heritage.
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Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon
tated dressing her in black leather and matching boots. The kinky into it because it would have been rather bizarre without it over look caught on, influencing British fashion. such a long period.” “It inspired sexual connotations,” Macnee admitted. “It was The stories evolved into increasingly offbeat situations, which no secret that leather, rubber, or any second skin look is a form of only added to its appeal. Cold War espionage was their specialty, sexual deviation. But until then such deviations were kept under but they also tackled unusual crimes. cover. Honor’s gear brought the kinky world out into the open.” During the first Honor Blackman season, John Steed reported The role of Venus Smith finally went to Julie Stevens. Due to to a superior codenamed One-Ten, played by Douglas Muir. a pregnancy, she appeared in only six With the second, One-Ten vanished. In episodes. The Avengers had struck gold with this sequence, Steed had a new superior, Cathy Gale. Macnee was thrilled with his Ronald Radd as Quilpie, who operated new partner. The feeling was mutual. under cover of a common butcher shop. He “Patrick was wonderful to work headed PANSAC, the Permanent Agency with,” remembered Blackman. “He was for National Security and Counter-intelprofessional, very funny, and an absolute ligence. This was part of the increasingly dear. He used to worry about my getting tongue-in-cheek direction The Avengers was hurt. If you notice, when he fought, he used taking. to do these strange duels with his umbrella At the end of 1963, a Hollywood Avengers and all sorts of other odd stuff. He would movie teaming the pair with two U.S. say to me, ‘Oh, darling, why don’t you do agents started moving forward. as I do? You’re going to get hurt one day.’ “We couldn’t do anything before March, He worried an awful lot about me, but the whether we wanted to or not,” observed show wouldn’t have been quite the same Blackman. “Fives days a week rehearsing without the judo.” for the next episode is a full-time job. After Aside from bruises, Blackman suffered that, well, I wouldn’t mind making a film.” no significant injuries. But that wasn’t But it was not to be. Honor Blackman always true for the victims of her judo. would make a film all right, but it wouldn’t “I knocked out, or rather booted out, a be called The Avengers. For she was about famous wrestler named Jackie Pallo,” the to become the next Bond girl in Goldfinger. actor recalled. “I should have put my boot in Goodbye Avengers. his face and then kicked. Instead, I ended up Macnee took the news hard. “As I had kicking out, splitting his nose and causing been when Ian Hendry left the show,” his eyes to go quite cross. He did manage to he later confessed, “I was convinced that finish the fight and, after I pushed him into without Honor, The Avengers would be an open grave, he was out for the count for finished. I pleaded with Honor to stay, but seven and-a-half minutes. As for me, I was to no avail. Losing my temper, I snapped sobbing around the grave, saying, ‘I’ll never that she must be insane to walk out of the fight again,’ but, of course, I did.” most popular television series in Great Blackman became a new kind of sex Britain.” symbol, independent and assertive. But Blackman was adamant. She told “She is fantasy and not touchable,” the press, “I’m sorry about having to quit explained Blackman. “In one episode I did the Kathy Gale role. But I felt it was better have a lover, but the only thing was it wasn’t to do this than wait until she gets out of Cathy Gale. I had a fortnight of necking with fashion. My part in the series was a little an attractive gentleman and the producer different from that of John Steed, the was horrified and said: ‘She mustn’t be eternal Englishman who can go on forever. touched.’ I had the biggest row I’ve had Cathy Gale was a child of her times and since joining A.B.C. [the Associated British I feel if I go on too long I will outstay my Company] but he won because he is the welcome.” producer. I’m sure now he was right.” As Goldfinger’s Pussy Galore, Blackman Dr. Gale’s relationship with John Steed tried her judo on James Bond, but became suggested more than a professional parthis latest conquest instead. “That certainly nership. Viewers were given only suggestive will be a switch,” she acknowledged. “In hints. some 50-odd Avengers shows I only got The Avengers’ loss was Goldfinger’s “Let’s face it,” Blackman admitted, “you kissed once, and then the script called for gain as Blackman reached wider could hardly have a series with a man and me to dump the man on his ear for getting acclaim as Bond girl Pussy Galore. a woman who were both perfectly normal, fresh.” Goldfinger door panel courtesy of Heritage. James Bond and Goldfinger © Danjaq, LLC. without having that sort of relationship. This wasn’t exactly correct. In The Some sexual relationship had to be brought Avengers’ “Death on the Rocks” Cathy kissed 28
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Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon
Steed, something Fleet Street [the British newspaper business] made a big deal about. But romance hadn’t blossomed. As part of an undercover job, Steed and Cathy were pretending to be husband and wife. Cathy Gale departed The Avengers on her own terms, deciding to abandon England for sunnier climes. Blackman noted, “In the last episode, Steed says something to Mrs. Gale like, ‘You’re going to be pussyfooting around on some beach.’ He worked that into the dialogue because everybody in Great Britain knew where I was going, so it was sort of an in-joke.”
EMMA PEEL
The show’s future looked uncertain. At the time, A.B.C. Television only said, “We are on the look-out for new personalities and faces.” New producers Albert Fennell and Brian Clemens came up with a new character they initially called Samantha Peel, “Mantha” for short. Daughter of a wealthy ship owner, she was also the widow of test pilot Peter Peel, an expert swordswoman, and proficient in karate. No one thought the name worked. Publicist Marie Donaldson renamed her Emma Peel, which stood for “man appeal.” The search for the perfect Mrs. Peel took months. Patrick Macnee had married Catherine Woodville, the actress who had been murdered in the Avengers pilot, and she wanted the part. She didn’t get it. Instead it went to Elizabeth Shepherd. She was fitted with a wardrobe that included a red-leather fighting suit with a hood. “Although she was not too different in character from Mrs. Gale, and had a strong infusion of leather in her wardrobe,” recalled Macnee. “Mrs. Peel was envisioned as being a shade softer in character, and would enjoy more warmly witty friendship with John Steed.” The season opener, “The Town of No Return,” was filmed entirely with Shepherd. After seeing the rough cut, the producers were dissatisfied. In the middle of filming the next episode, Shepherd was let go. [Editor’s note: The full story is revealed in RetroFan’s interview with Elizabeth Shepherd, following this article.] “She was a wonderful actress, one of the most beautiful women I ever saw—but totally miscast,” commented Macnee. “She was far too serene and lovely for anything like The Avengers, in which you had to be a bit quirky and cocky, the way Diana Rigg was.”
Once again, Macnee feared that The Avengers might not survive. Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) actress Diana Rigg had auditioned for the part but failed to make the cut. Desperate for a replacement, executives reached out to the auburn-haired 28-year-old. “Her animal quality stuck in our minds,” recalled producer Julian Wintle. Never having seen an Avengers episode, Rigg auditioned purely as a lark. “I didn’t know what I was in for except I knew the lady fought.” Fortunately, she and Macnee clicked. Their chemistry was exquiThe mod, site, and they shared a marvelous mischievous sense of Diana Rigg was humor that crept into wisely tapped their on-screen banter. as the new “If I were asked why Avenger, Emma I got into The Avengers,” Peel. Courtesy of Rigg explained, “I’d say Heritage. for the fame. It was a calculated move. I sat and thought how much I had achieved by being with the
RSC, which I love and in which I gradually progressed. But when I left I discovered that although people treated me with a great deal of respect, being a classical actress they didn’t exactly fall over themselves to give me jobs, because I wasn’t commercial.” “Town of No Return” was re-shot with the new Emma Peel. But in developing her character, Rigg faced the same challenge as her predecessor. “I entered The Avengers at the half-way stage,” she recalled. “They were still writing the part for Honor and it took me six months to discover a style of my own and another six months to get them to write it my way.” Rigg was obliged to continue the tradition of wearing black leather, but instead of judo, she employed karate. RETROFAN
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THE CHILLINGLY WEIRD ART OF
MATT FOX
by ROGER HILL
MATT FOX (1906–1988) first gained notoriety for his jarring cover paintings on the pulp magazine WEIRD TALES from 1943 to 1951. His almost primitive artistry encompassed ghouls, demons, and grotesqueries of all types, evoking a disquieting horror vibe that no one since has ever matched. Fox suffered with chronic pain throughout his life, and that anguish permeated his classic 1950s cover illustrations and his lone story for CHILLING TALES, putting them at the top of all pre-code horror comic enthusiasts’ want lists. He brought his evocative storytelling skills (and an almost BASIL WOLVERTON-esque ink line over other artists) to ATLAS/MARVEL horror comics of the 1950s and ’60s, but since Fox never gave an interview, this unique creator remained largely unheralded—until now! Comic art historian ROGER HILL finally tells Fox’s life story, through an informative biographical essay, augmented with an insightful introduction by FROM THE TOMB editor PETER NORMANTON. This FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER also showcases all of the artist’s WEIRD TALES covers and interior illustrations, and a special Atlas Comics gallery with examples of his inking over GIL KANE, LARRY LIEBER, and others. Plus, there’s a wealth of other delightfully disturbing images by this grand master of horror—many previously unpublished and reproduced from his original paintings and art—sure to make an indelible imprint on a new legion of fans. SHIPS FALL 2023! (128-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-120-2
IT CREPT FROM THE TOMB
Since 2000, FROM THE TOMB has terrified readers worldwide. This second “Best of” collection of the UK’s preeminent magazine on the history of horror comics uncovers Atomic Comics lost to the Cold War, rarely seen (and censored) British horror comics, the early art of RICHARD CORBEN, GOOD GIRLS of a bygone age, TOM SUTTON, DON HECK, LOU MORALES, AL EADEH, BRUCE JONES’ Alien Worlds, HP LOVECRAFT in HEAVY METAL, and a myriad of terrors from beyond the stars and the shadows of our own world! It features comics they tried to ban, from ATLAS, CHARLTON, COMIC MEDIA, DC, EC, HARVEY, HOUSE OF HAMMER, KITCHEN SINK, LAST GASP, PACIFIC, SKYWALD, WARREN, and more! Edited by PETER NORMANTON. (192-page Trade Paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490816 (Digital Edition) $10.99
HERO-A-GO-GO!
HERO-A-GO-GO! celebrates the camp craze of the Swinging Sixties, when just about everyone—the teens of Riverdale, an ant and a squirrel, even the President of the United States—was a super-hero or a secret agent. RETROFAN magazine and former DC Comics editor MICHAEL EURY takes you through that coolest cultural phenomenon with this all-new collection of nostalgic essays, histories, and theme song lyrics of classic 1960s characters like CAPTAIN ACTION, HERBIE THE FAT FURY, CAPTAIN NICE, ATOM ANT, SCOOTER, ACG’s NEMESIS, DELL’S SUPER-FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, the “Split!” CAPTAIN MARVEL, and others! Featuring interviews with BILL MUMY (Lost in Space), BOB HOLIDAY (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman), RALPH BAKSHI (The Mighty Heroes, Spider-Man), DEAN TORRENCE (Jan and Dean Meet Batman), RAMONA FRADON (Metamorpho), DICK DeBARTOLO (Captain Klutz), TONY TALLARICO (The Great Society Comic Book), VINCE GARGIULO (Palisades Park historian), JOE SINNOTT (The Beatles comic book), JOSE DELBO (The Monkees comic book), and more! (272-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $36.95 ISBN: 9781605490731 (Digital Edition) $13.99
AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s) From The Small Screen To The Printed Page
A fascinating and detailed year-by-year history of over 300 television shows and their 2000+ comic book adaptations across five decades. Author PETER BOSCH has spent years researching and documenting this amazing area of comics history, tracking down the well-known series (STAR TREK, THE MUNSTERS) and the lesser-known shows (CAPTAIN GALLANT, PINKY LEE) to present the finest look ever taken at this unique genre of comic books. Included are hundreds of full-color covers and images, plus profiles of the artists who drew TV comics: GENE COLAN, ALEX TOTH, DAN SPIEGLE, RUSS MANNING, JOHN BUSCEMA, RUSS HEATH, and many more giants of the comic book world. If you loved watching The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, The Andy Griffith Show, The Monkees, The Mod Squad, Adam-12, Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, Alf, Fraggle Rock, and “V”—there’s something here for fans of TV and comics alike. (192-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605491073 (Digital Edition) $15.99
THE BEST OF FROM THE TOMB This first collection compiles features from its ten years of terror, along with new material meant for the NEVER-PUBLISHED #29 • (192-page Digital Edition) $10.99
LOU SCHEIMER
CREATING THE FILMATION GENERATION
Biography of the co-founder of Filmation Studios, which created the first DC cartoons with Superman, Batman, and Aquaman, ruled the song charts with The Archies, kept Trekkie hope alive with the Emmy-winning Star Trek: The Animated Series, taught morals with Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and swung into high adventure with Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, live-action shows Shazam! and The Secrets of Isis, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Written by LOU SCHEIMER, with RetroFan’s ANDY MANGELS. (288-page Digital Edition) $14.99
TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History. Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com
TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614
VOGER’S VAULT OF VINTAGE VARIETIES
Monsters Mexico Vampires, mummies, and other fantasmas from south of the border
Collage by Mark Voger.
BY MARK VOGER Being a monster movie fan in the olden days made you a connoisseur of world cinema, whether you realized it or not. You didn’t yet know Federico Fellini, but you knew Atom Age Vampire. You didn’t know Jean Renoir, but you knew The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus. You didn’t know Akira Kurosawa, but you knew Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. When you were really little, and a dubbed-into-English monster movie came on TV, you may not have even realized it was a “foreign” film. But deep down, you knew it was a little bit off. The lingo, music, production values, and even the film stock were a long way from Universal Pictures’ sparkly canon. And when characters spoke, their mouths didn’t exactly match up with their words. Hmmm… I fell madly in love with Mexican horror movies from the Fifties and Sixties—black-and-white wonders with cool monsters, chilling music, garishly styled sets, curvy heroines, and the sublime weirdness that lost-in-translation moments alone provide. Most horror aficionados have heard of the biggies: The Vampire, The Vampire’s Coffin, The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, The Brainiac, and the El Santo movies (in which the beloved masked wrestler often battled monsters). But many such films never made it to this side of the Trump Wall. Stateside, they are only obtainable in Spanish
without English subtitles. Still, even if we Yanks can’t grasp the finer points of a given storyline, we can follow these movies. Mexi-horrors communicate in an international language well known to monster-movie geeks. Mexico’s películas de monstruos often paid homage to American monster movies, especially the Universal classics, but with a moody, amped-up style all their own. In particular, the Mexicans took their vampirism to new heights. If Dracula’s castle was cobwebby the night Renfield arrived, the cobwebs in Mexican vampire movies were as thick and plentiful as cotton candy at a carnival. The fangs were longer, almost tusk-like. The higher, wider cape collars would have delighted James Brown. Dracula had three brides and a slave; Count Subotai in The World of the Vampires (1961) had dozens of tan, rounded, negligee-clad, highhaired brides and an army of fuzz-faced batmen. Did Dracula ever entertain his minions? Count Subotai made like Liberace, playing a gigantic pipe organ festooned with skulls. This was some serious vampirism. Another mind-blowing thing about Mexi-monster movies: Emulating Universal, Mexican filmmakers created a “society” of monsters that recurred in sequels, and intermingled in subsequent films. Discovering Mexican monster movies was like reading only DC Comics all your life, and then suddenly discovering Marvel. It’s a whole ’nuther universe, bruh! RETROFAN
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RETRO COLLECTIBLES
Those Were the Days…
of All in the Family Collectibles
BY RICHARD KOLKMAN
It’s January 12, 1971: A brief text warning appears on the TV screen, then that familiar song begins: “Boy, the way Glenn Miller played…” With that came a huge seismic shift in American television and culture. The Mary Tyler Moore Show spearheaded this sea change in 1970, but All in the Family (AITF) defined it. In the early Seventies, America was changing fast (as always)… and Archie Bunker and family became odd bedfellow pioneers on our TV landscape. All in the Family wove an innovative seriocomic TV series from love, politics, civil rights, patriotism, war, and family. CBS-TV and series creators Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear, while tweaking the intolerant, asked the burning question: Can bigotry be funny? Popular consumerism’s “Americanism” produces a lot of stuff for the bucks. You won’t find any AITF model kits, trading cards, or lunch boxes here—but in celebration of Norman Lear recently turning 100 (on July 27, 2022), let’s dig out the junk! [Editor’s note: If you came in late, RetroFan #22 featured a Norman Lear interview; you can still snag a copy at twomorrows.com!]
AUDIO RECORDINGS
Before videotapes—and before DVDs and streaming—All in the Family was immortalized on vinyl records. So… sit back and enjoy an evening of loud, intolerant diatribes. During AITF’s first flush of success in 1971, Atlantic Records released All in the Family: The First Album (SD 7210). The LP sold well and charted in the Top Ten. Official products like this album are always marked copyright “Tandem Productions, Inc.” (or “TPI”). The album begins with the memorable theme song “Those Were the Days,” written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse, a longer version than what started each episode of the CBS-TV series. Presented here are the lyrics to the second and third verses to the theme: People seemed to be content, Fifty dollars paid the rent, Freaks were in a circus tent. Those were the days. Take a little Sunday spin, Go to watch the Dodgers win, Have yourself a dandy day that cost you under a fin*. Hair was short and skirts were long, Kate Smith really sold a song, I don’t know just what went wrong, Those were the days! © New Tandem Music Company.
[*Editor’s note: A “fin” is five bucks.] After the opening, The First Album features notable excerpts from the show, insanities such as “Sweetie-Pie Roger,” “A Station 48
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(ABOVE) Original cover painting by Norman Mingo for 1973’s MAD Special #11, which included MAD’s All in the Family take-off “Gall in the Family Fare” on a flexi-disc record. MAD TM & © EC Publications, Inc. Courtesy of Heritage. Wagon Full of Nuns,” “God is Black,” and “Bacon Souffle and Women’s Lib.” The album enabled classic bits to live on, after disappearing from the airwaves after summer reruns. The promotion of the earliest AITF products often included actor Mike Evans (Lionel Jefferson) and show creators Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear. Surprisingly, for such a politically divisive show, AITF products always presented a pleasant Bunker family group portrait. One exception is the back cover of this album: Archie and Mike Stivic square off in profile. One strange thing about the biography and lyric insert that was included with the album is the picture on the front. Archie is wearing a white suit with black shirt and a white tie, looking every bit like a Mafia don. (This was before the movie The Godfather was released.) This outfit was uncharacteristic of Archie. He never appeared like this on the show. The First Album was also issued on 8-Track tape and cassette. “Those Were the Days,” as sung by Archie and Edith, also appeared on an Atlantic 45 RPM single (45-2847), with a picture sleeve matching the First Album cover. This 1971 single features two versions of the theme song, one on each side. A mono/stereo promo also exists. Buoyed by the success of the first album, Atlantic released All in the Family: The Second (2nd) Album in 1972 (SD 7232). More show excerpts are featured here. “Sammy Davis, Jr.’s Visit,” “Archie and Maude,” “Change of Life,” and “Archie in Jail” help fill out this LP of comedy classics.
(TOP LEFT AND RIGHT) Front and back covers to Atlantic Records’ 1971 LP, All in the Family: The First Album. (RIGHT) The follow-up, 1972’s Second Album. All in the Family © CBS. A Carroll O’Connor (Archie Bunker) album titled Remembering You (A&M SP 4340) also appeared in 1972. Mr. O’Connor croons 12 standards. In addition to the title track (written by Roger Kelleway, with lyrics by Carroll O’Connor—which wordlessly ended AITF weekly on TV), there also appeared: “Just a Memory,” “Last Night When We Were Young,” and “So Rare.” This album was also issued on 8-Track tape (AM8TC0340). A promotional EP was culled from the album, and was also released in 1972 in a picture sleeve by A&M Records (EP-7): “Can We Talk It Over”/“Sweet and Lonely”; “Last Night When We Were Young”/“Remembering You.” Rounding out 1972, Carroll O’Connor appeared with Cloris Leachman on the TV soundtrack of Of Thee I Sing (Columbia S31763). Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker), a Broadway veteran (Damn Yankees, Bells Are Ringing), appeared on Barbra Streisand’s 1972 Broadway cast soundtrack album Funny Girl (Capitol STAO 2059). Then there’s the bizarre parody flexi-disc “Gall in the Family Fare” (EC/Evatone B3277327) included as a bonus in EC Publications’ MAD Special #11 (1973). Recorded in New York City and pressed in Clearwater, Florida, this aural re-enactment is from the story’s original appearance in MAD #147 (Dec. 1971).
In 1973, RCA Records released Side by Side: An Evening of Songs and Fun with the Bunkers (RCA APL1-0102). The album promises “solos and duets, song parodies, and a few well-placed wisecracks.” Listening to the entire album is an exercise in endurance. Among the old chestnuts like “You’re the Cream in My Coffee” and “I Remember It Well,” the latter song features some spoken misremembering: Edith claims she and Archie first met in 1942 at the “Astor Hotel under the clock.” Archie claims they met at “Niederman’s Drugstore.” In the series, Maude Findlay sides with Archie’s version. Maude describes how Archie stuck straws up his nose to impress them, as described by Maude with disgust. More contemporary songs were also covered: “Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?” (Norman “Hurricane” Smith’s #3 hit, 1972; formerly, from 1962–1966, Smith was a Beatles recording engineer). The Bunkers even sing the Beatles’ “When I’m 64.” (This song is ironic, since in the series Edith dies at age 53 in 1980, between seasons of the continuation series Archie Bunker’s Place. But thankfully, Jean Stapleton lived to age 90 and died in 2013. Carroll O’Connor passed away in April 2001.) Later albums get a little murky; in 1976, Audio Fidelity (AFSD 6276) released Carroll O’Connor Sings for Old P.F.A.R.T.S. (People Favoring A Return To Sentiment). Translation: More old standards. Mr. O’Connor also released one later (undated) album: Carnival of Animals (Location Recording Service LRS-RT-6280). We also must note the Nineties recording career of Danielle Publicity photos Briesbois (from 1978–1984, Archie’s from All in the Family niece Stephanie Mills) with her signed by the show’s disheveled punk persona intact. stars remain popular Another unusual AITF-related collectors’ items. All in the musical note: Barry Gordon (Gary Family © CBS. Courtesy of Heritage. Rubinowitz in Archie Bunker’s Place) was a child singing star at age seven: “Nuttin’ for Christmas” (MGM 12092) charted at #6 in 1955. Barry played “Chopper” on Leave It to Beaver—remember him? As for Archie’s rock ’n’ roll tastes? It was revealed on the show that Archie had once mooned the Rolling Stones when they appeared on his TV. The Internet, of course, has revealed fake records. “Youse Can All Go Eat S***” by Archie (“Atlantic SD 72102”) is a fake album, purportedly sanctioned by Norman Lear. It wasn’t.
SCRIPTS
Original All in the Family scripts are a special kind of collectible. They’re out there… and better left to the experts. Anything official will be marked with “Tandem Productions, Inc.”
PHOTOS
You’re a hardcore All in the Family fan if you own these records!
Every actor on AITF handed out personalized photos… or at least their agent did. Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, and Sally Struthers all knew how to handle this branch of fame. RETROFAN
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And you thought Howard the Duck was the Seventies’ weirdest presidential candidate. These six “Archie Bunker for President” buttons were among the selection available, retailed in vending machines. All in the Family © CBS. Courtesy of Hake’s.
h CANDLE This unabashed Archie for President item (1972) one strangely looks like a birthday cake, but reads: “It might as well be Bunker” (red/ blue).
h BUTTONS “Archie Bunker for President” pinback buttons were produced by the Folz Vending Company. Sporting patriotic colors of red, white, and blue, they were sold in vending machines and featured these slogans and images: 1. Archie Bunker for President (Archie portrait) 2. Archie Bunker for President (type design over the U.S. Capitol) 3. Back Bunker (Archie) 4. Another Meathead for Bunker (Archie) 5. America’s Foist Family: The Bunkers (Bunker family) 6. Bunker in ’72 – Chaos in ’73 (Archie) 7. Meathead for President (type design) 8. Archie Bunker Tells It Like It Was (Archie) 9. The Bunkers for Foist Family (Edith) 10. To the Rear – March with Bunker (type design) 11. I’m a Dingbat for Bunker (Archie) 12. Intellectuals for Bunker – Vote Arch in ’72 (type design) 13. Behind Every Great Man is a Dingbat (Edith) 14. Stifle Yourself! Back Bunker’s Bunk (Archie) There may have been additional slogans, but the 14 listed above are known to exist. Knock-offs are probable—more merchandise for the masses! h BUMPER STICKERS These were a little bit more understated, but had an appeal of their own. After all, the point was to get Archie Bunker elected president! 1. It Might As Well be Bunker 2. Archie Bunker – the Man for ’72 h CUP/STEIN/GOBLET Everyone knows Archie likes to tip one back at Kelsey’s. Here are four versions of “everyman” Archie for your drinking pleasure (in 1972). 1. plastic stein/mug with handle; color pic of Archie Bunker as “Mr. American” 2. glass mug (blue/white); “Archie Bunker for President” 3. ceramic white stein; “Archie Bunker, the Beer Party Candidate” 4. glass goblet (gold and white on clear); “To the Rear, March with Arch” (ArchIe and Edith portraits) 52
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h ASHTRAY The mass-market ashtray reads, “What do you want? Bad grammar or bad taste? Vote Archie Bunker and get both” (typographic on white ceramic). It is marked “TPI.” (Thanks to Mark Johnston for bringing this item to my attention.) h T-SHIRTS This is another area rife for counterfeit product, but according to official sources, there are two variations of Tandem-approved “Archie Bunker for President” T-shirts, featuring: 1. an Archie Bunker portrait, and 2. a Bunker family portrait. Another T-shirt resolved the question of “everyman” Archie Bunker’s political party affiliation: “Your Beer Party Candidate.” Archie was depicted on this shirt. Iron-on transfers were also available for those who wished to make their own “Archie Bunker for President” T-shirts, with these slogans: 1. “I am a Meathead for Archie Bunker,” and 2. “I am a Dingbat for Archie Bunker.” All of this compelling campaign merchandise came just in time for 18-year-olds to get the right to vote!
VIDEO/DVD
On March 8, 1979 the final episode of All in the Family aired, and all 207 episodes were gone into the ether until the best episodes were released in 1993 on Columbia Productions VHS tapes. Either close to 20 tapes collected four episodes each in an initial effort to make classic episodes available for home viewing. With the advent of DVDs, Columbia Tristar released Seasons 1–6 of AITF; every episode was in chronological order. One season was released annually from 2002 until 2007. Shout! took over from there and released seasons 7–9 sequentially on DVD. In 2012, Shout! obtained the rights to release all 207 episodes of AITF on a DVD boxed set. This is the one to get. The successor to AITF, Archie Bunker’s Place, ran for four seasons (1980–1984), but at this writing only Season 1 has been released on Sony DVD. This is the only season to feature Edith Bunker. No discernable product was generated by Archie Bunker’s Place. RICHARD KOLKMAN compiled the Jack Kirby Checklist: Centennial Edition (2018) and writes for Jack Kirby Collector magazine.
RETRO TELEVISION
The
Amazing
Cheryl Miller
‘She rides lions and pushes tigers around and isn’t even afraid of snakes!’ BY SUSAN BAILEY WITH KEN LYNCH
At ten years old, I wanted to be Paula Tracy of Daktari. I could not imagine a more exciting life than protecting and caring for wild animals in Africa. The idea of being in the great outdoors, driving a jeep, riding a lion, and cuddling baby animals was intoxicating. Her story was not typical “girl” stuff—Paula, played by actress Cheryl Miller, spoke to the animal and nature-loving tomboy in me. Every Tuesday from 7:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m., I was glued to the TV, watching my heroine in her latest adventure. What would Paula, Dr. Tracy, Jack, and Mike encounter along the way in their efforts to protect the animals—poachers, fires, floods, rhinos, leopards, alligators? All, and then some! But it wasn’t all drama. The hijinks of exotic beasts at the compound, especially Judy the Chimp and Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, provided loads of fun. They were the real stars of the show. Through Paula’s escapades on Daktari, I saw a different kind of girl, physically strong with skills, guts, and resourcefulness. Thanks to Miller’s characterization of Paula, I had a role model. I soon became an enormous lifelong fan of Cheryl Miller and Daktari. With the help of a weekly allowance and a bicycle, I collected every picture and article I could find on Cheryl and Daktari. I frequently rode my bike to stores in the area, where I spent long and happy hours poring over movie magazines. I ordered glossies from Stephen Sally and Jeri of Hollywood; to this day, I still get a thrill from receiving large brown envelopes in the mail. I covered my bedroom wall with my treasures. That Christmas, my parents gave me a scrapbook hoping I would clean off that wall, which I did. I cherished that scrapbook and kept it throughout my life.
CREATING A FOREVER SCRAPBOOK FOR DAKTARI
I am now in my sixties, and my “Wameru” consists of three house cats I adore. I didn’t become Paula, choosing instead to write, but I still love the outdoors. And I remain a Daktari fan. In 2013, I lost my beloved scrapbook. Heartbroken, I turned to the Internet to rebuild my collection. I started a website, Daktari TV Show (https://daktaritvshow.wordpress.com/), thinking others might appreciate such a collection. Quickly I connected with many diehard fans worldwide, including Ken Lynch from Australia, Patrick Sansano from France, and Walter Steeman from the Netherlands. Their expertise and tireless efforts to compile an episode guide and find long-lost photos, videos, and other information have built Daktari TV Show into a popular website with tens of thousands of views each year. I have more pictures now than I can count! All because I had lost my scrapbook (which I finally found two years ago, to my great delight).
RECOLLECTIONS OF DAKTARI
Actress Cheryl Miller in a publicity still from the 1965 pre-Daktari movie release, Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion. © 1965 MGM. Courtesy of Susan Bailey.
Lynch writes, “Daktari first aired in Australia in late 1966 or early 1967 when I was 12. I loved action-adventure stories and the African landscape at the time, so it was perfect for me. The developing relationship between the Jack and Paula characters was also an added attraction, probably normal interest for a boy about to become a teenager.” Steeman first watched the show on Dutch and German TV when he was four. “I remember most Clarence and his crossed eyes and the funny chimp, Judy,” he said. He admitted to being scared when characters faced danger, such as being RETROFAN
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trapped in a pit with a wild animal. In the Eighties and Nineties, Daktari was rebroadcast, piquing Steeman’s interest. He began searching for information about the series. “I found more and more on the internet about Daktari and even episodes to watch again, and when the series was on DVD, I bought all four seasons,” he said. “At that time, I discovered Susan’s Daktari TV Show website and helped her to find information about the series and actors.” He was most fascinated by Cheryl Miller. “Cheryl Miller is interesting because she is a beautiful woman with many skills besides acting, like singing and playing music, flying airplanes, horseback riding, etc. It is unbelievable where she found the time to do all this!” Steeman also grew to appreciate Daktari’s message. “Fifty-six years ago, this show gently reminded fans to be aware of nature, wild animals, and the Earth’s resources,” he said. “Daktari was a unique TV series with a message that still stands the test of time.”
DAKTARI’S BEGINNINGS
What brought about this show that has inspired such passion? Daktari (Swahili for “doctor”) was developed as a result of a film geared towards children. Ivan Tors produced the series following his 1965 MGM film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, which served as a pilot. It was a family-friendly movie about a veterinary surgeon, Dr. Marsh Tracy (Marshall Thompson), heading up the Wameru Study Center for Animal Behaviour in East Africa with his teenage daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller). Paula had adopted Clarence, a rescued cross-eyed lion, and Judy, a mischievous chimpanzee; they joined her and Dr. Tracy in thwarting poachers from trapping the research gorillas of Julie Harper (Betsy Drake), a love interest for
FAVORITE MOMENTS
My favorite episodes were Season Two’s “Terror in the Bush,” “Countdown for Paula,” and “The Return of Clarence,” and Season One’s two-part episode, “The Return of the Killers.” The trailer for “The Return of the Killers” initially attracted me to Daktari, and I became hooked. Watching these episodes as a child, I was thrilled at the amount of screen time given to Paula and all the adventures she experienced. Some 50 years later, as an adult, I noticed undertones to these episodes that made them even more enjoyable. The tender and close relationship between Dr. Tracy and his daughter shown in “Terror in the Bush” and “Countdown for Paula” was touching. He had great faith in her abilities, especially in “The Return of the Killers,” when she had to remove a bullet from a convict, taking instructions from her father on the walkie-talkie.
VALUABLE MESSAGES
But as aforementioned, Cheryl’s Paula was an outstanding role model for young girls. In “Terror in the Bush,” Paula had to rely on her resourcefulness, creative problem-solving, and raw courage to save her father after their jeep had overturned. The scene where she wrestles with the alligator before bringing her father across the river to safety still has me on the edge of my seat whenever I watch it. Daktari was groundbreaking in other ways. Steeman mentioned that the show presented a meaningful message about protecting the environment by example rather than preaching. Daktari was also the first television series providing many roles for Black actors portraying various characters. 54
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(TOP) And you thought Mr. Magoo was a bad driver! Poster from producer Ivan Tors’ Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion. © 1965 MGM. Courtesy of Heritage. (ABOVE) Publicity photo of the Daktari cast. (LEFT TO RIGHT) Cheryl Miller as Paula Tracy, Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion, Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, and Yale Summers as Jack Dane. Daktari © Warner Bros. Courtesy of Susan Bailey. the widowed Dr. Tracy. Popular with young moviegoers, Clarence was an entertaining animal adventure film with plenty of human interaction and comedy. The film’s success led Thompson and Tors to continue the format in television as Daktari in 1966. The TV series added additional characters, Jack Dane (Yale Summers) and Mika Makula (Hari Rhodes), who assisted Dr. Tracy in protecting, caring for, and studying the native animals. District Officer Hedley (Hedley
retro television
Mattingly), a British game warden, worked with Dr. Tracy to bring poachers to justice. The show was filmed outdoors at Africa U.S.A., an affectiontraining animal compound located in Soledad Canyon about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, California. During production, several floods and fires in Soledad Canyon caused major problems resulting in the loss of animals and buildings. Some footage was shot in Africa, featuring Marshall Thompson in the bush with natives. Tors’ 1963 film Rhino! also provided clips for the series. Adding to the ambiance was jazz artist Shelly Manne’s memorable African-flavored music in the second, third, and fourth seasons.
DAKTARI’S SUCCESS
The hour-long CBS drama was a mid-season replacement, debuting on January 11, 1966. Daktari became a surprise hit in America and worldwide, achieving Top Ten in the ratings by the second year. Both Clarence and Judy received Patsy awards (“Picture Animal Top Star of the Year”), an honor given by Hollywood’s office of the American Humane Association to trained animal performers. The show’s success spawned a merchandising industry producing four paperbacks, four annuals, and at least nine other comics and hardback books. Shelly Manne released an LP soundtrack album of his music. Other Daktari merchandise such as jigsaw puzzles, chewing gum trading cards, play sets, and model cars remain popular among collectors today.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
One of the show’s most popular arcs was the potential love interest between Jack Dane and Paula Tracy, suggested by a near-kiss in the first season. Though Jack, several years older than Paula, tended to treat her like a little girl, he was noticeably jealous when a playboy showered attention on Paula (and she responded by upturning her hair). The pair teased each other in good fun and eventually shared an innocent kiss in the second season. Despite the great chemistry between Cheryl Miller and Yale Summers, the romance never blossomed, which disappointed fans greatly.
WORLDWIDE SUCCESS
The show enjoyed a strong following in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe, remaining popular throughout the Eighties and Nineties. Fans can find whole seasons online on Dailymotion. com, overdubbed in various languages. Daktari also became the first American series shown in the former U.S.S.R. Cheryl Miller was so beloved in Australia that she appeared as a presenter in that country’s TV Logie Awards. The popularity of Daktari and its cast endured in later years, with Marshall Thompson making one of his last regular TV appearances in George, a 1972–1973 series shot in Switzerland.
SEASON FOUR CHANGES
In 1969, changes occurred in Season Four of Daktari. With the exit of Yale Summers (whose character, Jack, returned to the states on a research fellowship), Ross Hagen (Bart Jason, camera-safari guide who was once a ranger) joined the series. Seven-year-old Erin Moran (who later became well known as Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days) played Jenny Jones, an orphan adopted by Dr. Tracy. She and Dr. Tracy could maintain the father-daughter aspect of the show now that Cheryl had turned 26. Her costuming (shorts, miniskirts, and boots) and more glamorous hairstyle reflected how Paula had grown up. The fourth season, increasingly geared towards small children, focused on Jenny, Judy, and Clarence. Ratings fell despite the shift in direction, and CBS cancelled Daktari in midseason.
(ABOVE) Daktari fans across the globe could read further adventures of Paula Tracy and her jungle family in a range of books produced for various reading levels. Daktari © Warner Bros. Photo by Ken Lynch. (RIGHT) Box and interior contents of Marx Toys’ 1967 Daktari play set. Note the misspelling of actress “Cheryll” Miller’s name on the box front. Some of the play set’s pieces reused molds from previously produced Marx play sets (an example: the trees and plants were the same as in Marx’s Flintstones play set). Daktari © Warner Bros. Courtesy of Heritage.
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BRITMANIA
by MARK VOGER
Remember when long-haired British rock ’n’ rollers made teenage girls swoon — and their parents go crazy? BRITMANIA plunges into the period when suddenly, America went wild for All Things British. This profusely illustrated full-color hardback, subtitled “The British Invasion of the Sixties in Pop Culture,” explores the movies (A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, HAVING A WILD WEEKEND), TV (THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR), collectibles (TOYS, GAMES, TRADING CARDS, LUNCH BOXES), comics (real-life Brits in the DC and MARVEL UNIVERSES) and, of course, the music! Written and designed by MARK VOGER (MONSTER MASH, GROOVY, HOLLY JOLLY), BRITMANIA features interviews with members of THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO, THE KINKS, HERMAN’S HERMITS, THE YARDBIRDS, THE ANIMALS, THE HOLLIES & more. It’s a gas, gas, gas! (192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-115-8 • NOW SHIPPING!
GROOVY also by MARK VOGER
From Woodstock, “The Banana Splits,” and “Sgt. Pepper” to “H.R. Pufnstuf,” Altamont, and “The Partridge Family,” GROOVY is a far-out trip to the era of lava lamps and love beads. This profusely illustrated hardcover book, in psychedelic color, features interviews with icons of grooviness such as PETER MAX, BRIAN WILSON, PETER FONDA, MELANIE, DAVID CASSIDY, members of the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, CREAM, THE DOORS, THE COWSILLS and VANILLA FUDGE; and cast members of groovy TV shows like “The Monkees,” “Laugh-In” and “The Brady Bunch.” Revisit the era’s rock festivals, movies, art, comics and cartoons in this color-saturated pop-culture history! (192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-080-9
CHARLTON COMPANION
TEAM-UP COMPANION OUR ARTISTS AT WAR AMERICAN TV COMICS (1940s-1980s)
THE LIFE & ART OF
DAVE COCKRUM
JON B. COOKE’s all-new history of the notorious all-in-one comics company, from the 1940s to the ’70s, with GIORDANO, DITKO, STATON, BYRNE and more!
MICHAEL EURY examines team-up comic books of the Silver and Bronze Ages of Comics in a lushly illustrated selection of informative essays, special features, and trivia-loaded issue-by-issue indexes!
Examines US War comics from EC, DC COMICS, WARREN PUBLISHING, CHARLTON, and more! Featuring KURTZMAN, SEVERIN, DAVIS, WOOD, KUBERT, GLANZMAN, KIRBY, and others!
History of over 300 TV shows and 2000+ comic book adaptations, from well-known series (STAR TREK, PARTRIDGE FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS) to lesser-known shows.
GLEN CADIGAN’s bio of the artist who redesigned the Legion of Super-Heroes and introduced X-Men characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Logan!
(272-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $43.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-111-0
(256-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-112-7
(160-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $27.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-108-0
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(160-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $27.95 HC: $36.95 • (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-113-4
REED CRANDALL
Illustrator of the Comics
MIKE GRELL
LIFE IS DRAWING WITHOUT AN ERASER
JOHN SEVERIN
HERO-A-GO-GO!
Documents the life and career of the master Golden Age artist of Captain Marvel Jr. and other classic characters! (160-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-090-8
History of Crandall’s life and career, from Golden Age Quality Comics, to Warren war and horror, Flash Gordon, and beyond!
Career-spanning tribute to the Legion of Super-Heroes & Warlord comics art legend!
Biography of the EC, MARVEL and MAD mainstay, co-creator of American Eagle, and 40+ year CRACKED magazine contributor.
Looks at comics' 1960s CAMP AGE, when spies liked their wars cold and their women warm, and TV's Batman shook a mean cape!
(256-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $13.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-102-8
(160-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $27.95 (Digital Edition) $12.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-088-5
(160-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-106-6
(272-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $36.95 (Digital Edition) $13.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-073-1
AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES
FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER SERIES
documents each decade of comics history!
8 Volumes covering the 1940s-1990s
MAC RABOY
Master of the Comics
TWO-FISTED COMIC ARTIST
TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History. Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com
TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA
THE ODDBALL WORLD OF SCOTT SHAW!
I Pity The Fool Who Don’t Read This Article The Golden Life of Mr. T BY SCOTT SHAW! When I was a kid, there were scads of talented people out there who had a genuine “bigger-than-life” vibe I admired. I loved the more outrageous members of that crowd in the Fifties and Sixties. Here are a few of my favorites (a few of whom I’ve already written about in previous RetroFan issues): Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson; comics’ carny, Smilin’ Stan Lee; surrealist painter Salvador Dali; prizefighter/ rebel Muhammad Ali; demented improv comedian Jonathan Winters; abstract custom car designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth; radio deejay Wolfman Jack; cartoon director Bob Clampett; and TV pioneer Ernie Kovacs. They all seemed to me as if they were wearing invisible facades that imperceptibly heightened their unique and eccentric qualities. (Unfortunately, in recent years, it’s also become another branding and marketing tool...) In 1983, I came across another unique member of the “Bigger Than Life Club.” He was making his first television appearance on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman, already known by moviegoers as Clubber Lang from Rocky III. Mr. T was an instant star, so iconic that school kids still know who he is 40 years later. Of course, if you only know Mr. T from The A-Team, you’ll be surprised by his backstory beyond his unique look, attitude, and sense of humor.
SON OF A PREACHERMAN
Mr. T—born Lawrence Tureaud in Chicago’s Southside, Illinois, on May 21, 1952—is a born-again Christian with three children: two
(ABOVE) Publicity photo of Mr. T, c. 1983. (LEFT) Lawrence Tero’s 1970 high school graduation photo. U.S. Dept. of Defense. daughters (one of whom is a comedian) and a son from his ex-wife. Muhammad Ali was his “childhood hero.” His father was a minister, Reverend Nathaniel “Buddy” Tureaud, Sr. Rev. Tureaud had a powerful voice and was an outstanding speaker and an expert on the Bible who could get “the whole church shouting and hollering.” He was proud and wanted to be proud of his kids and raised them with discipline, requiring them to help out around church as choir singers or ushers who collected and counted the donations of cash. “My father did not believe in sparing the rod,” Mr. T said. But the senior Tureaud also had a mellow, fun side—he owned a beat-up, cream-colored, fourdoor 1956 Plymouth, one that young Lawrence loved to ride in. When he was out of work, Nathaniel became a junkman and would scour Chicago’s white neighborhoods with five of his sons to find castoff toys, bicycles, food, and new clothes for his family, friends, and for bartering. He and his boys would also go into abandoned buildings to collect scrap to sell. “I guess you could say my father had a genius for knowing what the white folks liked to see—they liked to see blacks begging and needing something from them,” Mr. T recalled. Rev. Tureaud was so deft as a charming “smooth talker” that well-to-do people invited him and his kids for dinner, which led to introductions to other privileged whites, who he subtly manipulated to his advantage. “He played his hand like a RETROFAN
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The oddball world of scott shaw!
destructive protests nearly demolished the college, the faculty asked for help from the student body in quelling the violence. Mohammad stepped forward as the freshman president. He and other volunteers who showed up for a meeting to discuss the students’ grievances with the administrators soon learned that their conversation had been secretly recorded; within days, every one of them was suspended. “All of the charges were trumped up,” Mr. T later revealed. “I had two college hearings in which I had no chance at all. The only thing the board wanted to hear was the names of the other students who participated in the riot. I refused to tell. If that’s what I had to do to get back into college, well, I didn’t want an education there.” He went on a campaign to tell his story on television and radio, at other colleges and universities, and in courtrooms, and sued Prairie View A&M for defamation of character. “I left Prairie View in a state of shock.”
In 1972, his career made a sudden leap from nighttime security guard to gym instructor for Chicago’s Board of Education’s government-funded program called Operation Impact. It was a fairly big school for “problem” boys—slow learners, disinterested students, fighters, troublemakers, and boys from broken homes. And Mr. T was their gym and health instructor. It sounds like a pitch for a sitcom, but the actual situation was anything but funny. “My mission at Impact was to teach the un-teachable, to reach the unreachable, and to wait on the late bloomers.” Every day was a challenge. But Mr. T felt that he and his kids had a lot in common. He taught at Impact for three years until the school’s funding ended. Thanks to simultaneously working multiple jobs and good timing, the 23-year-old Mr. T saved enough money to buy his own four-unit apartment building. “Now, I got this building at a steal because the neighborhood was changing and the man who was the previous ‘T’ TIME owner (a white man) Clearly, it was time for figured it was time to get the future Mr. T to go out,” Mr. T explained. “So home to Chicago. After I came along just in time, job searching, he found with my pockets bulging employment in the housewith money. The man keeping department of a wanted $1,500 down, but downtown hotel, setting I gave him $5,000 to show up rooms with chairs, him I meant business.” tables, ashtrays, and Mr. T’s next move was water bottles. The job “to become a bodyguard. itself was easy and someWhy? Because I liked the times he’d get nice tips, danger, the excitement but the racist behavior of it, the satisfaction I got of the hotel’s guests got out of saving someone’s under Mohammad’s skin. life.” He planned for “They would say, ‘Hey, boy, that career with a series come here.’ I was 19 years of jobs and activities old, old enough to vote that would provide him and go into the Army and the skills he’d need as a Mr. T’s toughness was toon-ed down for Saturday morning’s die for my country, but bodyguard: low-paying Mister T animated series. (ABOVE AND OPPOSITE PAGE) Publicity they still called me ‘boy.’ I security jobs, law enforcecels of the Mister T cast and the show’s star (with stylized logo). was getting plenty tired of ment schools, studying © Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Inc. Courtesy of Heritage. that ‘boy’ sh*t.” He found a books about police work, second gig as a janitor at a seminars, and workshops bank and within a few months quit the hotel job. were useful. He began working as a security guard at one of 1972 became a pivotal year in Mohammad Tero’s life as he Chicago’s hospitals. Mr. T even signed up with the National Guard officially changed his name to Mr. T. “Now, when I’m addressed, the Military Police to further his plan. very first word that comes out of a person’s mouth must be ‘Mister.’ In 1975, he took military leave from the hospital and left for It’s a sign of respect.” Fort Jackson in South Carolina. He excelled to the point that his The name “Mr. T” turned out to be an unintended door-opener drill sergeants elected him “Trainee of the Cycle,” an award and when applied by the smoother, more sophisticated, now-focused honor that identified him as “the top trainee out of about six young man formerly known as Mohammad Tero. He was interthousand men.” After graduation at Fort Jackson Basic Training ested in the real estate business and making connections. After Center, he was sent to Fort McCullom, Alabama, for AIT, the all, who wouldn’t be curious to have a meeting with a person Advanced Individual Training and Military Police (MP) School. named Mr. T? He enjoyed the judo and self-defense courses in MP school, but 64
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The oddball world of scott shaw!
outside Fort McCollom still faced the racism often found in the deep South. On a three-day pass, Mr. T got himself a room in a motel, but when he took a dip in the pool, all of the white swimmers and waders suddenly split. He got his swim, but with the state police keeping an eye on him. He felt more at home on the base, and concentrated on study and exercise, graduating early. Mr. T left the Army on July 1, 1976, but he still had commitments with the National Guard. While at on one of a training event out in the woods, Mr. T—actually, he was using “Mr. Tero” again to avoid grief with the military system—was punished by his platoon sergeant by putting him on a detail to chop down trees. “I asked him, ‘How many should I chop down?’ and he said, ‘I’ll let you know.’ I started to swing the ax and trees were falling everywhere. I must have chopped trees for or five hours.” When the major dropped by, stunned to see dozens of fallen trees, he asked “Pvt. Tero” to tell him who ordered him to that. While the major chewed out his platoon sergeant, Mr. T resumed chopping down trees. When Sarge demanded to know why he was acting like a berserk lumberjack, our man responded, “You told me to chop down trees until you told me to stop.” (And this wouldn’t be the last time Mr. T pulled an ax on a tree.) When Mr. T returned to his job at the hospital, he had a new boss. “I had more experience as a sergeant and could help the new lieutenant, but he saw it as an insult,” Mr. T admitted. “Why? Because he was white and didn’t need any help from a black.” The boss did everything he could to phase out Mr. T, but he couldn’t find anyone else who was capable of managing the otherwise-uncontrollable people who go wild in the emergency room and haunt the hospital hallways in the middle of the night. After he hurt his arm while helping a fellow officer, Mr. T was given a written warning and three months’ probation. The lieutenant was out to get him. Mr. T had made seven arrests while he was on probation, and yet he was warned not to arrest any more people. Finally, the hospital’s assistant director got involved. “He was firing me and finding me a job at another hospital on the other side of town. That way it would look like I quit and went to work somewhere else,” Mr. T explained. “He said that he was doing me a favor
by getting me a job at this other hospital and that he didn’t do this for everyone.” Mr. T instead went to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and hired an attorney to sue the hospital for racial discrimination and unfair business practices. “I needed to get away from all of the Uncle Toms, all of the white racists, and all those jealous people.” It was time for Mr. T to make the leap upward from working for the system to his dream job.
THE REAL ‘BODY THAT GUARDS’
Mr. T was a professional bodyguard for nine years. His business card read: Mr. T – Bodyguard Extraordinaire. Next to God there is no better protector than I. “When I was hired to protect someone, I did everything except guarantee them their lives,” Mr. T said. “I didn’t give them a guarantee because to do that would be trying to play God, and I can’t do that.” His clients included eight bankers, 19 actors and actresses, 17 male and female entertainers, eight airline stewardesses, 42 millionaires, five preachers, three politicians, four store owners, eight housewives, 14 secretaries, seven clothes designers, six athletes, seven judges, four attorneys, five models, ten schoolteachers (male and female), 16 prostitutes, four stockbrokers, nine welfare recipients (including a West Side mother with five children who was getting robbed after she cashed her welfare checks), ten executives, and 18 children. “If you say I was not the best bodyguard in the world, that’s because I never protected you. Then you would understand when I say the rest are frauds, fakes, phonies, pretenders, actors, and so-called bodyguards. They are really stand-ins and substitutes for the real ‘body that guards,’ which is myself.” Over the years, Mr. T served as a payment collector for large firms, a spouse-watcher for suspicious partners, a hunter of missing teenagers and deadbeat fathers, and a dog-tracker. He received a lot of requests to rattle, beat up, and even kill their husbands and wives. Lonely women and men contacted him for intimate hookups. He even got involved with a man he never met who wanted Mr. T to kill his best friend for $75,000 and would only communicate through a post office box, with each envelope’s return address from a different city and state. His ethics naturally RETROFAN
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