Johnny Olson A Voice In Time

I recently finished this great book about the legendary game show announcer Johnny Olson. Written by one of his proteges Randy West, it's a loving look at Johnny's 50 plus year career in the entertainment industry. While he's best known for his announcing work on The Price Is Right and Match Game, he was a star of early radio and television as well. I was surprised to find out all the stuff he did. It's a fantastic read and a must for any game show fan. Here's a link to pick up the book on Amazon. It's money well spent.

Disneyland Jungle Cruise Employee Manual

One of my favorite Disneyland collectibles is a 1970's era photocopy of the employee instructions for the Jungle Cruise attraction. It has everything you need to know to run this classic ride as smoothy as possible. They leave no stone unturned, including giving a blueprint of the actual boats used at the time.



Since there were a lot of oppurtunites to screw up driving the boat along the river route, they included a map of the route showing all the spots were there are animations and turns. It would have been a big help for new skippers.



The bulk of the manual concerns the script and guidelines for the skipper's spiel. It's one of the most important parts of the ride and you can tell the powers that be took it very seriously. This is just the first page of several dealing with the script.



It would be neat to see more employee manuals from other Disneyland attractions. I have a copy of the Pirates Of The Caribbean manual from 1976 but it's not as visually interesting as this one. I'll try and post some of it at a later time. These are definitely some of the more unique Disneyland collectibles.

The Best Of The Price Is Right

I've been on quite a game show kick lately. Since I don't have Game Show Network anymore (no big loss) I've been growing through my game show DVD's. I just finished with The Price Is Right collection and it's just fantastic. It features a bunch of shows from the first three seasons of the show 1972-75. It's kind of fun trying to guess the early 70's prices. It makes the games a little harder. There was also some awesome product placement, like this 1974 episode where Barker's Beauty Janice Pennington is showing off another beautiful thing, a 1970's Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket.



Another great thing about the 70's Price Is Right was the one and only Johnny Olson, who served as the show's announcer for 13 years. Nobody could announce game shows like Johnny. Sometimes he appeared in the final showcases, like this 1975 appearance as the immortal American hero Captain Klutz.



Those are just some of the cool things on the DVD. If you're into classic game shows, this DVD is a no brainer.

Tron Legacy

I'm actually kind of excited for the remake of one of my favorite teenage movies. Tron was ahead of its time visually back in 1982 and the new one looks to be just as innovative. I really like the teaser trailer and it should be quite the exciting Christmas movie season next year. It's going to be a long wait.

Sinatra In Concert

I've been a fan of Frank Sinatra for quite a long time. He set the style for a generation with his cool sophistication and he was quite the singer to boot. I always wanted to see him live but by the time I started liking him, he was toward the end of his life and wasn't touring much if at all. This show from 1974 would have been cool to see. I beleive this was part of his big comeback to performing after many years in Hollywood. Municipal Auditorium is a big glorious 1930's arena that would have been the perfect setting for Frank. Another reason for me to build a time machine! The ad is from the 10/11/74 Kansas City Star.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

I always buy a bunch of comic and movie related ornaments every year. This year provided several beautiful ornaments that are better than some of the previous year's offerings. I really love these two Indiana Jones ornaments that came out this year. The one with the idol plays the Raiders march and is just fantastic.





I also decided to take a couple of shots of some of my other favorites. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and New Year's.

Arthur Treacher's Fish And Chips Ads

Arthur Treacher's Fish And Chips was one of my favorite fast food places as a real little kid. There was one not too far from the library where my mom worked in the late 70's. I don't think it lasted very long into the 80's though. I wish they'd come back. I like fish and chips and would probably eat there a lot. The above coupon is from the 6/16/76 Kansas City Star and this ad is from the 11/5/71 edition of the Star.