From 1965 to 1976, Dean Martin was the host of an extremely popular weekly variety show. The show took a hiatus each summer (as was typical at that time) and a replacement variety show filled in that time period each week. These summer replacement shows were thus called things like Dean Martin Presents . . . In 1968 and 1969, these summer replacement shows were called Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers. The Golddiggers were a singing and dancing group of twelve women put together just for the show who would fill in between the acts on the show. That was a common thing then. Look up the June Taylor Dancers, for instance. In 1970, this replacement variety show was filmed in London and called Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers in London.
I only remember a little of this show, but the little I remember had some hilarious sketches by Charles Nelson Reilly (who never did anything else half as good) and Marty Feldman. Feldman had previously been part of At Last the 1948 Show. Some of the sketches of Dean Martin Presents the Golddiggers in London were remakes of sketches from At Last the 1948 Show, including a version of the Four Yorkshiremen sketch (rewritten to be for just two people). Nothing else on American TV came close to the quality of the comedy sketches on this show.
OK, here’s one where Google has totally failed me, but maybe one of my fellow Dopers can come through.
Los Angeles, summer of 1958*. I remember this song being on the TV repeatedly. Something like:
Adventure is everywhere,
adventure is in the air
you can see it in the rockets or exploring outer space
there’s adventure in flying or something something some,
wherever you look, adventure time, oh,
adventure is everywhere,
in the sea and in the air!
I was four years old at the time, so I’d guess no more than 50% accuracy on the lyrics. It was sung by a male chorus of some sort, in a vigorous style. I have no idea whether it was the intro or outro or ad for a TV show, or a PSA of some sort, or what. I have no idea whether it was on national or only local TV, or what.
Seriously, anyone else remember this thing, or know what it was?
No later than summer of 1958; we moved to Maryland that August, and I never heard it again. And not much earlier, since I was only 4 that summer, and I couldn’t have remembered that much detail about anything much earlier.
In the 40s and 50s, serials like Commando Cody and Superman simulated flying by simply letting a dummy slide along an aerial cable and filming it from ground level. They did the same thing with spaceships in Flash Gordon.
We used to be able to buy models of spaceships that had two wheels built into the top. You would tie a string to a doorknob or someplace similar, thread the string through the little wheels, and then raise the other end of the string to make the spaceship zoom to one side of the room. Lower the string and the spaceship would zoom back to you (in reverse, just like a real spaceship). This got my mother a bit upset because the spaceships were fairly heavy cast metal and you could really get some speed with them. Of course, they would just slam into the door or doorknob, leaving a nice dent or two. It also meant that family members would be walking into strings everywhere, or tripping over them when we didn’t put them away. Fishing line was actually preferred.
I’ve searched for pictures of these without success. I had a favorite one that I played with all the time. If I ever came across a similar one on eBay, I would definitely go to three figures just to have it sitting on my desk.
Have Erector Sets been brought up yet? And not those pre-planned building kits with instructions. Just a bunch of steel and lots and lots of tiny screws and nuts. Played hell on moms vacuum.
For that matter, also Lincoln Logs. Pretty fun, but usually a disappointment.
And anyone remember the shirt stiffening cardboard that was returned in dry cleaned shirts? Made many a village with that, some scissors and some tape.
I think Lincoln Logs and Erector Sets are still very well known. Both still sell. Lincoln Logs are still found in Nursery Schools/Day Care. Erector Sets maybe not as much, but were still popular into the 90s at least.
I don’t remember the dry clean cardboard. I do recall using paper towel & toilet paper rolls, shoe boxes and any other cardboard we could find to make villages or space ships.
I believe Struthers won an Emmy for Best Weeping in an Infomercial…
(fyi, no longer a category; was axed at the same time as the award for best use of the phrase “But wait, there’s more!”)
I loved the Golddiggers. They came on the summer I was between 8th and 9th grades. There was one long-haired blonde in particular that I fantasized about; she looked kind of like the one who came along later in the Spice Girls. It seemed to me she was always center stage, smiling directly into the camera. :o
A little bit of a trick question, since it’s natural to read “Emmys” instead of “Oscars.” I didn’t notice this until I went back and took another look.
I thought it was a trick question because nobody remembers the last season of AItF and Edith’s niece Stephanie, much less who played her. I wan’t going for an Oscar/Emmy confusion at all.
