08Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1970’s Panasonic Panapet Transistor Radio

08Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1970’s Panasonic Panapet Transistor Radio

panasonic-panapet-radio_4891

Although it’s all a little worn, this Panasonic Panapet 9V R-70 is one of the most popular transistor radios in history. Music boomed through it throughout the ’70s and it continues to hiss out AM reception like the day it was born. The 4″ high Panapet came in white, red, blue, yellow and green as well as a much rarer lavender and was known for having less static than other transistor radios. It fit comfortably in your palm but if you were really cool you used the handy chain to hang it on your pole lamp or doorknob.

I had a bunch of these but through the years my lust for round electronics focused more on portable hanging ball Videosphere  TVs with matching radio/8-track players. Each TV had its own matching Panapet.

panasonic-panapet_4910 panasonic-panapet-radio_4892 panasonic-panapet-radio_4897 panasonic-panapet-radio_4893 panasonic-panapet-radio_4895 IMG_4902 panasonic-panapet-radio_4898

06Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Teapot Wool Cap

06Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Teapot Wool Cap

Teapot-hat-crop_1322

It just got freezing in LA. The skies are getting dark and gloomy, you need a heavy coat, it’s very un-LA like. The only thing that makes me feel okay about the cold invading the gorgeous, sunny west coast is that I get to wear my hats. I have a bunch of them that look like objects. This teapot cap keeps my head warm just like the real thing keeps the brewed stuff piping hot. I love this hat because it always stands up proud no matter what rains or snows on it. The only thing I don’t like is tea. Never could stand it, never will. I don’t care if it’s flavored, in ice cream, has 3 pounds of honey in it or what. When it comes to tea, this hat is as close to my mouth as it’ll ever get.

04Dec 2009

Allee Willis Kitsch O The Day – 1960’s Bergél of Hollywood Aftershave Dice Bottle

04Dec 2009

Allee Willis Kitsch O The Day – 1960’s Bergél of Hollywood Aftershave Dice Bottle

bergel-dice-bottle_4857

The quintessential artifact in the oeuvre of Kitsch has got to be dice. Plastered on clothing, hanging from dashboard mirrors, modeled after in packaging, its presence coats the Pop Culture landscape like so much astroturf. This bottle of aftershave was manufactured in the 1960s by Bergél of Hollywood, a fancy brand that had leading men all over the world smelling fine as wine or whatever it was they were drinking once they slathered this stuff on.

bergel-dice-bottle_4859 bergel-dice-bottle_4858

03Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1970’s Sunflower Light Switch Plate

03Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1970’s Sunflower Light Switch Plate

Sunflower-light-switch-plate_1669-2

Completely oversized for the two light switches it’s designed to decorate, this textured fake wood plastic switch plate adorned many a wall in the 1970s, with any luck a wood paneled or flocked wallpaper covered one for optimum viewing pleasure. Light switches are usually designed to be only slightly larger than the hole in the wall they’re meant to cover but this Andre The Giant of one stretches to 7″ to accommodate a flower pot sprouting a completely overgrown freak of nature sunflower plant with multiple blooms.

Sunflower-light-switch-plate_1670-2

02Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1950’s Jolly Chef Spoon Rest

02Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1950’s Jolly Chef Spoon Rest

chef-spoon-holder-yellow_1671

Plastic chef kitchen aids were all the rage in the 1950’s. Most popular among the S&P’s, note pad holders and mixing spoon hangers were these double spoon Jolly Chef spoon rests. In the postwar leisure class spending fury that modernized kitchens all over the world no one wanted their Eggplant Parmesan, Beef Stroganoff or Campbell’s Tomato Soup dripping on their new Okeefe & Merritt so the population of these little guys exploded. Of course, many a noxious fume mixed with the cooking smells as spoon rest after spoon rest melted from sitting too close to a burner. So finding one of these in mint condition is a fantastic gastronomical find. This guy has a scarred lip from a tragic spaghetti accident.chef-spoon-holder-yellow_1672

Made by Reliance in the USA, the original paper label on this 6″ x 5″ Jolly Chef reads “Heat resistant Styrene. Keeps Stove Top Clean…Attractive Wall Plaque product.” His chef’s hat has a hole for convenient hanging in case you want to keep him out of harm’s way.

chef-spoon-holder-label chef-spoon-holder-yellow_1673

01Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Bubble Gum Dental Floss

01Dec 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Bubble Gum Dental Floss

Bubblegum-dental-floss_4696

There’s nothing more I’d like to pull through my teeth than long strands of Double Bubble but this barely bubblegum flavored dental floss is as close as I’m ever going to get. It always amazes me that things like bubblegum, bacon, french fries and other foodstuffs that are not necessarily a tooth’s best friend are the products that are made to nurture it. One of the most fascinating things about this, though, is how they arrived at a price of 78 cents. Was 75 too convenient and 80 too round?

This dental floss meal was prepared by Oral Care and manufactured in Québec by Innovadent Technologies.