Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – “Green Acres” Magic Stay-On Dolls

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I was already onto more sophisticated teenage fare like Hullabaloo and Shindig by the time Green Acres, a hokey journey into the countryside by two rich city slickers, came on the air in 1968.  But the hokier still theme song always stuck in my head so I was well aware of it. And there evidently was more to that theme song then there was magic glue or whatever it took for these “stay-on” clothes to stick to Eva Gabor/Lisa Douglas and Eddie Albert Jr./ Oliver Wendell Douglas (no garments for Arnold the pig) cuz they sho ain’t stickin anymore. Despite the directions, no amount of rubbing will get any of the 36 costumes that drop like dead flies as soon as you remove your hand to “stay-on”.

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Everything in these Not So Magic Stay-On Dolls remains intact other than the plastic scissors and stand included in the original kit.  Apparently those worked better than the clothes or they’d still be in the box today as only two costumes were cut out before the original owner apparently lost interest.

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Green Acres spun out of the success of country bumpkin shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction and ran on CBS from 1965 to 1971. Eva Gabor ran a lot longer with kitschifyingly wonderful products like this:

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More “Stay-Ons”:

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green acres foto

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Categories: Famous, Forgot to Categorize, Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day, TV/Radio

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1959 “Name That Tune” Game

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Well, the obvious tunes I would name are “September”, “Boogie Wonderland”, “Neutron Dance”, “What Have I Done to Deserve To This?” and I guess “I’ll Be There for You”. The rest of my favorite tunes are here.  But if I have to credit an early source of inspiration for being in the music business and then becoming a songwriter it would have to be the TV show, “Name That Tune”,  upon which this game is based and which I watched  religiously as a wee nip.

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Categories: Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day, Lyrics, Memorabilia, Music, TV/Radio

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop Magic Answer Cards

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The only thing I really understand about this game is that Shari Lewis and Lambchop have absolutely nothing to do with it beyond appearing on the cover.  Perfect on the Kitsch scale but less than satisfying as a “game” as there are no instructions enclosed (another excellent sign of Kitsch).  I guess you hold the cards up and try and get the answer but if you’re unsuccessful you place the cheap little piece of plastic with holes punched in it over the card and it miraculously reveals the answer.shari-lewis-gameME_2809

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Categories: Educational, Famous, Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1962 Password Game

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There were many versions of this game based on the popular TV series pitting two two-people teams against each other to guess words based on clues given by one teammate to another. The original show starred Allen Ludden and ran from 1961-’67 for a total of 1555 episodes. There were almost that many versions of this game as newer versions of Password having been on TV through 2009. Each version added new words except for later anniversary versions where they got lazy and used words from previous sets.

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Categories: Forgot to Categorize, Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day, TV/Radio

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Dionne Warwick “The Psychic Within” Board Game

dionne psychic game

With 2010 only inches away I wouldn’t mind a little psychic vision as to what the coming year will hold. Would love a few more coins dropping in the pocket, a few more hits rolling out of the brain and a whole lot more kitsch kluttering up my life.

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Debbie Reynolds Dress Designer Kit Colorforms

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Why I love thee – 1) The fact that this is a Dress Designer Kit and Debbie’s wearing pants? 2) The twisted organs pixie pose that 3) Debbie’s striking in the middle of the street? 4) Her matching hair and lipstick? 5) The shoe/sock combo whatever-it-is on her feet?  6) The Technicolor hues on the box? 6) The perfect Atomic Age font? 7) The fact that it includes “a gay selection of town & country clothes”?   I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the answer is all of the above!

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Categories: Clothes, Creativity, Famous, Fashion, Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day, Toy

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Vega$ TV Show Puzzle

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The Aaron Spelling produced Vega$, the first TV series to be filmed entirely in Las Vegas, ran on ABC from 1978 to 1981. A kind of run-of-the-mill detective show, what I liked most was that its star, Robert Urich, aka private dick/ Vietnam vet Dan Tanna, a name spun off of a popular LA eatery, spun around town in a red 1957 T-Bird, gorgeous but no KITT and whose parking space was in Tanna’s living room.

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – The Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch and “What Is Kitsch?” YouTube Film Festival coming today!

 

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Categories: Architecture, Art, Awards, Cheesy LPs, Creativity, Gadgets, Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day, Memorabilia, Party, Technology, bad art

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Vintage Spirograph Set

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This is the real deal, vintage 1967 original Spirograph by Kenner No. 401. Although the resulting art was too precise and anal looking for me – zillions of geometric combinations looking like they’re made from little spiders’ legs – I recognize the Spirograph as an icon in Pop Culture. Just like those string art paintings of owls, ships and such that I passionately collect but never felt drawn to create.

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Categories: Art, Crafts, Creative process, Games, Kitsch, Kitsch O' The Day, Painting, Products, bad art

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Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Michael Jackson Jigsaw Puzzle

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Titled ‘A Shining Star’, this 24″x18″ Colorforms puzzle, 500+ pieces, allowed you to assemble MJ’s red leather Thriller outfit and face at its best. Ultimately, the biggest puzzle of Michael’s life may be how he died but when this jigsaw puzzle came out in 1984, as again now, there’s no mystery as to why he was the biggest Popstar in the world. R.I. P. M. J.

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