Popeye: Cartoon Icons of American TV

Created by American cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar, Popeye (also Popeye the Sailor) first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929, billed as a Betty Boop cartoon.  (According to the official Popeye website, Popeye is 34 years old and was born in a typhoon off Santa Monica, California.)  In 1933, Fleischer Studios adapted the Thimble Theatre character and his cartoon buddies into a series of Popeye the Sailor animated shorts for Paramount Pictures shown in movie theaters.  These first Popeye shorts introduced the now-famous "I’m Popeye the Sailor Man,” song written by Sammy Lerner (loosely based on the "Pirate King" song in Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, that would eventually become Popeye’s theme song).  Read more . . .

Bugs Bunny: Cartoon Icons of American TV

The brainchild of cartoon director Tex Avery, Bugs Bunny is a world-famous cartoon character who starred in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated films produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became Warner Bros. Recognized by his trademark carrot, quick and often ironic whit, and his love for costumes, Bugs Bunny has been part of American pop culture for over 70 years, voted the "greatest cartoon character of all time" by TV Guide.  Starring in 167 film shorts during the Golden Age of American animation (as well as appearing in several non-animated films including Space Jam and Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Bugs evolved from a less developed character who first appeared in the 1938 Warner Brothers cartoon Porky’s Hare Hunt.   Read more . . .

The Flintstones: Cartoon Icons of American TV

The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American TV series that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on the ABC network.  Produced by the team of Hanna-Barbera, The Flintstones follows the lives and adventures of two working-class Stone-Age families, the Flintstones and the Rubbles.  Though telecast in black-and-white during its first two seasons, it was filmed in color from the start.  A clever juxtaposition of modern everyday concerns in a Stone Age setting, The Flintstones takes place in the "modern" metropolis of Bedrock.  (In some of the earlier episodes, it was referred to as "Rockville.”)  In this fantastic vision of the ancient past, dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, woolly mammoths, and other long-extinct animals co-exist with barefoot cavemen who drive cars.  Read more. . .

Beyond Magic Slippers and Poison Apples: The Dark Truth Behind Our Favorite Disney Fairy Tales

For those who grew up under the wondrous cinematic spell cast by master cartoonist Walt Disney, the world of faery tales and fables appears to be a veritable wonderland created just for kids.  Indeed, the happily-ever-after realms of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella, make it easy to imagine that the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Anderson were born to create wondrous realms where children could simply let their imaginations run wild.  But what most parents and children are unaware of is that most of these beloved classic stories were in fact not written for children at all, and many of those that were, were meant as cautionary tales designed to frighten children into obeying their parents.  Read more . . .

American Counterculture Icon, Abbie Hoffman

Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936–April 12, 1989), was an American social activist of the 60s counterculture who first came to national attention in 1967 during the infamous New York Stock Exchange "money-burning" incident, which was followed by his arrest for conspiracy and inciting to riot during anti-Vietnam War protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.  A member of the infamous Chicago Seven ([originally, Eight], which included Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and future California state senator Tom Hayden), and co-founded of the Youth International Party ("Yippies"), Abbie’s legendary disruptive exploits have come to characterize the clash between American politics and the 60’s youth counterculture.  Read more . . .

Edgar Allan Poe: Master of the Macabre

American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts.  Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the first American writers to utilize the short story format, is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre, and is credited with contributing to the success of the emerging science fiction genre.  One fact making him especially unique in the literary field is that Poe is said to have been the first well-known American writer popular enough to earn a living exclusively through his writing in his lifetime--though not until late in life.  Read more . . .

Lizzie Borden: Murder in Fall River

Lizzie Borden came to public prominence when she became the prime suspect in the hatchet murders of her father and stepmother on August 4th, 1892. The murders, trial, and notoriety of the incident has not only become part of American pop culture, it has made Lizzie a veritable icon of evil and treachery.  Although acquitted, (no one else was ever arrested or tried), Lizzie remains notorious in American folklore as the woman who “took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks, and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”  Read more . . .

Janis Joplin (January 19, 1943--October 4, 1970)

Port Arthur, Texas' most famous resident, Janis Joplin, died on October 4, 1970, but not before establishing the “blues mama image” for all white female singers to follow: hard-living, hard-loving, and of course, hard drinking--her love affair with Southern Comfort now legendary.  Coming into prominence in the late 60s as lead singer for the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, Janis quickly left her band mates in the proverbial dust following the release of their second album, Cheap Thrills and their monumental appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of ‘67, after which most of the world experienced the shock and awe that was Janis.  Read More . . .

Snoopy: The Life and Times of an American Pop Icon

Snoopy was born on October 4th, 1950, in the fictional comic strip world of the Peanuts gang created by artist and illustrator Charles Schulz, one of a liter of eight born at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.  A composite of Schulz’s own boyhood dogs Snooky and Spike, Snoopy first arrived in Charlie Brown’s neighborhood two days after the strip premiered on October 2nd.  Originally intended to be called, “Sniffy,” (some sources say “Sparky”), Snoopy was not Charlie Brown’s dog initially as Schulz is said to have been planning to parallel the storyline used in the popular Our Gang comedies where “Pete” was everybody’s dog.  This is illustrated in the February 2nd, 1951 strip where Charlie Brown accuses Snoopy of following him, only to be told by Patty that Snoopy isn’t following him, he “merely lives in the same direction.”  In fact, many early strips show Snoopy interacting with Shermy and Patty without Charlie Brown, making Snoopy appear to belong to the whole neighborhood.   Read More . . .