Category Archives: vintage

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GREAT AMERICAN HOME IMPROVEMENT THE OLD SCHOOL BASEMENT BAR

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From the desk of Contributing Editor, Eli M. Getson–

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Our Grandparent’s generation got it right, man– the fully loaded, properly-appointed basement bar. via here

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Like a lot of us affected by the ongoing economic instability, I’ve had to tighten the purse strings a bit lately.  Simply put– I’m spending more time at home, and less dough on going out.  That said, my penchant for enjoying a stiff drink with friends has inspired me to bring back something my Grandparent’s generation held sacred and all had– the basement bar.  Let us be clear before anyone reads on– this is not about having an additional fridge stocked with Corona you bought from Costco, a jumbo bag of chips, and a few crappy bean bags that reek of stale beer from your frat house days.  That’s the JV approach, and not an atmosphere where anyone serious about drinking and socializing wants to hang. In short– it is not a bar.

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Can I pour you a tall, stiff one?  Does anyone wear a tie at home anymore, let alone in their basement? Circa 1965– via here

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The home bar craze started post WWII, as more Americans realized the dream of home ownership (late 1940’s to early 1970’s being my unofficial Golden Years).  As families migrated more and more to the suburbs, they found themselves enjoying entertaining at home.  Probably because as first-time home owners, they truly busted their asses to get into a house– saving every nickel (they’d never even consider defaulting on a mortgage), and when they finally settled on their dream house, they were truly proud of it, and wanted to show it off to friends and family alike.  Also restaurants and bars were still largely urban back then.  It would be many years before the suburbs were teaming with every silly “TGI– what is that ridiculous friggin’ costume” restaurant/bar franchise.  The other great thing back then– the “politically correct” culture of today was not around to stop grownups from socializing– sans kids. Back in the day, entertaining the children  was what the TV upstairs was made for.  With the kiddies safely locked away watching Rawhide, the adults were free to to enjoy top-shelf spirits, Chesterfield smoky treats, and boozy, adult conversation in the privacy of their own homes– truly paradise on earth.

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Circa 1949– Glamour gal, Eileen Howe, having a drink on New Year’s Eve in Samuel Spiegel’s home bar.  Photo by Peter Stackpole for LIFE magazine.

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HEART ATTACK & VINE | “THE BACK” AKA VIKKI DOUGAN MADE MARVELOUS EXITS IN THE ’50s

What happened to Vikki Dougan? The model once known as “The Back” had her Hollywood career cut short.
Hollywood gossip columns produced a profuse number of groan-inducing puns. In 1957, Hollywood Today column headlined “Vikki Dougan … Backs Into a Film Career,” Erskine Johnson suggested that Ms. Dougan’s dresses are “lower in the back than a teenager’s hot rod.”
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BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID | BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE 1969 CLASSIC

According to William Goldman, when he first wrote the script and sent it out for consideration, only one studio wanted to buy it, and that was with the proviso that the two lead characters did not flee to South America. When Goldman protested that that was what had happened, the studio head responded, “I don’t give a shit. All I know is John Wayne don’t run away.” Goldman rewrote the script, “didn’t change it more than a few pages, and subsequently found that every studio wanted it.”

William Goldman said that many young people saw the super posse in ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’ as a metaphor for the government and authority during the years of anti-war protests. He said his students said the similarity lay in the relentlessness by which both “would hunt you down.”

With nine wins, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ currently holds the record for the British Academy Awards (BAFTAs). It won for picture, actor (Robert Redford), actress (Katharine Ross, direction (George Roy Hill), screenplay, cinematography, film editing, sound, and score. It won every award it could, as its tenth nomination was a dual nomination for Best Actor. It was the top-grossing film of 1969, and today is considered one of Hollywood’s greatest westerns.
Paul Newman said this was the most fun he’d ever had making a film~ and that he and Robert Redford drank a lot of beer in Mexico. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed in 1968 in Utah, Colorado, and Mexico. It cost $6 million to film, but earned over $102 million at the box office in 1969, which would be around $725 million currently, adjusted for inflation.
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CANDY BARR | SMALL TOWN TEXAS GIRL, BURLESQUE STRIPPER, AND MOB DARLING!

During the 1950s the burlesque stripper, Candy Barr, received nationwide attention for her stripping career in Dallas, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Then there were her encounters with the law, the death of her second husband, and her sentence to a prison term for drug possession. Candy Barr was a darling of the mob and had relationships with both Mickey Cohen and Jack Ruby. Whew! And below are a timeline of her sorted history, and the legendary Dallas strip clubs where it all began.
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THE MORMON METEOR III | THE JENKINS BOYS OF BONNEVILLE RACING ON A RIBBON OF SALT

The newly completed Mormon Meteor III at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1938. Note the original exhaust manifold that was later replaced by individual stacks.

“This is the story about two men, father and son, their racing cars, their lives and the salt flats where they ran their most famous trials. Ab Jenkins was the son of Welsh immigrants, first a carpenter by trade and then a prominent building contractor, who grew up with the automobile and found a new career in driving cars fast but safely.”

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CAROL DODA DOUBLE D | THE LEGENDARY TWIN PEAKS OF SAN FRANCISCO STRIPPING HISTORY

THE LEGENDARY SAN FRANCISCO STRIPPER CAROL DODA, WHO PASSED IN 2015.

Carol Doda was a powerful pioneer that took the profession of stripping out of the shadowy margins of American society and gained worldwide fame as a topless dancer in the 1960s and ’70s. “San Francisco history is made up of characters, and Carol certainly was one of those, ” said Charlotte Shultz, chief protocol for San Francisco. “She changed Broadway and made news around the world. People said, ‘Only in San Francisco,’ and we didn’t mind people saying that.” ~VIA SFGATE

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THE BIG NAMES OF 1972 AMA RACE AT SALEM 1/2 MILE FLAT TRACK | VIA WORLD OF SPEED

KENNY ROBERTS

Kenny Roberts (#80) in action at the 1972 AMA National race in Salem; Salem AMA Motorcycle Slides Collection

In 1972, Kenny Roberts was a youthful 21 years old AMA Rookie of the Year. An immensely talented and thoroughly analytical rider, Roberts was already three years into his professional racing career, and two years into a factory Yamaha contract. However, he was still not much known outside of the USA. Roberts went on to finish 2nd in the AMA Grand National Championship that year, his first season as an expert class rider.

Kenny Roberts on the grid for the AMA National race at Salem, OR in 1972 with man wearing local Oregon Sidewinders club jacket in the background / Salem AMA Motorcycle Slides Collection

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HOW RITA MORENO USED ELVIS TO MAKE CHEATING MARLON BRANDO JEALOUS

“Rita Moreno knew how to make her cheating boyfriend jealous long before the age of social media. The task is simple; just a three-step process. First, date screen legend Marlon Brando. Second, find evidence of his affair (what would be the first of many). Third, get asked on a date by Elvis Presley and accept. While this seems like a page of Old Hollywood fan fiction, this was, in fact, Moreno’s life.” –From the pages of Vanity Fair.

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BACK WHEN BETTIE PAGE WAS ALL THE RAGE | THE EARLY IRVING KLAW DAYS

In 1949, Bettie Page moved to New York with aspirations of becoming an actress. It was there she met one of America’s first ‘fetish’ photographers, Irving Klaw. From 1952 to 1957, Page worked as a model for Klaw for both his photographs and films, earning her the media nickname, “The Queen of Bondage.”

“For years I had my hair parted down the middle in a ponytail, tucked down around the sides Well, I went and cut the bangs, and I’ve been wearing them ever since. They say it’s my trademark.”
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