You Are What You Were. Celebrate Retro Pop Culture At Retroland.
In 1964, Warner Brothers brought a whale of a tale to the big screen called The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Starring funnyman Don Knotts, the film combined live-action with animation to create a memorable undersea adventure that continues to win the hearts of viewers, old and new.
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For twelve seasons, television viewers faithfully tuned in each week to see three pairs of animated tapping feet, complete with ultra-catchy theme song, as they followed the life of widower Steve Douglas and his trio of male offspring in the hugely popular sitcom, My Three Sons. Through the course of the series, they watched the family go through love, loss, and all the trials and tribulations that one would expect from a family, sans mom.
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Based on screenwriter Cameron Crowe’s novel of the same name, Fast Times at Ridgemont High told the story of several teens navigating the difficult waters of love during their time in the fictional community of Ridgemont. Thanks to a memorable cast, including a show-stealing performance by a young Sean Penn, this 1982 comedy remains one of the most fondly-remembered teen films of all time.
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Who knew that the American justice system could be so bawdy? You can thank Night Court for that little revelation. Through nine prime time seasons, this hit sitcom turned a New York City courtroom into a den of naughty humor. It wasn't that Night Court was just about sex; it's just that the libidinous parts were the ones the kids stayed up to watch.
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They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And if you need demonstrable proof of that statement's validity, look no further than the 1983 blockbuster comedy, National Lampoon’s Vacation. With its semi-autobiographical screenplay by teen angst-king John Hughes, the directing skills of Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Groundhog Day,) and a cast of wonderfully colorful characters, this chronicle of a suburban family’s summer road-trip vacation delivered laughs by the carload.
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Most people are familiar with Christina Applegate for her long-running role as brain-dead teen harlot, Kelly Bundy on the hit television series, Married With Children. In 1991, however, she showed quite a different side, proving herself much more the responsible adult in the fondly remembered comedy, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.
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One would be hard pressed to find a more formidable ensemble of comedic talent than the cast of The Carol Burnett Show. For eleven seasons, Carol and her cohorts took sketch comedy to hilarious new heights, thanks in part to each actor's devious desire to make the others crack up on camera. The tactics usually worked, leaving the cast, and generations of viewers, in stitches.
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The singing husband-and-wife duo of Sonny and Cher emerged in 1962 and, three years later, landed a huge #1 hit on the charts with “I Got You Babe.” They followed with more hit records and in 1971, they decided to give the medium of television a try, starring in their first special, The Sonny and Cher Nitty Gritty Hour. The reviews were great and it wasn’t long before CBS was asking them to consider their own variety show. That same year, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour debuted as a summer replacement series. Within a year, it was an undeniable hit and a weekly staple within many of the nation's households.
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Inspired by a visit to New York that left him feeling like a true fish-out-of-water, Australian film star Paul Hogan sat down and helped pen a script that would go on to become one of the most successful films of 1986. The story of Crocodile Dundee enchanted moviegoers of all ages, and made Hogan a household name.
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Plenty of films over the years have depicted Chicago during the gang-ridden Prohibition Era. How many of them were musical comedies starring kids as pie throwing gangsters? Only one that we know of - the unforgettable 1976 classic, Bugsy Malone. Starring Scott Baio (Chachi from Happy Days), a very young Jodie Foster, and featuring the lyrics and music of composer Paul Williams, Bugsy Malone was a tongue-in-cheek ode to a violent era, and full of loving jabs at 1930s gangster films.
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