Bupkis, Jigglers & Other Wiggly Things - Russ Barrie 1964

Russ Berrie was a toy buyer who decided to go into business for himself and from the beginning, his idea was to expand the "Impulse gift" trade. His first breakout hit came in 1964 with the Bupkis Family; ten ugly, rubbery oily critters that could sit on your desk or hang from the rearview mirror.

Bupkis was so popular, Berrie introduced at least two more oily lines called the Untouchables and Loveabulls. If there was a common theme to any of these lines, I don't know what it is. It seems to be a football player mixed with a buzzard a spider in aberet and maybe a monkey. [just between you and me, if you're looking for a bff, send me the monkey.



The characters were well designed and stood somewhere between cute and creepy. Kids loved the way they felt. Other companies also offered up jiggly figures and while the other guys weren't as oily as Russ Berrie figs, the rubbery, blubbery fad was on.



Now the generic term for the figures is 'Jigglers' and if you decide to collect them, be sure to bring the checkbook. If Ebay and the outdoor antique shows I frequent are an indicator, they do seem to be difficult to find. I've seen near mint Bupkis figures with their tags still intact start at 100 smackeroos and up. I saw the spider in a beret go for $400. Yikes!

Carl Karcher Jan 16, 1917

Millions of people loved his hamburgers, some hated his politics. He was a devout Christian attending mass every morning before work. He was a staunch Republican showing his support for ultra Conservatives. His restaurant career started with a hot dog cart and almost ended when he was bounced as chairman of the company he founded. [He was back in less than a year.]

Carl Karcher was born in Sandusky Ohio January 16, 1917. During the depression he was invited by his uncle to move to Anaheim California and work at his feed store for $18 dollars a week. Carl eventually moved on to a job delivering bread for a Los Angeles bakery.

On his bread route Carl saw that hot dog carts were springing up all over Los Angeles. Sensing a great business opportunity, he borrowed 300 bucks and created "The Blimp" a hot dog cart across from a Goodyear plant in L.A.. Soon the cart turned into three and in 1945 the carts spawned Carls Drive-In Barbecue in Anaheim. [Since Carl opened the restaurant on his birthday, today would have been the Barbeque's 63rd anniversary as well]

The thriving drive-in business in southern Ca. was a sort of loose fraternity and when the McDonald Brothers quit the biz to start a new kind of restaurant, news got around fast. After visiting McDonald's new restaurant, Carl started a smaller version of his own joint in 1956 & called it Carl's Jr., now a worldwide chain with over 3,000 stores.

Sadly, five days ago Carl Karcher passed away from pneumonia, just a few days shy of his 91st birthday. It is the end of an era.

Karcher was the last of the great fast food entrepreneurs. A group of guys who recognized the mobile culture growing in post war America. These pioneers remodeled the restaurant business with new kitchen techniques and franchised the ideas creating thousands of business opportunities and entry level jobs. You may disagree with the fast food menu but you can't argue with the fast food concept. The original ideas of good food and prompt service at fair prices will always be with us because of a few guys like Karcher who were hungry to succeed.

Carl's Jr. official site

Carl's Jr. Articcle at Wikipedia

Carl Karcher article at Wikipedia

Carl's related video just for giggles

Imposters Aurora 1973

The VW Bug. The Pinto. The Willy's Gasser.

That's it.

That's the whole line.

I'm sure there were plans for more cars because Aurora went to the trouble of making commercials and the ad you see above [without certain embellishments] was in dozens of comics. The early 70's were a tough time for Aurora and they were eventually bought out. Maybe the Imposters were just a victim of the times.

If there is a fault with the idea, it's the size of the cars. I don't know of too many cars in that size at the time and scale seems to matter to a lot of kids. If they had been able to get the technology to work with a 1/64th size car [Hot Wheels, Matchbox, etc.] the Imposters may have worked a little better.

If you'd like to see the cars transform, there's a commercial at YouTube.

The Fat Cat by Remco 1960's

I can't find any real information about this truck but here's what I can tell you. The 'CAT' stands for "Climb Action Traction". This was Remco's buzz phrase for a motor they devised which climbed over just about anything at a snails pace. The same gear ratio was miniaturized and used in their Mighty Mike Jeep & Truck series.

Fat Cat is a big hunk of plastic I would guess about 2 feet long. If you add the big orange plastic winch in the front, it's longer than 3 feet. Finding a Fat Cat with the orange extension in the front and a working winch is no easy task, but when it's all there, it sure is an impressive looking piece of plastic machinery.

Hugh Lofting Jan 14, 1886

Near Christmas of 1967, 20th Century Fox released "Dr. Dolittle" to theaters. Kids of the 60's set sail with Jip, Pollyanna, Chim Chim & the good doctor in search of the legendary Pink Sea Snail. The musical starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar & Anthony Newley won a few technical Oscars and one for "Best Song". Rex Harrison who had made a career of performing in musicals without singing, only spoke the lyrics to "Talk with the Animals", but Sammy Davis Jr. (and later Bobby Darrin) hit the charts with a cover version. Dolittle had as much merchandise as a Disney animated film with puzzles, art sets & plush pushmi-pullyu's a plenty.



Dr Dolittle began as a series of letters. Hugh Lofting was an infantryman during the 1st World War and like thousands of others, spent his free time writing letters home. Hugh wanted to add something for his young son and the simple country Doctor who gave up his human practice to tend to animals was the result.

Lofting's wife saved the letters and "The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts" was published in 1920. Hugh Lofting wrote 11 sequels before his death in 1947.

If you'd like to read the first of Dr. Dolittle's adventures, you can download the book here

Amazon has the theatrical trailer for the 1967 musical here

Easy Bake Oven Kenner 1964

1964 must have been a bad year for insurance companies. Mattel released the Thingmaker & Kenner released the Easy Bake oven. Both if left unattended could cook a house as easy as it could make an ugly bug or a cake. I used to drop water on my Thingmaker stove to watch the water dance like it was on a griddle.



Ol' easy was a little less dangerous because you were cooking with a light bulb. It also meant baking a cake took a lonnnnnnnng time. You could read War & Peace before a cake was done, so it was pretty easy to lose interest, leave it for just a little while to watch TV and an hour or so later wonder why that funny smell was coming from your room. On the lucky days it was just a burned cake.

In spite of the potential hazard, the easy bake is still made today. The last oven had a recall. Kids were catching their hand inside the oven and getting burned. I'm sure there are thousands of boomers who could share old war wounds with the new kids.

Like all appliances, Kenner's oven has been through a few changes. In the 60's the colors were yellow, aqua & green and In the 70's Kenner teamed with Betty Crocker. Kids got a redesigned oven in avocado & orange. Now the ovens are a single purple & pink combo making sure no self respecting young man gets any chef time. For boys there's still ants and a magnifying glass but that's more searing than actual cooking.



Kenner also made a few more 'easy' products. There was the Easy Bake popcorn popper, and The Easy Bake Potato Chip Maker. Extending the domesticity of the 'Easy' brand, Kenner also introduced the Easy Wash Dishwasher and the Easy Curl hair setting kit. I'm probably missing a few other easy sets, but since I'm in kind of a hurry as i write this, I'll leave the easy humor to you



How will the Easy Kake Oven do in the next decade ? What will Kenner use for a heating element when standard light bulbs become a thing of the past? I don't know but I'm going to go make a batch of square pancakes with my old Thingmaker while I think about it.



This is an early Easy Bake Oven commercial. You just have to watch a Jiffy Pop ad first.


I don't know what scares me more about this commercial. The vacant little Stepford kid or the announcer on Qualudes. You make the call.

I can't figure out whether these guys are pulling my leg or this thing really works. It sounds cool but it's going to take a fifth of something expensive to get your IT guy to install one at the office.

Kenner's Daddy Saddle 1965

I love this. It's so goofy and still brilliant. Make a foam saddle, wrap it in vinyl and strap it to dad. Yehaa! I wonder what the box art looked like? It conjures up the scene in Adulthood where Steve Martin is in the kiddie cowboy hat & chaps galloping around the yard.

If it had done well, would there have been accessory sets? A foam horse head & spurs? [ouch!] Dressage maybe? The Daddy Round-up Set with lasso & electric branding iron (batteries not included). The Buffalo Bill Set comes with with rifle & buffalo head for mom or your siblings. Maybe a rodeo set with a cinch & a glove. "C'mon Timmy, dad's sucking wind. Hang on for four more seconds and you've got a new record!"

Sorry. Couldn't resist horsin' around.

If the daddy saddle sounds like fun, there are modern day alternatives like:

The Daddle (Remember, I don't name 'em, I just have fun with 'em)

The Daddy-O Rodeo T Shirt & finally

The Po-knee - Created by a stay at home dad, I heard this one won Oprah's 1st Million Dollar Idea Challenge.