Popular Entertainment - Overview
This Museum's popular entertainment collections hold some of the Smithsonian's most beloved artifacts. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz reside here, along with the Muppet character Kermit the Frog, and props from popular television series such as M*A*S*H and All in the Family. But as in many of the Museum's collections, the best-known objects are a small part of the story.
The collection also encompasses many other artifacts of 19th- and 20th-century commercial theater, film, radio, and TV—some 50,000 sound recordings dating back to 1903; posters, publicity stills, and programs from films and performances; puppets; numerous items from World's Fairs from 1851 to 1992; and audiovisual materials on Groucho Marx, to name only a few.
"Popular Entertainment - Overview" showing 20 items.
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Disco Fever Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1980. It features a blue plastic snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible blue plastic handle. The box is titled “Disco Fever” and is red and blue overall, and features images of disco dancers dancing in a dance hall on the front side, and the back side is dancers dancing in a dance hall wearing roller skates.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.05.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.05.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Disco Fever Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This square plastic thermos bottle has a screw-on, blue plastic cup lid and a screw-on, white plastic stopper with movable yellow pouring spout. The bottle is the companion piece to object number 2001.3100.05.01, and features an image of the couple dancing and the text “Disco Fever.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.05.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.05.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
School Days Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel lunch box with was made by Aladdin Industries in 1983. It has a metal snap for hinged lid and collapsible red plastic handle. The lunch box is entitled “School Days,” depicting Disney characters going back to school. The lid shows Mickey Mouse teaching Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse in a classroom. The back shows Donald Duck being angry at his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie for sneaking off to the swimming hole. The sides show Donald stopping his nephews on their way to fish, and wrangling Morty and Ferdie while playing marbles.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1983
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2003.3070.14
- nonaccession number
- 2003.3070
- catalog number
- 2003.3070.14
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The A-Team Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1983. This lunch box features the characters from the television series, The A-Team on the exterior. The A-Team ran from 1983-1987 on NBC, and the box shows some of the explosive action that The A-Team was known for.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1983
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.01
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Peanuts Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This yellow plastic thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1985. It has a beige screw-on plastic cup lid with handle, and a screw-on plastic stopper with a yellow hinged pouring spout. The thermos features is a colorful cartoon image of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Woodstock of the Peanuts comic strip on the front.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1985
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.02.02
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.02.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This red plastic thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1983. It has a white screw-on cup lid with handle and a white screw-on stopper with a yellow hinged pouring spout. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is printed in white above the image of an Ewok, a cute and cuddly new addition to the Star Wars universe in the final film who helped take down the evil Empire.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1983
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.10.02
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.10.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Indiana Jones Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This red plastic thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1985. The bottle has a white plastic, screw-on cup lid with handle and a white screw-on stopper with a yellow hinged pouring spout. The front of the thermos is decorated with a colorful cartoon image of Indiana Jones posing in his trademark hat and whip.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1984
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.14.02
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.14.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mork & Mindy Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was made by Thermos in 1980. It has a yellow plastic snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible, yellow plastic handle. The box is decorated with colorful animated scenes of the television show Mork & Mindy. Mork & Mindy was a spinoff of Happy Days and helped launch Robin Williams to stardom. It ran from 1978-1982 on ABC and featured the adventures of the alien Mork living alongside a human companion Mindy, trying to learn the ways of humans.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1980
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2004.3009.29
- nonaccession number
- 2004.3009
- catalog number
- 2004.3009.29
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Fall Guy Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1981. The lunch box features imagery based on the TV series, The Fall Guy. The Fall Guy ran on ABC from 1981-1986. The show starred Lee Majors as Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who uses the skills he develops as a “fall guy” to create a secondary source of income as a bounty hunter.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1981
- collected for nmah
- Smithsonian Institution
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 1988.3160.38
- catalog number
- 1988.3160.38
- nonaccession number
- 1988.3160
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Thundercats Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1985. The lunch box features imagery based on the TV show, Thundercats, that ran in syndication from 1985-1987. The show was an exciting mix between fantasy, science-fiction, and mythology that recounted the adventures of the ThunderCats as they battled the evil Mumm-Ra on Third Earth.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1985
- collected for nmah
- Smithsonian Institution
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 1988.3160.43
- catalog number
- 1988.3160.43
- nonaccession number
- 1988.3160
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center