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 113 items.
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sound recording: Metronome Presents Jazz At the Modern
- Description (Brief)
- George Wein and The Storyville Sextet. METRONOME PRESENTS JAZZ AT THE MODERN (Bethlehem BCP 6050)
- 33-1/3 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960
- recording artist
- Wein, George
- Storyville Sextet
- maker
- Bethlehem
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.797
- maker number
- BCP 6050
- accession number
- 1978.0670
- catalog number
- 1978.0670.797
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Chris
- Description (Brief)
- Chris Connor. CHRIS (Bethlehem BCP 56)
- 33-1/3 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1953-1955
- 1957
- recording artist
- Connor, Chris
- maker
- Bethlehem
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.798
- maker number
- BCP 56
- accession number
- 1978.0670
- catalog number
- 1978.0670.798
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ludwig Von Drake Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This steel and glass thermos bottle was made by Aladdin in 1961. It has a screw-on blue plastic cup lid with handle and screw-on red plastic stopper. The bottle features cartoon images of Ludwig Von Drake in Disneyland. It is the companion bottle to lunch box number 2003.3070.10.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1961
- referenced
- Walt Disney Company
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2003.3070.10.02
- nonaccession number
- 2003.3070
- catalog number
- 2003.3070.10.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Technicolor Camera
- Description
- In "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy's journey from Kansas to Oz is symbolized by a shift from black and white to Technicolor. This camera was one of several used to film the Oz scenes.
- Invented in 1932, the Technicolor camera recorded on three separate negatives--red, blue, and green--which were then combined to develop a full-color positive print. The box encasing the camera, a "blimp," muffled the machine's sound during filming.
- date made
- 1937
- maker
- Technicolor Corporation
- ID Number
- PG*8166
- catalog number
- 8166
- maker number
- Patent No: 2,000,058
- accession number
- 260112
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: San Antonio Shout; Tin Roof Blues
- Description (Brief)
- Ben Pollack and His Pick-A-Rib Boys. side 1: SAN ANTONIO SHOUT; side 2: TIN ROOF BLUES (Discovery 132)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Ben Pollack and His Pick-a-Rib Boys
- maker
- Discovery
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.238
- maker number
- 132
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Maryland, My Maryland; Sensation Rag
- Description (Brief)
- Ben Pollack and his Pick-a-Rib Boys. side 1: MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND; side 2: SENSATION RAG (Discovery 133)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Ben Pollack and His Pick-a-Rib Boys
- maker
- Discovery
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.239
- maker number
- 133
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby; San Sue Strut
- Description (Brief)
- Ben Pollack and his Pick-a-Rib Boys. side 1: I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE, BABY; side 2: SAN SUE STRUT (Discovery 131)
- 78 rpm
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Ben Pollack and His Pick-a-Rib Boys
- maker
- Discovery
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.240
- maker number
- 131
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Papa Dip; Turk's Blues
- Description (Brief)
- Turk Murphy's Jazz Band. side 1: PAPA DIP; side 2: TURK'S BLUES (Good Time Jazz 4)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Turk Murphy's Jazz Band
- maker
- Good Time Jazz
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.254
- accession number
- 1978.0670
- catalog number
- 1978.0670.254
- maker number
- 4
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
- Description
- Sixteen-year-old Judy Garland wore these sequined shoes as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. In the original book by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy's magic slippers are silver; for the Technicolor movie, they were changed to ruby red to show up more vividly against the yellow-brick road. One of several pairs used during filming, these size-five shoes are well-worn, suggesting they were Garland's primary pair for dance sequences.
- Date made
- 1939
- user
- Garland, Judy
- designer
- Adrian
- maker
- Adrian
- ID Number
- 1979.1230.01
- accession number
- 1979.1230
- catalog number
- 1979.1230.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Boogie Rock; Talkin' the Blues
- Description (Brief)
- B.B. "Blues Boy" King. side 1: BOOGIE ROCK; side 2: TALKIN' THE BLUES (RPM 435)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- King, B. B.
- maker
- RPM
- ID Number
- 1991.0305.179
- maker number
- 435
- accession number
- 1991.0305
- catalog number
- 1991.0305.179
- accession number
- 1991.0305
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center