Popular Entertainment

Elvis Presley Record

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.

Date: 1970s

Same Time Next Year

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1975
ID Number
2005.3021.018
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.018

The Me Nobody Knows

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1971
ID Number
2005.3021.007
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.007

DeFord Bailey

Deford Bailey spent fifteen years as a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry (1926-1941). In that time he established himself as one of the show's most popular performers and an influential harmonica player.
Description
Deford Bailey spent fifteen years as a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry (1926-1941). In that time he established himself as one of the show's most popular performers and an influential harmonica player. As a master of blues, jazz, and old-time country, Bailey was a vital link between older and more modern music styles. In 1974, he returned to the Opry stage as part of the "Old Timers' Reunion." He is most well-known for "Pan American Blues," a harmonica piece that sounds like a passing locomotive.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.043
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.043

Ventriloquist Figure, Bob Campbell

The ventriloquist figure known as “Bob Campbell” was created by puppeteer Jay Johnson for the TV comedy series, Soap. The character of Bob was used often as an uninhibited alter ego for Chuck, spouting outrageous observations about various situations and characters.
Description (Brief)
The ventriloquist figure known as “Bob Campbell” was created by puppeteer Jay Johnson for the TV comedy series, Soap. The character of Bob was used often as an uninhibited alter ego for Chuck, spouting outrageous observations about various situations and characters. The series, which aired on the ABC network from 1977 to 1981, was a prime-time weekly, half-hour satire of daytime television soap operas. As devised by writer-producer, Susan Harris, the show was highly controversial for its time, dealing openly with such topics as race, religion, sexuality and organized crime.
Jay Johnson (born 1949) best known for his roles on the television show Soap and the Broadway show, Jay Johnson: the Two and Only!, is a writer, comedian, ventriloquist, cartoonist, magician, and puppeteer. The character of Bob is the most recognized of his many ventriloquist figures. Dressed in a vivid “mod” orange T-shirt and jeans, Bob appears to be the quintessence of the 1970s, the decade of his birth. A wooden control, accessed through an opening in the back, which triggers the movement of the head, eyes, and mouth.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
ID Number
2007.0079.01
accession number
2007.0079
catalog number
2007.0079.01

D.C.; The Crime Stoppers Club

Record from a DC area crime stoppers club. The record is wrapped in a piece of thin white paper and has a white label with blue print around the center. The label on the record features a Crime Stoppers Stamp Out Crime logo with a person stamping on a shadow.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Record from a DC area crime stoppers club. The record is wrapped in a piece of thin white paper and has a white label with blue print around the center. The label on the record features a Crime Stoppers Stamp Out Crime logo with a person stamping on a shadow.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
recording artist
Crime Stoppers Club
ID Number
1987.0743.003
accession number
1987.0743
catalog number
1987.0743.003

Odessa Clay and Sonji Ali

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-05-06
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.122
catalog number
2014.0112.122
accession number
2014.0112

Disco Lunch Box

This steel lunch box was made by Aladdin Industries in 1978. It has a metal clasp for hinged lid and collapsible orange plastic handle. The box has a maroon background with an orange rim, and pictures of images of couples dancing to disco on all exterior surfaces.
Description (Brief)
This steel lunch box was made by Aladdin Industries in 1978. It has a metal clasp for hinged lid and collapsible orange plastic handle. The box has a maroon background with an orange rim, and pictures of images of couples dancing to disco on all exterior surfaces. This box tries to take advantage of the Disco dance craze popular in American in the late 19070s, which was at its peak in 1978, before the Chicago White Sox’s infamous Disco Demolition Night set off a backlash that made disco decidedly uncool.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1978
maker
Aladdin
ID Number
2003.3070.04.01
nonaccession number
2003.3070
catalog number
2003.3070.04.01

Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1971
ID Number
2005.3021.012
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.012

NAACP Image Award, presented to Duke Ellington

This special award was presented to Duke Ellington by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), in 1970. It is two cast bronze hands holding a globe, on a resin and wood block, with an engraved metal plate.
Description

This special award was presented to Duke Ellington by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), in 1970. It is two cast bronze hands holding a globe, on a resin and wood block, with an engraved metal plate. The plate is engraved:

NAACP IMAGE AWARD 1970
HE’S THE DUKE TO THOSE
OF US WHO LOVE HIM
BUT HE IS THE KING OF MUSIC

Location
Currently not on view
presentation date
1970
presenter
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
recipient
Ellington, Duke
ID Number
1989.0369.148
accession number
1989.0369
catalog number
1989.0369.148

Fans with Carl and Pearl Butler

Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.Currently not on view
Description
Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
Associated Name
Butler, Pearl
Butler, Carl
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.090
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.090

Kung Fu Lunch Box

This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1974. The lunch box features imagery from David Carridine’s TV series, Kung Fu which ran from 1972-1975 on ABC.
Description (Brief)
This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1974. The lunch box features imagery from David Carridine’s TV series, Kung Fu which ran from 1972-1975 on ABC.
Date made
1974
collected for nmah
Smithsonian Institution
maker
Thermos
ID Number
1988.3160.45
nonaccession number
1988.3160
catalog number
1988.3160.45

What's Expected of Me Now; Bluebird

Flo Lacey. side 1: What's Expected of Me Now; side 2: Bluebird (Krugerrand AUM 101)45 rpmCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Flo Lacey. side 1: What's Expected of Me Now; side 2: Bluebird (Krugerrand AUM 101)
45 rpm
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
recording artist
Howard, Trustin
Lacey, Flo
maker
Krugerrand Records
ID Number
2000.3053.3225
nonaccession number
2000.3053
catalog number
2000.3053.3225
label number
AUM 101

Bugs Bunny Coin Bank

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
associated person
Blanc, Mel
maker
Jarex Corp.
ID Number
1983.0555.04
accession number
1983.0555
catalog number
1983.0555.04

Miss America Lunch Box

This metal lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1972. The lunch box features imagery based on the annually televised Miss America Pageant.
Description (Brief)
This metal lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1972. The lunch box features imagery based on the annually televised Miss America Pageant. Originally a beauty pageant when it began in 1921, the Miss America Pageant became a “scholarship pageant” over the years, offering its first scholastic financial aid in 1945. The Miss America Pageant is now the world’s largest provider of scholarships for young women, making $45 million dollars available in scholarships on a yearly basis.
Location
Currently on loan
Date made
1972
collected for nmah
Smithsonian Institution
maker
Aladdin
ID Number
1988.3160.63
nonaccession number
1988.3160
catalog number
1988.3160.63

Accordian Player, Louisiana

The first accordion was built in Germany in 1822. It took close to one hundred years before it was introduced into country music.Currently not on view
Description
The first accordion was built in Germany in 1822. It took close to one hundred years before it was introduced into country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1977
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.027
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.027

Yamaha Virtuoso No. 24 Harmonica

This harmonica was made by Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd., in Japan, around 1972. It is a Virtuoso model, with 24 double holes and 48 reeds. This harmonica has a brown plastic comb with metal cover plates attached to the top and bottom with screws.
Description

This harmonica was made by Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd., in Japan, around 1972. It is a Virtuoso model, with 24 double holes and 48 reeds. This harmonica has a brown plastic comb with metal cover plates attached to the top and bottom with screws. It is engraved:

VIRTUOSO
NIPPON GAKKI CO. LTD.
NO.24

(and):

[logo] YAMAHA
NIPPON GAKKI CO., LTD.
MADE IN JAPAN

Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1972
maker
Nippon Gakki Co. Ltd.
ID Number
1988.0783.327
accession number
1988.0783
catalog number
1988.0783.327

Arba the Eagle Puppet

Arba the eagle is a large rod and hand puppet made by the Patchwork Puppet Productions, an Emmy award winning company, in 1975. The eagle is made of wool felt, with red, blue, and gray feathers with a white head and a yellow beak and claws.
Description (Brief)
Arba the eagle is a large rod and hand puppet made by the Patchwork Puppet Productions, an Emmy award winning company, in 1975. The eagle is made of wool felt, with red, blue, and gray feathers with a white head and a yellow beak and claws. His basic form is made of foam, wire and cardboard. The head, his mouth, and one wing are manipulated by one hand and arm, while the other wing is manipulated with an attached rod.
Arba was commissioned by the U.S. Bicentennial Commission to perform public television announcements celebrating the Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. He also appeared in a series of public service announcements in the mid 1970s.
After four years at the puppet theater at the Smithsonian Institution, puppeteers Ingrid Crepeau, Sarah Toth Yochum, and Julian Lochum formed their own company in 1974 and created the Washington D.C. Patchwork Puppet Productions Inc. Their life size puppets were a vital part of the highly acclaimed television series "Sneakers". They also performed musical shows, political satire, and educational films.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
user
Patchwork Puppet Productions
U.S. Bicentennial Administration
maker
Patchwork Puppet Productions
ID Number
1979.0124.01
accession number
1979.0124
catalog number
1979.0124.01

Westbury Music Fair: David Brenner, Marylin McCoo, and Billy Davis, Jr.

Date made
1978
ID Number
2005.3021.143
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.143

Way Down; Pledging My Love

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
recording artist
Presley, Elvis
manufacturer
RCA
ID Number
1996.3034.06170
catalog number
1996.3034.06170
nonaccession number
1996.3034
label number
PB-10998

Spring Jazzfest Button

This button is from the Spring Jazzfest at Griswold’s Old School House, in Claremont, California, in 1978. It is made of white paper with blue ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from the Spring Jazzfest at Griswold’s Old School House, in Claremont, California, in 1978. It is made of white paper with blue ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

GRISWOLD'S OLD SCHOOL HOUSE
1978
[image of trumpet]
SPRING
JAZZFEST
650
SUPPORTED BY THE UNITED JAZZ CLUBS OF SO. CALIF.

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.015
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.015

My Fair lady

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1976
ID Number
2005.3021.023
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.023

Jazz Festival on the Queen Mary Button

This button is from the Queen Mary Jazz Festival in Long Beach, California, in 1977. It is made of red paper with black ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:UNITEDJAZZ CLUBSOF SO.
Description

This button is from the Queen Mary Jazz Festival in Long Beach, California, in 1977. It is made of red paper with black ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

UNITED
JAZZ CLUBS
OF SO. CALIF.
2nd ANNUAL
JAZZ FESTIVAL
ON THE
QUEEN MARY
OCT. 30, 1977

Floyd Levin (1922-2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians. Items in this collection (2011.3086) were acquired from Levin’s attendance at Jazz Festivals, conferences, and other music events.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.022
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.022

"Hot Nuts" Fred's Lounge, Mamou, Louisiana

Fred's Lounge was a well-known honky-tonk in the heart of Cajun country. The bar opened at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings to host the droves of visitors who came to hear the local bands that played from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Currently not on view
Description
Fred's Lounge was a well-known honky-tonk in the heart of Cajun country. The bar opened at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings to host the droves of visitors who came to hear the local bands that played from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1977
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.039
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.039

Tootsies' Bartender

Bartender Wanda Lohman, known as "Miss Wanda," worked at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge from 1960 to 1984. The walls of Tootsie's became a kind of community scrapbook. Tootsie, like her patrons, was a fan of country music.
Description
Bartender Wanda Lohman, known as "Miss Wanda," worked at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge from 1960 to 1984. The walls of Tootsie's became a kind of community scrapbook. Tootsie, like her patrons, was a fan of country music. She collected autographs, posters, record albums, and photographs. Patrons, family, and friends contributed their comments and added photos.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1974
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.107
catalog number
2003.0169.107
accession number
2003.0169

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