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 58 items.
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sound recording: The Little Goose; Zaza
- Description (Brief)
- Rex Stewart's Big Eight. side 1: THE LITTLE GOOSE; side 2: ZAZA (Mercury 1101)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1944
- recording artist
- Rex Stewart's Big Eight
- maker
- Mercury
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.724
- maker number
- 1101
- accession number
- 1978.0670
- catalog number
- 1978.0670.724
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: The Last Of the Big Plungers
- Description (Brief)
- Al Grey and the Basie Wing. THE LAST OF THE BIG PLUNGERS (Argo 653)
- 33-1/3 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1959
- recording artist
- Grey, Al
- Basie Wing
- maker
- Argo
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.733
- maker number
- 653
- accession number
- 1978.0670
- catalog number
- 1978.0670.733
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: The Modern Jazz Quartet At Music Inn
- Description (Brief)
- The Modern Jazz Quartet. THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET AT MUSIC INN (Atlantic 1247)
- 33-1/3 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1956
- recording artist
- Guiffre, Jimmy
- Modern Jazz Quartet
- maker
- Argo
- ID Number
- 1978.0670.734
- maker number
- 1247
- accession number
- 1978.0670
- catalog number
- 1978.0670.734
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Radio Guide
- Description (Brief)
- This booklet is a Radio Guide for the week ending October 16,1937. Featured on the cover are ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (1903–1978) and his puppet "Charlie McCarthy."
- During the late 1930s, radio was a nationwide phenomenon, with over 40 million sets in use. Broadcasts covered the full spectrum of programming, from news reports and symphonies to scripted dramas and comedy-variety series. Able to enjoy varied entertainments in their homes, Americans were brought together through shared listening experiences.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1937-10-16
- subject
- Bergen, Edgar
- maker
- Annenberg, M. L.
- ID Number
- 1980.0840.01
- accession number
- 1980.0840
- catalog number
- 1980.0840.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Old Fashioned Meeting, The; Ninety and Nine, The
- Description (Brief)
- F. Carlton Booth. side 1: THE OLD FASHION MEETING; side 2: THE NINETY AND NINE (Singspiration 1041). from the album "Singing" (Singspiration 4)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Booth, F. Carlton
- maker
- Singspiration
- ID Number
- 1996.0320.05023
- maker number
- 1041
- 4
- catalog number
- 1996.0320.05023
- accession number
- 1996.0320
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: We Shall See His Lovely Face; Jesus Gives Me a Song
- Description (Brief)
- F. Carlton Booth. side 1: WE SHALL SEE HIS LOVELY FACE; side 2: JESUS GIVES ME A SONG (Singspiration 1042). from the album "Singing" (Singspiration 4)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Booth, F. Carlton
- maker
- Singspiration
- ID Number
- 1996.0320.05024
- maker number
- 1042
- 4
- catalog number
- 1996.0320.05024
- accession number
- 1996.0320
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Singing; Gethsemane
- Description (Brief)
- F. Carlton Booth. side 1: SINGING; side 2: GETHSEMANE (Singspiration 1040). from the album "Singing" (Singspiration 4)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- recording artist
- Booth, F. Carlton
- maker
- Singspiration
- ID Number
- 1996.0320.05025
- maker number
- 1040
- 4
- accession number
- 1996.0320
- catalog number
- 1996.0320.05025
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: When the Bloom Is On the Sage; Hills Of Old Wyoming, The
- Description (Brief)
- Curley Bradley. side 1: WHEN THE BLOOM IS ON THE SAGE; side 2: THE HILLS OF OLD WYOMING (Universal 7500). from the album, "Curley Bradley presents the Tom Mix of Radio" (Universal U2)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1948
- recording artist
- Bradley, Curley
- maker
- Universal
- ID Number
- 1996.0320.05062
- maker number
- 7500
- U2
- accession number
- 1996.0320
- catalog number
- 1996.0320.05062
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Ridin' Down the Canyon; Carry Me Back To the Lone Prairie
- Description (Brief)
- Curley Bradley. side 1: RIDIN' DOWN THE CANYON; side 2: CARRY ME BACK TO THE LONE PRAIRIE (Universal 7501). from the album, "Curley Bradley presents the Tom Mix of Radio" (Universal U2)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1948
- recording artist
- Bradley, Curley
- maker
- Universal
- ID Number
- 1996.0320.05063
- maker number
- 7501
- U2
- catalog number
- 1996.0320.05063
- accession number
- 1996.0320
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
sound recording: Tumbling Tumble Weeds; San Antonio Rose
- Description (Brief)
- Curley Bradley. side 1: TUMBLING TUMBLE WEEDS; side 2: SAN ANTONIO ROSE (Universal 7502). from the album, "Curley Bradley presents the Tom Mix of Radio" (Universal U2)
- 78 rpm
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1948
- recording artist
- Bradley, Curley
- maker
- Universal
- ID Number
- 1996.0320.05064
- maker number
- 7502
- U2
- accession number
- 1996.0320
- catalog number
- 1996.0320.05064
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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