Popular Entertainment

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.

This button is made of white paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is made of white paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

Sax Appeal
1991
[image of peace symbol and soprano saxophone]
Peace & Love Through Jazz

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
1991
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.076
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.076
This promotional t-shirt was given out to listeners from Annapolis, Maryland radio station, WANN (1190). It is a white 100% cotton t-shirt, men’s large size, with red, black, blue and yellow printing.
Description (Brief)

This promotional t-shirt was given out to listeners from Annapolis, Maryland radio station, WANN (1190). It is a white 100% cotton t-shirt, men’s large size, with red, black, blue and yellow printing. The t-shirt is silkscreened:

WANN
BAY COUNTRY
STEREO AM 1190
[ABC logo]
[MRN logo]
REAL COUNTRY!

WANN (1190 AM) was a radio station based out of Annapolis, Maryland that primarily served the area's growing African American community. Morris Blum founded it in 1946, and it broadcast to the entire mid-Atlantic region. The station was home to disc jockey Charles "Hoppy" Adams starting in the early 1950s. Adams hosted weekly events at a local African American only beach, Carr's Beach, which were popular with the area's youth population.

WANN continued to program gospel, rhythm and blues, and public affairs features until 1992 when the station changed to a mainstream country format with the catchphrase “Bay Country 1190.” Around 1998, the station changed ownership and became WBIS, broadcasting a News Talk Information format.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992-1997
manufacturer
Classic-T
ID Number
2002.0319.15
accession number
2002.0319
catalog number
2002.0319.15
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1995
ID Number
2005.3021.088
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.088
This badge is from the Home Theater and Specialty Audio Show [Hi-Fi ’98] in Los Angeles, California, in 1998. It is made of white paper with black ink, laminated in plastic, with a metal spring clip on the back.
Description

This badge is from the Home Theater and Specialty Audio Show [Hi-Fi ’98] in Los Angeles, California, in 1998. It is made of white paper with black ink, laminated in plastic, with a metal spring clip on the back. The badge is printed:

HI-FI '98
The Home Theater & Specialty Audio Show
Floyd Levin
Jazz Journal International
PRESS

Hi-Fi is an annual event, sponsored mostly by Stereophile magazine, with exhibits featuring the latest in audiophile gear as well as panel discussions and seminars relating to electronic audio recording and reproductions. Hi-Fi ’98 was held in the Westin Hotel and Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California, June 9-14, 1998.

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
1998
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.127
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.127
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
production date
1997
referenced
Warren, Harry
embroiderer
Leslie
ID Number
2002.3101.14
catalog number
2002.3101.14
nonaccession number
2002.3101
This badge is from the Indian Wells Jazz festival in Palm Springs, California, 1991-1992. It is made of red paper with black ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is a pink ribbon attached to the back of the button.
Description

This badge is from the Indian Wells Jazz festival in Palm Springs, California, 1991-1992. It is made of red paper with black ink covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is a pink ribbon attached to the back of the button. The button is printed:

Indian
Wells
Jazz
91-92

(The ribbon is printed:)

PATRON

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
1991-1992
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.116
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.116
This button is from a Preservation Hall concert in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1994. It is a made of light green paper with black ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from a Preservation Hall concert in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1994. It is a made of light green paper with black ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

I DANCED WITH THE BAND
PRESERVATION
HALL
NEW ORLEANS
AT WARNER CENTER PARK, JULY 10, 1994

Preservation Hall is a world-renown jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

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
1994
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.077
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.077
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1991
ID Number
2005.3021.076
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.076
This badge is from the 10th Annual International Ellington Conference in Culver City, California, in 1991. It made of white paper with black, blue, and red ink, encapsulated in plastic.
Description

This badge is from the 10th Annual International Ellington Conference in Culver City, California, in 1991. It made of white paper with black, blue, and red ink, encapsulated in plastic. The badge is printed:

Lucille Levin
Studio City
CA
THE DUKE ELLINGTON SOCIETY
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
PRESENTS13,14
15,16
THE TENTH
ANNUAL
INTERNATIONAL
ELLINGTON
CONFERENCE

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
1991
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.067
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.067
This Patron badge is from the Los Angeles Classic Sweet & Hot Music Festival, in 1996. It made of yellow paper with black lettering, encapsulated in plastic.
Description

This Patron badge is from the Los Angeles Classic Sweet & Hot Music Festival, in 1996. It made of yellow paper with black lettering, encapsulated in plastic. The badge is printed:

First Annual [foundation logo] THE LOS ANGELES
SWEET & HOT
MUSIC FESTIVAL
PATRON
1996.

Founded in 1996, The Sweet & Hot Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the music of the 1920s through 50s. The foundation produces an annual event in Los Angeles which support jazz education programs for Los Angeles area high school students.

The foundation also honors legends in classic jazz by placing permanent bronze plaques with their names, in the ground surrounding the pool and garden area at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel. Known as the “Sweet & Hot Music Walk of Fame,” it features jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Benny Goodman, Cole Porter, Lionel Hampton and Billie Holiday.

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
1996
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.063
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.063
This button is from The Fresno Dixieland Society Mardi Gras festival in Fresno, California, in 1994. It is a made of yellow paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a round metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from The Fresno Dixieland Society Mardi Gras festival in Fresno, California, in 1994. It is a made of yellow paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a round metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

Fresno
Dixieland Society's
10th Annual
Mardi
Gras
'94
Sunday.

The Fresno Dixieland Society sponsors an annual weekend-long Mardi Gras festival with parades, performances, and dances featuring traditional jazz. The festival is held at several venues throughout Fresno.

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
1994
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.086
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.086
Frank Sinatra Duets I & II published by Warner Bros. Publications Inc. in New York, New York, in 1995.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Frank Sinatra Duets I & II published by Warner Bros. Publications Inc. in New York, New York, in 1995.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1995
depicted (sitter)
Sinatra, Frank
maker
Warner Bros. Publications Inc.
ID Number
2015.0215.1242
accession number
2015.0215
catalog number
2015.0215.1242
date made
1997
ID Number
2016.3009.297
nonaccession number
2016.3009
catalog number
2016.3009.297
This button is from the San Diego Jazz Party, in 1990. The button is a made of yellow paper with black and blue ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button serves as an attendee identifier to the SDJP.
Description

This button is from the San Diego Jazz Party, in 1990. The button is a made of yellow paper with black and blue ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button serves as an attendee identifier to the SDJP. The button is printed:

SAN DIEGO JAZZ PARTY
244
1990

The San Diego Jazz Party (SDJP) is an annual weekend-long event featuring public live performances of traditional jazz music. It is a non-profit organization that also provides scholarships for young jazz musicians at the high school or college level. The SDJP was originally presented in Downtown San Diego by Bill and Beverly Muchnic, in 1988.

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
1990
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.097
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.097
This badge is from the Sacramento Dixieland Jubilee Jazz Festival, in 1995. The button is a made of white paper with black and silver lettering covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is a rectangular hole in the button for a name tag.
Description

This badge is from the Sacramento Dixieland Jubilee Jazz Festival, in 1995. The button is a made of white paper with black and silver lettering covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is a rectangular hole in the button for a name tag. There is red ribbon attached to the back of the button. The button is printed:

SACRAMENTO
[image of riverboat]
LUCILLE LEVIN
JAZZ JUBILEE
1995

(The ribbon is printed):

MEDIA

The Sacramento Music Festival (formerly the Old Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee) was an annual event held every Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento, California. Organized by the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, the festival was launched in 1974 and presented its final festival in 2017.

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
1995
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.133
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.133
This button is from Jazz on the Lake weekend, in 1997. It is a square-shaped button made of paper with a red background and black and white printing covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from Jazz on the Lake weekend, in 1997. It is a square-shaped button made of paper with a red background and black and white printing covered with a clear film, on a two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

JAZZ
ON THE LAKE
[image of piano]
May 17-18, 1997

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
1997
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.103
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.103
This button is from the San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival in San Diego, in 1992. It is a made of gold paper with blue and red ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from the San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival in San Diego, in 1992. It is a made of gold paper with blue and red ink covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. There is an image of clarinet and trumpet players on the front. The button is printed:

SAN DIEGO THANKSGIVING
1992
[stylized image of clarinet and horn players]
DIXIELAND JAZZ FESTIVAL

The non-profit organization, America’s Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society (AFCDJS) in San Diego, California, held its first Great American Dixieland Jazz Festival, in 1979. The festival now known as The San Diego Jazz Fest & Swing Extravaganza is held every Thanksgiving weekend. The organization supports the San Diego traditional jazz community with monthly concerts, education programs, publication of a newsletter, an adult traditional Jazz camp, and a lending library of small band music.

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
1992
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.087
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.087
This button is from the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival, in 1994. It is a made of green paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival, in 1994. It is a made of green paper with black printing covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

I DID IT
AT THE
1994
SACRAMENTO JAZZ JUBILEE

The Sacramento Music Festival (formerly the Old Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee) was an annual event held every Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento, California. Organized by the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, the festival was launched in 1974 and presented its final festival in 2017.

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
1994
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.069
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.069
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
ID Number
2005.3021.073
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.073
This button is from a Preservation Hall Jazz Band concert at Caltech (California Institute of Technology) in Pasadena, California, in 1991. It is a made of red paper with black and red lettering covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back.
Description

This button is from a Preservation Hall Jazz Band concert at Caltech (California Institute of Technology) in Pasadena, California, in 1991. It is a made of red paper with black and red lettering covered with a clear film, on a round two-piece metal button with a pin back. The button is printed:

CALTECH
public events
PRESERVATION
HALL
JAZZ BAND
FEBRUARY 9, 1991.

Preservation Hall is a world-renown jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans with its resident musicians known as the Preservation Jazz Hall Band.

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
1991
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.078
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.078
This is a bootlegged VHS copy of the movie Jumanji, released in 1996 by Columbia-Tristar Home Video. Jumanji, based on the book of the same title, was an extremely popular film earning over $250 million dollars in the domestic box office.
Description
This is a bootlegged VHS copy of the movie Jumanji, released in 1996 by Columbia-Tristar Home Video. Jumanji, based on the book of the same title, was an extremely popular film earning over $250 million dollars in the domestic box office. The ability to easily copy VHS tapes led to a proliferation of counterfeit videocassettes in the marketplace, and the wide-spread consumer adoption of VHS technology made this a lucrative trade for criminal enterprises.
date made
1995
ID Number
2015.3020.01
catalog number
2015.3020.01
nonaccession number
2015.3020
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1997
ID Number
2016.3009.288
nonaccession number
2016.3009
catalog number
2016.3009.288
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1991
ID Number
2005.3021.077
nonaccession number
2005.3021
catalog number
2005.3021.077
This button is from the Jazz Club of Sarasota, Florida, in 1991. It made of gold-tone plastic with black lettering. There is evidence of a straight-style pin back.
Description

This button is from the Jazz Club of Sarasota, Florida, in 1991. It made of gold-tone plastic with black lettering. There is evidence of a straight-style pin back. The button is printed:

PATRON
the [image of trumpet] jazz club
of Sarasota
1991

The Jazz Club of Sarasota was founded by retired advertising executive Hal Davis. The club started as a casual get-together of jazz enthusiasts listening to music in the home of Hal and Evelyn Davis. By 1980, the club held its first concert featuring American jazz guitarist John Paul “Bucky” Pizzarelli (1926-2020) and his son John. The Jazz Club continued to expand its scope and reach to include a yearly program of concerts and lectures as well as school residency and scholarship programs.

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
1991
user
Levin, Floyd
ID Number
2011.3086.082
nonaccession number
2011.3086
catalog number
2011.3086.082

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