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 144 items.
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Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1979. The box features imagery of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise. The Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise was the first shuttle that NASA built, but it never went to space. Instead it was used for approach and landing tests. The shuttle was originally going to be named the Constitution, but fans of the TV series Star Trek staged a write-in campaign and the shuttle was renamed after the show’s USS Enterprise NCC-1701. The shuttle now resides at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1979
- collected for nmah
- Smithsonian Institution
- maker
- Thermos
- ID Number
- 1988.3160.35
- catalog number
- 1988.3160.35
- nonaccession number
- 1988.3160
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Evel Knievel's Harley-Davidson XR-750
- Description
- More than a daredevil, Evel Knievel combined sportsmanship and show business to become one of the most famous performers in America. The perils of his sport—making a motorcycle "fly" over a row of vehicles—clearly were not for the average rider. Many of his jumps were successful; but in some spectacular crashes, Knievel fractured 35 to 40 bones. His visually stunning, suspenseful performances were perfectly suited to television and were especially exciting because of the chance that he might crash.
- Knievel's shows were a celebration of America's love affair with motor vehicles. His pre-jump show featured motorcycle "wheelies" and off-beat vehicles, and he jumped almost exclusively over rows of automobiles, trucks, and buses. By performing at stadiums and coliseums, Knievel perpetuated the tradition of live thrill shows for local audiences. But national and international media coverage of his jumps placed him in a league with some of the world's best-known entertainers.
- Knievel rode this motorcycle during some of his most spectacular jumps. By carefully coordinating his angle, thrust, and speed, which reached 90 to 100 miles per hour at takeoff, he remained in the air for as far as 165 feet. He chose (and customized) this motorcycle, a 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750, because it was a light, dependable racing machine. Made of steel, aluminum, and fiberglass, it weighs approximately 300 pounds.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1972
- user
- Knievel, Evel
- maker
- Harley-Davidson
- ID Number
- 1994.0306.01
- accession number
- 1994.0306
- catalog number
- 1994.0306.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Johnny Lightning Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel lunch box was manufactured by Aladdin Industries in 1970. The lunch box has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible green, plastic handle. Johnny Lightning was a die cast model car brand manufactured from 1969-1971 and 1994-present. There is an illustrated National Safety Council “Safety First” message printed in black and white on the interior lid.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1970
- maker
- Aladdin Industries Incorporated
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.15
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.15
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bee Gees Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1978. The lunch box depicts the three Bee Gees on front lid, Robin Gibb on the rear panel, and various song titles are written on the side. The Bee Gees mainly consisted of the brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, and each one had their own lunch box. The Bee Gees first achieved international fame in the 1960s as a rock group, but the height of their success occurred in the late 1970s, with their soundtrack to the hit movie Saturday Night Fever becoming one of the best selling soundtracks of all time.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1978
- maker
- Aladdin Industries
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Harlem Globetrotters Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This tin, plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1971. It has a screw-on, blue plastic cup lid and a beige and red screw-on, plastic stopper. The thermos has a red and white striped design and colorful portrait drawings of the team members from The Harlem Globetrotters television show on the side of the thermos. The Harlem Globetrotters was a Hanna-Barbera carton that ran from 19770-1973, featuring the real players from the real team at that time, with their fictional manager Granny settling conflicts around the world with basketball games.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1971
- depicted
- Harlem Globetrotters
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.19
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.19
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hee Haw Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This tin, plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1970. It has a screw-on, red plastic cup lid and a beige and red screw-on, plastic stopper. The bottle has a tan wooden background, and drawings of the two stars from the television show Hee Haw, Gordie Tapp and Don Harron, on the side of the thermos.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1970
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.20
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.20
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Star Trek Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This square plastic thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1979. It has a screw-on, white plastic cup lid and a white and red screw-on plastic stopper. The bottle features a purple and blue design with a colorful drawing of the USS Enterprise from the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture on the front of the thermos.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1979
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.21
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.21
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1973. The lunch box features the cartoon characters of the television show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, on all sides of the lunch box. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated series created by Bill Cosby that ran from 1972-1985 on CBS.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1973
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2001.3101.03.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3101
- catalog number
- 2001.3101.03.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This square plastic thermos bottle was made by Aladdin Industries in 1973. It has a red plastic, screw-on cup lid and a white and red, plastic stopper. The bottle is orange and has a portrait of Fat Albert from the television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on the front of the thermos. The bottle is the companion to lunch box #2001.3101.03.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1973
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2001.3101.03.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3101
- catalog number
- 2001.3101.03.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made by Thermos in 1973. It has a white plastic snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible, yellow plastic handle. The box features colorful action scenes and portrait drawings from the cartoon series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan on the lid, back and sides. The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan ran for one season on CBS in 1972. The show focused on Mr. Chan solving crimes around the world with the help of his ten children and dog.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1973
- maker
- King Seeley Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3101.13.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3101
- catalog number
- 2001.3101.13.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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