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 107 items.
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Satellite Thermos Bottle
- Description (Brief)
- This plastic and glass vacuum thermos bottle was manufactured by the American Thermos Products Company and served as a companion bottle to the Satellite Lunch Box, object number 2001.0387.06.01. The bottle is adorned with action scenes in space featuring rockets and satellites hovering over the surface of the moon.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1958
- maker
- American Thermos Bottle Company
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.06.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.06.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1954, and it came with an aluminum thermos. This Roy Rogers and Dale Evans lunch box features an image on front lid of Dale in a red dress, greeting Roy on his horse Trigger at gate of the "DOUBLE R BAR RANCH". The back has a wood grain print with "RR" brand and name for box owner on the back, 2 vent slots. This was one Thermos’s first entries into the market of licensed lunch boxes, as a response to Aladdin’s Hopalong Cassidy box.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- American Thermos Bottle Company
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.07.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.07.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This Roy Rogers thermos was manufactured by Thermos in 1954. It features an image similar to the previous lunch box, object number 2001.3099.07.01. Roy Rogers is posing with a kneeling Dale Evans, his horse Trigger, and his dog Bullet, under the sign for Roy Rogers and Dale Evans DOUBLE R BAR RANCH.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1953
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.07.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.07.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Gene Autry Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made by Aladdin Industries in 1954. It features a picture of Gene Autry riding a bucking horse, and the back of the box features a tan and white design to resemble a cowhide. Autry was known as “The Singing Cowboy,” performing in radio, movies, and television from the 1930s to 1960s, becoming most famous for such songs as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” and “Frosty the Snowman.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Autry, Gene
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.10
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made by Thermos in 1954. It has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible red, plastic handle. The front of the box shows Roy Rogers and Dales Evans with their dog Bullet. The back of the box is an action shot of Roy Rogers roping a steer on his horse Trigger, with Dale Evans riding in the background. The Roy Rogers Show ran from 1951-1957, and focused on the cowboy adventures of Roy Rogers on his Double R Bar Ranch.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.14.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.14.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This metal, plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1954, and is the companion bottle to lunch box object number 2001.3100.14.01.The bottle has a red, screw-on plastic lid and a red plastic stopper. The bottle has a yellow design with colorful action drawings of Roy Rogers riding on a horse on the sides of the thermos.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.14.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.14.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Space Cadet Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This tin, plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Aladdin Industries in 1952. The bottle has a yellow plastic, screw-on lid and a brown cork stopper. The bottle has a black background with colorful space action drawings from the television series Tom Corbett Space Cadet on the side. The bottle is the companion piece to lunch box #2001.3101.02.01.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1952
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2001.3101.02.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3101
- catalog number
- 2001.3101.02.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hopalong Cassidy Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made by Aladdin Industries in 1950. The Hopalong Cassidy box has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible, metal handle. It was the first lunch box to bear a licensed image, and helped Aladdin Industries launch a new product line that would last for decades. Hopalong Cassidy was a TV, radio, and comic series in the 1950s, and the frenzy for Hopalong Cassidy merchandise led to more than 100 companies manufacturing more than $70 million dollars worth of Hopalong Cassidy products.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2001.3101.08.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3101
- catalog number
- 2001.3101.08.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Trigger Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made by Thermos in 1957. It has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible, metal handle. The box has a blue background, with an image of Roy Roger’s horse Trigger bucking on an open plain with mountains in the background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1957
- maker
- Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3101.10
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3101
- catalog number
- 2001.3101.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Daniel Boone Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This steel and glass thermos bottle was made by Aladdin Industries in 1956. It has a red plastic cup lid and gray plastic stopper. The bottle has imagery of the frontier hero Daniel Boone, showing an action image of Boone fighting Indians.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1956
- maker
- Aladdin
- ID Number
- 2003.3070.03.02
- nonaccession number
- 2003.3070
- catalog number
- 2003.3070.03.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center