Original production notes from the web series The Guild. Felicia Day is the star and creator of this comedic series about avid gamers and their obsession with fantasy MMORPG video games. The Guild premiered on YouTube on July 27, 2007 and ran until 2013. Throughout these years, the web series won six Streamy Awards, four IAWTV Awards, and was named one of “The Net’s Best Serial Shows” by Rolling Stone in 2009.
The Guild is reflective of the popularity of web series and the burgeoning internet community of the early 2000s. Felicia Day’s success as a female web series creator, gamer, and writer is also notable because video game culture is predominated by men.
This A-line metallic yellow, brown, and silver dress was worn with yellow gloves, yellow and gold shoe boots, and a cigarette holder with a wooden cigarette by comedian Phyllis Diller. While Diller’s signature prop was a cigarette holder, it only ever held a wooden prop cigarette; she was a lifelong non-smoker.
Phyllis Diller is wearing this costume in an image featured on postcards that she gave out to fans when she was traveling. Diller did not sign these postcards, but on the postcards was printed, in her handwriting, “Best Wishes Phyllis Diller.”
Phyllis Diller wore this head band with a white pompom at the end of a rod as part of an outfit also including a red and white Santa dress with belt, pair of red panties, red pantyhose, and white gloves when she joined Bob Hope’s USO tour of the Persian Gulf in 1987. Other members of the 1987 tour included I Dream of Jeannie actress Barbara Eden, Connie Stevens and her daughters Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher, “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood, and Miss USA Michelle Royer.
Diller was lifelong friends with Bob Hope, co-starring with him in 3 films and many TV specials. In 1978, the USO of Philadelphia, Inc. awarded Diller the USO Liberty Bell Award “for demonstrating concern for the welfare and morale of America’s armed forces.” The award is also at NMAH (Catalog Number 2003.0289.42).
This wig was part of a costume worn by actors portraying the character Mr. Mistoffelees in the original Broadway production of Cats. The black synthetic fiber wig is styled to suggest the appearance of cat's ears. A black-and-white tuxedo cat, Mr. Mistoffelees possesses magical powers celebrated in the song “Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.” While Mistoffelees sometimes sings depending on the production, Mistoffelees is primarily a featured dancing role. The character has some of the most challenging choreography in the show, including his signature move the “Conjuring Turn,” which is twenty-four consecutive fouettés en tournant. Wayne Sleep originated the role on the West End in 1981 and Timothy Scott later took on the role on Broadway in 1982. On the screen, Jacob Brent portrayed the character in the 1998 film and Laurie Davidson portrayed him in the 2019 film adaptation.
Cats broke Broadway records with its run of 7,485 performances from 1982 until 2000 at New York’s Winter Garden Theatre. The play, written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on stories and characters from T. S. Eliot's 1939 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and first premiered in London’s West End in 1981. The expensive and spectacular production has been called the first “megamusical,” inaugurating a new period of Broadway theater history when big-budget shows with elaborate special effects, spectacular costumes, and rock music revived the theater district’s sagging fortunes. Cats earned multiple Tony awards in its original run and has since been revived on Broadway and in numerous national and international tours.
Snowboard made by Aleksey Ostatnigrosh of GROMEL is multi-colored with art deco circular designs throughout. The board is fabricated from an ash vertical laminated wood core, carbon fiber, fiberglass, rubber, stainless steel and a P-Tex racing base. Each of GROMEL's boards are hand made, by the donor of the board, Aleksey Ostatnigrosh who emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1994. Ostatnigrosh was one of two founders of the first Russian snowboard production company, GROMEL, in 1986. Working in their parent's apartments, Ostatnigrosh and Alex Melnikov were pressed for space and after several moves ended up renting a store front on Gorky Street, in the heart of Moscow. According to the donor, in 1993, after the fall of socialism, private companies were "advised to buy protection" and GROMEL wasn't big enough to afford it. They sold their company to a bigger, better protected company but no snowboards were ever produced. Moving to the US allowed Ostatnigrosh to forge a career as an IT developer and continue to craft his custom made snowboards. In 2008, Ostatnigrosh began crafting his snowboards as a piece of sports equipment but also as works of art, using a unique top sheet created from exotic wood veneers and hand painted elements and refusing to use computer equipment in his graphic designs. he is heavily influenced by early 20th Century art styles such as Constructivism, Cubism and Art Deco.
American professional racing cyclist Lance Armstrong (b. 1971) may have written a book called It’s Not About the Bike, but his seven Tour de France victories, now annulled as a result of a 2012 investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), all benefited from increasingly advanced racing bicycles.
For almost a century, race bikes used steel tubing construction. Steel was stiff and durable, but was also relatively heavy. High-quality steel frames without wheels or components weighed around 3.75 to 4.5 lbs. Because a lighter bike has a significant advantage on long climbs in the mountains, bike manufacturers attempted to reduce weight as much as possible. During the 1980s, modern manufacturers began experimenting with lighter and more versatile construction materials such as aluminum alloys, titanium, and most recently, carbon fiber. Armstrong’s, now-voided, first Tour de France victory in 1999 was on a carbon fiber Trek 5500. The 5500 frame was still comparatively heavy by modern standards, weighing around 3.85 lbs. At the time of his second tour attempt in 2000, Armstrong was riding both the 5500 frame, as well as a lighter and more advanced 2.75 lb Trek 5900 frame for the mountain stages. Other weight savings and technological improvements found on both bicycles include a larger 1 1/8” steerer tube, a threadless headset, and 9-speed Shimano Dura Ace components.
Armstrong brought several bikes to the 2000 Tour de France. This particular bicycle was raced on some of the flatter stages, such as Stage 11 from Bagnères-de-Bigorre to Revel in Southwest France, as well as the final stage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. During the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Armstrong used this bike as a spare, but did not ride it in competition.
This yellow and brown full-length dress with white and orange daisy print was worn by Phyllis Diller. Diller (1917-2012) began her comedy career in the 1950s at the age of 37 and broke barriers in the comedy world to become the first solo female comic to be a household name. She developed a stage persona of an incompetent housewife and dressed in outlandish outfits with wild hair. Her material focused on self-deprecating jokes that tackled the idealized image of American mothers and homemakers. She also created many mythical personas for her stage act including her “husband” Fang, her “neighbor” Mrs. Clean, and her “mother-in-law” Moby Dick.
These yellow and gold shoe boots were worn with an A-line metallic yellow, brown, and silver dress, yellow gloves, and a cigarette holder with a wooden cigarette by comedian Phyllis Diller. While Diller’s signature prop was a cigarette holder, it only ever held a wooden prop cigarette; she was a lifelong non-smoker.
Phyllis Diller is wearing this costume in an image featured on postcards that she gave out to fans when she was traveling. Diller did not sign these postcards, but on the postcards was printed, in her handwriting, “Best Wishes Phyllis Diller.”
These yellow gloves were worn with an A-line metallic yellow, brown, and silver dress, yellow and gold shoe boots, and a cigarette holder with a wooden cigarette by comedian Phyllis Diller. While Diller’s signature prop was a cigarette holder, it only ever held a wooden prop cigarette; she was a lifelong non-smoker.
Phyllis Diller is wearing this costume in an image featured on postcards that she gave out to fans when she was traveling. Diller did not sign these postcards, but on the postcards was printed, in her handwriting, “Best Wishes Phyllis Diller.”
Phyllis Diller wore these white leather cowboy-style boots to comedian Bob Hope’s 93rd birthday party in 1996. Diller was lifelong friends with Bob Hope, co-starring with him in 3 films and many television specials. She also traveled with him on two USO Christmas tours to entertain American troops in 1966 and 1987.
This fur bonnet was worn by Phyllis Diller when she posed nude for Field and Stream magazine in 1973. In that same year, Field and Stream magazine awarded Diller “Miss Fun Fishing 1973” “on the occasion of her selection as the first centerfold in the magazine’s 78 year history.” NMAH also has the trophy for this award in its collection (Catalog Number 2003.0289.16).
The American toy company Mattel manufactured and sold Cool Shoppin’ Barbie in 1997. The fashion doll came with her own clothing store that sold shirts, skirts, sunglasses, shoes, perfume, and purses and had a cash register, bar code scanner, and credit card reader. Barbie had her own MasterCard, and would say “credit approved” when a button was pushed.
Parents and consumer advocates complained that Barbie should not encourage excessive spending and credit debt or advertise the MasterCard brand to young children. While Cool Shoppin’ Barbie sold well during the 1997 holiday season, the contract between Barbie and MasterCard was not renewed the next year—making the toy a sought after collectible.
These pantyhose were worn by Phyllis Diller on Circus of the Stars in 1983. The complete costume consists of a hot pink dress with lime green polka dots, lime green bloomers, a hot pink headband, a handbag with a metal insert designed to hold fish, and two pairs of pantyhose. Diller also wore a lime green clown wig with the costume. During the 8th Circus of the Stars Phyllis Diller performed at Sea World with Clyde the seal and a 3,000 pound walrus named Schmedley.
Airing between 1977 and 1994, Circus of the Stars was an annual CBS television special that showcased celebrities performing circus acts. Phyllis Diller appeared on 3 episodes of the program—in 1983, 1985, and 1994. NMAH also has the costume she wore for Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland in 1994 (Catalog Number 2003.0289.07).
This handbag was used by Phyllis Diller on Circus of the Stars in 1983. The complete costume consists of a hot pink dress with lime green polka dots, lime green bloomers, a hot pink headband, a handbag with a metal insert designed to hold fish, and two pairs of pantyhose. Diller also wore a lime green clown wig with the costume. During the 8th Circus of the Stars Phyllis Diller performed at Sea World with Clyde the seal and a 3,000 pound walrus named Schmedley.
Airing between 1977 and 1994, Circus of the Stars was an annual CBS television special that showcased celebrities performing circus acts. Phyllis Diller appeared on 3 episodes of the program—in 1983, 1985, and 1994. NMAH also has the costume she wore for Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland in 1994 (Catalog Number 2003.0289.07).
Ororo Munroe/Storm Costume from the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past. Acrtress Halle Berry originated the role of Storm on screen in 2000. The character of Storm was introduced in Marvel Comics in 1975. She was the company's first black female supehero.
A funny car is a high-powered, computer-controlled dragster with a lightweight, molded body that somewhat resembles a production car. Bruce Larson and his crew designed and assembled this car in Dauphin, Pennsylvania. The body, which is made of carbon composite fiber, resembles an Oldsmobile Cutlass but weighs only 165 pounds. The chassis frame is made of chromoly (chromium molybdenum alloy) tubing. The aluminum engine burned a mix of nitro-methane fuel and alcohol and developed almost 4,000 horsepower. Larson won the National Hot Rod Association’s World Championship with this car in 1989. His top speed in the Finals was 278.55 miles per hour.
Phyllis Diller wore this red and blue sequined dress with feathered cuffs on Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland in 1994. During Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland Phyllis Diller performed with several large pigs, directing them to do tricks and accompanying them in a verse of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”
Airing between 1977 and 1994, Circus of the Stars was an annual CBS television special that showcased celebrities performing circus acts. Phyllis Diller appeared on 3 episodes of the program—in 1983, 1985, and 1994. NMAH also has the costume she wore for Circus of the Stars in 1983 (Catalog Number 2003.0289.06).
This headband was worn by Phyllis Diller on Circus of the Stars in 1983. The complete costume consists of a hot pink dress with lime green polka dots, lime green bloomers, a hot pink headband, a handbag with a metal insert designed to hold fish, and two pairs of pantyhose. Diller also wore a lime green clown wig with the costume. During the 8th Circus of the Stars Phyllis Diller performed at Sea World with Clyde the seal and a 3,000 pound walrus named Schmedley.
Airing between 1977 and 1994, Circus of the Stars was an annual CBS television special that showcased celebrities performing circus acts. Phyllis Diller appeared on 3 episodes of the program—in 1983, 1985, and 1994. NMAH also has the costume she wore for Circus of the Stars Goes to Disneyland in 1994 (Catalog Number 2003.0289.07).