They Call Me Speedy

Alka-Seltzer is an antacid and pain reliever. Its effervescent "fizzing" tablets release active ingredients when dissolved in water. Developed by head chemist Maurice Treneer, it was first marketed by Dr. Franklin L. Miles of Miles Laboratories fame in Elkhart, Indiana in 1884. Print advertising was used immediately, and by 1932 the radio show Alka-Seltzer Comedy Star of Hollywood began, along with many more. The radio sponsorships continued into the 1950s, with the Alka-Seltzer Time show airing from 1949 to 1957. Miles Laboratories was purchased by Bayer in 1979.

Alka-Seltzer's "Speedy" character was introduced in 1951. His body was made of one Alka-Seltzer tablet, while he wore another as a hat. It was conceived by Chicago's Wade Advertising Agency (1909-1966) and designed by illustrator Wally Wood. Originally named Sparky, the name was changed to Speedy to align with that year's promotional theme, "Speedy Relief". Speedy appeared in over 200 television commercials between 1954 and 1964. Actor Buster Keaton (above) assumed various occupations for a series of commercials with the mascot. The ads through the 1970s were among the most popular of the 20th century in the United States. Adding to the success was Speedy's jingle, "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is" with an adult providing a child-like cartoon voice. Speedy was resurrected a few times over the coming decades. In 2008 Alka-Seltzer began a series of new commercials featuring the character using modern computer graphics.

First In Color. With Help.

Admiral Corporation Inc. is best known worldwide for its home appliances and electronics. The company was originally known as the Transformer Corporation of America and by 1929 it was the biggest supplier of radio parts in the world. The Great Depression took its toll and Ross Siragusa, founder, was forced to declare bankruptcy. Later in 1934, he purchased the “Admiral” trademark, which officially became Admiral Corporation America Inc. in 1936.

Admiral’s global operations started in 1946 with the opening of its factory in Toronto, Canada with subsequent region entities in Mexico, Italy, Taiwan and India. By 1966 the company had a staff of over 14,000 with operations in 110 countries. In 1952 the U.S. National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) set a goal of creating an “industry color system.” At the end of 1953, Admiral introduced their first electronic color television system, the C1617A (pictured above) using a 15-inch tri-color 15GP22 CRT and other components by RCA. Sales were understandably dismal at a cost of $1,175 ---over $13,000 today--- a limited production run, and no color broadcasting. It would take about a decade for color sets to become profitable. Admiral’s overall sales revenue sky-rocketed to $414 million in 1966.

Acquired by Rockwell International in 1973, its appliance division was sold to Magic Chef, Inc., which was then acquired by the Maytag Corporation in 1986.  Whirlpool Corporation acquired Maytag in 2006. Under Whirlpool, the Admiral brand became exclusive to The Home Depot. During the 1990s, the Admiral brand name was being used on Zenith products, and for Montgomery Ward as well as VCRs made by Sharp. The television business continues with AOC International, originally Admiral Overseas Corporation, an international brand of LCD and HDTV display devices.

Spark Of A Champion

Albert Champion (1878-1927), was a French-born bicycle racing champion with major wins in Paris in 1889 and 1904. After retiring from competitive cycling in 1905, he incorporated the Albert Champion Company in Boston, Massachusetts to make porcelain spark plugs and import French electrical parts and components made by the Nieuport aircraft company. Two years later the Champion name was stamped on the side. He incorporated the Champion Ignition Company, in Lansing, Michigan in October 1908. General Motors founder, William Durant, was impressed with the spark plugs and persuaded him to move to Flint and supply his spark plugs for Buick automobiles.

In 1922 he changed the name to AC Spark Plug Company, utilizing his initials, to settle out of court with his original partners in the Albert Champion Company. In May of 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew his Spirit of St. Louis non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris, France powered by AC Spark Plugs. Champion died in October of that same year while vacationing in Paris. Today his initials survive as ACDelco (owned by General Motors) and Champion spark plugs sold by the Federal-Mogul Corporation.

Note: In the 1961 advertisement above, a family has just gotten gas for their 1959 Chevrolet when the service station attendant brings out a spark plug. It sounds to him like they need a new one. He will know better once he gets under the hood, but it is best to replace all of them simultaneously. Not happy about the sales pitch, the son throws a 1961 Oldsmobile promotional model at the attendant's head.

The Roy Huggins Affair

Screenwriter, novelist, and producer, Roy Huggins, had a significant influence in Hollywood, most notably in television. Below are three who were indirectly and directly impacted by Huggins.

IRVING BACON (1893-1965) was an American character actor who always had a role to play, no matter how small, in nearly five hundred films. He often played comical everyday men and was singled out by his trademarked surprised expression. He is perhaps best remembered as the soda jerk in the comedy, Never Give a Sucker An Even Break (1941), or the musical, Holiday Inn (1942) as the cagey wagon driver. In later years Bacon would also be cast in serious roles whether in Westerns or modern-day dramas. Bacon had roles on television's Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip. Both lead characters from those shows, Bret Maverick and Stu Bailey, were created by Roy Huggins.

VICTOR JORY (1902-1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He was initially cast in romantic leads. In Shakespeare's fantasy play, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), he portrayed Oberon and eighteenth-century costume dramas. His career would turn one-hundred-eighty degrees, becoming most identified as a sinister villain in Westerns. A case in point is Dodge City (1939) a ruthless outlaw gang member. His mid-career creased face brought him a wide variety of roles as a Native American Indian or a detective in modern crime dramas in film and television. Nearing the end of his career, Jory had a definitive role to use his trademarked tight-lipped delivery as an old-school FBI agent from the 1930s in "The Attractive Nuisance" (1977), an episode of Huggins's, The Rockford Files.

ADELE MARA (1923-2010) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, who appeared in mostly forgettable films. She was most prolific in the 1940s with such average films as The Tiger Woman (1945) and Exposed (1947) before turning to the new medium of television in the 1950s through the 1960s. The beauty was married to Roy Huggins from 1952 until his death in 2002. Born Adelaide Delgado, her brother, Luis Delgado, was frequently cast in The Rockford Files series. He was James Garner's long-time personal assistant, as well.

On This Date

Ride On The Peace Ship

In 1915, Henry Ford's peace ship, Oscar II, (commonly the Peace Ship) sailed for Europe 'to get the boys out of the trenches by Christmas.' The peace mission was deemed unsuccessful, producing only inconsequential meetings with less-than-official representatives from several European governments. Nevertheless, Ford asserted that the Peace Ship's expedition was successful because it stimulated discussions about peace. And Oscar II.

I Like It Like That 

In 1961, the New York Museum of Modern Art finally hung Henri Matisse's picture, a paper cut from 1953, "Le Bateau" (The Boat), the right side up. Only one person, stockbroker Genevieve Habert, among the 116,000 visitors to the exhibition, "The Last Works of Henri Matisse,"  noticed that one of Matisse's elegant late career cutouts (his Rorschach test?) was hanging upside down for the last forty-seven days.  

 
Note: Some may have said they preferred it upside down. Maybe sideways.

1887 Was A Good Year

Raymond Walburn (1887-1969)

Walburn was an American character actor on stage and screen, appearing in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and the occasional dramatic role. He made his splash in both "A" and "B" movies in the 1930s with continued success with his more famous rotund physique in the 1940s. Noted for his trademark bulging eyes, arched brows and pompous attitude, few could compete with his windbag characters, demonstrated so perfectly in Preston Sturges's Christmas in July (1940), or Hail the Conquering Hero (1944). Walburn was the perfect choice for any bombastic bumbler of words or haughty stuffed shirts, often as a mayor, judge, or business owner. On the other hand, a few of his butler portrayals could be quite reserved and properly knowing his place.

Eric Blore (1887-1959)

Blore was an English actor and writer. After numerous stage plays during the 1920s in London, he made a career move to New York City in Broadway revues and musical comedy productions. He made over sixty Hollywood films, becoming best known for playing butlers or superior domestic servants. His over-the-top British accent was always impeccably precise with lines delivered with barbed irony. In addition to his sometimes condescending attitude were his facial expressions, most notably with one incredulously raised eyebrow. Blore gained notice in the Fed Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical comedies, The Gay Divorcee (1934) as a waiter with an astounding knowledge of obscure subjects, and in RKO's most profitable film of the 1930s, Top Hat (1935), in which Blore plays a sarcastic personal assistant named Bates. However, he introduces himself as if he is a corporate entity, graciously stating, "We are Bates." He provided levity as the not-quite-reformed jewel thief and sidekick to Warren William in three Lone Wolf film series in the late Thirties.

Note: Both actors were born the same year and died one decade apart.

Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actors found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television. 

FRANK FERGUSON (1899-1978)

Frank Ferguson was a character actor who made his film debut in 1940. In that decade he appeared in modern-day dramas as a detective, a father, and a reporter, as well as being cast in the occasional comedy. Based on his distinct barrel voice, his ever-present mustache, and an everyman's face, Ferguson was a natural in Western films—nearly two hundred. A few of those are quite notable, but Ferguson was often uncredited. He could play anything from an outlaw, a sheriff, a disgruntled farmer, or a friendly, though maybe dishonest, store clerk. He was a very valuable and natural performer in which many directors found a character worthy of his talents. 

However, the bespectacled actor was most seen from his frequent television appearances over twenty-plus years. In a wide variety of roles, Ferguson was often a public servant. He might be a doctor, a military officer, a bank teller, a police officer, or a businessman. With little surprise, he even played a hobo on the Leave It To Beaver comedy. He was the familiar face of many popular dramas, and of course, nearly every television Western. His final appearance was on the pioneer era series, Little House on the Prairie, in 1976.