Perceived Parallels

Diamond Tightrope

Not exactly twins, except for show confusion arising during 1959 with David Janssen's Richard Diamond and Mike Conners' Tightrope. It was the first detective series for both actors and both were on CBS. Myth has it that some figured Janssen starred in both series.

Miserly Duo
Character actors Charles Lane (1905-2007), at left, and Will Wright (1894-1962) might be confused because of similar casting. Though eleven years separated them, they started careers about the same time. Known as curmudgeons, short-tempered or miserly businessmen, both had prolific film careers. Lane's indelible claim to fame was as the mean-spirited Homer Bedloe on the television series, Petticoat Junction, a spin-off of The Beverly Hillbillies, where he crossed over as Bedloe at least once. 

Wise Counsel

Over the years there has been some television role confusion between Raymond Bailey (1904-80), at left, and Frank Wilcox (1904-74). Both of these actors had recurring roles on The Beverly Hillbillies and both were the same age. Each was often cast as a businessman, a judge, or another career professional in film westerns, and television dramas or comedies. 

Planned Obsolescence

Brooks Stevens (1911-95) was an American industrial designer, born in Wisconsin and active in Milwaukee. Stricken with polio as a child, he was encouraged by his father to practice drawing while confined to his bed, perhaps motivating his career in design. He studied architecture at Cornell University from 1929 to 1933 and established his own home-furnishings design firm in 1934 in Milwaukee. In 1936 he designed the first electric clothes drier. He transformed it from the manufacturers’ concept of a simple heated box into an apparatus that had a glass window built into its door. His works had mass appeal and were fuelled by the fact that many of his works were functional daily life objects. 

In 1944, he established Brooks Stevens Associates, embracing a partnership of four executive designers and a staff of twelve. Some of the company’s automotive clients included Packard, Willys, Studebaker, Excalibur, American Motors and many others. Brooks was involved in the creation of the first snowmobile, the Evinrude outboard motor, and a mass-market jeep. The 1950 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the 1958 Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in fiberglass, and the 1959 Lawn Boy lawnmower were also Stevens' designs. He may be best known for designing the 1962 Studebaker Hawk Gran Tourismo (above), and the Skytop Lounge observation cars for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad's Hiawatha passenger trains.

 
Legend has given at least partial credit to Stevens for popularizing the term, planned obsolescence, which he defined as "instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary." Though debatable, his view was to always make the consumer want something new, rather than create poor products that would need replacing.

John Hanley, Scale Model

Jo-Han was a manufacturer of plastic, scale model promotional cars and kits founded in 1947 by tool and die maker John Hanley (Jo-Han). Originally called Ideal Models, Hanley's first products were mid-1950s model aircraft and other promotional items including scale model kitchen sets and a training model of Chrysler's fluid drive transmission, resulting in a contract to produce models for Chrysler. Contracts with General Motors soon followed. American Motors Corporation was another common client, producing mainly 1/25 scale promo models in the 1960s. The decades of the Fifties and Sixties are considered the golden age for promotional models and kits. Most were known as "annuals" by hobbyists and followed the bigger business of promos for the new cars introduced at the beginning of each model year. Some models featured friction "motors" which could be reversed to wind up the friction gear to self-propel the models. Other companies that made promos for the automakers included Revell, Monogram, Lindberg, and MPC. Most of the original Jo-Han molds were scrapped or stolen over time as no kits have been produced in over twenty years. The last Jo-Han promotional model made was in 1979.

A Prolific Independent

Edward Small (1891-1977) was an enormously prolific independent film producer for over 50 years, holding his own against the likes of David O. Selznick or Samuel Goldwyn in spite of his low profile. 

A former actor and talent agent, Small began producing films in 1924. He formed Reliance Pictures in 1932 and Edward Small Productions in 1938. Working with moderate budgets and talent borrowed from other studios, he oversaw a number of commercially successful films, including I Cover the Waterfront (1933), The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), The Man in the Iron Mask" (1939), Raw Deal (1948), and Kansas City Confidential (1952). He reached a peak of prestige with Witness for the Prosecution (1957), which was nominated for seven Oscars, only to lose it to the expensive box office dud, Solomon and Sheba (1959). Until his retirement in the early  1970's he was active mainly in television projects. 

Broadcast Pioneers

Roger Mudd (1928-2021) was an American broadcast journalist who was a correspondent and anchor for CBS News and NBC News. He was the recipient of the Peabody Award for his interview with Sen. Ted Kennedy, the Joan Shorenstein Award for Distinguished Washington Reporting, and five Emmy Awards. His smooth, comforting delivery added credence to his long-standing career of accurate and unbiased reporting. 

"Journalists, who are skeptical to begin with, simply do not like to be lied to or made fools of." ~Mudd

The Washington, D.C. native graduated from Wilson High School in 1945, later earning a Bachelor of Arts in History from Washington and Lee University. Mudd began his journalism career in Richmond, Virginia, as a reporter for The Richmond News Leader and for radio station WRNL. In the late 1950s, Mudd moved back to Washington, D.C., to become a reporter with WTOP News, the news division of the radio and television stations owned by Washington Post-Newsweek. Mudd quickly came to the attention of CBS News and joined the Washington bureau in 1961. For most of his career at CBS, Mudd was a Congressional correspondent. He also was the anchor of the Saturday edition of CBS Evening News and frequently substituted on the weekday and weeknight broadcasts when regular anchormen Douglas Edwards and Walter Cronkite were absent.

"The relationship between press and politician - protected by the Constitution and designed to be happily adversarial - becomes sour, raw and confrontational." ~Mudd

After losing the CBS sole anchor position to Dan Rather, Mudd went to NBC in 1980. He was co-anchor for the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw until Brokaw became the sole anchor. Beginning in 1987 Mudd was an essayist and political correspondent with the MacNeil–Lehrer Newshour and a primary anchor for over ten years with The History Channel. Though Mudd retired from full-time broadcasting in 2004, he remained involved with documentaries for The History Channel.

Consider This

Few would consider there was facial confusion during the 1960s between Mike Nichols (left), famous director, producer, actor, and comedian (1931-2014), and the lesser-known William Redfield, an actor in theater, film, radio, and television (1927-1976). The multi-talented actors were from the same era and both died in NYC. The photo comparison may solve any confusion. 

Likewise, few would compare these two actors, who are not brothers. From left to right, introvert Robert Young (1907-98) and extrovert Richard Denning (1914-98). They had a facial resemblance at certain ages, both were 6' tall and died the same year. Denning was in radio, and television plus numerous low-budget films. Young was an A-list actor (without a single studio contract) in high-budget films and had huge success on television.

Chameleon Actress

Virginia Gregg (1916-1986) was an American actress known for her many roles in radio dramas, television series, and as a voice artist. Gregg made more than forty-five films from 1947 to 1981 in supporting roles or bit parts. Not exactly Lana Turner in the looks department, with Gregg's great vocal work in radio she could illicit the same attractiveness and in turn, shame Turner's acting ability.

As a prolific radio actress, Gregg could handle a wide range of characters from a sultry temptress to a deranged business owner. Listeners would hear her regularly on such programs as Dragnet, Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Program, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, and Mutual Radio Theater, to name a few. A distinction was her role as Miss Wong, Hey Boy's girlfriend, in Have Gun–Will Travel, starring John Dehner as Paladin, and in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, as the title character's girlfriend.

The chameleon actress whom many could not associate a name with, Gregg was certainly the most visible on television for over twenty years in supporting or bit roles from any vocation. She could be an angry old bitty, a revenge-filled wife, or not above committing murder. Among her notable series were 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, Wanted Dead or Alive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, The Waltons, and The Rockford Files. But she is probably best remembered for her many appearances in Dragnet, starting with the 1954 film. Jack Webb hired her many times to play any number of characters, but usually someone sarcastic or comedic. In the 1970s, she continued in Webb's creations, Adam-12 and Emergency!. 

Note: Before Gregg's radio career launched, she played the double bass in the late 1930s with the Pasadena Symphony and Pops. She was a member of the Singing Strings group heard initially on KHJ in Los Angeles and later on CBS and Mutual. 

Frisbee Frenzy

The story of the Frisbee had humble beginnings in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871. Kids would tosh the pie tins around (without pie filling, of course) but their flight could not be controlled. In 1948, Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the disc called the "Flying Saucer” that could fly further and more accurately than the tin pie plates. After going their separate ways, Morrison began marketing a plastic flying disc called the "Pluto Platter" in 1955. The name was an attempt to cash in on the public craze over UFOs. He sold the design to Wham-O in 1957. By 1959 Wham-O marketed a slightly modified version, and renamed it the "Frisbee." It was a huge success and a college campus necessity by the mid-1960s. Wham-O sold over 1 million in the first year. 

Put A Tiger In Your Tank

The Humble Oil Company can trace its origins to an oil gusher strike in 1901, initiating the Texas oil rush. Humble was founded in 1911 in Humble, Texas with a confusing array of names for different areas of the United States thanks to the break up of Standard Oil Company by The Sherman Antitrust Act. Forty-eight years later, Standard Oil of New Jersey acquired the company. Humble struggled for decades with what single brand name to use until 1972 when they chose Exxon. 

Humble first began marketing gasoline nationwide under two different names. First was Enco, a secondary retail brand in certain parts of the United States from 1960 to 1977, and a second brand, Esso, a concocted name for ExxonMobil, brought about by the merger between Exxon and Mobil (Standard Oil of New York) in 1999. The Enco brand was introduced by Humble in the summer of 1960 but the brand was not used in Ohio because of trademark infringement claims made by Sohio (Standard Oil Company of Ohio). Exxon later withdrew from Ohio entirely by the end of the decade except for Southeast Ohio and Columbus.

Humble's Esso brand had a successful advertising campaign in the 1960s and 1970s with, "Put A Tiger In Your Tank" featuring an oversized, illustrated tiger sitting upon or beside an automobile. Some fans took to placing a small, cuddly tiger tail under their gas cap filler door. For a thoroughly confusing Humble history, you might want to read this.

Note the 1959 Chevrolet and 1960 Dodge Dart above

Broadcast Pioneers: The NBC Three

Edwin Newman (1919-2010) was an American newscaster, journalist, and author, known for a 23-year career in television news with NBC beginning in 1961. Newman specialized in reporting breaking news, reporting for Republican and Democratic conventions, and as a moderator for Presidential debates. He was also known for his dry wit on and off camera.

Sander Vanocur (1928-2019) was an American television journalist who focused on U.S. national electoral politics, primarily for NBC News and ABC News. He served as White House correspondent and national political correspondent for NBC News in the 1960s and early 1970s. After his service in the United States Army, he began his journalism career as a reporter on the London staff of The Manchester Guardian and also did general reporting for The New York Times.

Garrick Utley (1939-2014) was an American television journalist and reporter, joined NBC News in 1963 as a researcher in Europe for The Huntley-Brinkley Report as a Foreign and Principal correspondent. His reporting on the Vietnam War has the distinction of being the first full-time television correspondent to cover the war on-site. The versatile Utley was also an anchor, frequently substituting for NBC's John Chancellor. 

From left to right above, Edwin Newman, Sander Vanocur, and Garrick Utley

Parallel Siblings

The Brothers Morgan
From left to right, it is Ralph Morgan (1883-1956) and Frank Morgan (1890-1949). Both were involved in radio, stage, silent, and talkies. The more drama-oriented Ralph is notable for 1937's Anthony Adverse and numerous forgotten films. He had few if any comedic roles unlike his brother Frank, who is famously noted for his hesitantly flustered, comedic delivery. None more iconic than his role as the great and powerful Oz.

Two Good Reasons
From left is Rex Reason (1928-1915), best known for low-budget films, the classic This Island Earth (1955) being his signature role. He was on the  ABC series, Roaring Twenties. His brother, Rhodes Reason (1930-1914) was an actor in television, film, and stage. The ABC network cast him on the limited-run series, Bus Stop. Both were tall, handsome leading men with distinctive baritone voices, yet not well-known to the general public. 

Summers Like No Other

Hope Summers (1902-1979) was an American character actress known for her countless television roles, none more visible than on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show. But the central Illinois native gained certain local fame well before becoming a television regular. In 1926 she became the head of the Speech Department at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. While there, Summers started giving private acting lessons and became involved as a volunteer, and soon a director, in local theatre. As a regional actress, she often performed in one-woman shows starting in the 1930s.

It was nearly a two-decade wait until Summers made her first Hollywood film in 1957, with a small credited role in Zero Hour!. She continued with uncredited roles in many other films. That drew some attention, thrusting her into character roles in nearly every popular series from the 1950s through the 1970s, from The Rifleman to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to Adam-12. Most will remember her thirty-six appearances on The Andy Griffith Show, playing Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara Edwards, during the 1960s, and making five appearances on the Griffith spinoff, Mayberry R.F.D. 

Note: For nearly twenty years, from 1961 until her death, Summers was the voice of Mrs. Butterworth in Mrs. Butterworth's syrup commercials.

Know Your Ians

These famous, multi-talented actors all have the first name of Ian. From top left to right, Ian Wolfe, of countless films and television roles, is the lone American. Next is Ian Hunter, from The Adventures of Robin Hood fame; Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond character; Ian Holm, an established star of the Royal Shakespeare Company and many films; Ian McKellen, famously ending his stupendous career in the Hobbit film franchise, and Ian Ogilvy, author and actor who played The Saint after Roger Moore. 

The Good Humor Man

In the early 1920s, Harry Burt (1875-1926), an ice cream parlor owner and candy maker from Youngstown, Ohio, created a chocolate that would solidify when contacting solid ice cream bars. He added a wooden stick to the ice cream bar, making it less messy to consume. Burt thought of an ingenious way to distribute the ice cream bars beyond the confines of his ice cream parlor. He outfitted 12 trucks with primitive freezers and bells from his son's bobsled and took to the streets. By the mid-1930s, Good Humor covered most of the country. A Good Humor man might be found pedaling around a neighborhood behind a "tricycle freezer" or pushing an ice cream cart. In those early days, Good Humor men were required to tip their hats to ladies and salute gentlemen. It took three days of training and orientation to become a "Good Humor Man." It was a fixture in American culture in the 1950s when the company operated up to 2,000 delivery trucks. 

Another national brand went one-up on the competition. Mister Softee was known for dispensing soft-serve ice cream cones or shakes from a modified delivery van. Their "music box" melodies were another defining element. But for many communities, this individual service gave way to individually wrapped frozen treats that one could get at any grocer. It was simple not as fun, though.

A detailed history of Good Humor can be found here.

Broadcast Pioneers

John Chancellor (1927-1996) was an American journalist who spent most of his career with NBC, serving as anchor of the NBC Nightly News from 1970 to 1982. He was noted for his comforting voice and on-air professionalism.

The Chicago-born Chancellor dropped out of high school and soon enlisted in the Army, serving in a public relations unit during World War II. He started his career in local television as a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.  He replaced Dave Garroway as host of NBC's Today program for just over a year but was not happy with the "soft news" of the program. Chancellor later became a correspondent on NBC's, Huntley-Brinkley Report. He garnered a role as a political correspondent for NBC News along with Frank McGee, Edwin Newman, and Sander Vanocur. From 1971 to 1976, Chancellor became the sole NBC weeknight anchor. Although he was a respected and well-spoken journalist, Chancellor's broadcast ratings were overtaken by CBS's Walter Cronkite in the 1970s. Although no longer the anchor by 1982, Chancellor remained on NBC Nightly News, providing editorial commentaries until his retirement in 1993.

Note: Chancellor has the distinction of creating the idea of using red and blue colors to represent the states won by a Republican or Democrat during presidential elections. He also suggested to his NBC engineers that they create a large electronic map of the United States with its ability to light up the appropriate state won by either candidate.

Late Career Confusion

There was somewhat of a facial morphing that happened between William Prince (1913-1996) at left, and George Macready (1899-1973) in their senior years. The American actors also had similar career paths on stage, early notable films, and frequent television roles. Prince guest-starred on Dallas in 1986 and Macready was a cast member on Peyton Place nearly twenty years before.

The Aubuchon Way

Jacques Aubuchon (1924-1991) was an American character actor who kept busy from the 1950s through the 1980s. He is primarily known for his roles in a wide variety of television series.

Though Aubuchon spent most of his career on the small screen, he was in a handful of films, including Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), The Silver Chalice (1954), and Thunder Road (1958) to name three. His roles varied from Westerns to modern-day dramas to comedies. His first television appearance was on the comedy Mr. Peepers (1953). He could play an informant, an outlaw, or a criminal. He somewhat specialized in untrustworthy individuals, even in comedies. His mastery of dialects made him a popular casting choice. Aubuchon perhaps is best known for his seven appearances on the wacky comedy McHale's Navy (1962-64) as the hilarious Chief Urulu.

Above, left is Jacques Aubuchon with actor J.D. Cannon 

Yours Truly, Robert Bainter Bailey

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was one of the longest-running drama series on radio. Running from 1948 to 1962, it is regarded as one of the greatest in radio history. Dick Powell starred in the 1948 audition show but left the role for other projects, including his famous "Richard Diamond" radio series. The series went through several leads, among the more notable were Edmond O'Brien (1950-52) and John Lund (1952-54). Radio regular, Gerald Mohr, had the lead for the 1955 audition show, but Bob Bailey (above) settled into the title role for nearly 500 episodes, and his tenure is considered the best of the series. 

Bob Bailey (1913-1983) was exceptionally good, making Dollar more sensitive and thoughtful in addition to capturing realism with his voice inflections. Imperative without any visuals. He made the character his own and it separated him from the melodramatic radio detective, like the aforementioned Gerald Mohr. Tough and streetwise but not overly cynical, he was a 4-year Marine veteran, a police officer for a decade then changing careers to insurance investigation for the Universal Adjustment Bureau, Hartford, Connecticut. Dollar usually stuck to business, but the occasional romance would arise when getting too emotionally involved in the case. Episodes often included his girlfriend Betty Lewis, played suberbly by the sultry voice of the versatile Virginia Gregg. 

During the Bailey years, the announcer opened each episode with, "The man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar." Each episode began with a phone call from an insurance executive asking him to work on an unusual claim. Upon hearing the assignment, Dollar could occasionally get a little irate with his superior. It might require him to journey across the US or sometimes overseas. Each case’s title was referred to as a "matter" as in, "The Forbes Matter." The show featured a stock company of supporting actors, including Harry Bartell, Vic Perrin, Mary Jane Croft, Lawrence Dobkin, Stacy Harris, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Betty Lou Gerson, Barney Phillips, and others. 

Fishing was Dollar’s first recreational choice. On numerous episodes a client might use fishing as bait, convincing him to take on a job because of the excellent nearby fishing locations. He had a streak of impatience, and would occasionally not fully listen to a witness and rush off on a tangent before realizing his mistake. As the story progressed, Dollar would mention each expense item, and provide the audience with his remarks about the current case when filling out his expense account. There were no incidental expenses too small for Dollar to itemize, such as buying a 10-cent bottle of Aspirin with a sardonic comment, “I needed them." The series title is Dollar's salutation at the end of his written report, closing the case and episode.

Note: In 1960, CBS Radio shut down production on the west coast and moved its radio drama unit to New York. Bob Bailey, unwilling to relocate, gave up the role. The last Johnny Dollar, Mandel Kramer, remains a close second in popularity to Bailey. 

Ohio to Colorado

Beginning in 1926, the US Highway 36 route began expanding into western Ohio from Indianapolis, Indiana. At the same time, the route was expanding westward through Kansas and eventually terminating in Colorado by the late 1930s. Today's eastern terminus was extended in the mid-1970s to Uhrichsville, Ohio with a western terminus at Estes Park, Colorado. After rerouting and adapting to the Interstate highway system over the decades, the approximate distance today is slightly more than 1,400 miles. Underway by at least 1912, the transcontinental Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway laid the groundwork for approximately the middle-third of US 36. The photo above was taken in Urbana, Ohio.

An excellent detailed history at US 36

Broadcast Pioneers

Frank McGee (1921-1974) was an American television journalist, best known for his work with NBC News beginning in the late 1950s. McGee had a great talent for descriptive language, often giving viewers a vivid word picture of the day's events. 

McGee began his broadcast career with Shawnee radio station KGFF, working as an advertising salesman, commercial copywriter, music librarian, disc jockey, and news editor. He joined WKY-TV in Oklahoma City in 1950 and is remembered by a generation of Oklahomans as Mack Rogers, the name he used as the local newsman. McGee moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 to head the WSFA-TV news operations. This led to a post on NBC’s Washington, D.C. news staff in 1957. NBC transferred McGee to New York where he was an anchor on major assignments and such NBC programs as World Wide 60, Today, and the Nightly News show. In 1960, he moderated the second debate between presidential candidates John Kennedy and Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C. 

During the middle to late 1960s, The Frank McGee Report was a well-known program broadcast early Saturday and Sunday evenings. It was set up to be a traditional newscast and it would include topics and McGee's commentary. After Chet Huntley's retirement in 1970 ended the Huntley-Brinkley Report, McGee became one of three anchors on the newly renamed NBC Nightly News, along with John Chancellor and David Brinkley. McGee moved to The Today Show in 1971, replacing Hugh Downs. He attempted to transition Today into a more serious news presentation, not an entertainment show. McGee was once acclaimed for his "exemplary leadership in his profession in dealing candidly and constructively with the cutting edge of change and controversy."

Milk In A Paper Box

A toy factory owner in Toledo, Ohio, John Van Wormer (1856-1942), patented the folded gable-top paper milk carton, referred to as a “paper bottle,” in 1915. His cartons were delivered to dairies in flattened form. The dairy would fold, fill and seal the cartons. Because the cartons could be thrown away instead of reused, Wormer’s product became known as “Pure-Pak.”

Waxed gable-top paperboard carton structures were designed to be erected in wet environments of dairies during the 1920s. Nearly ten years later, Van Wormer created a machine to form, fill, and seal (FFS) the Pure-Pak containers. The American Paper Company later acquired the patent and worked to perfect the machines building the first six between 1929 and 1934. But it took nearly twenty years for the public and businesses to accept the square paper milk bottle. Glass was still the container of choice for milk deliverymen until the 1950s and self-service markets. The gable-top cartons were easy to handle and did not break. During this decade, a Norwegian engineer, Christian August Johansen, acquired the license for Pure-Pak cartons and filling, and the company Elopak (European Licence of Pure-Pak) was born. Over the years, Elopak has updated its carton design including plastic closures on the top to improve usability.

Note: In the US at least, milk today comes in plastic containers, while half-gallons of juice generally use a paper box with a plastic pour spout.

You Be The Judge, Mr. Quinn

Bill Quinn (1912-1994) was an American film and prolific television actor. He appeared in more than 150 roles over seven decades, starting in the 1920s in silent films. He was the father-in-law of comedy legend, Bob Newhart.

The versatile Quinn acquitted himself in every role, whether uncredited or supporting in dramas or comedies. Viewers could often find him in court as a judge, in a police uniform, or in other service-related occupations. It is his television appearances that brought him the most attention. By far it was his thirty-eight appearances as a cast member on The Rifleman as Frank Feeney and eighty-eight appearances on Archie Bunker's Place as a blind patron. Though his single appearances are too numerous to chronicle here, his other multiple guest star roles in a series include, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Perry Mason, Hawaiian Eye, McHale's Navy, Bonanza, Ironside, as the father of Mary Richards for The Mary Tyle Moore sitcom and four various roles on The Rockford Files. True to form, Quinn played Judge Tomlinson on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and as Judge Tesman on Arrest and Trial. 

Hand Me That Wrench

For the 1946 Convair XB-36 prototype, the two main landing gear tires were the largest aircraft tires Goodyear ever made, weighing 1,320 pounds each. The tricycle landing gear setup was used for all larger aircraft at the time, but the immense weight of the largest bomber ever built restricted its landing to just three runways nationwide. That changed with the second pre-production bomber, the YB-36, with the invention of a 4-wheel bogey design with smaller tires, distributing the weight evenly, allowing the plane to land on any major runway. With a few exceptions, this became the new standard for all future large aircraft. Constant upgrades throughout its career were made to keep pace with the speed of the era's aeronautical advancements. The most visible change was the adoption of a new, raised canopy for better pilot visibility, first used on the YB-36. 

Note: The B-36 was the United States Air Force's first true intercontinental bomber, entering Air Force inventory in 1948 and remaining active through 1958. The final flight of the bomber was in the Spring of 1959, delivered to the United States Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio for permanent display. Three other B-36s remain in American museums.