Category Archives: Pop Culture

Happy Birthday Hoppy!

Posted on June 5, 2022 by ahcadmin

William Lawrence Boyd, known throughout the world as “Hopalong Cassidy,” was born June 5, 1895 in Hendrysburg, Ohio, to Charles William Boyd, and his wife, the former Lida Wilkens (aka Lyda). Following his father’s death, Boyd moved to California to … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal actors, Biography and profiles, Film History, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, Pop Culture, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized, Western Films, Western history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Comic Books: A Continuing Work in Progress

Posted on September 20, 2021 by ahcadmin

Although comic books depict the exploits of characters who possess “powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary mortals” the medium itself stems from very humble beginnings.  Comics as a print medium have existed in the United States since the … Continue reading →

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Time Warp: The Back to the Future Film Trilogy

Posted on September 6, 2021 by ahcadmin

Time travel behind the wheel of a nuclear-powered DeLorean is the premise of the 1985 hit movie Back to the Future. The film follows the comedic adventures of Marty McFly, a high school student who is accidentally transported back thirty … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, science fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Superman’s Pal – Mort Weisinger

Posted on November 30, 2020 by ahcadmin

After World War II, superhero comics, which had been a welcome diversion for American servicemen, stalwart champions of War Bonds, and other support for the home front during the conflict, largely lost their audience and were gradually replaced by comics … Continue reading →

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William Beaudine, Bela Lugosi, and Horror Films Out West

Posted on October 26, 2020 by ahcadmin

For Halloween 2018 and 2019, we brought you blog posts on The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster, two low-budget horror movies financed by Texas radio pioneer Gordon McLendon. This year, we shine a spotlight on the career of … Continue reading →

Posted in Film History, Holidays, Hollywood history, Horror, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, Uncategorized, Western Films | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Bloch: From Pulp to Psycho

Posted on June 15, 2020 by ahcadmin

Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho is based on a novel by Robert Bloch. It is the story of Norman Bates, a lonely motel caretaker who is seething with psychotic rage due to his mother’s domination. Robert Bloch was an author of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptations, Authors and literature, found in the archive, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, science fiction, Screenwriting, Uncategorized, writers and poets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mort Weisinger: Superman’s Superman

Posted on May 20, 2019 by ahcadmin

Among the American Heritage Center’s comic book industry collections are evidence of the way in which industry insiders attempted to legitimize their business following the comic book moral panic of the 1950s. Fredric Wertham’s 1954 monograph, Seduction of the Innocent … Continue reading →

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Attack of the Killer…Shrews?

Posted on October 28, 2018 by ahcadmin

With it being the Halloween season, it seems appropriate to take note of a gruesome creature of movie land that may have haunted our dreams, or is kitschy enough to have  made us roll our eyes in disbelief. You’ve heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, events, Fantasy, Holidays, Horror, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, science fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Friendship Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick and Gerald Fried

Posted on June 19, 2018 by ahcadmin

Gerald Fried, a Julliard trained composer for television and film, began performing music in his Bronx neighborhood during the 1940s. There he met Stanley Kubrick, who would go on to become a celebrated film director, screenwriter, and producer. Kubrick and … Continue reading →

Posted in Composers, found in the archive, motion picture history, music, Pop Culture, popular culture, science fiction, Stanley Kubrick, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hoppy’s Saddle is not Hoppy’s Saddle – The Mystery Solved

Posted on June 3, 2018 by ahcadmin

In 1982, Grace Bradley Boyd donated to the American Heritage Center a large cache of documents, photographs and memorabilia that belonged to her late husband William L. Boyd, or “Hopalong Cassidy” as he was better known. “Hoppy” was well-known to … Continue reading →

Posted in announcements, Collection donor, Current events, found in the archive, Hopalong Cassidy, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, Student projects, television history, Uncategorized, Western history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment