Category Archives: television history

From Talking Movies to Looney Tunes – Celebrating 100 Years of Warner Brothers

Posted on April 3, 2023 by ahcadmin

April 4, 2023, marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Warner Brothers Pictures. Here at the American Heritage Center, we have the papers of some of the creative personalities behind the films for which Warner Brothers is revered. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, cartoons, Hollywood history, motion picture history, music, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unsung Music Man Walter Scharf

Posted on February 20, 2023 by ahcadmin

Walter Scharf is one of the great, unsung composers & arrangers in film history. Anyone who finds themselves humming Pure Imagination from the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) is likely to recall, along with the melody itself, … Continue reading →

Posted in Composers, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thanksgiving with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson

Posted on November 21, 2022 by ahcadmin

Thanksgiving is one of the quintessentially American holidays, so it is fitting that the all-American radio and television show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet would include scenes related to the holiday. The Ozzie and Harriet Nelson papers at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Hollywood history, radio history, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Holy Spectacle, Batman! Campy Fun with the 1960s Batman Television Series

Posted on September 19, 2022 by ahcadmin

As September 19 would have been Adam West’s 94th birthday, let’s look back on one of his best-known roles, Batman. The campy, smash hit of the 60s was loathed by some and loved by many more. But the people who … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Comic book history, Superheroes, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Star Trek: Creating the Cultural Phenomenon

Posted on September 5, 2022 by ahcadmin

The 1960’s television show Star Trek spawned a long lived and beloved cultural phenomenon. Here at the American Heritage Center, we are fortunate to have photographs, scripts, and music scores from some of the original seventy-nine Star Trek episodes that … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, popular culture, science fiction, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

American Heritage Center Exhibit Celebrates Buddy Ebsen, 1908-2003

Posted on August 29, 2022 by ahcadmin

Do you remember the TV comedy series The Beverly Hillbillies? How about the mystery series Barnaby Jones? More recently the series King of the Hill? No doubt you’ve seen the classic films The Wizard of Oz or Breakfast at Tiffany’s. … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, exhibits, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

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, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized, Western history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jack Benny: Accidental Radio Extraordinaire

Posted on March 28, 2022 by ahcadmin

On March 29th, 1932, Ed Sullivan invited Jack Benny to his radio program, launching a prolific radio and entertainment career. Benny went from a small-time vaudeville performer to a radio host, USO performer, movie man and more. Today, we honor … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, radio history, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bill Walker: Advocate for Black Actors

Posted on January 31, 2022 by ahcadmin

William Franklin “Bill” Walker was born in Pendleton, Indiana, in 1896. The grandson of slaves who had escaped to the North on the Underground Railroad, he was the first Black graduate of Pendleton High School. A well-rounded student, he lettered … Continue reading →

Posted in African American history, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kato and U.S.- Asian Relations

Posted on October 18, 2021 by ahcadmin

This is Kato, as played by Chinese American actor and martial arts expert Bruce Lee in the 1966-67 television series, The Green Hornet. The series featured the adventures of Britt Reid—rich newspaper publisher by the day, masked crime-fighter by night—assisted … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian American history, Hollywood history, International relations, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment