Category Archives: television history

When Lions Fly

Posted on April 13, 2020 by ahcadmin

It’s a familiar sight – a roaring lion’s head in a golden frame. We see this iconic image at the beginning of our favorite films, TV shows, and cartoons, but the history behind this logo is little known. MGM’s Leo … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal actors, aviation, aviation history, Hollywood history, motion picture history, Student projects, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bruce Lee Steals the Show in “The Green Hornet”

Posted on March 16, 2020 by ahcadmin

The road to Bruce Lee’s screen stardom began in Oakland, California, where his Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute began attracting the attention of the martial arts world. His appearance in the first-ever Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1964 wowed … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian American history, Comic book history, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, popular culture, television history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Putting Buddy Ebsen on the Camera Stand

Posted on February 17, 2020 by ahcadmin

The AHC is primarily a research institution, meaning that a major focus of our collecting process is making collection material accessible to our patrons by processing and digitizing it. Digitization of archival material is important to making our collections searchable … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital collections, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, newly cataloged collections, newly digitized collections, newly processed collections, television history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Fandom to Fanfiction to Nonfiction: Researching the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary

Posted on October 7, 2019 by ahcadmin

In 2008, when I rediscovered Alias Smith and Jones (ASJ), a 1970s TV show I watched as a kid, I had no idea that several years later I’d be writing a book about the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary.  Revisiting ASJ on … Continue reading →

Posted in grants, Laramie, Local history, motion picture history, Research grants, television history, Wyoming, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Lost Episode of Golden Age of Television Dramatic Series “Star Tonight” Found and Identified

Posted on January 12, 2019 by ahcadmin

From 1955-56 on ABC, a live TV series titled Star Tonight offered the chance for young up-and-coming New York actors to star in a show opposite established players. The known stars included: Buster Crabbe, Neva Patterson, Theodore Bikel, and June … Continue reading →

Posted in announcements, Archival Film, Digital collections, Edmund C. Rice papers, found in the archive, Motion picture actors and actresses, popular culture, Student projects, television history, 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

Spotlighting Communism & Hollywood in the papers of Sesame Street’s Mr. Hooper

Posted on April 18, 2018 by ahcadmin

One of the most recognizable figures of the first thirteen years (1969-1982) of PBS’s Sesame Street was Mr. Hooper the grocer, played by veteran actor Will Lee. He was one of the four original human characters on the show. Before … Continue reading →

Posted in Blacklisting, Cold War, Communism, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Political history, Politics, popular culture, Social justice, television history, Uncategorized, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Orphan to Icon: The Remarkable Journey of Barbara Stanwyck

Posted on March 2, 2018 by ahcadmin

The astounding and legendary life and career of Barbara Stanwyck began in Brooklyn, New York. The youngest of 5 children born to common laborers, Stanwyck was originally known as ‘Ruby Stevens.’ She became orphaned by the age of 4. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography and profiles, Film History, Hollywood history, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, popular culture, television history, Women in Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carl Stalling, Music Animator

Posted on January 17, 2018 by ahcadmin

A chance meeting in the early 1920s at a Missouri movie theater led to some of the most beloved cartoons ever created. Carl Stalling was improvising on the organ while accompanying a silent film. A young Walt Disney was in … Continue reading →

Posted in cartoons, Composers, Film Music, motion picture history, music, Pop Culture, popular culture, television history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Documenting Women’s Roles in Hollywood

Posted on September 25, 2017 by ahcadmin

Film and television entertains us all and are significant to American culture.  Whether through comedy, drama, or music, perspectives of our culture can be studied by observing what entertained us in the past.  The American Heritage Center’s vast entertainment collections … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment history, Film History, television history, Uncategorized, Women in History, Women in Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment