Tag Archives: film history

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”: The Enduring Appeal of a Holiday Hit

Posted on December 22, 2025 by ahcadmin

As we enter the holiday season, it’s nearly impossible to escape the sounds of holiday standards warbling through PA systems and speakers wherever you go. Holiday music is an incredibly lucrative industry with a wide-ranging and enduring appeal, and many … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections Highlights, Holidays, Music History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carroll Baker – More Than a Sex Symbol of the Silver Screen

Posted on December 8, 2025 by ahcadmin

With her large blue eyes and lithe figure, Carroll Baker was a Hollywood sensation. Papers of the day described her as “a little like Marilyn Monroe, a little like Jean Harlow, and altogether a platinum blonde.” She earned millions from … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography and profiles, Collections Highlights, Film History, Hollywood history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

The Giant Gila Monster

Posted on October 21, 2019 by ahcadmin

Last Halloween, we brought you a blog post on The Killer Shrews, a low-budget horror movie shot in Dallas, Texas, and released in 1959.  What is the film’s connection to the American Heritage Center?  We hold the papers of Forrest … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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

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

Terror in the Theater – Fifties Fears

Posted on November 13, 2017 by ahcadmin

Science fiction films of the 1950s commonly expressed several themes: fear of technology leading to unintended consequences; invasion of the planet by aliens; and the effects of atomic radiation. Because science fiction movies were not constrained by reality, more imaginative … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold War, Fantasy, Horror, motion picture history, Politics, Pop Culture, popular culture, science fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Remembering Barbara Stanwyck – A Life in Film and Scrapbooks

Posted on July 17, 2017 by

“She wanted to be a dancer or a missionary, but eventually she decided to become an actress… She has intelligence, sincerity, and much charm. She is devoted to her husband and her home interests, and loves little children. Only recently … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Biography and profiles, Hollywood history, Interns' projects, motion picture history | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hopalong Cassidy: Cowboy Hero and Franchise Empire

Posted on April 8, 2013 by ahcadmin

One the most popular collections at the American Heritage Center is the papers of William Boyd, who played cowboy Hopalong Cassidy for many years on radio, television, and film. Hopalong Cassidy was originally created by author Clarence E. Mulford in … Continue reading →

Posted in Comic book history, motion picture history, newly processed collections, popular culture, television history | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments