Cleaning Up The Lagoon, 1964

In early 1964, the Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland turned 5; apparently it was time to clean out the lagoon and give things a tuneup. This February 1964 image gives us three stand-alone detail shots to enjoy, with the first one being the Skyway Buckets with the Tomorrowland Station in the background.



Here we see three different modes of Disneyland transportation: the Red Monorail, the Autopia, and the Disneyland Railroad. All three are still in operation today. Wow!



The last view shows the subs themselves in dry dock with the lagoon completely drained.



This other image, most likely taken from the Skyway too, gives a different vantage point of the drained lagoon.



A detailed view of the equipment for all of you vintage mechanical geeks out there!



See more vintage Disneyland Submarine Voyage photos at my main website.

Mildred on Monday

In the 1945 film noir classic “Mildred Pierce,” the city of Glendale plays a key (but uncredited role) for the movie's scenic backdrop. Her modest home (where she bakes the pies that lead to her fortune and downfall) is on “Corvallis Street”; in reality the home is on Jackson Street.



And looks very much the same! Except for the replaced windows.



Daughters Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe) and Veda (Ann Blyth) walk home from school down “Corvallis”:



Walking down this quaint street makes it easy to time travel to the 1940s; other than the taller trees! Note how large that Palm in Mildred's front yard has gotten!



Here's the Glendale Post Office; most likely where Mildred mailed her letters:



An interior view:



The 1925 Alex Movie Theatre in Glendale; I wonder what locals thought when the movie played here? Hey, that's my house!



The terrazzo in front:



The theatre seemed to be under renovations or perhaps just some early morning repairs; the court is very reminiscent of the Egyptian in Hollywood:



See more Glendale photos at my main website.

Gilda gets dressed

A behind-the-scenes shot of costume designer Jean Louis making sure his soon-to-be-famous black sheath looked perfect on Rita Hayworth. Director Charles Vidor stands in the background watching the proceedings. Hayworth's “Put the Blame on Mame” striptease number is still a classic.

See more Classic Movie photos at my main website.

Chicken of the Sea Christening

If you’ve been on my website, you've probably seen this shot from the christening of the new and improved Chicken of the Sea Restaurant at Disneyland which included the Skull Rock Lagoon. Recently I was contacted by somebody who pointed out that I had misidentified the gentlemen surrounding Walt, who are Gilbert Van Camp Jr. and Gilbert Van Camp Sr.

Why would I listen to some know-it-all who contacts me out of the blue? Because he was there that day! John Copeland is the lucky little boy, standing with his father Glenn Copeland. Note the Lucky Strike cigarettes in Walt's hands.



The other correction John gave me was that the "character" in this shot often referred to as Peg Leg Pete was actually known as Captain Guy. “He had lost his leg during the Korean War. One of the duties of the crew who worked the restaurant was to keep the decks mopped so that anything that was spilled on them would not cause Captain Guy to slip and fall. Unfortunately that happened more than Guy liked. He loved being around the kids.”



Many thanks to John Copeland for contacting me and sharing this way cool photo!

See more vintage Disneyland Chicken of the Sea photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley and Guy Reunion

The 1947 RKO film “Honeymoon” is romantic comedy starring Shirley Temple and Guy Madison. There was very little that the two attractive stars could do with the lame plot created by the writers and it failed miserably at the Box Office, losing $675,000. That's a lot of moola!



Over forty years later, Shirley and Guy were reunited for the photographers in these November 1988 shots:



Still looking good, but not a lot of chemistry here; and why should there be? Shirley had already met her Prince Charming, Charles Black.



The occasion was Shirley’s book tour for her autobiography, “Child Star.”



Hopefully Part Two of her book will be released in the very near future!

See more Shirley Temple Black photos at my main website.

Martin Evolution on Monday

Are you humming “You must have been a been a beautiful baby?” How could you not with this adorable photo of a very young Steve Martin. Pre-banjo; pre-wild-and-crazy-guy; pre-Jerk...this is about as young as it gets. Here's how the photo looked before I did a little restoration work:



Photo #2 from the vaults of Martin shows an eight-year-old Steve. Already you can see the wit developing behind the smiling eyes.



This undated shot shows Steve hard at work selling Disneyland Guidebooks at the entrance to Disneyland.



Although the badly faded shot (which I was unable to restore any color to) is undated, it does give a few clues. For sale at the Disneyland Newsstand are two different Zorro Dell Books with Guy Williams on the cover. The “Zorro” series ran from October 1957 to July 1959. This Dell comic is dated Dec.-Feb. 1959:



The other cover visible on the stand is dated March-May 1960, after the series had already ended.



Thanks to David from Gorillas Don't Blog, I can now show the two other Dell Comic Covers both Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie on the newsstand; the first is from March 1960:



And this one is from October 1960, which would make me guess that this shot is from Fall 1960.



See more Steve Martin photos at my main website.

Disneyland Trip, 1958

I was recently contacted by Traecy, who went overboard on the generosity scale by sharing these treasured images from 1958 which show her Dad's first visit to Disneyland at age 10 and a half. The family had just moved to Santa Barbara from New Jersey and they took his New Jersey Grandma to Disneyland. As Tracey tells it, “He remembered being enraptured and it felt like such a magical experience. The music was playing even in the parking lot, and he felt like he was in another world. He remembered being tall enough to ride the rides (he is the oldest boy in the photos).”

The best part is that it appears that the numbers of the photos correspond with the day's progression, as their journey to the attractions makes total sense. Grab that popcorn and let's travel back to 1958!



Interestingly enough, the Space Couple in Traecy's family shot is the same couple in one from my collection dated July 1958. It must have been their summer to greet guests!





The Autopia!



I figured a detailed view of the gas pumps was in order:



The train parked at the Tomorrowland Depot:



Don't worry, the family hasn't left Tomorrowland. They're just enjoying the Astrojets:



The real gem of this collection is this closeup view of the family in the Viewliner:



Time to sloooooooow things down a bit with the Motor Boat Cruise:





Two from Alice in Wonderland:





And a beauty showing the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship:



You can just about make out the prices on the sign in this detailed view. It would seem that Paco the Parrot bore the brunt of being the "Free Exhibit."



The motion of the swirling teacups caught mid-spin; they are obviously having a blast!



A shot taken from the Mark Twain, or perhaps the newly christened Columbia?



The Stagecoach through Frontierland:



The Pack Mules, back when Disney allowed "live" animals to add a bit of unexpected excitement to the Park.



This makes me ache. To be able to go inside Fort Wilderness again...



The last two show the childhood joy of whizzing about on the Midget Autopia:





Words alone cannot express the gratitude of Traecy for reaching out and sharing these INCREDIBLE family photos!

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.