#popculture55: EC Comics’ “Mad” Becomes a Magazine

The sophisticated humor comic from the most diverse comics publisher of the 50s took off when they catered to the magazine industry.

by Rich Watson 

I didn’t buy Mad Magazine as often as I did regular comic books, but when I read it, I thought it was hilarious, of course. The fold-in pictures on the back cover (a second image made from the first by folding it in on itself) struck me as clever and inventive and I always wondered how they did it.

Mad was created during a time when comics were under great public scrutiny. They adopted a magazine format in 1955.

They never looked back.

#popculture55: Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog Make Their TV Debut With “Sam and Friends”

Those most sensational, inspirational, dedicational, Muppet-ational TV stars, and their creator, had humble beginnings on this local show.

by Rich Watson 

I have seen one description of the Muppets as “socks with attitude.” Oversimplified, perhaps, but I doubt that’s far off the mark. The creations of puppeteer Jim Henson have endured because of their distinctive personalities, their charm, and their heart, beginning with the flagship character, Kermit the Frog.

Long before The Muppet Show or any of their successive TV shows, the Muppets debuted on the small screen with a 1955 show called Sam and Friends. 

Henson’s career, and Kermit’s, launched from there.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ties In With the Center’s Development

A holiday tradition born out of the despair of the Great Depression evolved into New York’s showcase Christmas event for one of its landmark destinations.

by Rich Watson 

For close to a century, the holiday season in New York has been marked by the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, in midtown Manhattan. Hundreds flock to the televised ceremony, marked by live performances.

The development of the event coincides with that of the Center itself, started during the heart of the Great Depression.