Don't Mess With Jamie Lynn Spears

If you are in the Pita Pit in Hammond, Louisiana and you want to start a fight you had better make sure Jamie Lynn Spears (Briteny's little sister) is not there. She will mess you up it you are startin' trouble. Ms Spears just recently pulled a knife on some brawling guys who had knocked over her friend during their fight. Jamie Lynn wasn't having it and brandished the knife until they stopped. That's Swamp Justice! 

David Bowie Is

“David Bowie Is” is a documentary about a show that was created by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the title of a documentary about the show.  The film was screen recently in Hollywood at the Arc Light Cinema. I got a call from Ginger Coyote asking me to go in her stead as she was out of town performing with her band The White Trash Debutantes.  I attended the screening with Liberty Mitchell-Bradford.  There was a bit of a problem when we arrived as the promoter was supposed to arrange tickets for us but the management of the Arc Light had no idea who we were. Luckily the manager was very nice and accommodating and Liberty and I were given some nice seats.

The Film is about a show put on at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The show itself looks like it is very interesting and filled with memorabilia. It appears David Bowie is a pack rat and has never thrown anything away. There were photos and art work from his childhood and early career when he was still Davy Jones.  The Victoria and Albert show looks like it must have been a very fun exhibit to see and is touring the world to different museums.

As a documentary I found the film to be rather slow paced and lacking in many ways. There were many long and frankly dull sections in the film with art historians and music historians addressing and audience. These sections really could have been edited down.  There was one in particular where a costume designer discussed David Bowie’s fashion and impact on fashion which could have been interesting if the talking head had an understandable accent or had been subtitled. I frankly couldn't understand a word he said other then David and Bowie.

The film is really about the show so if you watch it expecting any incite on the real David Bowie or find out anything new you will be disappointed, His wives and children are never mentioned and his only influence mentioned is Little Richard and that was an aside.  I really wanted more. The archival footage was fun to watch and of course hearing his voice and music was enjoyable. The only thing I really did not care for was the ending of the film with footage of Bowie performing the song “Heros” at a concert for the first responders of 9-11. I found it to be rather tasteless and wondered who could think this was a good idea. It would be a fine ending to a First responders documentary but hardly fitting for a documentary on David Bowie and the show “David Bowie Is”.

Don't Hate Him, He's Just an Actor

Sometimes actors do their job so well the audience forgets that they are acting. The actor has actually become the character in the audience's mind. This was the case for an American character actor named David Dukes. Dukes was an accomplished film television and Broadway actor when he was cast in a role that for a time changed his life. Dukes was cast in a two part episode of "All in the Family" that aired on October 16, 1977. The role he played was that of a character called Lambert who masquerades as a cop in search of a neighborhood rapist. He appears the the episode titled "Edith's 50th Birthday" as the cop he gains access to the Bunker home where Edith is home alone awaiting to go to her surprise birthday party next door. It turns out that Lambert is not a cop but the rapist and attempts to rape the beloved character of Edith played by Jean Stapleton. 

In the course of the episode Duke's character threatens Edith with a gun and ties her hands with a necktie. He makes several attempts to rape Edith only to be foiled and finally getting hit with a burning birthday cake and pushed from the house.
The episode was both funny and moving at the same time. It was the first time on American television let alone on a sitcom where an attempted rape is shown. The character of Edith was so loved by the American viewing public that audiences truly believed in her and thus believed that Dukes really did attempt to assault Edith. Dukes received hate mail and death threats because of the episode and the audiences belief that it was Dukes not his character that attempted to rape Edith Bunker. 

Nibbles Woodaway

When driving along Rte 95 through the city of Providence, Rhode Island one comes across one of Providence's favorite landmarks. It is a giant termite on the roof of a building owned by New England Pest Control. The Big Blue Bug aka Nibbles Woodaway has been perched on the roof staring at passers by on the freeway since 1980. The bug is 928 times the size of a real termite and was originally painted purple, the color of termites when looked at under a microscope. Time and weather has faded the bug to a blue color that caused the local news traffic guy to announce that traffic was heavy by the big blue bug. In 1990 the company had a contest to name the bug and Geraldine Perry of Tiverton, RI came up with the winning name Nibbles Woodaway. Nibbles has been featured in the movie "Dumb and Dumber" and on television on "The Family Guy". If you are a fan of giant insects Nibbles is a must see!

Now That Was a Scary Villain

Children's stories are filled with scary characters, awful villains that terrify. One of the scariest of all is The Child Catcher from the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". The character of the Child Catcher is an evil man employed by an equally evil Baron and Baroness Bomburst in thier kingdom of Vulgaria. The character does not appear in the book by Ian Fleming but was created for the movie by Roald Dahl. 
Creating the character on screen was the Australian dancer Robert Helpmann. Helpmann was a very well respected dancer and choreographer. When the movie was made into a stage musical in London the charater of the Child Catcher was created by Richard O'Brien who is most famous for his film portrayal of Riff Raff.

Miss Bunny

Barbara Stuart had a great career appearing in dozens of films, TV dramas and sitcoms. Stuart will most likely be best remembered for her role of the 1960's sitcom Gomer Pyle USMC. She was Miss Bunny Sargent Vince Carter's long time girl friend Bunny or as Gomer always called her Miss Bunny. 
Stuart started her career in New York where she studied with Stella Adler and working as a model. She got her first TV job in 1955 and continued working on Westerns and courtroom dramas as well as sitcom roles. She was fairly busy character actress when the role of Bunny came up. She played the role for the entire run of the series. After the cancellation on Gomer Pyle USMC Stuart worked on other comedies and dramas playing she was on almost every dram and sitcom in the 1970's. Stuart also played McLean Stevenson's wife on his short live sitcom. Stuart worked until the 2000's until her death in 2011. She was married for a time to comic actor Dick Gautier.

Want to Own Dracula's Castle?

Did you ever want to live in a castle? Did you ever want to live in a castle with an evil reputation? Well there is one on the market available to anyone with 80 million dollars. The castle in Bran Castle in Romania and it is the castle that Bram Stoker set his Gothic novel "Dracula" in. In reality it is just a plan old Romanian Castle set in the hills or Transylvania owned by an Archduke. 
It was built in 1377 on the top of Mount Izvorul Calimanului in what is now Romania. It was once the favorite castle of Queen Marie of Romania and was used as a hospital during World War II.

When the communists took over the family who stilled owned it was turned out. Once the communists were out of power the was a small legal struggle over the retrocession  of the property but in the end it was decided that it belonged to Archduke Dominic. Archduke Dominic has been running it as a museum displaying old family furniture. He now wants to sell the place. He would like to sell it to some one who is into the history of the castle and wants to keep it intact.

So if you love castles and have the dough give the Archduke a call.

Carla Laemmle dies at 104

One of the last surviving actors from the silent movie era Carla Laemmle has died in Los Angeles at the age of 104. Ms Laemmle was the niece of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle. Her uncle convinced his brother and family to move to Los Angeles in 1921. They settled into a home near the studio in what is now Universal City. Ms Laemmle went into the family business working as a dancer and an actress. She was cast in the Silent Classic "Phantom of the Opera" as well as "Dracula" where she had the first spoken line of the now classic Universal horror movie. She worked steadily through out the 1930's. She then made her living as a night club dancer. She did make a return to the screen in 2010 in the film "Pool Party" and is in a film slted to come out later this year.

Haven Brothers a Providence Institution

Picture it; Last call has come and gone and you are drunk in Providence, Rhode Island. The only thing you can think of is food. Where do you go? Well you head over to the central square of the city Kennedy Plaza and there parked in front of the city hall is a diner on wheels. Haven Brothers diner has been pulling up in front of Providence City Hall since 1888. Quick do the math. It's 128 years. 
This is not elegant dining by anyone's standards. It is although fun and a Providence staple. Almost anyone you talk to in Providence (in all of Rhode Island for that matter) has a Haven Brothers story. Celebrities and street people sit side by side in the cramped aluminum clad interior chowing down on burgers or baked beans with hot dogs maybe a cup of coffee. Haven brothers is only open at night when it is pulled into the plaza and plugged into its own special electrical outlet attached to a pole near the grand stair case to City Hall. There is often a line especially around last call at the nearby bars and nightclubs. 

Haven Brothers is one of the original diners created in Rhode Island and the oldest one in the country.Originally the cart was pulled into the plaza by horses. The horses were long ago replaced by a truck that pulls the diner to work now and home to its parking lot to rest during the day. The current diner is the third version the new diner is a 1949 Fred W. Morse dining car. The original was bought by widow Anne Philomena Haven with the insurance money she received upon her husband's death. The brothers of Haven were her two sons. Oddly it was her daughter and her husband that took over the diner keeping it in the family until 1953. Ownership has changed a few times over the years but the experience is still the same. 
Haven Brothers has had its time in the lime light too. Once it was brought to New York to be on the Today Show when RI native Meredith Vieira and RI alum Matt Lauer requested their favorite diner for a segment. There is also a documentary film about the joint as well as a segment on "Man vs. Food Nation" on the "Travel Channel".The rules are the same as they have always been. Order you food, eat and don't be a pain in the ass.

It's Donut Day

The first Friday in June is Donut Day! Will you be celebrating? Donut Day started June 7, 1938 by the Salvation Army. Get up early and enjoy a donut or two. 

Exene Cervenka may have Jumped the Shark

1980's Los Angeles punk rock icon Exene Cervenka front woman of the band X may just have lost her mind. Cervenka is claiming that the Santa Barbara shooting this May was a hoax as well as the Newtown, CT school shooting. She claims that these have all been elaborate hoaxes perpetrated by anti-gun activists. She also has her doubts about the September 11th attacks. Cervenka wh has move to Texas as she feels more at home there with her "liberal" views may have become the punk rock Victoria Jackson. Exene's Twitter messages go on and on and on with her new "liberal" views. 
Maybe Exene might want to relax and quiet down or she may soon start to see her record sales go down. 

Marsha P Johnson

There are figures in history that are starting to be forgotten. Marsha P Johnson is one of those figures and this is a shame. If you don't know Marsha's name you have heard about one of her most historic fights. She was at Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 when the infamous riots began. There are those (sometimes Marsha herself) that claim that Marsha started the riot by throwing a drink or rock depending on who you ask. If she did or did not start the riot is really of no matter what does matter is Marsha was a presence in the early gay movement.
Marsh P Johnson was born in Patterson, New Jersey on June 27, 1947 with the male name of Malcolm Michaels Jr. Marsha was a drag queen and transgender activist when nobody was saying anything about much about either topics in "polite" society. Marsha was in your face and a lot of fun. Often sleeping in friends with jobs apartments during the day and out all night on the streets of Greenwich Village. Marsha was a Warhol model, an actress, a sex worker and an activist. Johnson along with fellow transgender activist Silvia Rivera started an organization called "Street Transvestite Action  Revolutionaries" or STAR.  In a house in Manhattan's Lower East side they gave clothes, food and support to young drag queens and transgender youth. 
Marsha was no saint but was not a criminal just living a life that was outside of society. Once when arrested and in front of a judge she was asked what the "P" in Marsha P Johnson stood for her answer was as per usual "Pay It No Mind".
Marsha P Johnson's life came to a sad and tragic end when her body was found floating in the Hudson River not far from the West Village Piers shortly after the 1992 Pride Celebration in Manhattan. The NYPD declared her death to be a suicide but that notion never panned out with those who knew her. She was not thought to be at all suicidal and is believed to have been harassed and thrown into the river. 
To learn more about Marsha and see interviews with her and her contemporaries the documentary "Pay It No Mind, the Life and Times of Marsha P Johnson" by Michael Kasino and Richard Morrison is a must see. The nearly one hour documentary gives a wonderful window into her life and her times.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft

On March 18, 1990 the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum was entered during the night by men dressed as security guards who stole several of the most valuable paintings in the world. A Rembrandt, a Vermeer, a Manet some Degas drawings among other masterpieces were stolen. 

No trace of the paintings has ever been clearly found even though a 5 million dollar reward has been offered for information and the theft. Until just recently. The FBI has said it has three persons of interest although two have died one man is still alive and they believe he has the paintings and they are in Connecticut. 
Could one of the greatest and boldest art thefts in the world be solved soon? The FBI is keeping their cards close to their chests. Let's hope this could be true.

Jane and Michael Banks

Who are the two cutest kids ever in movies? Jane and Michael Banks from the movie "Mary Poppins" have to take the cake. They "Won't hide your spectacles so you can't see. Put Toads in your bed or pepper in your tea." The 1964 movie made the two most adorable children in the world stars. Their real names are Karen Dotrice and Michael Garber and they really are English.
Dotrice is the child of Shakespearean actors and Garber's parents were also English stage performers. They had worked together previously in another Disney film called "The Three Lives of Thomasina". It was Poppins that they will always be remembered for. They were paired one final time in yet another Disney movie called "The Gnome-Mobile".
Karen Dotrice worked for many years as an actress and married twice. She has three children and decided to take time away to be their mother. Occasionally she would appear on stage in London as well as in Los Angeles. She also did some voice over work. Dotrice at one time vowed her career was over but in recent years has made appearances especially as the 50 year anniversary of Poppins has come up as well as the new film about the movie "Saving Mr. Banks".
Sadly, Michael Garber died in 1977 at the age of 21. His career stopped after his last Disney appearance and he travelled with his parents. It was in India that contracted hepatitis and by the time he was able to return to london for treatment he had developed pancreatitis and died.
The Banks' children may have aged in real life but they will always be flying a kite, hopping in and out of chalk pictures and loving to laugh with Mary Poppins.

The Fussbudget

The nervous man, put upon husband, the silly servant and the distinct voice are all phrases that describe actor Edward Everett Horton. Horton was born in Brooklyn in 1886 and started his career working on the New York stage while he was studying at Columbia in 1907. He then was hired by the Dempsey Light Opera Company to perform Gilbert and Sullivan operettas on Staten Island. Horton moved to Los Angeles and rented a theater where he produced and acted in plays. He was also available to take movie roles in the 1920's. His career took off when talkies came into being and his distinctive voice and deadpan delivery made him a very popular character actor. He appeared in films with Fred Astaire, Miriam Hopkins, Carey Grant and Katherine Hepburn. 
Edward Everett Horton was also very popular on television appearing on scores of television shows. It was for his voice over work that most people remember him best. He was the narrator of "Fractured Fairy Tales" on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show". Horton never had a studio contract always working free-lance. He was known to be very frugal and through his frugality he and his brother bought several acres of land in Encino where Horton built a series of houses for himself and his family. His property was in the path of the Ventura Freeway and had to be sold cutting his street short. After his death the shortened street was named after him. He lived in Encino with his long time companion actor Gavin Gordon who was 15 years his junior. Edward Everett Horton died in 1970 at the age of 84.

She was Betty Rubble

Voice actors are usually never given a second thought. One of the most instantly recognizable voices is that of Bea Benaderet. Bea played not only the owner of The Shady Rest Hotel on "Petticoat Junction" and she also was Jethro's mother on "The Beverly Hillbillies". She is always going to be remembered as the voice of Betty Rubble the Millis Helper of the "The Flinstones".

Benaderet  had a long career on radio where she was able to develop her voice. On Radio she was a star during rodio's hey days. When television emerged Bea not being a fool knew this was the way to go, the wave of the future and jumped into it. Bea was originally supposed to be Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy" having done a very similar role on the radio version "My Favorite Wife".
Her work in cartoons wasn't only limited to to betty Rubble she was also the voice of Granny in the Warner Brother's cartoons with Tweety Bird. 
Bea Benaderet died in 1968 of lung cancer, she was 62 years old and in the height of her career.

Is Donatella Versace Really a Muppet

Once upon a time Donatella Versace was was a normal looking and some could say attractive woman. Then one day all her drugs, Clicout and plastic surgery caught up with her. She went from being a human into a human muppet. She is now the spitting image of Janis the rocker chick from the Muppets band. At least if she doesn't look 100% human she looks like a puppet who does!

The saddest part is that Janis looks ever so much more human.

The Party Monster Is Out

It has been seventeen years since Michael Alig was sent to New York state prison for the murder and dismemberment of Angel Melendez. Alig one of the original club kids in Manhattan during the 1090's was famous (of a sort) for being outrageous and on the edge of what was happening. He was one of the people who said what was happening. What was happening was coming out of his drug addled mind and it didn't turn out well. His story can be found in the book "Disco Bloodbath" (later renamed "Party Monster") written by James St James. 
Alig was a friend/client/business partner to Melendez who was staying at his home in 1996. Alig apparently owed Melendez money and along with his boyfriend Freeze Riggs bludgeoned, smothered, poisoned and dismembered him. Melendez's body was found of the shore of Staten Island. There was an investigation and in the end Riggs and Alig plead guilty. 
Michael Alig was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Gave up drugs and has done his time. There was one previous patrol hearing that was turned down because of the movie version of St James' book starring Macaulay Culkin. This week Alig's parole was granted and he is now a free man.

Chatting With Cat Woman

I was able to meet one of Hollywood's great beauties this afternoon, Julie Newmar. Ms Newmar was giving a talk in a hair salon in the Fairfax neighborhood in Los Angeles. We arrived a little early for the talk and ran into Ms. Newmar in the stylist's chair. She welcomed us in and asked us to sit down. Her stylist worked on her hair and she just held court. She is absolutely charming and witty. We discussed her hair and how she was so happy with the color and how it is finally natural. 
Her talk was about beauty and being beautiful. Something she, in her 80's, clearly knows something about. When her talk was over she opened the floor to questions. many were of course about Batman and being Cat Woman. She also spoke about working on "To Wong Foo, Thank you Julie Newmar" and how when she heard of the movie she wanted to see the script and was eventually given a cameo in the film. I was able to ask her about one of my favorite of her roles, that of Rhoda the robot on the sitcom "My Living Doll". She was clearly pleased to be able to talk about playing Rhoda and how she got into character. She said it was one of her most difficult roles. 
Julie Newmar is a delightful woman and it was an honor to be able to have a private chat with her.

Thing T. Thing

"The Addams Family" had some amazing characters; Uncle Fester, Lurch, Gomez, Morticia but the most unearthly was Thing. The hand appearing from a box to light a cigar or answer the phone was Thing T. Thing. The "T." stands for Thing.

Thing was created by illustrator/cartoonist Charles Addams in the 1930's for his "Addams Family" cartooons in The New Yorker magazine. On of Thing's first mentions was a cartoon of the family's mansion with a sign out front reading "Beware of The Thing". Thing was also a member of the family on the 1960's television series. 

Thing was always helpful holding yarn or collecting the mail. Thing also snapped its fingers in the opening theme music. Thing is known as a hand servant and is always helpful. In one episode Thing meets another hand servant known as Lady Fingers.
Thing was usually played by actor Ted Cassidy who also played the other servant Lurch. When scenes involved interaction between Thing and Lurch thing was played by assistant director Jack Voglin. In the movie adaptations Thing can walk on his finger spider like. He also had the ability to drive a car.
Thing T. Thing everyone's favorite disembodied hand.

Reta Shaw

There are actresses who are always remembered for play certain types of roles. Reta Shaw is one of those actresses she was always a tough as nails housekeeper. Her career started in Boston n the stage and eventually she was in New York on Broadway playing in the "Pajama Game" as Mabel the bossy woman at the factory. She moved onto television and the movies. She played housekeepers and busy bodies and bossy wives. She is remembered at playing one of the singing domestics in "Mary Poppins" and Housekeeper Martha on "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". Shaw worked all the time appearing on sitcoms and in small rolls in movies until her death in 1982. Reta Shaw was 69 years ols at the time of her death

From House of David's to House of Bland

One of Los Angeles' most fascinating houses was the House of Davids in Hancock Park. The house's owner was an eccentric record producer who had a distinct "flare" for decorating. His neighbors in the tony neighborhood did not care for his taste at all but it stop him from covering his home with copies of Michelangelo's David.

The edgy owner decided to sell and move out of the area but not before unloading his Davids and  other Bric-a-Brac at a huge yard sale. Well sadly the hose was sold and it is now back on the market. I am sure the neighbor's love it but LA has lost a treasure. The House of Davids is now a rather bland nondescript big old tract house.

Wednesday's Child is Filled With Woe

Born in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands with the name Lisa Ann DeCinces Lisa Loring became an American Child actress. Her career started when her parents divorced and she and her mother moved to Los Angeles. Her first role on television was on "Dr. Kildare" where she worked with worked with Blossom Rock who would later play her Grandmother on "The Addams Family". Lisa Loring was cast as the daughter Wednesday. She worked on the series from 1964 - 1966 appearing in 37 episodes. After the series went off the air she was cast in the ill fated "Phyllis Diller Show" sometimes know as "The Pruitts of Southhampton". Loring worked on and off in television throughout the 1970's and 1980's as an actress and make up artist. She was working on a make up artist when she met her third husband.
Lisa Loring's mother died when she was young due to chronic alcoholism and Loring married her first husband at the age of 16. The marriage lasted only one year. She married a second time this time the marriage lasted two years. Her third husband was named Jerry Butler. Jerry Butler was a porn actor. He was working on a movie called "Tracie's Big Trick". 
Her husband's involvement in pornography was a major problem in their marriage. He claimed to have gotten out of the business but in reality he was working in films behind her back. The couple appeared on "Dateline NBC" and "The Sally Jesse Raphael Show" discussing the problems the pornography industry had on their marriage. He described himself as "addicted to the lifestyle".
Lisa Loring also admitted to being a heroine addict during her last marriage. After her divorce she was able get off of heroine. She worked then for a while in the hospitality industry. In 2011 she returned to working in the film industry as an actress.

Get Your Tickets Now

As I write this there is still time, but the clock is ticking! What am I talking about? In just one year it will be the 50th anniversary of one of the most important dates in rock' roll history. On July 25th 1965 Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. 

Dylan's milestone was one of the most defiant acts in the the history of Rock' Roll. Dylan stuck his thumb to his nose to the music cognizanti and they hated it. Fans of Dylan and folk actually booed him. Dylan left the stage in a form of defeat. He did later return to the stage and capitulate to the crowd by playing his "standards" appeasing the assembled ticket buyers. Little did those who booed know that they would be one of the catalysts of change. Dylan's defiance empowered a lot of people. It made hippies and their rock music a player in the world of popular music. The old world was over and it happened in Newport, Rhode Island.
The folk Festival still exists as does the Newport Jazz Festival. Love Rock n' Roll well then you need to be there next year so get your tickets now. 

Nobody Walks in LA

World of Wonder Productions is a production company based on Hollywood Blvd in the center of swinging Hollywood. They are the company behind "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "Million Dollar Listings" they also produce a smaller bunch of web series and one of these is "RuPaul Drives...". The concept of the series is very simple RuPaul picks people up in his vintage Volvo and drives them around LA. "Everyone needs a lift in LA" say RuPaul. The show videos or about ten minutes long and hilarious. Ru picks up some very interesting people and they chat with him while he drives his car fitted with Go-Pro cameras. His riders are an eclectic mix of people. He has driver Henry Rollins, John Waters, Sharon Needles, Olivia Newton-John, the list goes on and on. Every week Ru picks up someone new and has more fun than anyone just driving around. The old episodes can be found on the World of Wonder You Tube channel and at the World of Wonder website (www.worldofwonder.net) 

Hasbro Toys

One of the most recognizable toy company names is Hasbro. The Pawtucket, Rhode Island based company has created and sold some of the world's favorite toys. The company didn't start out as a toy company it was originally a textile remnant company based in Providence owned by three brothers Henry, Hilal and Herman Hassenfeld. The Hassenfeld brothers expanded their business to include making of pencil cases and then school supplies. When it was decided in 1926 to get out of the remnant business; Hilal left the company leaving his two brothers to expand their business making pencils and then crayons. In the 1940's the company started producing Nurse and Doctor kits for children and then modeling clay. During World War II Hasbro got into the plastic manufacturing business as an effort to support the war. 

In 1952 Hasbro purchased a toy from its creator George Lerner. This toy was their first super hit it was Mr. Potato Head. In 1964 Hasbro believing boys would play with dolls released G I Joe. He was another hit. 
Their motto for may years was "Oh wow its a Hasbro Toy!" In 1969 Hasbro bought the "Romper Room" franchise and put out a line of "Romper Room" toys. The also put out a line of "Galloping Gourmet" cookware but the line was discontinued after the salad bowls had a termite problem that ruined the brand. The toy line had a few disasters as well one was "Jarts" which were lawn darts that were considered very dangerous (albeit fun) and "The Hypo-squirt" a hypodermic shaped water gun described as a "junior junkie kit".

In the 1980's the company got even bigger with its purchase of the "My Little Pony" line as well as the entire Milton-Bradley company. The company now runs neck and neck with Mattel for the title of largest toy company. 

The Easter Bunny

Not unlike Santa Claus and the Great Pumpkin the Easter Bunny comes and leaves treats for all the good boys and girls. The Easter Bunny has a more mysterious back ground the Santa. The bunny has a long history started by the Lutherans in Germany known as The Easter Hare. The Easter Hare would bring eggs to children who the hare determined were good. Eggs are a symbol of renewal and spring. 
The bunny came to the USA from Germany with the "Pennsylvania Dutch and was know as the Osterhase. The translation of that became Easter Hare or Easter bunny. The bunny over the years would go from leaving eggs in children's hats and bonnets to eventually leaving chocolate eggs in a basket sometimes including toys.