What Killed Bonanza?

In the history of television few shows have ever been as successful as Bonanza. The show debuted on NBC on Saturday night, 12 September 1959. In its first season Bonanza did somewhat poorly in the ratings, scheduled against the highly popular Perry Mason on CBS. In its second season its ratings rose considerably, with Bonanza ranking  #17 out of all the shows on the air for the year. It was after the show was moved to Sunday nights in its third season, however, that it became a hit. In its third season Bonanza leapt to #2 in the ratings for the season. Bonanza would spend the next 8 years in the top five rated shows each year (a record that would not be broken for some time). For three straight seasons, from the 1964-1965 season to the 1966-1967 season, it was the number one show on the air. In all Bonanza spent 12 years in the top 20 highest rated shows for each season, 10 of those years in the top 10, 9 of those years in the top 5, and 7 of those of years in the top three. Arguably, Bonanza was the highest rated show in the United States during the Sixties.

Given such success in its initial run Bonanza naturally went onto a highly successful syndication run. Indeed, it is still being shown on television stations and cable channels across the United States. Having been constantly run for over fifty years, today we tend to take Bonanza for granted, but when it debuted it was a ground breaking show, a fact that largely explains its success. Quite simply, Bonanza was different from anything that had come before it. Although considered a Western, in many respects it was less a Western than it was a period drama that just happened to be set in Nevada in the 1860's. Gunfights were rare and problems were usually settled by discussion between the characters rather than through violence. Much of this was perhaps due to the fact that Bonanza was the first of television's ranch Westerns. It centred on the Ponderosa, a huge ranch ran by the Cartwright family. The Cartwrights consisted of patriarch Ben (Lorne Greene); calm and cool oldest brother Adam (Pernell Roberts); middle brother and gentle giant Hoss; and romantic and reckless youngest brother Little Joe (Michael Landon).

Not only was Bonanza the first ranch Western, but it was the first Western to ever be aired in colour. Bonanza would also be revolutionary in one other way. Well before "relevance" became fashionable on television in the late Sixties and early Seventies, Bonanza dealt with social issues. Over the years the show dealt with everything from racism to political corruption to religious intolerance. Bonanza was also one of the earliest shows to regularly feature minority characters. Victor Sen Yung was a regular on the show, playing the Cartwrights' cook Hop Sing, while guest stars included Rodolfo Hoyas, Philip Ahn, William Marshall, Chief Dan George, Ossie Davis, and several others. At a time when most shows on American airwaves not only featured casts who were entirely Northern European in descent, but guest stars who were as well, Bonanza was a very progressive show. As the first Western shot in colour, the first ranch Western, one of the first shows to regularly address social issues, and one of the first shows to regularly feature minorities, Bonanza was very different from anything that had come before it. Combined with a good cast, good guest stars, good writing, and good direction, it would have perhaps been surprising if Bonanza had not been a hit.

Regardless, Bonanza received phenomenal ratings for most of its run, and for that reason its cancellation is a bit of a mystery. It is true that prior to its fourteenth and final season Bonanza was no longer the ratings powerhouse it once was. That having been said, it was still doing quite well in the Nielsens. In its twelfth season it ranked #9 for the season. In its 13th season it ranked #20 for the season. Bonanza had a promising start to its 14th season, despite the death of Dan Blocker (who played Hoss) that May. The debut episode for that season, "Forever (aired 12 September 1972)", ranked fourth in the ratings for the week. Unfortunately, Bonanza began a slide in the ratings from which it would never recover. In its second week Bonanza slipped to 39th place for the week. It dropped even lower the following week, losing an estimated 842,000 households according to the Nielsen ratings. In its fourth week Bonanza recovered, but only slightly. Unfortunately, Bonanza would continue to slip in the ratings, dropping as low as 52nd place for the week. It was on 6 November 1972 that NBC announced that they had cancelled the show.

While the cancellation of Bonanza probably came as no surprise to television critics, industry insiders, and others who kept track of the Nielsen ratings, one has to suspect that it did come as a shock to the average television viewer in 1972. As it was NBC did not take the fate of Bonanza lightly. In his 14 November 1972 column in The Desert News, television editor Howard Pearson said that NBC had considered moving Bonanza again to another time slot before they decided to cancel it. In an Associated Press (AP) article from 14 November 1972 NBC executive vice president Herb Schlosser said of the cancellation of Bonanza, "And it was a very tough decision to reach and it took much agonising and much discussion." Although it might have seemed so at the time, NBC did not arbitrarily kill off the veteran Western.

Of course, the question remains how what was possibly the most successful show on American television in the Sixties could have had such a precipitous fall in the ratings in a matter of a few weeks. While ratings for Bonanza had dropped from what they had been at its peak, its ratings were still good in its thirteenth season (it ranked #20 out of all the shows on the air for the season) and the debut episode of its fourteenth season performed extremely well. Newspaper articles at the time offered various theories as to why Bonanza fell in the ratings. A United Press International (UPI) article from 6 November 1972 placed the blame firmly on the death of Dan Blocker, "After more than a decade as a national viewing institution, it was finally brought down by the loss of one of its original stars--Dan Blocker." The aforementioned AP article from 14 November 1972 placed the blame on other factors,  "The Cartwrights will saddle up and ride off the NBC Television range for good next Jan. 23 after making Bonanza an American institution that withstood everything but time and Maude (Maude was a hit sitcom that debuted in the '72-'73 season--Terence)." TV columnist Howard Pearson in his 14 November 1972 column in The Desert News gave several possible reasons for the cancellation, among them the shift in timeslot from Sunday nights to Tuesday nights, the entry of older reruns of Bonanza into syndication that autumn, the death of Dan Blocker, and Maude.

Sources written in the years following the cancellation of Bonanza have actually offered fewer theories as to why the show fell in the ratings in its fourteenth season than news articles published at the time. In The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Show 1946-Present (first published in 1979) authors Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh theorised that Dan Blocker's death combined with the move from Sunday night to Tuesday night could have led to the drop in ratings it experienced in its fourteenth season. The Encyclopaedia of Television: A-C, Volume 1, edited by Horace Newcomb and published by the Museum of Broadcast Communications, also blames the drop in ratings on the death of Dan Blocker and the move from Sunday night to Tuesday night. In A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History (published in 2011) authors Bruce R. Leiby and Linda F. Leiby blame the catastrophic ratings drop of Bonanza in its fourteenth season firmly on Dan Blocker's death.

Of the various theories as to why Bonanza dropped precipitously in the ratings in its fourteenth season, the theory that it was the death of Dan Blocker that caused it appears to be the most common. As Hoss Cartwright, Dan Blocker was one of the show's four original lead actors. Over the years he had easily become the most popular character on the show.  It was on 13 May 1972 that Dan Blocker died unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism following gall bladder surgery. While the show had already survived the departure of one of its leads (Pernell Roberts, who played oldest brother Adam,  had left the show after six years) and even prospered afterwards, the death of Dan Blocker was an entirely different situation. Hoss was the most popular character on Bonanza, to the point that he was much more central to the show's success than Adam ever had been. Indeed, a UPI article by Vernon Scott published on 18 May 1972 theorised that Dan Blocker's death could kill Bonanza--this five months before the show's cancellation. An NEA article published 19 August 1972 also questioned Bonanza's viability following Dan Blocker's death. The cast and crew of Bonanza themselves realised all too well the important contribution that Dan Blocker had made to the series.  At the time Lorne Greene expressed surprise that NBC had decided to continue with Bonanza following the death of Dan Blocker. In an AP article from 7 November 1972, executive producer and creator of Bonanza David Dortort admitted that they were still trying to overcome "the tremendous gap" that had been left by Dan Blocker's passing. The death of Dan Blocker could explain why Bonanza did well in the ratings with the debut episode of its fourteenth season, then proceeded to plummet in the ratings. Viewers tuned into Bonanza in its new time not only to see an episode in which Dan Blocker was not only blatantly absent, but in which it is explained that Hoss Cartwright has died as well. "Forever", the first episode of Bonanza's final season, may have simply reminded viewers that Dan Blocker was dead and, as a result, these viewers never returned. Those viewers who continued to watch Bonanza over the next several weeks may have gradually stopped doing so, noticing the "tremendous gap" to which David Dortort referred after Dan Blocker's death.

At any rate, Bonanza would not be the only show whose demise might have been caused by the death of one of its stars. Fellow Western Alias Smith and Jones also went off the air in January 1973 and may have done so for similar reasons. Peter Duel, who had played Hannibal Heyes (alias "Smith") committed suicide on 31 December 1971. Afterwards Roger Davis was recast in the role. Perhaps as a result of Mr. Duel's death, Alias Smith and Jones fell in the ratings and never recovered. The star of hit comedy Chico and the Man, Freddie Prinze, shot himself on 28 January 1977. Chico and the Man would last only a little over a year more, having dropped in the ratings. On 28 May 1998 Phil Hartman, one of the stars of the sitcom NewsRadio, was murdered by his wife. Never a ratings smash, NewsRadio dropped in the ratings in the season following Mr. Hartman's death, resulting in the show's cancellation. On 11 September 2003 John Ritter, then star of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter, died from an aortic dissection caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. 8 Simple Rules (as the title was later abbreviated) would only last one more season following John Ritter's death. Having come in 50th place in the ratings out of all the shows on the air in its previous season, in the season following John  Ritter's death, it dropped to 90th place.

It is true that there have been shows that have survived the deaths of actors who played major characters. The Waltons survived the death of Will Geer, who played Grandpa on the show. Dallas lasted another ten years following the death of Jim Davis, who played patriarch Jock Ewing on the show. Following the death of Nicholas Colasanto, who played the bartender Coach, Cheers continued for another 8 years. While there are shows that have survived the deaths of important cast members, it would seem that there are many that have not. As to what guarantees a show's demise following the death of a cast member, that would appear to be how central that cast member is to the show's success. Peter Duel, Freddie Prinze, and John Ritter were respectively the stars of Alias Smith and Jones, Chico and the Man, and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter. While Phil Hartman was not the star of NewsRadio, his character Bill was easily the most popular character on the show. Dan Blocker was not only one of the three leads on Bonanza, but he also played the most popular character on the show, Hoss, as well. It would have been highly unusual had Bonanza not fallen in the ratings following his death. In fact, history shows TV series that have a lead character die often do exactly what Bonanza did following Dan Blocker's death--they fall catastrophically in the ratings.

After Dan Blocker's death, the second most common reason given for Bonanza's dramatic decline in the ratings is its shift in time slot from Sunday at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00 PM Central to Tuesday at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central. NBC apparently had good reasons for doing so. During the summer of 1972 episodes of Bonanza were rerun on Tuesday nights at 7:30 Eastern/6:30 Central under the title Ponderosa. These reruns did extremely well in the ratings. At the same time, although it was still doing well, Bonanza had dropped in ratings on its traditional Sunday night time slot. NBC then probably viewed a move to Tuesday night as being  favourable to the show.

While Bonanza had prospered in its Sunday night time slot, however, it swiftly fell in the ratings in its new Tuesday night time slot. On the surface it would then seem that Bonanza's change in time slot could have hurt the show in the ratings. After all, Bonanza had spent the past eleven years in the same time slot on Sunday night. At the time that Bonanza was cancelled many TV critics thought that the move in time slots had hurt the show in the Nielsens. Even star Lorne Greene thought so, noting in a UPI article published 7 November 1972 that the shift in the time slot was done "...with very little publicity about the change." Historically, a change in time slot can either help or hurt a show in the ratings--it is a very rare thing that a show is moved from one time slot to another with little change to its ratings. Bonanza is one of the many examples of a show that was actually helped by a shift in time slot. It was only after it was moved from its original Saturday night slot to the Sunday night slot it had for years that it became a runaway hit. Among many other shows that have been helped by a change in time slot are The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and WKRP in Cincinnati.

Of course, nearly as many shows have been hurt by a shift in time slots as have been helped by such. Petticoat Junction had spent its first four seasons on Tuesday night and ranked in the top thirty highest rated programmes each season. In the show's fifth season it was moved to Saturday night where it ratings dropped. There can be no doubt that the show's fate was sealed when star Bea Benaderet died on 13 October 1968 from lung cancer. Another show that was hurt by a move in time slot was Charlie's Angels. The show spent its first four seasons on Wednesday night. While ratings had dropped in its fourth season, it came in at #20 for the top rated shows for the year. For the series' fifth season ABC moved the show to Sunday night, and Charlie's Angels plummeted in the ratings. Further shifts in time slot to Saturday and then back to Wednesday did not help matters. Yet another show that experienced a drop in ratings due to a shift in time slot was Mork and Mindy. In its original Thursday night time slot Mork and Mindy ranked #3 in the Nielsen ratings for the season. For its second season ABC moved the show to Sunday night, where it dropped to #27 in the ratings for the season. The show never recovered. After a move back to Thursday night, it continued to drop in the ratings. In its third season it ranked #49 for the season. In its fourth and final season it ranked #60 for the season.

Given the fact that Bonanza dropped in the ratings in its new Tuesday night time slot and other shows have suffered similar fates when moved to a new time slot,  it would seem that Bonanza's shift in time slot from its old Sunday night time slot to a new Tuesday night time slot could have hurt the show in the ratings. That having been said, there is one huge problem with the theory that the shift in time slot was a major factor in Bonanza's ratings decline. Quite simply, the debut episode of the final season of Bonanza, "Forever", ranked #4 for the week. Despite Lorne Greene's statement that the move was made with very little publicity, then, it seems quite obvious that viewers knew when Bonanza was on. The impact that the shift in time slot may have had on Bonanza's ratings may have been limited to the competition in that time slot. Quite simply, it may not have been so much the fact that Bonanza had moved from its traditional Sunday night time slot to Tuesday night as it was that it aired against the new situation comedy Maude on Tuesday night.

Maude was a spinoff of All in the Family, then the number one show on television. It centred on Maude Findlay (Bea Arthur), the outspoken, liberal cousin of Edith Bunker of All in the Family. It debuted on 12 September 1972, the very night that the fourteenth and final season of Bonanza debuted. Its first episode ranked #11 for the week in the ratings. In its second week Maude rose to #6 for the week in the ratings. In the same week Bonanza dropped from 4th place to 39th place for the week in the ratings. In October 1972 while Maude steadily rose in the ratings, Bonanza continued to drop. A cursory glance at the American television ratings for late 1972 would seem to indicate that viewers were leaving Bonanza in favour of Maude.

Despite this there could be good reason for not concluding that it was Maude that killed Bonanza, even though several news articles from the era concluded that this was the case. In an AP article published 14 November 1972 NBC executive vice president Herb Schlosser said that he was not certain that it was Maude that killed Bonanza. He noted that the fourteenth season's debut episode did very well, "...but it never seemed to build from that." While news articles from late 1972 and early 1973 often cite Maude as a factor (often the primary factor) in Bonanza's demise, it is notable that many (perhaps most) sources written since then barely acknowledge Maude as a factor in Bonanza's ratings decline and often do not do so at all. Instead sources published in the decades since Bonanza ended its network run tend to focus on the death of Dan Blocker and the shift in time slot as the key factors in the show's demise.

Both Herb Schlosser at the time that Bonanza was cancelled and sources published since the show ended its run on NBC may have good reason to downplay Maude as playing a role in the show's ratings drop. For 12 September 1972 Bonanza ranked #4 for the week, while Maude ranked #11. The following week Maude rose to #6, while Bonanza fell to #39. While this would seem to indicate people were leaving Bonanza for Maude, that may not be the case. Quite simply, while Bonanza was making massive drops in the ratings with each passing week, Maude was not making massive leaps in the ratings each week. Indeed, for the night of 17 September 1972, Bonanza dropped 35 places while Maude only rose 5 places. While Bonanza was losing millions of viewers each week, Maude's gains could only be measured in hundreds of thousands. This would seem to indicate that some viewers might have elected to watch something other than Bonanza or Maude. A  few might have elected to watch Temperatures Rising on ABC (a very few, if its ratings were any indication), while others may have elected to watch PBS or one of the independent stations so common in the Seventies. Yet others might have elected not to watch television at all. While there can be little doubt that Maude did steal some viewers from Bonanza, it does not seem as if it stole all of them or even the majority of them. Quite simply, then, it would seem as if there were other reasons that people (particularly long term fans of the show) had stopped watching Bonanza than simply the "hot new show" on CBS.

So far I have discussed the reasons most commonly given for Bonanza's drop in the ratings in its fourteenth season. One that is almost never mentioned is one of the reasons Howard Pearson gave in his 14 November 1972 column in The Desert News: the entry of reruns of earlier seasons of Bonanza in syndication in the autumn of 1972. Mr. Pearson noted that in some markets Bonanza was being run daily, and theorised that this could have hurt the new episodes on NBC through overexposure of the show. To a degree this does seem to make sense. A viewer who watches Bonanza every weekday on his or her local television station may have no desire to watch the new episodes of the show in prime time on NBC. The problem is that even a cursory examination of television history shows that this theory does not hold up. Through the years several shows have entered syndication while still in their initial network run without any negative effects on the ratings of the new episodes airing on a network.

Indeed, in some cases it would appear that reruns aired daily in syndication, on a network, or on a cable network actually helped the ratings of a show still airing on a network. An example of this is The Andy Griffith Show. Reruns of The Andy Griffith Show began airing daily in its fifth season in 1964. Rather than dropping in the ratings, The Andy Griffith Show rose slightly in the ratings, from #5 for the 1963-1964 season to #4 in the 1964-1965 season. And it seems possible the daily reruns of the show might have helped it over time. By the 1966-1967 season The Andy Griffith Show had risen to #3 for the year.  In its final season on the air, the 1967-1968 season, it was the #1 show on the air. A better example may come from more recent years. In 2008 the USA Network began rerunning NCIS, still airing on CBS in prime time. Rather than dropping in the ratings, NCIS rose in the ratings, leaping from #14 for the 2007-2008 season to #5 for the 2008-2009 season. Since then NCIS has risen steadily in the ratings until it is the #1 show so far this season. While it could be coincidence, it seems quite possible that the reruns on the USA Network actually helped the show in prime time. In other cases reruns in syndication, on a network, or on cable appear to have had no effect on prime time ratings. An example of this is Roseanne.  Reruns of Roseanne entered syndication in 1992 with the start of the show's fourth season. The show's ratings neither immediately improved nor declined, and it aired for another five years.

It would then seem that a show's reruns entering syndication or being rerun daily on a network or cable channel either helps the show in prime time or has little to no effect on its ratings in prime time. There is no reason to think that Bonanza would be any different. If the syndicated reruns did have a negative impact on Bonanza, it might not have been due to overexposure, but rather the presence of Dan Blocker in the earlier episodes. Quite simply, viewers might have tuned into Bonanza every day to see Hoss, then watched the new episodes of Bonanza on Tuesday where he was conspicuously absent. In that case, however, it can be argued once more that it was the death of Dan Blocker, not overexposure, that resulted in the show's ratings decline.

Among the various reasons given over the years for Bonanza's drop in the ratings in its fourteenth season, one I have never seen given is a decline in the quality of its episodes. If the quality of episodes of Bonanza had dropped dramatically in its fourteenth season, it would not have been surprising if that had led to a concurrent drop in ratings. Historically, once a show has "jumped the shark (the point at which it has become so bad as to be unwatchable)," its ratings will often begin to slide. A perfect example of this is The Man From U.N.C.L.E. A smart, tongue in cheek spy series in its first two seasons, The Man From U.N.C.L.E became an outright phenomenon. Unfortunately, in its third season The Man From U.N.C.L.E. took a turn towards low camp, silliness, and slapstick, perhaps in a poor attempt to emulate the hit Batman. As a result the ratings of The Man From U.N.C.L.E plummeted. Ranked #13 for the 1965-1966 season, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was nearly cancelled at the end of its third season. For the show's fourth and final season it returned to being a serious spy show. Unfortunately, its viewers did not return and the show was cancelled in the middle of the 1967-1968 season. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was hardly alone in seeing its ratings fall due to a drop in quality, as there are many other examples in the history of television. Batman (the show The Man From U.N.C.L.E. sought to emulate), the already low rated Star Trek, and Moonlighting are other examples of shows that experienced a decline in quality that led to a decline in ratings. While some shows can last literally years after a sharp drop in quality (both Friends and The Simpsons are examples of this), it is often the case that a decline in the quality of show's episodes results in a drop in ratings.

While many shows over the years have experienced a sharp decline in quality and several suffered a drop in the ratings as a result, in my humble opinion Bonanza was not one of them. While I think it is true that the later seasons tend not to be as good as the earlier seasons, at no point do I think Bonanza ever "jumped the shark." In fact, I not only think that Bonanza did not experience a sharp decline in quality in its fourteenth season, I also think it is one of the strongest seasons of the show's entire run. There is not one episode during the fourteenth season that I would describe as bad and many of them I consider to be quite good. While the quality of any given show or episode of a show is largely in the eye of the beholder, I very seriously doubt that most fans of Bonanza would have thought the episodes of the fourteenth season bad enough that they stopped watching the show.

Looking at the various possible reasons that Bonanza experienced a sharp decline in its ratings in its fourteenth season, it can be determined, although without absolute certainty, why it dropped in the ratings. Taking into account that opinions as to what is a good episode of a TV show will vary, I think a decline in the quality of Bonanza's episodes in its fourteenth season can be ruled out. Having looked at various instances of shows whose reruns entered syndication while they are still in their initial run, I think overexposure due to Bonanza reruns in syndication can also be ruled out as having caused the decline in ratings. Although it is one of the two most often cited reason as to why Bonanza was cancelled, it would seem that the shift in time slot from Sunday night to Tuesday night might have had only minimal effect on Bonanza's ratings at best. Similarly, while many at the time thought the success of Maude was a primary reason for Bonanza's ratings decline, it seems to have had minimal effect on the show's ratings as well.

After everything else is considered, we are left with the death of  Dan Blocker, the most commonly cited reason for the decline of Bonanza in the ratings, both at the time of its cancellation and ever since then. Articles published both shortly after Mr. Blocker's death and in the months leading up to the debut of the fourteenth season both speculated that Bonanza could not survive the loss of Hoss. When Bonanza's ratings declined in the autumn of 1972, the blame was often placed on Dan Blocker's death. In the end it was often cited as the one event that led to the show's cancellation. Indeed, a loss of viewers due to the death of Dan Blocker could easily explain why Bonanza began the season at  #4 in the ratings, then sharply dropped in the ratings in the following weeks, in a way that other reasons cannot. While there can be no doubt that the shift in time slot and stiff competition from Maude played a small part in the death of Bonanza, it would seem that the primary cause for its drop in ratings was the death of Dan Blocker. Indeed, it seems possible that, even given the show's shift in time slot and competition from Maude, Bonanza might have survived had Dan Blocker lived.

Regardless of what caused the precipitous drop in its ratings that led to Bonanza's cancellation during its fourteenth season, the show was built to last. Bonanza was possibly the most successful American show of the Sixties and ran for fourteen seasons on NBC, making it the third longest running Western after the syndicated Death Valley Days and CBS' Gunsmoke. Since it entered syndication in the autumn of 1972, it has aired constantly, not only in the United States, but around the world as well. Fifty four years after its debut, Bonanza is still on the air. Ironically, the show so often credited with having killed Bonanza, Maude, did not do nearly so well. While Maude was a smash it in its initial run and lasted five years, it fared poorly in syndication following its cancellation in 1977. While Bonanza can be seen everywhere from ME-TV to TVLand to Encore Westerns to Inspiration to numerous local stations, Maude can only be found on Antenna TV and a smattering of local stations. The aforementioned AP story published 14 November 1972 stated that Bonanza "...withstood everything but time and Maude." It would seem in the end they were wrong. Bonanza has not only withstood time, but outlasted Maude by a long shot.

Photographer and Actor Allan Arbus Passes On

Allan Arbus, former fashion photographer who found even more fame playing psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on M*A*S*H, died 19 April 2013 at the age of 95. The cause was congestive heart failure.

Allan Arbus was born 15 February 1918 in New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. It was while he was in school that he developed not only interest in acting, but, due to his love of Benny Goodman's music, an interest in playing the clarinet as well. He started taking classes at City College when he was only 15 years old. He left City College after only a year and a half to take a position as a copy boy in the art department of Russek’s Department Store.

Diane Arbus, photo by Allan Arbus

It was at Russek's Department Store that Allan Arbus met Diane Nemerov. The two fell in love and were married in 1941. Allan and Diane Arbus eventually started taking fashion photographs for Russek's. Mr. Arbus's career as a fashion photographer was interrupted by World War II. He served as a photographer in the United States Army Signal Corps in Burma. Once he was demobilised in 1946, he and Mrs. Arbus established a photography studio on West 54th Street in New York City. It was not long afterwards that they received a contract from Condé Nast to take photographs for such magazines as Glamour and Vogue. The Arbuses would go onto to shoot photographs for such publications as Harper's Bazaar and Seventeen, as well as photographs for advertising. Their partnership would last until 1956 when Diane ended it to pursue her photographs of those on the fringes of society. Allan Arbus continued in fashion photography for a time (the Diane and Allan Arbus studio remained open until 1969), but increasingly his attention would taken by acting.

Allan Arbus began his acting career in off Broadway productions and plays at Caffe Cino. He made his film debut in 1961 in an uncredited part in Hey, Let's Twist. In 1969 Mr. Arbus moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. He made his television debut in an episode of Here Come the Brides. That year he appeared in the film Putney Swope.

It was in 1973 that he was cast in his most famous role, that of Dr. Sidney Freedman in M*A*S*H. He continued to appear in the recurring role of the show until it ended in 1984, even appearing in its final episode. In the Seventies Mr. Arbus was also a regular on Working Stiffs. He also appeared on such shows as The Mod Squad, Chopper One, The Odd Couple, Archer, Karen, Hawaii Five-O, The Tony Randall Show, Wonder Woman, Taxi, The Rockford Files, and Salvage 1. He appeared such films as The Christian Licorice Store (1971), Cisco Pike (1972), Greaser's Palace (1972), The Young Nurses (1973), Coffy (1973), Cinderella Liberty (1973), Law and Disorder (1974), Damien: Omen II (1978), Americathon (1979), and The Last Married Couple in America (1980).

In addition to his continuing role as Dr. Freedman on M*A*S*H, in the Eighties Allan Arbus was a regular on the TV show The Four Seasons. He also appeared on such shows as Here's Boomer, Bret Maverick, Quincy M.E., Spies, O'Hara, Duet, and Hunter. He appeared in the films Gangster Wars (1981), Volunteers (1985), Crossroads (1986), and Too Much Sun (1990).  In the Nineties Mr. Arbus appeared on such shows as Brooklyn Bridge, Law & Order, In the Heat of the Night, Mad About You, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Judging Amy, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He appeared in the films Josh and S.A.M. (1993), Lieberman in Love (1995), In Dark Places (1997), and Making Contact (1999).

Although much attention has been paid to Allan Arbus's acting career in the media, it must be remembered that he was a photographer first. What is more, Mr. Arbus was a very talented photographer. Alongside his wife Diane Arbus, Allan Arbus shot photographs of such models as Dorian Leigh and Nancy Berg. They developed a style unique at the time, shooting their models in motion.

Of course, Allan Arbus would become better known to most Americans for his acting, at which he was also very good. In the obituary for Allan Arbus in The New York Times, Alan Alda told how Mr. Arbus was so convincing as a psychiatrist that he would sit and talk to him between takes as if he was a psychiatrist. There can be little doubt that many Americans were convinced he was one as well. While Allan Arbus may have been best known as Dr. Freedman on M*A*S*H and he played many similar doctors over the years, he could be equally convincing in other roles as well. Indeed, he gave a great performance as the drug dealer Arturo Vitroni in Coffy. Allan Arbus was a multi-talented man, one who was a great photographer and a great actor as well. From all reports he was very good at the clarinet as well. He was truly a rarity--a man of many talents who was good at them all.

Just a Small Change to This Blog

If you look closely at the posts on this blog, you might notice a minor difference. At the bottom of each post are buttons that will allow you to share that particular post by email, on Blogger, on Tumblr, on Twitter, on (*ahem*) Facebook, and on Google+. Blogs on Blogger have had this capacity for some time, but sadly the buttons would not work with my old template (which was essentially a combination of the old Blogger Minima template, a custom template I'd found online, and some of my own modifications). It was yesterday, then, that I re-created my template using Blogger's relatively newer Simple, three column template. The end result is that I finally have the buttons for email, Blogger, Tumbler, Twitter, FB, and Google+! Anyway, I do hope you appreciate it!

Today's Protest Against CISPA

I generally don't like to get political on this blog. The exception is when a particular bill could have an impact on this blog. Last year I took part in the internet blackout to protest SOPA. Today a similar blackout is taking place to protest CISPA. Since I have no practical means to blackout this blog on such short notice, I thought that I would write about CISPA and let people know how to fight it instead.

For those who don't know, CISPA is short for the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act." The goal of the bill is a noble one--to make it easier for the government to investigate cyberthreats and to make the United States safer against cyberattcks. The problem is that CISPA essentially throws the baby out with the bath water. Quite simply, it allows private companies to share users' data without those users' knowledge or even their permission. What is worse is that CISPA is so poorly written and so vague that companies could share a user's data even when there was clearly no evidence of a cyberthreat. Essentially, CISPA would create an exception to existing privacy laws, giving private companies and the government carte blanche to invade people's privacy. Sadly, despite the large amount of opposition to the bill, the House of Representatives passed CISPA last week. The bill has now moved onto the Senate.

Fortunately, there are several ways for one to fight CISPA. The simplest may be to simply post one's opposition to the bill on Google+ or Twitter using either the hash tag #StopCISPA  or  #CISPABlackout. Another is to sign a petition. There is one at petition to "Stop CISPA" on Change.Org and another set up by Fight For the Future. Of course, the best way to fight CISPA is to contact one's Senators. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a simple, one click email that will automatically send emails to one's senators. OpenCongress.Org has an entire page devoted to how to fight CISPA, as well as their handy ContactCongress feature.

Now President Obama has threatened to veto CISPA should it pass the Senate, but it seems to me much easier if we stop it now in the Senate. Aside from never reaching the President's desk, it would also send a clear message to both the House and Senate that we the people oppose CISPA, making it less likely that it will ever rear its ugly head again.

Harold Lloyd's 120th Birthday

What perhaps could be the most iconic film image from the Silent Era is that of Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock on a building several storeys above the ground. That scene is from Safety Last! (1923), a film still regarded as one of the greatest Silent comedies. Critically acclaimed and highly successful at the box office upon its release, Safety Last remains Harold Lloyd's best remembered film in a string of highly memorable films. Indeed, today Harold Lloyd is counted as one of the three great comic actors of the Silent Era, alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Harold Lloyd was born 120 years ago today, on 20 April 1893.

Given the success Harold Lloyd had during his career, it is little wonder that he should still be remembered today. He started in Vaudeville as a child and as an adult moved into one reelers. Eventually Mr. Lloyd become partners with actor and director Hal Roach, and the two would prove to be a very effective team. They released several one reelers from 1915 to 1921, and then moved into feature films. While Harold Lloyd had been very successful in one reel comedies. he proved to be a superstar in feature films. Throughout the Twenties Harold Lloyd starred in thirteen features, which grossed over $16 million combined. While he would not see the success that he had in the Twenties, Mr. Lloyd continued to be highly popular in the Thirties. Such film as Movie Crazy (1932) and The Milky Way (1935) did very well at the box office. Unfortunately, as the Thirties wore on Harold Lloyd's popularity declined. Having produced the majority of his own feature films, Professor Beware (1938) would be made by Paramount. By 1947 Harold Lloyd had retired from making films.

Central to Harold Lloyd's success was the character he played in most of  his films, a character generally called the "Glasses" character or, more simply, "Harold." The origins of the "Glasses" character go back to Hal Roach's thought that Harold Lloyd was much too handsome to play comedy without changing his appearance. Starting with "Spit-Ball Sadie" in 1915 Harold Lloyd played Lonesome Luke, a character clearly inspired by Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" character, complete with a moustache, overly tight clothes, and oversized shoes. It was with "Over the Fence," released in September 1917 that Harold Lloyd first played the "Glasses" character, billed in the film as "Ginger, a tailor " Harold Lloyd would not play Lonesome Luke much longer. The character made his last appearance in "We Never Sleep," released in December 1917. Thereafter Harold Lloyd would play the "Glasses" character, or some variation thereof, for the rest of his career.

As Lonesome Luke, Harold Lloyd hid his handsomeness in ill fitting clothes and a moustache. In stark contrast, Harold Lloyd's "Glasses" character looked like a wholly ordinary person one might see on the street, his handsomeness "disguised" only by a pair of heavy, horn rimmed glasses (keep in mind that in the 1910's and Thirties glasses were considered to diminish one's appearance).  This not only set the "Glasses" character apart from Lonesome Luke, but many of the comedy characters of the Teens, whose humour derived from their often unusual appearances and their personal idiosyncrasies. This was true even of such great comedy actors of the era as Charlie Chaplin (in the role of his "Tramp" character) and Laurel & Hardy. Harold Lloyd's "Glasses" character looked wholly ordinary.

It was only not the fact that Harold Lloyd's "Glasses" character looked like an ordinary person that made Mr. Lloyd a success, but the fact that the fact that he behaved much like one as well. What made the "Glasses" character funny was essentially the same thing that allowed for audiences from the 1910's to the 2010's to identify with him. Quite simply, the "Glasses" character was an average person who was constantly trying to better himself. In modern terms one might call him a "self-starter," and one with considerable ambition. For audiences at the time this put the "Glasses" character at odds with the fact that he wore glasses. In the 1910's and the 1920's characters who wore glasses were more often than not timid bookworms with little initiative. This hardly described the "Glasses" character, who could be an outright dynamo when trying to achieve what he wanted. The social class and profession of the "Glasses" character might vary from film to film (he might be rich in one film and poor in the next), but his energy and ambition were consistent throughout his appearances.

This can particularly be seen in what may be Harold Lloyd's best known film, Safety Last! In the film Mr. Lloyd plays a salesclerk at De Vore Department Store. At the same time that he has been letting on to his girlfriend that he is more successful than he actually is, Harold has pretensions to such real life success. To this end he is even willing to climb the twelve storeys of the Bolton Building (in reality the International Savings & Exchange Bank Building in Los Angeles).  Another example of the "Glasses" character's drive to succeed at incredible costs can also be seen in The Freshman (1925), in which college freshman Harold strives to become popular by emulating his movie idol. In his quest for popularity, Harold even tries out for the football team. The "Glasses" character's will to succeed carried over into Harold Lloyd's talkies. In The Milky Way he played mild mannered milkman Burleigh Sullivan, who triumphs against all odds to become a champion boxer.

Of course, the "Glasses" character's desire for success would sometimes result him in performing incredible stunts of the sort for which contemporary comedy actor Buster Keaton was also known. Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock on the Bolton Building in Safety Last! may be the best known of his spectacular stunts, but it was hardly the only one. In the climax of  the short "Never Weaken (1921)" Mr. Lloyd's character (simply called "The Boy) is determined to commit suicide, to the point that he climbs a high-rise construction site. In Girl Shy (1924) Harold hung precariously from the pole of a runaway trolley as he races to stop his beloved from marrying the wrong man. In all Harold Lloyd made only five of what he called his "thrill pictures (the films in which he performed incredible stunts--he used no stuntmen)," but they remain some of his best known films. They also help illustrate how much of a over achiever the "Glasses" character could be.

Many have observed that the characterisation of the "Glasses" character was perfect for the decade of the Twenties, a decade filled with energy and optimism. And optimism lies at the heart of Harold Lloyd's films. Not only is the "Glasses" character determined to succeed, but he seems to discount any possibility of failure.  When obstacles are placed in his way, he faces them not only with bravery, but with a smile as well. While a character who sets out to get what he wants with little concern for failure would certainly appeal to similar people in the Jazz Age, it can also be argued that this also explains why Harold Lloyd's films have remained popular nearly 90 years after they were first made. Very few people can help but root for Harold Lloyd's everyman in horned rimmed glasses. We identify with him and we want him to win in the end. In the end, the fact that Harold Lloyd's "Glasses" character looks wholly ordinary and Mr. Lloyd played him very naturalistically has allowed Harold Lloyd's comedies to be appreciated to this very day when others have been forgotten.

Fleischer Studios' "Superman"

It has been a long week and I am not up to writing a long, drawn out blog post. Since yesterday was the 75th anniversary of Superman's first appearance, I will then leave you the very first in the series of "Superman" animated short subjects that Fleischer Studios made in the early Forties. To me the Man of Steel was at his best in these cartoons.

The 75h Anniversary of Superman

It was 75 years ago today, on 18 April 1938, that Action Comics #1 (June 1938) hit news stands here in the United States. What made this comic book different from any other comic book then on news stands, drug stores, and elsewhere is that it marked the first appearance of Superman. Although he is commonly referred to as such, Superman was not the first superhero (he is pre-dated by Zorro, The Shadow, Doc Savage, and others), and the character did owe a good deal to both  Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator and the popular pulp magazine hero Doc Savage. Regardless, there was a good deal about the character that was starkly original. Indeed, as a "strange visitor from another planet," it was technically Superman who was his real identity and not Clark Kent--the exact opposite of superheroes before him, from Zorro to The Green Hornet.

Today, after several motion pictures, two live action television series, numerous animated series, and literally thousands of issues of comic books, it is easy to take the Man of Steel for granted. After all, for most of us living today he has always been a part of the pop culture landscape. It is hard for us today to grasp the impact that Superman had upon his initial appearance. Indeed, it would be insufficient to say that Superman was the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" or "Power Rangers" of the late Thirties and early Forties. He was much bigger than that and it was only within a few years of his first appearance that he had conquered media beyond the pages of comic books.

The sales of Action Comics #1 were a clear sign of just how popular Superman would become. The print run of Action Comics #1 was 200,000 copies, which was rather large for a comic book in the late Thirties. It sold out almost immediately.  Action Comics was an anthology title, featuring other characters besides Superman, including Zatara (a magician character) and Tex Thompson (an adventurer) among others. As the months rolled by Action Comics  would rise to a circulation of 1,000,000 copies. Despite this it would take National Allied Publications (one of the companies that would become DC Comics) some time to realise that it was Superman who was fuelling sales of the title. He would not appear again on the cover of Action Comics until #7 (December 1938). It would not be until Action Comics #19 (December 1939) that Superman started appearing on each and every cover of the magazine.

While it took some time for National Allied Publications to realise the popularity of Superman, they swiftly acted to capitalise upon it once they did. Only a little after his first appearance in Action Comics #1, Superman appeared in his own self titled magazine. Superman #1 (summer 1940) was the first comic book ever dedicated to a single superhero. The interrelated companies that would become DC Comics would follow Superman up with more superheroes. The Crimson Avenger made his first appearance in Detective Comics #20 (October, 1938). This now forgotten character would be followed by an even more successful superhero--Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). Other companies would soon introduce their own superheroes. Fox Publications introduced Wonder Man in Wonder Comics #1 (May 1939), only to have him sued out of existence as being a plagiarism of Superman. Quality Comics introduced Doll Man in Feature Comics #27 (December 1939). The company that would become Marvel Comics would introduce The Human Torch in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939). All-American Comics Inc. (one of the companies that would become DC Comics) would introduce no less than two iconic superheroes in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940)--The Flash and Hawkman.

Even as other superheroes were making their first appearance, however, Superman was already expanding into other media. In fact, it was only a mere nine months after his first appearance in Action Comics #1 that Superman appeared outside of comic books. It was on 16 January 1939 that the McClure Syndicate began distributing a Superman daily comic strip to newspapers. On 5 November 1939 a Superman Sunday strip was added. At the height of its success the Superman daily strip appeared in 300 newspapers and had a readership of over 20 million. In all it would last 27 years, ending in May 1966.

The "Superman" newspaper strip would have a lasting influence on the Superman mythos. In his initial appearances in the comic books, Superman's archenemy Lex Luthor had red hair. It was the newspaper comic strip that established him as being bald.  Mr. Mxyzptlk, the imp who would plague Superman throughout the years, would also make his first appearance in the newspaper strip. The newspaper strip would also be the first medium to feature Clark Kent changing into Superman in a phone booth. 

Superman was less than two years old when he conquered yet another medium. It was in 1939 that Allen Ducovny, National Allied Publications' press agent, and Robert Maxwell, the man responsible for supervising the licensing of Superman toys and other products, prepared four different audition discs for a Superman radio show. Eventually The Adventures of Superman was bought by  Hecker's H-O Oats and made its debut on 12 February 1940. The radio show would have a lasting impact on the character of Superman. The characters of both Perry White and Jimmy Olson originated on the radio show. What is more, it was Messrs. Ducovny and Maxwell who wrote the famous opening for the radio show, forever associated with the Man of Steel ever since: "Faster than an airplane, more powerful than a locomotive, impervious to bullets. 'Up in the sky - look!' 'It's a giant bird.' 'It's a plane.' 'It's Superman!'"  It was also on The Adventures of Superman that Kryptonite first appeared and on the radio show that Superman first teamed up with Batman and Robin. The Adventures of Superman proved to be very popular. Beginning as a syndicated show, it moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System on 31 August 1942  and then ABC on 29 October 1949. The radio show would run until 1 March 1951 for a total of  a little over eleven years.

By 1940 Superman was regularly appearing in three different media: comic books, a newspaper strip, and radio. It would be in 1941 that Superman would conquer the silver screen. With such success it was natural that Paramount Pictures would take an interest in the Man of Steel. The studio approached animators Max and Dave Fleischer, whose animated shorts they distributed,  with the offer of producing a series of Superman cartoons. The Fleischer brothers were not particularly interested in making Superman cartoons, and because of this they quoted a then astronomical budget of $100,000 for the series. To their shock and perhaps to their dismay as well, Paramount accepted the offer.

The first Superman animated short, entitled "Superman," but also known as "The Mad Scientist," debuted on 26 September 1941, making Superman the first comic book superhero to appear on the big screen. Budgeted at $50,000 (a then unheard of amount for an animated short subject), "Superman" proved to be a hit at theatres. It also received its share of acclaim, even being nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 14th Academy Awards (Walt Disney's "Lend a Paw" won). "Superman (AKA "Mad Scientist")" would be followed by 16 more "Superman" animated shorts. Paramount ended the series in 1943. While very successful, the "Superman" cartoons were very expensive, costing on average $30,000.

Curiously, despite the fact that in the late Thirties and early Forties Superman was an outright phenomenon, it would not be until 1948 that he would appear in a live action film. It was not long after Superman's debut in 1938 that Republic Pictures, an independent studio best known for their serials, optioned the rights for a Superman serial. Unfortunately, National Allied Publications Inc. desired much more control over the production than Republic was willing to grant them. In the end Republic utilised the script to their proposed Superman serial for the serial Mysterious Dr. Satan (1940), changing the names and other particulars. The serial featured a masked hero, Copperhead (Robert Wilcox) who faces off against a would be world conqueror, Dr. Satan (Eduardo Ciannelli).

Republic Pictures would make a second attempt at a "Superman" serial in 1941, even going so far as to announce the project in a promotional book for movie distributors, Republic Pictures Advance Serial Promotion Book. The promotional book even featured drawings of proposed scenes for the serial. Unfortunately for Republic Pictures, it would turn out that Paramount not only had the rights to produce the Superman cartoons, but they had exclusive rights to the Man of Steel on the silver screen. Unable to get the rights to Superman, Republic Pictures then bought the rights to bring Captain Marvel, published by Fawcett Publications. National considered Captain Marvel to be a plagiarism of Superman and had sued Fawecett Publications. With Republic producing the serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel, they then also named Republic in the plagiarism suit.

Ultimately it was only after the film rights to Superman became available after Paramount had ended its series that Superman would see his live action debut. B movie and serial producer Sam Katzman bought the rights to the character. Curiously, even though he had signed a contract with Columbia Pictures to produce low budget serials and feature films in 1945, he initially took his "Superman" project to Universal Pictures and Republic Pictures. Universal turned Katzman down, as they had ceased making serials in 1946. With the popularity of the serials in a serious decline, Universal had no desire to get back into the business. Republic also turned Katzman down, claiming that it would be impossible to bring a superhuman character who could fly, like Superman, to the big screen. Given that Republic Pictures had produced The Adventures of Captain Marvel and in a few years would produce another serial with a hero who could fly (King of the Rocket Men in 1949), this seems as if it was merely an excuse. It is quite possible that, since National Comics (the company that emerged after the merger of National Allied Publications, Detective Comics Inc. and All-American Comics in 1945) had included Republic in their copyright infringement lawsuit against Fawcett Publications the studio had no real love for the comic book company. It might also be pointed out that by 1946 the majority of Republic Pictures' serials were based on original material rather than pre-existing characters from other media.

Sam Katzman finally took his "Superman" project to Columbia Pictures, who had already brought various National Comics characters to the screen. In fact they had brought National Comics characters to the big screen before. It was Columbia who first brought Batman to the movies in the 1943 serial The Batman. In 1946 they brought Hop Harrigan, a flying ace initially owned by All-American but by that year owned by National Comics, to the big screen. It was in 1947 that Columbia adapted The Vigilante, a cowboy themed superhero who shared the pages of Action Comics with Superman, into a serial. With Kirk Alyn in the lead role of Clark Kent/Superman, the serial Superman made its debut 5 January 1948. Of course, by that time Superman had already been preceded in live action films by a number of comic book superheroes, including Captain Marvel (the first comic book superhero to appear in a live action film), Batman, and Captain America.

While it would be nearly ten years after his first appearance that Superman made his live action film debut, it would be in 1942 that a novel featuring the Man of Steel would be published. The Adventures of Superman was written by George Lowther (a script writer on The Adventures of Superman radio show). Like the radio show, the novel The Adventures of Superman  would have some impact on the character's mythos. It would include the first detailed description of Superman's home world of Krypton. It would also establish the names of Superman's biological parents as "Jor-El" and "Lara (in the comic books they were originally called  "Jor-L" and "Lora")."

As swiftly and phenomenally popular as Superman became in the late Thirties, it was not long before Superman merchandise appeared. What may have been the first licensed Superman toy appeared in either 1939 or 1940. It was what today would be called an "action figure," a 13" wooden articulated figure of Superman manufactured by Ideal Toy Company. In 1940 Daisy, best known for their air rifles, manufactured a "Superman Krypto-Raygun Projector Pistol." That same year Monarch produced a Superman hair brush. In 1942 Syracuse Ornament manufactured a miniature Superman statue. Not every bit of Superman merchandise targeted children. There were more adult items ranging from cigarette lighters to hood ornaments.

So popular was Superman that in mid-1939 National Allied Publications launched an official Superman fan club, the Supermen of America. The early membership kits included a membership certificate, a Superman pin back button, and a Secret Code decoder sheet. Over the years the Supermen of America would offer everything from patches to sweatshirts to rings. Membership in the Supermen of America was very economical for the era, costing only 10¢. The club would also prove popular. It lasted from 1939 to the mid-Sixties.

Beyond having his own fan club within a year of his first appearance, it is also a mark of Superman's early popularity that a day long event was held at the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair in his honour. At the World's Fair 3 July 1940 was declared "Superman Day at the World of Tomorrow." For the day admission to the Fair was dropped from a quarter to a dime. Charles Atlas judged a "Super Boy and Super Girl" contest. There were athletic competitions for boys and girls. The Adventures of Superman was broadcast live from the Assembly Hall of the World's Fair. As might be expected there was also a parade and an appearance by Superman himself as well. Superman at the World's Fair was played by character actor Ray Middleton, who would go onto appear in such films as Lady for a Night (1942)  and 1776 (1972). He was the first man to ever portray the Man of Steel live.

As if appearing at the World's Fair was not enough, Superman was also the first superhero to have his own balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Superman balloon appeared when the character was a little over a year old,  in 1939. It was the first of three balloons portraying the Man of Tomorrow in the parade. Sadly, it would not survive the advent of World War II saw the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parde cancelled in 1942, 1943, and 1944. The balloons were donated to the government to help in the war effort (rubber was in high demand). Besides the Superman balloon, the Uncle Sam balloon was also sacrificed to help our armed forces.

Of course, in the years following the Thirties and Forties Superman would see two live action TV shows (The Adventures of Superman and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), several Saturday morning cartoons (the first, The New Adventures of Superman, debuting in 1966), six feature films (with a seventh, Man of Steel, coming out this summer), thousands of merchandise, and, as would be expected, thousands of comic books.  Here it should be pointed out that Superman's numerous appearances in various media and the huge amount of merchandise over the years is probably not due simply to the character's longevity. In less than a year after his first appearance, Superman was already appearing in media other than comic books. Within two years of his first appearance he was already appearing in four different media (comic books, a newspaper strip, radio, and animated shorts) and there were hundreds of Superman merchandise on store shelves. I rather suspect that in the late Thirties and early Forties many thought Superman was a fad. Given that 75 years later Superman comic books are still being published and a major motion picture starring him comes out this summer, it is clear he was not a fad. What started 75 years ago today with Action Comics #1 (June 1939) grew into a phenomenon, and that phenomenon grew into an American institution.