382. Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: SOAKIES SET:

In the 1960s, to  make taking a bath a more fun experience for kids, Colagte Palmolive packaged its shampoo in plastic figural containers in the shape of popular cartoon characters. The result is the Soaky Bubble Bottle--which children can play with, while soaked in a bath! These "soakies" depicted scores of characters that included Bozo the Clown, Batman and Robin, Snow White, Casper, Dick Tracy, Flintstones, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Smokey the Bear, Popeye, and later--the Muppets and characters from Star Wars. the unique play bottles became instant collectibles and are now sought after today mostly by baby boomer collectors who grew up taking a shower with these plastic shampoo "toy" bottles. Generally very affordable, there are soakies that are hard to find and therefore more expensive--like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, which starts at $100!!. Similar bottles are still being made today--so that's good news for folks who want to soak in the happiness of showering with a favorite toy!!

381. Strong to the Finish : 1958 POPEYE VINYL DOLL by GUND

Now here's a handsome deal that came from a distant relative---a 21 inch 1958 vinyl doll of Popeye, the sailor man, toot-toot!! It was made by Gund Mfg. Co. which has been making stuffed toys since 1898! This character doll is an authorized merchandise of King Features Syndicate, which owns the right to the popular cartoon series.

When it came to me, it had been redressed and mended in different parts. The head seemed lopsided, like it was repositioned at one point so I had to twist it a bit. Popeye was wearing a horrible metallic silver top with very tight pants of the same material. It came in a ragged condition, and its nose, it seemed, showed signs of having been nibbled by its previous owner. Well, I had high hopes that I could restore it still.

But first, I had to look for reference o how to redress Popeye. It was good thing I found a similar doll on ebay, which shows Popeye in its original sailor dress. I  took the doll to a local dressmaker and furnished her with the above reference. Well, she figured she could copy it--and I believed her.

A week after---my old Popeye was ready to slip into his new, flashy sailor attire. I think my dressmaker did a fabulous job recreating a new costume using local fabrics! The costume has that fresh-from-the-factory look!! My Popeye is ready to b displayed--and he did not have to finish a can of spinach to look this good! Toot--toot!!

380. DONALD DUCK SQUEAKER HAT, 1956

Disneyana collectors--look what I found at a local thrift shop, a 1956 Donald Duck squeaker hat! It's an unlikely find here in the Philippines--and I've never seen anything like it. The cap itself is made of fine mesh material, and is topped with a Donald patch with a ribbon. The eyes are glued-on plastic googlies, The beak is plastic and when you give a squeeze--it actually squeaks!

Recently, I saw this old print ad online advertising the same cap--"the hat you'll see Mouseketeers wearing on TV!" Of course, I never saw that as the Mickey Mouse show was never aired in the Philippines, so it was a delight to discover this piece of Disneyana in this part of the world, I am quacking all over!!

366. I'm A-Coming For You!!!: TALKING BEANY MATTEL DOLL,1961

Remember Beany and the sea-sick sea serpent, Cecil?  The unlikely duo was an animated cartoon series created by Bob Clampett for the ABC Television, based on the TV puppet show Time for Beany, produced for Paramount Pictures in 1949. The cartoon series first appeared in Matty's Funday Funnies in 1959, and peaked in popularity in the 60s as The Beany and Cecil Show.

Many toys were inspired by this hit cartoon--including the best-selling Beany and Cecil puppets. This Mattel-made talking doll of Beany is another fine example, showing minimal wear and nice intact seams. Made in 1961, Beany still talks, although he says his name in jibberish. His trademark beanycopter propeller is there, although broken. This awesome doll was purchased on ebay--with 2 bonus plastic tumblers of Beany and Cecil thrown in!!

363. Ghost of our Childhood Past: TALKING CASPER

 "Casper, the friendly ghost...the friendliest ghost you know.."
Remember the Harvey Famous Cartoon's friendliest ghost, Casper? He was one of my favorite TV cartoon characters and Saturday mornings aren't just complete without him. To think he was a dead person!! Conceived in the 1930s, by cartoonist Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo, he was designed to become one of the most famous properties from Famous Studios.  Soon, comics of him were being published by Alfred Harvey, founder and publisher of Harvey Comics who eventually purchased the rights to the character. New cartoons were created for The New Casper Cartoon Show in 1963,  These cartoons remain important today because of the messages they imparted: the values of friendship, compassion, and acceptance of others.

The popularity of Casper generated many collectible merchandise---from toys, coloring books, gameboards to this adorable 15" Casper Doll,  a 1963 Original by Mattel. It's a pull-string talking Casper who says 10 different things: "My Name is Casper". "Ooooooh. Let's play ghost." "I like you." "I'm a friendly ghost. Don't be afraid of me". "I'm not afraid. I'm cold. Can I stay with you?" "Will you play with". me?. 

Casper was resurrected as a movie in 1995, with live action and voice characters, starring Devon Sawa as Casper in human form. I have seen the movie of course, but it's the Harvey 'toon that I miss. Thank God, Casper  has come back to haunt me in the form of this talking doll--found in a local thrift shop. The voice is a bit garbled, the body shoddy and worn, but he is still loveable after all these years. Unlike grownups, old ghosts never die, they just become friendlier with age!!! !!

304. 1970s FLINTSTONES PREMIUM CUPS

The Flintstones, an animated cartoon from Hanna Barbera Productions,  were a stone-age family from Bedrock, with a working class background. Like modern-day families, the Flintstones, along with their neighbors, the Rubbles, the Flinstones, headed by Fred and wife Wilma, had to contend with everyday concerns like eking out a living, issues in the workplace and at home. The cartoon was broadcast from 1 Sep. 1960 to 1 April 1966, and proved to be the most successful cartoon in 3 decades, topped only by the Simpsons. Naturally, Flintstones merchandising were made by the hundreds of thousands. This 1970 set of plastic mugs are from the popular Chewable FLINTSTONES Multiple Brand Vitamins. The plastic promo cups show Fred Flinstones, Dino and daughter Pebbles. They're about 3.75 in. tall and 2.75 in. in diameter. When I found this set in a U.S. flea market being sold for $5, I could not stop myself from screaming..."Yabba Dabba Dooooo"!

301. Switch It While You Work: SNOW WHITE CHALKWARE LAMP

Walt Disney took moviedom by storm when it screened it screened its first animated feature, "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs"  in 1937. Based on the fairy tale character, Snow White became a worldwide sensation and it popularized such songs as "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Someday, my Prince Will Come" and "Whistle While You Work". Snow White was the first of the so-called Disney Princess and is the only animated figure that has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Immediately, licensed merchandise were made of the characters, especially the 7 Dwarfs--Grumpy, Happy, Doc, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey and Sleepy. Snow White too, was immortalized in the form of dolls, gameboards, coloring books, figurines--and one of the earliest is this lamp base. La Mode Studios of New York was licensed to create these lamps made of painted plaster, in 1938. molded in the shape o Snow White. The drwafs too were cast as lamp bases, but the Snow White lamp--with a matching lampshade--remains a favorite. This particular lamp base however is very different from what La Mode created, so I assume this was from a different, unlicensed manufacturer, riding on the crest of the popularity of the cartoon. It bears no copyright date, but is incised with the Walt Disney name.

I found Snow White many years ago in Chatuchak market in Bangkok. Far from having a flawless fair complexion, she has a tan, almost like a morena Filipina. My Snow White came with a glass shade that does not really fit, which I believe to be a replacement. I am sure it can be rewired and restored (I actually repainted the scruffs on her body), and someday...her switch will come.

251. Boxed: THE BUGALOOS

One of my favorite after-high school cartoons (yes, I was still into kiddie cartoons in high school!) was the TV show, The Bugaloos, produced by brothers Sidney Krofft and Martin Krofft, that aired from 1970 to 1972. The Bugaloos were a musical group of four British-accented teenagers, who lived in fictional Tranquility Forest. They wore insect-themed outfits with antennae and wings which allowed them to fly, and were constantly harassed by the jealous Benita Bizarre,played by comedienne Martha Raye, whom I keep mistaking for Phyllis Diller!. Well, what do you know, in 1971, Aladdin Industries came up with The Bugaloos lunchbox, and here's one that survived the trash bin. Forty two years old, and rusty on one side, it features Benita out to attack the singing band of bugs! Not exactly in great condition, but still good enough to churn again  those fuzzy, funny and funky memories of my dysfunctional childhood--when cartoons ruled my weekends and musical bugs were all I cared about!

197. SMILEY MUG

Back in the psychedelic-age-of-Aquarius 70s, the yellow "Smiley Face" made its appearance in pop art -- mirroring the exuberant, carefree and hallucinogenic happy mood of the decade. "Smiley" made its appearance on every inconceivable material--curtains, wastebasket, stationery, decals and even mugs---such as this one made by McCoy Pottery. It is marked with the McCoy USA name and log on the bottom. McCoy Pottery was established way back in 1910 by Nelson McCoy, manufacturing utilitarian pieces which proved to be popular in the 1930s. The business declined in the 70s and closed permanently in 1990. "Smiley Face" has continued to evolve however, and scores of variants have been generated, known in the cyberworld today as 'emoticons'.

193. CASPER The Friendly Ghost Game

When boardgames became hot collectibles, of course, I just had to have one. The first gameboard I got was bought from a local "variety store", which sold used items salvaged from the homes of American servicemen's families. This 1959 Casper The Friendly Ghost Board Game by Milton Bradley was marked #4018, ages 5 to 12. The objective is to be the first player to move his four ghosts around the spooky path and into the haunted house. It looked like it was hardly played--the spinner is intact plus the original instruction printed on box interior. Casper gameboards are available on ebay from 99 cents to 19.99$, depending on their condition. Not as desirable as other TV-based games. I haven't touched this game, but maybe one day I'll use the spinner to contact ghosts and other friendly supernatural beings.

95. Boxed: HONG KONG PHOOEY

Few remember this short-lived Hanna Barbera cartoon series that ran in the late 1970s on Philippine TV. The star, Hong Kong Phooey, is the altar ego of Penrod Pooch, or Penry, a "mild-mannered" police station janitor who can transform into an anti-crime, kung-fu fighting canine. The animated series ran from 1974 to 1981. This lunch box, made by King Seeley in 1975, celebrates the karate-chopping antics of Hong Kong Phooey. It's a little rusty and beat-up, the lunchbox, that is, but still a cheap and charming find.