Book about “Route 66″ TV show has been revamped February 11, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Television.add a comment
James Rosin, who published a book about the “Route 66″ television drama a few years ago, in mid-January published an extensively revised and augmented edition.
“Route 66: The Television Series” (286 pages, softcover, Autumn Road, $21.95) contains about 100 more pages than its 2007 predecessor. (A review of the first book can be read here.) It still contains extensive summaries of all 116 episodes, plus stories and quotes from the stars, directors and producers about how “Route 66″ was made.
“Route 66,” which aired from 1960 to 1964, co-starred Martin Milner and George Maharis (read my interview with Maharis from a few years ago here). Milner and Maharis portrayed Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock, respectively, as they tooled around the country in a Corvette convertible, looking for adventure.
The series earned praise for its on-location shooting, and its smart and socially conscious scripts. “Route 66″ earned two Emmy nominations during its relatively short run.
Here are the other additions and improvements to Rosin’s new book:
- Additional commentary by the producers and actors, including Maharis.
- Plot summaries of each episode have been revised, and contain no spoilers.
- More photographs.
- Rosin’s top 25 episodes.
- A listing of memorable scenes.
- Favorite quotes from the show.
- Awards and nominations.
- Trivia questions.
About the only thing missing from Rosin’s book is a mention of the short-lived revival of the “Route 66″ series in 1993. It lasted just four episodes, and was critically reviled. So Rosin’s omission of the latter-day series probably is no great loss.
Perhaps coincidentally, DVD releases of the first three seasons of “Route 66″ finally started to arrive barely a year after Rosin’s initial book was published. Now with Rosin’s revised volume, perhaps the long-delayed Season 4 eventually will make it to the digital format.
New wooden toys created of “Cars” characters February 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Toys.add a comment
Those who love to collect the massive amount of memorabilia from the 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie “Cars” will have a new bunch of toys to acquire.
Toys “R” Us and Disney announced today it is launching its first series of wooden vehicles from the film, much of which uses the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs as its setting.
According to the news release:
[...] The current collection of 15 items consists of a variety of collectible Cars vehicle 2-packs, destination playsets and a track set giving kids a unique way to recreate the storyline from the 2006 blockbuster movie. The wood line will soon be expanded with vehicles and playsets based on the highly anticipated release of Cars 2, in theaters June 24, 2011.
The Disney-Pixar Cars Wood Collection is one of this year’s first Toys”R”Us global exclusives with the full product line available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, U.K., Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Cars enthusiasts, both young and old, can collect all of their favorite, four-wheeled characters like Lightning McQueen, Mater, Doc Hudson and Sally, and race through an adventure-filled wood world of ramps and tracks down the iconic Route 66 to end up at original Cars destinations, such as Tow Mater’s Yard or Luigi’s Casa Della Tires. Customers can find the distinctive wood vehicles, playsets and track set in the Imaginarium® department of Toys”R”Us stores.
The toys are available at Toys”R”Us stores and here at ToysRUs.com.
The series includes:
Disney-Pixar Cars wood collection vehicle 2-Packs (with photos below): “Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen and Sally; Doc Hudson and Dusty Lightning McQueen; Fillmore and Sarge; Flo and Ramone; Mater and Hudson Hornet Doc; The King and Chick Hicks; Dinoco McQueen and Tex; and Wingo and Boost.
“Additionally, the following Disney-Pixar Cars Wood Collection Vehicle 2-Packs will be available exclusively at Toys”R”Us this spring: DJ and Snot Rod; Cruisin’ Lightning McQueen and Ramone; Tractor and Young Tow Mater; Red and Guido.”
Luigi’s Casa Della Tires Playset (photo below): “While visiting Luigi’s, kids can spin his tower of tires, stop by the air pump for a “fill up,” or crank-up the vehicles onto the mechanic’s ramp for a quick tune-up before launching them onto the track. This playset includes a Luigi vehicle.”
Tow Mater’s Yard Playset: “Kids can use the working crane to grab, lift, swing and drop the vehicles into the fenced-in tow yard or head out into Radiator Springs through the quick-escape ramp that exits through the garage. This playset includes a Mater vehicle.”
Sheriff’s Race ‘n Chase Track Set: “Cars fans will be delighted to relive one of the film’s classic scenes – when Lightning McQueen first raced through Radiator Springs frantically searching for Mack with Sheriff hot on his bumper! Kids can race through the set, knock down a row of cones and topple a tower of Luigi’s tires. This set includes a special edition metallic Lightning McQueen vehicle, a Sheriff vehicle, a Radiator Springs billboard sign for Sheriff to hide behind, a race ‘n chase ramp, interchangeable track pieces and four tires.”
All told, the entire set likely will cost about $200.
Although “Cars” was a modest hit by Pixar’s lofty standards, the film has proven to be a bonanza for memorabilia sales. In just the first year the film was released, it was estimated that “Cars” memorabilia generated about $200 million in sales.
(Photos courtesy of Disney, Toys”R”Us)
Exotic World is subject of a documentary February 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Museums, People.add a comment
Exotic World, the burlesque museum once located off Route 66 in Helendale, Calif., and run by the irrepressible Dixie Evans, now is the subject of an upcoming documentary.
“Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival” is being produced by Red Tremmel, a professor at Tulane University and a longtime scholar about gender and women’s issues.
Here’s some footage from the film, including Evans when she ran the museum in the middle of Southern California’s high desert. (Some of the footage is risque, but there is no real nudity.)
According to Weekly Volcano, Tremmel says he expects to have the film finished by June.
Weekly Volcano also gave a brief description of Exotic World:
Burlesque performer Jennie Lee, known as “The Bazoom Girl,” and her husband began preparing to build the museum in the Mojave Desert by collecting photos, props, stories and other materials from retired strippers beginning in the late 1950s, but it didn’t really come together until the 1980s when she teamed up with another exotic dancer, Dixie Evans, known as “The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque.” The museum was located in an old goat farm in the desert. It was named Exotic World.
Jennie invited strippers to come to the museum and share their experiences. An annual retreat became something of a Mecca for exotic dancers.
Jennie died in 1990, but her husband and Evans kept the museum alive. The annual reunion of strippers that Jennie had started continued and gained fame. Young performers and older retired strippers began to flock to the annual reunions turning the unique museum at the old goat ranch off Route 66 into a national phenomenon. It sparked an international revival of the art of burlesque.
The hospitable Evans also provided memorable moments for many road-trippers who paid a visit to her museum. But the place still languished with attendance because of its isolated location.
Exotic World eventually moved its collection to the more tourist-friendly Las Vegas, where it reopened as the Burlesque Hall of Fame. And I’m glad to see Evans still is very much involved in the museum.
More murals for Cuba February 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Vehicles.1 comment so far
The Route 66 town of Cuba, Mo., is known for its outdoor murals along the main drag.
Now, it appears Cuba will start to be known for indoor murals as well.
Painter Ray Harvey has completed artwork of vintage vehicles on four walls inside the Midwest Petroleum Travel Plaza, located just north of Interstate 44, according to Jane Reed of the Cuba Free Press. The truck stop formerly was known as the Voss Truck Port.
Don McNutt, president and CEO of Midwest Petroleum, said the original idea for the murals came from a waitress, and it made sense because the murals would make an immediate impact when a customer entered the two-story atrium. The murals are just part of Midwest’s overall plans to improve the facilities, and they complement Cuba’s “Mural City” reputation. [...]
A few months after Harvey completed the first 50-foot wall of classic cars, which he called Classic Road Show, McNutt and his customers were so pleased with the result that Harvey was commissioned to complete the remaining three walls above the entrance area.
One 25-foot wall was painted with nostalgic 18-wheelers and a Greyhound bus. This section of the mural above the restaurant entrance contains the logo Dottie’s Restaurant, which pays tribute to McNutt’s mother Dottie, who raised five young sons with a loving but firm hand after her husband died. The restaurant at the Travel Plaza will be named Dottie’s, with a change of the menu art and other signage that Harvey also painted.
The article includes two photos of Harvey’s artwork in the truck stop. The murals are part of extensive remodeling and improvements scheduled there.
Other images can be seen here. And Ray Harvey’s site contains a bunch of photos, too.
Happy ending to petroglyphs vandalism February 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, History, Preservation.add a comment
In August, ancient petroglyphs east of Route 66 near Williams, Ariz., were found vandalized by spray paint. Experts believe the petroglyphs at Keyhole Sink are at least 1,000 years old.
But according to Seth Muller at the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, the paint has been removed and the petroglyphs mostly restored:
In November, Weintraub and the staff with the Kaibab National Forest managed to clean up the graffiti with the help of Johannes Loubser, a rock-art restoration expert who originally did his work in South Africa. He traveled to northern Arizona to repair damage done to a petroglyph panel in Glen Canyon, just below the dam. [...]
“We got really lucky in that (Loubser) was already in the area,” Weintraub said. For little extra in costs, the Kaibab National Forest staff managed to get his expertise on the cleanup. Still, the type of paint used proved difficult to remove without damaging the panel. A firefighter assisting with the restoration made the suggestion of applying heat, which melted the paint off.
Loubser used other solvents and had crews cover the panel with a wash of local mud to help protect the rock art and help return the panel to its original color.
Muller reported that he could barely tell any difference from the last time he visited the site, save for a bit of discoloration where the spray-painting had occurred. And it’s hoped the discoloration will fade over time.
Here’s a good picture of the petroglyphs before the vandalization.
Newest edition of Dining and Lodging Guide is out February 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Motels, Restaurants, Route 66 Associations.add a comment
In the mail Monday, we received a copy of the 15th edition of the “Route 66 Dining & Lodging Guide,” published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation.
According to federation Executive Director David Knudson, the newest edition contains 48 additional pages (for a total of 166), is printed on better-quality paper, and boasts 200 more photographs inside. The guidebook is updated every two years.
The spiral-bound book lists for $15.95 on the federation’s website store, with $6.95 for handling and Priority Mail shipping. Knudson says it’ll be another month before the book is available on Amazon.com. So if you need one now, you’d better go to the federation’s site.
According to the book description:
It lists well over 500 dining and lodging establishments objectively reviewed by Federation Adopt-A-Hundred members. (No advertising is allowed.)
It concentrates on the vintage properties that made the Route famous. Price ranges, amenities, credit cards accepted, must stops and other specialty features are included.
Emily (aka Redforkhippie) and I have served as Adopt-a-Hundred volunteers for the past few editions, where we check out motels and restaurants along specific 100-mile sections of the Mother Road. So perhaps we’re biased in favor of the book.
But we used one of the early guidebooks on our first Route 66 trip even before we became involved as federation volunteers. Even when the book was a mere 60 pages or so, we found it was indispensable for finding cool restaurants or comfortable motels.
And it still is.
Cruise ship kicks February 8, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses.add a comment
Apparently the Disney Wonder cruise ship contains a Route 66-themed nightclub area. A deejay for KSON-FM in San Diego takes us through its hallway.
The Disney Wonder’s website reveals this is for the Cadillac Lounge and a couple of other taverns. More about it:
Cadillac Lounge is a 66-seat, vintage Cadillac-themed piano bar located on Deck 3, Forward in the Route 66 section on the Disney Wonder that features a full bar and nightly live music. Open from approximately 6:30 p.m. to midnight daily, Cadillac Lounge is off limits to Guests under 18 years of age after 9:00 p.m.
An intimate nightclub, Cadillac Lounge recalls the glorious heyday of the Rat Pack at their peak in the late 1950s. Boasting luxurious dark wood walls, low-lit fiber-optic city street murals, and custom chrome and alabaster headlight fixtures on the ceiling, the nightclub provides a romantic setting for adults and couples looking to escape to a more relaxed and subdued environment. Overstuffed armchairs, large porthole windows and a bucket-seat bar add to the cozy setting. [...]
Route 66, located on Deck 3, Forward of the Disney Wonder, is a section of the ship named after the historic thoroughfare, and home to 3 nightclubs and lounges that cater to adults in the evening, including WaveBands, Diversions and Cadillac Lounge. Decorated with a carpet that looks like a road map, dusty-looking billboards and vintage postcards, Route 66 is the route to fun for adults each and every cruise night.
Disney undoubtedly took a few design ideas from the fellows at Pixar Animation Studios and its 2006 movie, “Cars.”
Looking over the ship’s cruise schedule, it departs from either Los Angeles, Vancouver, or Port Canaveral, Fla.
So if you want a brief vacation to get away, here’s an option. And after the winter we’ve endured so far in Oklahoma, a few of those cruises look tempting.