March Miscellany: "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" Paper Dolls & Toy Train Models

Welcome back to "March Miscellany!"   Just a reminder, I'm doing something different for the month of March, and posting multiple times throughout the month.  This is post #2.

This set of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" paper dolls is another childhood item, which came from a "Lucky's" supermarket.  During a visit with my grandparents in the early 1970s, I went with my grandmother to her local "Lucky's" grocery store.  As usual, I was drawn to the store's "toy aisle."  I don't remember if I was looking at this item and my grandmother told me she would buy it for me, or if she told me to pick something out and this is what I chose.  But I ended up coming home with it.

"Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" was an NBC television show, that aired from 1968 to 1973.  This unused set (from ebay) has "1969" printed on it's front cover.

Back cover:

Inside pages:

This is what's left of my set.  Unfortunately, Jo Anne Worley went missing a long time ago.

Dick Martin was one of the show's co-hosts:

Dan Rowan was the other co-host:

Goldie Hawn left the show after the third season, and went on to have a very successful film career.

Judy Carne (the "Sock It To Me Girl") kind of looks sunburned, here.....or jaundiced.  The discoloration on her face is from a piece of Scotch Tape, which I used to try and keep her head "on."

Jo Anne Worley was lost, but she left behind most of her wardrobe.

Arte Johnson's military helmet also mysteriously disappeared.  "Veeeeery interesting!"  Unfortunately, there was not a Ruth Buzzi paper doll, for his "old man" character to offer a Walnetto.

I think the only reason that any of these paper items survived at all, is because I stored them in this box.  The box originally contained pieces for building a "miniature chapel," to use with model train sets.

The side of the box pictured other models, which were available from the ATLAS company.

While growing up, my family did have a train set, which would get set up every year, underneath our Christmas tree.  The "Chapel On The Hill" model can be seen in the photo, below.  There are also some other models visible....a couple of houses, a little train station, and some animal holding pens/stalls.

These next two models aren't visible in the photo above, but were a part of my family's train set.  My dad was the one who would buy these, and he was always the one who would assemble them.

The Sears price tag was still on this one, but I can't make out what the actual price was.

I'm not sure why these empty model boxes survived, but they did, and were found stored in my family's garage.  My brother has the actual assembled models, now.  If I get a chance, I will photograph them and include them in a future post.

This one still contained it's instructions for assembly:

Please check back throughout the month of March, for more "miscellany!"

Walt Disney Productions' Robin Hood (Toys, Comics, Disneyland, & More!)

Back in November of 2010, I wrote a post titled,  Robin Hood is Alive and Well, and Living in Tokyo Disneyland.  More than 10 years have passed now, but that continues to be one of my "most viewed" posts.  So, I thought maybe it was time to do a "follow-up" post!

Walt Disney Productions' Robin Hood was released on November 8, 1973.  Below, is the film's original "one sheet" theatrical poster.  I found this in a "movie memorabilia" shop on  Hollywood Boulevard, back in the 1980s.

The Fall 1973 issue of Disney News Magazine, featured Robin Hood on the cover.

The magazine also included two articles about the upcoming film.

This first article talks about the actors who voiced the characters.

This article tells the story of Robin Hood, or at least, the "animals' version."

In the Spring of 1982, the film was re-released in theaters.  (This 1982 newspaper ad is from my original "Robin Hood" post, back in 2010.)

 

The Spring 1982 Disneyland Souvenir Guide included an ad for the film's re-release, on the inside of the back cover.

The park's entertainment guide from April of 1982, also featured a Robin Hood ad on it's back cover.

Robin Hood was released on video tape for the first time, in 1984.  It was re-released on video, in 1991.  This is the 1991 label.

The film was first released on DVD, in 2000.  A remastered edition, ("Most Wanted Edition") was released in 2006, and included a never-before-seen alternate ending.

Now we will take a look at some personal items from my childhood.  Two years ago, we saw my "Herbie, The Love Bug" model (made by Revell), which came from the toy aisle of our neighborhood "Lucky's" grocery store.  The same store sold these two "Robin Hood" model kits (also made by Revell), at the same time as the Herbie model.

Set #1 included models of the main characters.

The model pieces "snapped" together, so no glue was needed.

This backdrop was included with the models.

I also saved the assembly instructions.

 

Set #2 was Prince John's "Royal Coach."

 

The Royal Coach model included this backdrop.

And here are the instructions.

 

I also had the Robin Hood Colorforms set, however, this was the very last of the Colorforms sets I received.  At this point, I was just about at the age where I would have been getting too old for Colorforms, and I actually don't even remember playing with this particular set.  It is pretty much in mint condition and contains all of it's pieces.  In January of 2020, I posted pics of my Doctor Dolittle Colorforms set, but it definitely got played with, and as a result, was missing some of it's pieces.

The board:

The pieces:

The instructions:

For a short time (1974-1975), Gold Key Comics published a comic book series titled, The Adventures of Robin Hood.  I only bought two of the issues, but from what I have seen online, it appears that were seven issues altogether.  These comics did not retell the original story from the film.  As stated on the covers, the stories were "Based on the All-New Disney Cartoon Feature Movie."

Issue #2, from May of 1974:

Issue #3, from July of 1974:

Golden Books, which was owned by the same parent company as Gold Key Comics, released a much nicer "book" version of four of the comics.

The back cover showed three other books that were available.  I purchased all four of these at Pic 'N' Save, shortly after the movie was released.

These "soft-cover" books all used a better quality of paper and ink, than traditional comic books.  Here's a comparison of the two versions.

Golden Book version:

Gold Key comic book version:

This Robin Hood Valentine was from a boxed set of Disney Valentines, circa 1974-1976.   I often chose Disney-themed Valentines to give to fellow classmates, and I always kept any of the leftover ones.

In my previous Robin Hood post, I included pictures of the film's costumed characters at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland, but these two photos were not used in that post:

This December 1973 photo, shows the first use of the Robin Hood characters, in a Disneyland Christmas parade (Fantasy On Parade).  This same float was used again 8 years later (and also a few other years in between), in the 1981 version of Fantasy On Parade.

And here, Robin Hood is greeting guests in Disneyland's Fantasyland, circa 1979.

 

In 2012, Disney's California Adventure held a dance party called, "Dancin' With Disney," in the park's former "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" building.   This event used costumed characters which were rarely seen in the parks anymore.....characters like the Big Bad Wolf, and Robin Hood's Prince John and Sheriff of Nottingham.

We'll end this post with a more "current" Robin Hood item.  Back in 2013, this ceramic figure was being sold in DCA's "Off The Page" shop, for $95.

To view my previous Robin Hood post from 2010, click here: Robin Hood Is Alive & Well & Living In Tokyo Disneyland.