All about Eve, Mr. Adams and 1957

A collection by Neal McKenna

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McKenna Ink Thesis Editing Service

Nostalgia

     Memories and wine are about the only things that get better with age. We Baby Boomers are all about Nostalgia so our memories are of a fine vintage. We probably grew up in and lived through the best part of the 20th century. 

     Now, that's not to say trouble didn't exist because it certainly did. There were wars and famines and terrible atrocities. But it was also a time of unbridled prosperity and wide-eyed optimism that ran headlong into a future that never happened. 

     They were the good old days when life was slow and oh so mellow. The winters were warmer, the skies were bluer, the grass was greener and the smiles were bright. That's the way we were.

     Memories are often attached to music, films, TV and even radio programs. Follow the links here and have a look at the featurette below to see if we share some of the same bits of fondly remembered history.

Mr. Adams and Eve 

     In 1957, I was 10 years old and my parents had bought the family's first television set. It was a 17" Marconi table model producing a world of entertainment in glorious black and white. As a matter of fact, it was not unlike the TV set pictured near the end of this segment. 

     Mr. Adams and Eve was one of the first TV series I ever watched. I loved it. It was about movie stars living their lives as "real people" with problems just like the res of us on the other side of the glass - except they were more glamorous, had a lavish home and drove fancy cars. The show was slick, stylish and very, very funny. 

     One of my favorite episodes was when Howard and Eve spend the night in the studio for some reason that made sense in the script and encounter ghosts of filmdom's past including the Keystone Kops. There was a wonderful chase scene involving the Kops, a scad of cowboys & Indians and various other icons of silent screen, in hot pursuit of Eve and Howard in their little Thunderbird convertible. Somehow, Eve ends up wearing the Indian Chief's feathered headdress and is riding with the Keystone Kops. I guess it's one of those "you had to be there" moments where words cannot convey the images I still see in my mind.

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     “Mr. Adams and Eve" was not a domestic comedy like "I Love Lucy,” Ida Lupino once said in an interview. “We had neighbors in our show, but we hated them! The only domestic thing about our show was that we were married. All of our love scenes were offbeat. They were not the ‘darling, I love you’ type...” 
     “Once I was involve in it," Lupino continued, "I was totally captivated with television. I took an active interest in the production of Mr. Adams and Eve, the set designs, and public relations. I was furious with CBS for canceling our show! There was no reason for them to cancel it. Mr. Adams and Eve’s ratings were high; the show was upbeat and popular, even with the younger generation. So we made fun of some studio people. Why not? It was a comedy!”

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     Mr. Adams and Eve cast real-life husband and wife movie stars Howard Duff and Ida Lupino as fictitious film stars Howard Adams and his wife Eve Drake. In the show, the couple got along much better on the big screen than they did in their real lives. Mr. Adams and Eve portrayed the private lives of movie stars with considerable reality but with an added dose of comedy.

     The "inside Hollywood" flavor of the show portrayed how famous actors dealt with their studios, their agents, as well as other entertainment industry complications. Some of the situations were based on incidents in the couple's real lives. In addition to Lupino and Duff, the cast included Hayden Rorke, Alan Reed, and Olive Carey. Sadly, the show was entangled in legal difficulties for years and practically all the episodes are now believed to be lost or misplaced. 

     The program aired sixty-six episodes from January 4, 1957, to July 8, 1958, with rebroadcasts continuing until September 23, 1958. Lupino who gave up films in favour of television was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Best Actress in a Continuing Role" for both seasons of Mr. Adams and Eve.

Partially re-blogged from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   

      

Below is one full episode of 

Mr. Adams and Eve - 

26 minutes of vintage fun.

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The Queen with Dwight D Eisenhower at a White House State banquet 
on October 20, 1957

On Queen Elizaabeth II's first state visit to America in 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was her host. He was the first serving president she met during her reign.  Via The Telegraph

October 4, 1957
The Soviet Union puts the world's first artificial satellite, named Sputnik 1 

(Fellow Traveller), into Earth orbit.

Via RAF Museum UK

News and Interesting Historical Tidbits 

from 1957

2 Million Volkswagen Beetles sold in USA - The 2 millionth VW Beetle vehicle sold in 1957.

The Treaty of Rome Signed 25th March, 1957: France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg sign the treaty in Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market.

Link Between Smoking and Lung Cancer A report by the British Medical Research Council has found there is a direct link between smoking and lung cancer, and the British government will launch an educational campaign to raise awareness on the dangers of smoking.Tobacco firms who sell cigarettes have rejected the findings saying they are merely a 'matter of opinion'.

"American Bandstand"American Bandstand, which featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 chart music hosted by Dick Clark, makes its network debut on ABC. The show had been running as a local show since it was introduced on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV (Channel 6, now WPVI-TV) on October 7, 1952 and ran until the show ended in 1989. 

Wham-O Company Begins production of the Pluto Platter / Frisbee Wham-O begins begins production of the Pluto Platters (Changed Name to "Frisbee" in June 1957). following the name change sales rocketed as the Frisbee took off as a sport rather than the original marketing as a toy.

Mayflower Replica Sets Sail A replica of the original Mayflower which transported Pilgrims to the New World Mayflower II recreating the original voyage sets sail from Brixton, England, across the Atlantic arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts on 13th June 1957. The Mayflower II was an exact copy of the original with no engine which took, it 55 days to complete the journey. The Mayflower II is currently at Plimoth Plantation Museum at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Quarrymen - Paul McCartney meets John Lennon at a Quarrymen gig in June and Lennon invites McCartney to join the group. McCartney makes his debut with the group in October at a local Conservative Club social in Liverpool. In January 1958 they played their first gig at the The Cavern as the Quarrymen and by March a schoolfriend of Paul McCartney's George Harrison joins the group. Following a fallout with other band members the Quarrymen slowly disintegrated but by 1960 John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best, had formed The Beatles for their first performances in Hamburg in August 1960. In 1962 following the death of Stuart Sutcliffe and the dismissal of Pete Best they bought in Ringo Starr as the drummer which became the lineup for The Beatles who are considered one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music.

Ghana a former British Colony gains independence from Britain in 1957

House for Un-American Activities Committee The House for Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) convicts the playwright Arthur Miller of contempt of Congress for refusing to reveal the names of alleged Communist writers with whom he had attended five or six meetings in New York.

H Bomb Testing Begins Britain and Russia begin tests on the first hydrogen bombs, and the arms race between countries around the world continues to escalate as each country tests bigger and more destructive nuclear devices.

Singapore Gets Self Rule  The British government allows the island colony of Singapore to govern itself under a new constitution agreed in London. Great Britain will continue to control external affairs and defense.

Hurricane Audrey Hurricane Audrey hits the Gulf Coast which kills 390 people. Water on the coast reached as high as 15 feet above the normal high-tide mark. Boats were washed ashore by the tremendous waves. The towns of Cameron, Creole and Grand Chenier were devastated by the hurricane. Only one building survived in Creole and only two were left standing in Cameron.

Suez Canal Reopened The Suez Canal which connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea is reopened to international traffic by Egypt after Israel withdraws from occupied Egyptian territory 

The Year 1957 in Focus  
Fins on American cars are getting bigger by the week. 
The state of Oklahoma celebrates its semi-centennial statehood. A brand new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere is buried in a time capsule (to be opened 50 years later on June 15, 2007).
Kids played with Slinkys and Hula Hoops - 54 years later, and kids still love them The First Nuclear Electricity in the US comes from a plant in Pennsylvania 
Prime Minister Anthony Eden Resigns - due to his handling of the Suez Crisis - Harold Macmillan becomes the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Peak of the Baby Boomer Years is here and as more couples have become more affluent with peacetime prosperity; they set about having more children.
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the final time. He is only shown from the waist up, even during the gospel segment, singing "Peace In The Valley." Ed Sullivan describes Elvis thus: "This is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you. You're thoroughly all right." 
Nationwide resistance to racial segregation and discrimination in the US

Cars Manufactured in 1957

Hudson Hornet

Chrysler 300 C

Studebaker Champion

Renault Dauphine

Oldsmobile 98

Ford Fairlane

Plymouth Fury

Packard Hawk

Dodge Royal Lancer

Chevrolet Nomad 

Mercury Turnpike Cruiser

Pontiac Chieftan

Jaguar XK 140

Buick Century

Lincoln Continental Mark II

DeSoto Adventurer

Cadillac Coupe DeVille

Ford Ranchero

Chevrolet Corvette

Ford Thunderbird

Nash-Ambassador

Top 10 Popular Music

1. "Too Much" ... Elvis Presley
2. "Young Love" ... Tab Hunter
3. "Party Doll" ... Buddy Knox
4. "Round and Round" ... Perry Como
5. "All Shook Up" ... Elvis Presley
6. "Love Letters in the Sand" ... Pat Boone
7. "Teddy Bear" ... Elvis Presley
8. "Tammy" ... Debbie Reynolds
9. "Diana" ... Paul Anka
10. "That'll Be the Day" ... Buddy Holly & the Crickets


Top Movies
1. The Ten Commandments
2. Around the World in 80 Days
3. Giant
4. Pal Joey
5. Seven Wonders of the World
6. The Tea House of the August Moon
7. The Pride and Passion
8. Anastasia
9. Island in the Sun
10. Love Me Tender


Top Television Shows
1. Gunsmoke (CBS)
2. The Danny Thomas Show (CBS)
3. Tales of Wells Fargo (NBC)
4. Have Gun Will Travel (CBS)
5. I've Got A Secret (CBS)
6. The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp (ABC)
7. General Electric Theater (CBS)
8. The Restless Gun (NBC)
9. December Bride (CBS)
10. You Bet Your Life (NBC)


Most Popular Books - Fiction
1."By Love Possessed"... James Gould Cozzens & Harcourt, Brace
2."Peyton Place" ...Grace Metalious. Messner
3. "Compulsion" ...Meyer Levin. Simon & Schuster
4. "Rally Round the Flag, Boys!"... Max Shulman. Doubleday
5. "Blue Camellia"...Frances Parkinson Keyes. Messner
6. "Eloise in Paris"...Kay Thompson. Simon & Schuster
7. "The Scapegoat"... Daphne du Maurier. Doubleday
8. "On the Beach"... Nevil Shute. Morrow
9. "Below the Salt"... Thomas B. Costain, Doubleday
10. "Atlas Shrugged"... Ayn Rand. Random House


Prices in 1957
New House Average Price $12,220   = $97,042.00  in 2011
Average Annual Wage = $4.550        = $36,133.00  in 2011
Gallon of gasoline 25 Cents               = $2.00  in 2011 (still a deal)
Chrome Dinette Set 7 piece $99.50   = $794.00  in 2011
Mechanical Adding Machine $3.98  = $31.77  in 2011
Paperback Book 25 cents                  = $2.00  in 2011

Food
Dozen Eggs 28 Cents                          = $2.22 in 2011
Bananas 14 cents lb.                           = $1.11 in 2011
Campbells Tomato Soup 10 cents     = $0.79 in 2011
Hamburger Meat 30 Cents lb.          = $2.37 in 2011
Sirloin Steak 59 Cents lb.                   = $4.56 in 2011

Vehicles
Ford Fairline from $2,250               = $17,868.00  in 2011
Packard Clipper from $2,730          = $21,680.00  in 2011
Renault from $1,780                        = $14,135.00  in 2011
Nash Ambassador from $2,586       = $20,536.00  in 2011

Clothes
Mens All Wool Suits $28.90               = $230.30 in 2011
Boys Leather Jacket $4.88                = $38.75 in 2011
Denim Jeans $2.49                             = $19.77 in 2011

Electrical
GE portable food mixer $18.95         = $150.49 in 2011
Steam iron $9.99                                = $79,33 in 2011
Automatic Washer and Dryer $320  = $2,541.00 in 2011
Philco B&W 20" TV $229.95            = $1,826.09 in 2011

Radar Devices Used To Enforce Speed Limits More Police forces throughout the United States are to buy and use a greater number of portable speed radar checking devices to enforce speed limits

East German Visas Required In an attempt to push the West to recognize them, East Germany ruled that travellers to their territory had to possess East German visas instead of Soviet ones. This law was imposed on diplomats and travellers from Allied countries.

Foot and Mouth epidemic The Foot and Mouth epidemic in Britain reaches an all time high as the Norths largest abattoir is closed down due to 20 cases of foot-and-mouth disease found in carcasses. All remaining cattle, sheep and pigs at the abattoir will now be slaughtered under supervision of Ministry of Agriculture vets. In it's battle against the disease Over 30,000 animals have been slaughtered so far during this epidemic.

First US Commercial Nuclear Power Plant The US first large scale civilian atomic power plant at Shippingport, Pa., starts generating electricity for consumers in the Pittsburgh area

Elvis Presley Receives Draft Notice Elvis Presley receives his draft notice for the United States Army on December 20th.

Toyota Begins Selling Cars In US In 1957 Toyota started selling the Toyopet Crown and sold 288 that yearIn August this year Toyota sold 233,471 unitsIn just 50 years who would have thought it, I can remember my parents telling me all Japanese cars were built like cr?? when I was a kid now people buy Japanese cars because of the high quality

Windscale Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Part of the radioactive core at pile 1 at Windscale Nuclear Plant in West Cumbria used to make to make weapons-grade plutonium cathches fire and as there had never been a similar experience it was a best guess as to how to distinguish the fire, but a combination of water pumped in to the reactor and turning off the air supply to the reactor worked. The combination of a lack of oxygen and gallons of water did the trick and the fire was eventually put out. 

The fire caused the release of substantial amounts of radioactive contamination into the surrounding area and the event, known as the Windscale fire, was the world's worst reactor accident until the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. An inquiry into a fire on October 10th at Windscale nuclear power plant blames the accident on a combination of human error, poor management and faulty instruments.

Via This Year In History 1957 and History Central




Now, back to the future...
March 11, 2011: 
Japanese tsunami from the point of view of a car.
Via Wimp.com

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What lies beneath...

Here's Your Yearly Dementia Test 

It's that time of year for us to take our annual senior citizen test.

Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles. As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert. If you don't use it, you lose it!
 

Below is a very private way to gauge how your memory compares to the last test. Some may think it is too easy but the ones with memory problems may have difficulty. 

Take this test to determine if you're losing it or not.
The spaces below are so you don't see the answers until after you've responded to the questions.

OK, relax, clear your mind and begin.


1. What do you put in a toaster?






Answer: 'Bread.' If you said 'toast' give up now and do something else. Try not to hurt yourself....

If you said, bread, go to Question 2.




2. Say 'silk' five times. Now spell 'silk.' What do cows drink?






Answer: Cows drink water. If you said 'milk' don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat.
However, if you said 'water', proceed to question 3.





3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks,
what is a green house made from?





Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said 'green bricks,' why are you still reading these???
If you said 'glass,' go on to Question 4.


4. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to Milford Haven in Wales . In London , 17 people get on the bus. In Reading , 6 people get off the bus and 9 people get on. In Swindon , 2 people get off and 4 get on. In Cardiff , 11 people get off and 16 people get on. In Swansea , 3 people get off and 5 people get on. In Carmathen, 6 people get off and 3 get on. You then arrive at Milford Haven. Now. without scrolling back to review, how old is the bus driver?




Answer: Oh, for crying out loud! Don't you remember your own age? It was YOU driving the bus!! 

95% of those tested fail most of these questions!!