Hopalong Cassidy and the Allentown Halloween Parade

14 Responses to Hopalong Cassidy and the Allentown Halloween Parade

1. Mark says:

   August 30, 2014 at 8:13 PM

   Never seen Hopalong in person,he was also before my time but I did get an autograph photo from Mr. Goober a Connecticut kids TV host at Gelco toy store it was a madhouse, lots of fun !

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   • admin says:

     August 30, 2014 at 10:44 PM

     Mark
     My area was lucky to get a number of the stars to visit us. We got a number of them through Hess’s Department Store. Under the leadership of Max Hess, they brought in Pancho, Steve Canyon , Lassie and Superman plus many more. The last one was very interesting as George Reeves in his Superman suit did various things at the store delivery packages etc. I remember seeing him in the toy department with woman firing off the flying Superman toy.
     Our local amusement park Dorney Park brought in the local kiddie hosts from Philadelphia. It was fun time for kid

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2. Mike Kutnick says:

   August 30, 2014 at 10:35 PM

   I remember going to the Ringling Bros. Circus in Chicago and they had a stagecoach robbery saved by The Cisco Kid and Pancho! Good memories…

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   • admin says:

     August 30, 2014 at 10:46 PM

     Mike K
     Many of the television stars performed at rodeos and circuses. I got to see Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Pat Brady perform at the Allentown fair. Yes lots of fun.

     Reply
3. Mark says:

   August 31, 2014 at 6:18 AM

   WOW ! You guys got to see a lot of the classics!

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   • admin says:

     August 31, 2014 at 9:40 PM

     Mark
     As I said before I was lucky because of Hess’s Department Store. Max Hess was a master promoter, when he sold the store, it changed. They did get some stars but not like the old days. Today you have to go collectibles show to see the stars. On the east coast the best I think is Chiller that is at the end of October On the west coast the best is Hollywood Collectibles Show. You have to pay for their autograph and you get a chance to talk with them.

     Reply
4. Don Perkins says:

   August 31, 2014 at 10:07 AM

   To my everlasting regret, I never got to see Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, or Davy Crockett, but in the late 50s I did get to see and meet Zorro (Guy Williams) and Cochise (George Ankara, from the TV show “Broken Arrow”) at the Arkansas State Fair in Fort Smith, Arkansas — 1958 or 59, when I was in first or second grade.

   But I did have both the Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers playsets at that time. Thinking about these things is almost enough to inspire me to head to Rick Eber’s room at OTSN in about 3 weeks and “invest” in a nice boxed Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers playset, just to hang on to the memory. Since I decided some time ago that boxed Marx playsets had reached price levels slightly beyond my toy soldier budget, I’m going to try to resist the temptation. But in those heady, frenzied moments upon arrival in Schaumburg on Friday morning, going from room to room, who knows what might happen in the excitement.

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   • admin says:

     August 31, 2014 at 9:29 PM

     Don
     To save your self money just get the character figures and make your own playset.

     Reply
5. Brian Johnson says:

   August 31, 2014 at 5:25 PM

   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048848/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3 Michael Ansara

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6. Don Perkins says:

   August 31, 2014 at 7:27 PM

   Yes, in the 1950s TV show “Broken Arrow”, Cochise was a “good guy”, always wanting peace, and working cooperatively with the Indian Agent to even-handedly thwart scheming white swindlers and renegade Indians. When I met Michael Ansara as “Cochise” at the Arkansas State Fair, it was the year after I got to meet Guy Williams as Zorro. In each of those years, they were the star attractions at the fair. Those were the good old days. Of course, in those days, I wasn’t rooting for a peacemaker like Cochise. I wanted to see some action in a good old-fashioned Cavalry vs. Indian war, with the U.S. Cavalry decisively winning.

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7. Don Perkins says:

   September 1, 2014 at 10:36 AM

   Good point from Admin: “To save yourself some money [as compared to purchasing an original boxed Marx playset] just buy the character figures”…. and put together all the other components as individual parts, thus creating your own identical playset, all with original Marx parts.

   So true: And by adding in a Dreamwish playset box, you would have every single original Marx component, except the cardboard, which is quite often shot to hell and looks like crap anyway.

   You would then have a mint lithographed box and all original Marx parts and pieces for less than $250.00 total, compared to buying Rick Eber’s $600.00 Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers boxed set.

   True, the Dreamwish cardboard wouldn’t be original — but in this case, it would both look and be better than the original.

   This wouldn’t satisfy, of course, the purists —- but at some point, the value of money has to kick in and take precedence.

   Reply
8. Ed Borris says:

   September 3, 2014 at 7:37 AM

   Don, be sure to check our room at OTSN, my partner should have a host of Roy Evans and Dale Rogers figures. He may even have the dog Ammo.

   However, I think you really need a set of powder blue character figures from Fort Apache.

   Reply
   • Don Perkins says:

     September 3, 2014 at 4:54 PM

     September has arrived, and the excitement of my impending pilgrimage to Schaumburg has begun, especially since I had been saying all year I wasn’t going this year. Just a month ago I was able to arrange things so that I could go after all.

     I plan on arriving at the Hyatt right around 6:00 am on Friday morning. That allows me to look around 4th and 5th floor before anything opens at all the ads and announcments dealers have posted, as well as Barzso’s usual exhibit on the 5th floor lobby, enjoy the Hyatt’s great breakfast buffet, and be ready for the first rooms which tend to start opening around 9:oo.

     I’ve already got my room number confirmed on 4th floor, which, if tradition holds, I should be able to get into by around 12:00 noon, or shortly thereafter. But I’ll spend the whole morning looking around the dealer rooms.

     I’m rooming again this year with Bill Skinner, whose photo appeared a couple of issues ago in Playset Magazine in a group photo of first wave collectors which included Ron Angleton and Paul Gruendler. Bill informs me he was in attendance at the very first OTSN and hasn’t missed one since.

     I’m bringing a modest amount of cash this year, but will have my ATM card handy for emergencies just in case I run into something I have to have that I can’t pass up.

     As Ed correctly notes, I actually really do need a set of 60mm powder blue Fort Apache cavalrymen, but since I didn’t get into the hobby until about the 3rd wave, prices for those may have passed my toy soldier budget by. I have 15 of the foot figures, and 7 of the riders, but they are all in the much more common metallic blue. But overall I’ve got so much plastic coming out my ears that I’ve decided to prioritize this year obtaining a nice William Hocker 2-level boxed set of metals, to go with a few other boxed Britain’s sets I’ve gradually acquired over the years.

     That’s one of the great things about OTSN — whether you’re looking for metals or plastic, new production or vintage — it all converges every year at OTSN, with both the east coast and the west coast dealers.

     Reply
9. Ed Borris says:

   September 4, 2014 at 8:15 AM

   Don,

   Yes, a complete set of 60mm powder blue cavalrymen would cost several hundred dollars, but the three chracter figures in powder blue would only cost you $150.00, much nicer than the cream colored ones. I have a pristine set just for you.

   After my tradiitonal kick off breakfast at Denny’s I’ll be heading to the show early Thursday morning. of course there will be the customary 5 or 6 hour delay before my room is ready. Anyway, I hope to open for business mid afternoon Thursday.

   Reply

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