Vintage TV Art

We miss you, Carroll O’ Connor! On June 21, 2000 the world lost Carroll O’Connor. After decades acting in minor film and TV roles, he was cast by Norman Lear in 1971 as the controversial Archie Bunker in All in the Family. At first audiences did not know what to do with the controversial character, a bigoted loading dock foreman with little tolerance for anything out of his comfort zone. Archie Bunker and his family became a light-hearted forum to discuss societal change. A...s the show progressed, O’Connor gained more creative control which extended into the show’s follow up Archie Bunker’s Place. Carroll O’Connor cemented Archie Bunker in American culture as a symbol of change, uncovering unexpected humanity in a difficult, bigoted man. All in the Family was the subject of this Robert M. Thompson Vintage TV Art piece created in 1971, the year the show first aired. For more, see us here: www.vintagetvart.com www.ebay.com/str/vintagetvart www.etsy.com/store/vintagetvart Own a piece of television history! #carrolloconnor #archiebunker #normanlear #jeanstapleton #robreiner

The Summer Brothers Smothers Show In the 1960’s, Summer replacement programs were generally time-slot fillers for bigger shows that went on hiatus. But in this case, the show replacing the controversial Smothers Brothers Show became a hit in its own right. The show was turned over to series regulars Glen Campbell and Pat Paulsen, and was a smash hit. Glen Campbell won an Emmy for the show, and it launched Campbell’s own show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour later that yea...r, produced by the Smothers Brothers. That show is the subject of another Vintage TV Art rendering, to be discussed in a post later this year. See more of Robert M. Thompson’s Vintage TV Art at these online venues, and when you are out in Palm Springs, visit Modernway, the prime purveyor of Mid-Century furnishings and art for over 20 years, at 2500 N. Palm Canyon Drive. It’s our home in the desert! www.vintagetvart.com www.ebay.com/str/vintagetvart www.etsy.com/store/vintagetvart Own a piece of television history! #smothersbrothers #glencampbell #patpaulsen #summerbrotherssmothersshow

A Girl Named Sooner was a made-for-TV movie set in 1930s Indiana. Sooner is a young girl raised by a backwoods moonshiner played by Cloris Leachman, who finds her way into the home of a couple played by Richard Crenna and Lee Remick. This was the only acting appearance for 8-year-old Susan Deer in the title role of Sooner. She claimed that she has little memory of the making of the film, which was filmed entirely in her home state of Indiana. The show was highly acclaimed,... the most-watched primetime show in the U.S. the week of June 18. 1975. Robert Thompson immortalized the moment in this illustration, running in newspapers the week the show aired. See more Vintage TV Art here: www.vintagetvart.com www.ebay.com/str/vintagetvart www.etsy.com/store/vintagetvart Own a piece of television history! #agirlnamedsooner #richardcrenna #clorisleachman #leeremick

The Ed Sullivan Show Ed Sullivan was on TV for 23 years, his show a pivotal career moment for anyone performing on the show. From the infant days of television in 1948 through 1971, Sullivan’s show was THE place to be seen. In 1963, the show celebrated its 15th year with Robert M. Thompson’s illustration. Ed Sullivan appreciated the likeness so much he sent a personal note to the artist, signed in his own hand. Robert M. Thompson’s Vintage TV Art is a celebration of the histo...ry of television. See more: www.vintagetvart.com www.ebay.com/str/vintagetvart www.etsy.com/store/vintagetvart Own a piece of television history! #edsullivan #theedsullivanshow #thetalkofthetown

It’s no surprise that Gilligan’s Island became a major cultural touch point. Take seven people from various stations in life, shipwreck them on an uncharted island, and what follows is life in a zany nutshell. A lagoon was the show’s scenic centerpiece, the same one built by Universal Pictures for The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and still part of the Universal Studios Tour. Considered by some to be the silliest show on television, the 98 episodes filmed by CBS over 3... seasons ran for decades in syndication and became one of the most beloved sitcoms in television history. This artwork of the entire cast (including the island) was created by Robert M. Thompson the week that the show aired, featured in newspapers across the country. See more Vintage TV Art here: www.vintagetvart.com www.ebay.com/str/vintagetvart www.etsy.com/store/vintagetvart And when out in Palm Springs California, visit us at Modernway, 2500 N. Palm Canyon Drive, our mid-century home in the desert! Own a piece of television history! #gilligansisland #bobdenver #tinalouise #dawnwells #alanhalejr #jimbackus