Earl William “Madman” Muntz (January 3, 1914 – June 21, 1987) was an American businessman and engineer who sold and promoted cars and consumer electronics in the United States from the 1930s until his death in 1987.
He was a pioneer in television commercials with his oddball “Madman” persona – an alter ego who generated publicity with his unusual costumes, stunts, and outrageous claims.
He invented the practice that came to be known as Muntzing, which involved simplifying otherwise complicated electronic devices. Muntz produced and marketed the first black-and-white television receivers to sell for less than $100.
Muntz played the madman in his unorthodox television commercials, but in fact he was a shrewd businessman and a self-taught electrical engineer. By trial and error, taking apart and studying Philco, RCA, and DuMont televisions, he figured out how to reduce the devices’ electrical components to their minimum functional number. (Wikipedia)
Jay North (born August 3, 1951) became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip created by Hank Ketcham (above).
As a teen, North moved on to roles in the MGM feature films, Zebra in the Kitchen and Maya, as well as starring in the NBC television series adaptation of the film, also titled Maya.
After leaving show business and disclosing the truth of a troubled childhood as a child actor, North began working with fellow former child star Paul Petersen and the organization, A Minor Consideration, using his own experiences as a child performer to counsel other children working within the entertainment industry. (Wikipedia)
Burt Ward & Adam West in Batman (1966-68, ABC)
A backstage photo from Search for Tomorrow on CBS. L-R: Rod Arrants, Sherry Mathis, and Jerry Lanning.
Waiting for the new television sets (1940s)
A Very Big List of Very Good Tumblrs
You told LJ about over 390 of your favorite Tumblrs. Here they are, from most to least popular:
- thelifeguardlibrarian, with 29 mentions
- libraryjournal, with 16 mentions
- fishingboatproceeds, with 13 mentions (sorry John Green, Kate & LJ won this battle)
- librarianproblems, with nine mentions
- nypl, with six mentions
- oupacademic
- schoollibraryjournal
- todaysdocument
- motherjones, with five mentions
- neil-gaiman
- slaughterhouse90210
- theatlantic
- theparisreview
- therumpus
- betterbooktitles, with four mentions
- bookriot
- chicagopubliclibrary
- darienlibrary
- doctorwho
- edwardspoonhands
- ilovecharts
- johndarnielle
- laura-in-libraryland
- libraryadvocates
- mentalflossr
- nprfreshair
- shortformblog
- theartofgooglebooks
- unypl
- wilwheaton
FJP: What a great list of Tumblrs. Some we know, others that we look forward to following.
Also, thanks to whoever recommended The FJP. If you squint just right you can see us down among the small print.
And, if you’ve made it this far, programming note: The first FJP photo contest is going on. We’re accepting submissions on Facebook until May 31. Details and contest page here.
Who’s that NPR favorite rocking a 1970s moustache?
From the National Public Broadcasting Archives collection.
Did somebody say breakfast?
Sheet music for a song from the short-lived Blue Ribbon Town (March 1943-August 1944). Putting Groucho in a situation comedy was like trying to stuff an elephant into your pajamas. It would be three years before Groucho found radio success in You Bet Your Life in which he was allowed to just be Groucho.
