GREAT GRAPHICS: ICONIC OPENING, ABC’s Wide World of Sports

By Greg Howell Posted in Iconography , , , , , , | Comments Off on GREAT GRAPHICS: ICONIC OPENING, ABC’s Wide World of Sports

The iconic opening to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Ironically, the famous skier from March of 1970, Vinko Bogataj, was completely unaware that he had become an American icon and labeled the “agony of defeat” man. When ABC tracked him down to attend the 20th Anniversary of “Wide World of Sports,” ten years later, he […]

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GREAT GRAAAPHICS!!! The Electric Company, 1972

By Greg Howell Posted in Electric Company, Iconography , , , , , , | Comments Off on GREAT GRAAAPHICS!!! The Electric Company, 1972

The 1971-1977 PBS production, The Electric Company, could be described as Laugh-In meets Sesame Street.  Aimed at grade school children, the show exemplified the 70’s subculture, and featured sketches and music, sometimes with a dark, deviant adult wink.  The graphics and blackouts for the show exploited the hallucinogenic tone of the “flower children” of the […]

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Great GRAAAPHICS! Love American Style

By Greg Howell Posted in Iconography, Love American Style , , , , , | Comments Off on Great GRAAAPHICS! Love American Style

Television first hit anthology comedy series, Love American Style used blackouts (a la Laugh-In) and sketches about love, sex, and anything else considered racy or taboo in the early 1970’s.  The opening graphics featured orgasmic fireworks, an animated heart, and each week, new guest stars acting out new situations.  The only consistency was the blackout […]

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Great GRAAPHICS!: Lucille Ball’s Classic Openings

By Greg Howell Posted in Here's Lucy, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, Lucy Show, Television History , , , | Comments Off on Great GRAAPHICS!: Lucille Ball’s Classic Openings

Lucille Ball, over her quarter-decade television career, created classic comedy; however, each of her TV show’s openings were classic television graphics, influencing the graphics of other television shows for decades.  Clever, original, and, when needed, colorful, the opening credits (and closing credits) of Ball’s TV shows are iconic images well-known and loved by her audience. […]

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