HUGH HEFNER R.I.P.

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has passed away. Hef grew up dreaming of becoming a cartoonist, but found that his greater talents lay in his ability to envision a personal view and approach to living that, as it turned out, many men could relate to. The would-be cartoonist and his creation, Playboy, became a major influence in the 1950s and 1960s, entertaining a way of life based on pleasure, curiosity, and a male aesthetic. He rebelled against the stifling Puritan traditions in the culture, calling out their hypocrisies, and rejected the post-war American ideal based on family and a suburban lifestyle. Instead, he championed what he believed to be a liberating outlook rooted in natural instincts (from a male-fantasy point of view) and his magazine sported gorgeous gals, cutting-edge humor and fiction (he said James Bond and Playboy were a natural pair), hi-tech gadgets, and images of modern pads that electrified the imaginations of men weary of caving to the nine-to-five paradigm of the grey flannel suit-set. History professor Elizabeth Fraterrigo has written a study of the magazine’s influence: “In the 1950s and 1960s, Playboy promoted a decidedly masculine vision for the realms of home, work, and leisure in its textual and literal construction of their spatial corollaries- the bachelor pad, the white-collar office, and the realm of urban nightlife- which served as counterpoints to the cultural emphasis on the suburban-situated nuclear-family home. Through its magazine, television programs, and key-clubs, Playboy identified spaces where men could craft and nurture a masculine identity based on style, leisure, and consumption” (Elizabeth Fraterrigo/UNLV). He was a well-known movie fan and he shared his passion through film preservation and conservation and regular screenings of classic movies at his mansion. Hef was also a patron of the arts and champion of free speech and civil rights. He used the Playboy banner to host an annual jazz festival, as well as to spotlight innovative and revolutionary thinkers and entertainers on his television programs, Playboy's Penthouse and Playboy After Dark (I recommend the Lenny Bruce and Pete Seeger episodes). One of his most controversial debates was with William F. Buckley Jr. in 1966 (watch it on Youtube). His political work continued into his final years, proclaiming that the fight for gay marriage was the continuing fight for the sexual revolution against our past, puritanical times. Hef was married five times and had four children. He finally hung up his velvet robe and left today at the age of ninety-one. Mark Hammill posted today on Twitter: "1st met him months B4 Star Wars opened- Expected stereotyped swinger/wildman not the kind-thoughtful loyal friend he always was to ML and me." Rest in peace. Related posts: Interview: Playboy Deana and Swinging London.

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Jack Good R.I.P., Interview: Shaken Not Stirred, Callan 50th, Spy Vibe Radio 7, The Prisoner 50th Event, Spy-Fi Event, Kaho Aso 007, Two Million, Bo Diddley, Carnaby Pop, Le Carre Events, Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.

SINATRA LAIR

Looking for a luxury lair to rent for your next secret rendezvous? If Ian Fleming's GoldenEye estate is already booked in Jamaica, consider lounging at Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms in California. Designed in 1947 by E. Stewart Williams, this Mid-Century Modern estate sports a swanky living room area with Sinatra's original home recording outfit by Valentino Electronics of Hollywood, a piano-shaped pool, and four luxury master and guest rooms for your agents and minions. The house has been restored with vintage designer furnishings and memorabilia and has been featured in Architectural Digest, Town and Country, The Travel Channel, and many other media outlets. The Sinatra House is situated in the Movie Colony neighborhood of Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived for ten years. Living it up like Ol' Blue Eyes doesn't come cheap, however, so consider booking after world domination. Rental info here. Below are contemporary images from the official site, where you can compare with vintage photos from Sinatra's time. More about Twin Palms here. Learn more with Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern and Julius Shulman: Palm Springs.

Related Spy Vibe posts: Dieter Rams Braun exhibit, Schulz Modern, Futuro Cool, Cold War Lairs, Julius Shulman, Modern Architecture LP, Erno Goldfinger, Fortunato vs. Panton, Set For Adventure. 

Recent Spy Vibe posts: The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton,  Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive. 

JET AGE COOKING

Agent James Kraus has created a new book for your swinging kitchens. If you enjoy an occasional foray into the kitchen and happen to own an iPad, you may be interested in checking out Jet Age Cooking for the Bachelor Gourmet, a cookbook ideal for Spy Vibers with a taste for dining in the style of 1960s jet-setters.

This book is targeted to the sophisticated Man About Town who cooks for pleasure rather than necessity. All recipes are specifically scaled for a solo serving, easily doubled for preparing that special dinner à deux. It is focused on a selection of international favorites that were staples of upscale restaurants in the 1960s. Enjoy your favorite apéritif while you create vintage international Jet Age entrées like Steak Diane, Spaghetti Maria Grazia, Veal Milanese Four Seasons, or the Filet of Beef à la TWA from the 1968 menu of Trans World Airlines’ first-class Foreign Accent Service.

Included in the book are carefully selected music recommendations for the complete experience of dining with suave ’60s flair. These include classic standards by Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Matt Monro, Dave Brubeck, Sérgio Mendez, and others. Spy Vibers can download Jet Age Cooking from the Apple iBooks store. A Kindle edition is due this Spring.

James Kraus enjoyed the 1960s growing up near Chicago, where his parents were active in their local gourmet club. While guests gathered around the bar, James learned his way around the kitchen prepping sauces and often assembling one of the signature desserts of the period, flaming Cherries Jubilee. He recently retired after three decades toiling in the entertainment industry, and currently publishes the 1960s automotive blog Auto Universum. Paintings appearing in this Spy Vibe post are by Shag. 

I have a spy novella coming out. Stay tuned and follow Spy Vibe by clicking the Follow link at top right of this page. 

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about our discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, my review of SKYFALL, tributes to Donald Richie and Tony Sheridan, the Les Vampires serial on Blu-ray, Lucy Fleming, The Beatles first record session, Ian Fleming's desert island interview, new Ian Fleming book designs, Fantomas, Spy Smasher, Barbarella tv show, British spy comics, Piper Gates retro designs, Cinema Retro, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

ULTIMATE PAD BY WES ANDERSON

In honor of the brilliant new film by auteur Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom, here is a special treat for Spy Vibers. It's been a while since we looked at this short that Wes made for Stella Artois. The ultimate pad- if you know which buttons to push!

DESIGN SALE

Time to give your secret lair a makeover! Design With Reach is currently offering a sale on their living room pieces, including two faves: the Tulip Chair (designed in 1956 by Eero Saarinen for Knoll) and the Egg Chair (designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen- thought to be the first swiveling upholstered chair). Sale ends on January 31st. Details at Design Within Reach.

SOUND DESIGN

In concert with our previous post about Dieter Rams, we though Spy Vibers might be interested in exploring the new line of speakers from Libratone. Based in Copenhagen, the Libratone concept is to offer a single high-end speaker solution for any room that is both wireless and customizable in a variety of colors. Wrapped in beautiful Italian cashmere and carved wool, Libratone aims to make a flexible speaker for your wireless Hi-Fi that is also an integrated and stylish piece of furniture.


They have been selling in the European market and recently started to introduce their products at US Apple stores. If any Spy Vibers have used Libratone speakers, please comment and tell us what you think. Here is a cnet UK review and a recent cnet US announcement. Below is a promotional video from Libratone:

From Design Within Reach: As the creative director and co-founder of Designit Munich, Copenhagen-based Kristian Kroyer spent 10 years working with design and electronics brands including LG, Bang & Olufsen, Hitachi, Philips and JBL, before joining Libratone, an audio company whose products combine wireless technology, hi-fi quality, and Scandinavian design. The Libratone Live Speaker (2011) streams music wirelessly from your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Mac/PC using Apple’s new AirPlay technology; no extra remote is required, simply download the Libratone App to control the volume from your compatible wireless device. Its patent-pending FullRoom™ technology provides 360-degree sound, much like an acoustic instrument. High-end components such as ribbon-based tweeters, digital signal processing and digital amplification put out premium sound, all tucked away inside a minimal form covered in Italian wool (slate grey) or cashmere (all other colors). Made in Indonesia.

• Great sound doesn’t have to come from a black box. Libratone is covered in acoustically transparent cashmere or wool.
• This single unit has speakers on all three sides and packs a powerful punch with 150 watts of total output power, coming from five dedicated amplifiers.
• The drivers inside are: one 5" bass, two 3" midrange and two 1" ribbon-based tweeters.
• The Libratone Live allows for versatility due to its small size and built-in handle.

DIETER RAMS EXHIBIT

If your secret lair or bachelor pad has a modernist vibe, employing minimal Ikea shelving systems or Apple computer products, your environment owes a lot to German industrial designer, Dieter Rams. Rams, who is recently retired, was the visionary behind decades of sleek and functional gadgets produced by Braun and home organization and furniture by Visoe. If you're like me, you might have grown up in a household filled with Rams-designed clocks, coffee grinders and coffee-makers, juicers, hair dryers, and electric razors. Rams also designed cameras, and my favorite, a long line of stereo components and speakers. The philosophy that tied his work together was the notion that objects should be created to be instantly understood and useful. His pieces had a beautiful simplicity and functionality that were a direct inspiration for Apple products. In his foreword to a new book about Rams, Apple designer Jonathan Ive said, “surfaces that were without apology, bold, pure, perfectly-proportioned, coherent and effortless. No part appeared to be either hidden or celebrated, just perfectly considered and completely appropriate in the hierarchy of the product’s details and features. At a glance, you knew exactly what it was and exactly how to use it (Examiner)."


The exhibit, Less is More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams, is currently running at SFMOMA until February 20th. If you are not in the Bay area, I encourage Spy Vibers to try to catch this show before it's gone. From SFMOMA: "Widely regarded as one of the most influential industrial designers of our time, Dieter Rams produced iconic works and innovative ideas (in particular his advocacy for "less but better" design) that have proved seminal for our contemporary design culture. For more than 40 years, Rams was the lead designer for the German household appliance company Braun. He has also been the active designer for German furniture company Vitsœ since his start there in 1959. This exhibition includes more than 200 models and objects by Rams and his team, as well as contemporary designs influenced by his Ten Principles of Good Design, such as Apple computers."

Here are some preview images I made at the museum to share with Spy Vibers. The piece that excited me most was his 1956 record player, the SK4 (image #6 below). When the original sheet metal hood rattled at higher volumes, Rams suggested using a transparent plastic lid- a material that only recently had appeared on the market. Detractors thought the plastic hood was too much in line with temporary fashion (see Spy Vibe's article Fear and Fashion), and the SK4 was nicknamed "Snow White's Coffin". Of course, the clear cover became ubiquitous around the world and changed the look of turntables forever. To learn more, check out the books, Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible, Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams, Braun- Fifty Years of Design and Innovation. There is also a short video presentation with Rams at SFMOMA on Vimeo. Portrait above from the nice overview post, Who is Dieter Rams?

SECRET LAIR DESIGN

Is your hollowed-out volcano looking drab? Tired of the old furniture in your undersea headquarters? Spring is coming, and what better way to usher in a new season than tweaking the design of your secret lair! Spy Vibe fans of Mid-Century Modern have a chance to pick up pieces by Eero Saarinen and others during the big Knoll Classics Sale at Design Within Reach. If you've been looking for a Tulip chair to go in the corner by your piranha pool, the sale runs today through March 6th! Details here.

DESIGN WITHIN REACH SALE

Need help decorating your secret lair? Check out the gorgeous selections in the upholstery and rug sale at Design Within Reach here.

MID-CENTURY MODERNIST: WES ANDERSON & ROMAN COPPOLA

What happens when two directors with a great sense of retro design team up to make an advertisement film? Spy Vibers have a special mission this week to spend time at our sister site, Mid-Century Modernist. Dedicated to Mid-Century Modern design, this gorgeous website has recently posted some features that I know you won't want to miss, including a new Stella Artois commercial by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums) and Roman Coppola (CQ) that plays with bachelor pad conventions -think of a wealthier/minimalist Matt Helm or Derek Flint pad with gadgets-gone-wrong! Maybe my favorite room ever! They have also posted an article about the production designs for Don Draper's office (Mad Men). It's a great site, itself a loving tribute to Mid-Century Modern design.

BACHELOR PAD

BACHELOR PAD
From the typical musician's penthouse studio of early Hollywood films to the dream apartments of 1950s Playboy magazine to Matt Helm's revolving bed (that tilts him into his pool!), we've seen some swinging pads in our day. Imagine a subterranean lair, like in Danger Diabolik, but with a Playboy Mansion slant. Lots of Ken Adam's curves and a Kubrick futuristic glow. Instead of the tilting bed, how about a tube that you can jump into- ala Thunderbirds- that slides you down into your pool below? You go it! Located in Bowdon, Cheshire UK, Country Life has it listed for a cool 2 million pounds. Check it out here.

SPY VIBE SET COUNTDOWN #2

You Only Live Twice (1967) Production Design by Ken Adam. Said to be the largest set ever constructed at the time in the UK, Blofeld’s lair built inside a Japanese volcano is so sensational and fantastic a concept that it has gone on to epitomize what every evil megalomaniac should aspire to. For the pilot flying overhead it looks like an innocent lake within the basin of an extinct volcano. But the water is an illusion! At the pull of a lever, the surface retracts into the mountain to reveal a secret rocket base, heliport, a network of monorails, and an ultra-modern office lair with a piranha pool (!) on one side and a lordly lounge setting on the other. Adams created a kind of Dr. No antechamber on a massive scale for this film, establishing that SPECTRE is a force to be reckoned with. These baddies have resources, and they are living like ants right under our noses. The secret volcano base is perhaps the most ostentatious example of Cold War paranoia in the Bond films, and a reference point for many future villains (including Mike Meyer's cartoony parody in Austin Powers). Though not my fave 007, the sets, gadgetry, and Japanese location all add up to a great Spy Vibe! Click images for larger view.

Additional points go to Adam's many additional designs for the film, including Osato's office (with ceiling machine guns and x-ray/TV monitors), a 2001-like plastic surgery lab, a Toyota GT200 with 2-way video communications, and Tanaka's office with trap-door chute and globe monitors. In "The Art of Bond" Adam writes, "I have to confess that one of my favourite sets ever was Tanaka's office. At the time, I was getting more minimalist, and I got the idea of a stainless-steel chute, with Bond sliding through it and landing on a very comfortable chair. I also decided not to have normal television screens but to have spherical monitors in copper instead." The Bond series began to take less from Fleming and more from this kind of larger-than-life, imaginative thinking. One can't deny that the scope and cool-factor of Adam's vision makes for a fun film experience- especially when attention to character and story is maintained.

A couple of cool, round TVs were released In Britain and Japan from 1969 into the early 1970s, including the "Orbitel" from Panasonic below. Master Design Agent Tony Sison from Design Within Reach spied the Oxford Chair in Tanaka's Office by Danish architect and designer, Arne Jacobsen, and the desk and cabinet by Danish designer Bodil Kjaer.




Each set piece illustrates Adam's signature contrast of sloping ceilings, triangles, circles, sleek modern furniture, and fun spy gadgetry. SPECTRE's aim to sabotage the space programs of the US and USSR allowed the team to highlight the white and silver, futuristic look that became iconic in design and fashion with the coverage of NASA and the Space Race. For all its spectacle, the film holds the designs fairly well within its story-telling. You Only Live Twice premiered in June 1967 and remains the template of Spy Vibe production design and spy-genre conventions.

STAY TUNED FOR SET #1 -AND- THE TOP 5 SETS FROM SPY AND MOVIE WRITERS AROUND THE GLOBE!

Check out Spy Vibe's production set series, an event that gathered together many writers to celebrate the best spy sets from cold war-era film & TV. Guest Set Lists: Lee Pfeiffer, Jeremy Duns, Armstrong Sabian, Steve Bissette, Roger Langley, Matthew Bradford, Wesley Britton, David Foster, Matt Kindt. Spy Vibe's Set For Adventure here, Set Countdown #10, #9, #8 ,#7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1.

SPY VIBE SET COUNTDOWN #3

Our Man Flint (1966) In Like Flint (1967). Art Director/Jack Martin Smith (Planet of the Apes, Valley of the Dolls), Set Decorator/Raphael Bretton (Poseidon Adventure), Set Decorator/Walter Scott (Fantastic Voyage, Hello Dolly), Art Director/Dale Hennesy (Logan’s Run, Sleeper, Dirty Harry, Fantastic Voyage). Out of the elevator and into a thinking man’s penthouse apartment. The sets for the two Flint films offer much to discuss the attitudes of the times. Actress Jean Hale and historian Mary Corey called Coburn’s character the first metrosexual- a man who excels as an intellectual, artist, lover, foodie, sportsman, inventor, adventurer, scientist, and who, most importantly, can satisfy his companions emotionally. With his harem of female friends, he is a Spy Vibe version of Hugh Hefner. Flint embodies Hef’s credo that a Playboy be a “man who must see life not as a vale of tears, but as a happy time; he must take joy in his work, without regarding it as the end and all of living; he must be an alert man, an aware man, a man of taste, a man sensitive to pleasure, a man who- without acquiring the stigma of the voluptuary or dilettante- can live life to the hilt.” Though Hale and Corey see the pro-feminism elements in the Flint films, they point out that the movies had not quite caught up with the feminism movement. But Flint tries- breaking the hypnotic spell that holds his partners in sexual slavery by uttering the magic mantra, "You are not a pleasure unit!" The entrance to the pleasure quarters is a wonderful nod to the Mondrian Day Dress by Yves Saint Laurent, which saw its debut one year earlier in 1965.


Flint’s penthouse pad is a conglomeration of Playboy's apartment illustrations and has design schemes to fit different moods- all immediately changeable at the flick of a switch. Erotic paintings and sculptures revolve into the wall to be replaced with modern décor and canvases by Modern masters. The rooms are eclectic: futuristic gadgetry, military traditional, neo-classical- all shades of the male fantasy. An aperture monitors the front door to a clear security panel that rises electronically from a clear coffee table (shades of Lucas’ private screening room). The library area is like an editor's office, filled with books (that Flint wrote), and the patio sports a dolphin tank where Flint conducts his research for a Dolphin dictionary. He is the modern man!



The bad guys have it even better! Their vast evil lairs embody male fantasy and freedom that predates the Playboy Mansion (sorry, Hef!), which didn't start its Shangri-La renovations until 1971. The movie has ultra-stylized sets, including beauty salons, hot tub spas, a disco with go-go dancers, ancient Roman bacchanalia, a drive-in theater for backseat necking, cryogenic chambers, and an array of Space Aged labs, control rooms, and corridors. This pair of cult-classic spy adventures was produced with wit, care, and quintessential Spy Vibe cool.

STAY TUNED FOR SET #2 -AND- THE TOP 5 SETS FROM SPY AND MOVIE WRITERS AROUND THE GLOBE!

Check out Spy Vibe's production set series, an event that gathered together many writers to celebrate the best spy sets from cold war-era film & TV. Guest Set Lists: Lee Pfeiffer, Jeremy Duns, Armstrong Sabian, Steve Bissette, Roger Langley, Matthew Bradford, Wesley Britton, David Foster, Matt Kindt. Spy Vibe's Set For Adventure here, Set Countdown #10, #9, #8 ,#7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1.