FABULOUS 1960s

Saturday Pin-Ups: Fabulous. Fabulous magazine began in 1964 and featured photographs, pin-ups, and articles for the youth market. As we saw in teen magazines in the US during the 1960s, covers often sported pop idols like The Monkees, The Beatles, and Batman. Fabulous was interesting for its better coverage of UK stars like Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, and Small Faces. The publication later changed its name to Fabulous 208, and by the 1970s became known as Fab208. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. covers are of interest, of course, but I especially loved seeing a few Beatles images that hadn't crossed the Spy Vibe radar: Paul McCartney as Chaplin and a wonderful sequence of John Lennon as detective Sherlock Holmes. Also of note is the January 1966 issue with Space-Age theme. All the fun of Space Fashion must have leaked out the air lock during the Manfred Mann photo session. Readers can find issues for sale at Beat Chapter here. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe posts: Golden Margaret Nolan, Man From UNCLE Rocksteady, Pussy Galore Calypso, Cynthia Lennon R.I.P., Edward Mann Fashion, Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Brian Clemens RIP, Bond vs Modernism, Imitation Game, New Avengers Books, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, Popular Skullture, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.

5 YEARS

Spy Vibe turned five yesterday! I'd like to say I was toasting champaign with Mrs. Peel and John Steed, but I was actually called away on a special mission for a much older hero. Spy Vibe began five years ago as a website. Saddened by the death of Patrick McGoohan (Danger Man/The Prisoner), I set out to celebrate the world of 1960s spy-style and the many artists who inspire me from the Cold War era. During these years, Spy Vibe relocated to its present blog location, where I've tried to share content as often as possible. My work as an art teacher and independent writer/artist demands most of my time, but I love the community we have all built together here around common interests. My favorite experiences so far on the blog have been those opportunities to interview artists and writers working in the field of mystery/adventures. We've talked with James Bond author Raymond Benson, Cinema Retro chief Lee Pfeiffer, Batman designer Shane Glines, designer Kevin Dart, 007 audiobook actor Simon Vance, comic creator Richard Sala, Ian Fleming bibliographer Jon Gilbert, spy author Jeremy Duns, and many others. We've shared rare Bond publications and uncovered the intriguing life of vintage book designs. Spy Vibers who collect vintage memorabilia, books, and props have contributed to our series, For Your Shelf Only. During these years, I have enjoyed exploring new topics and projects inspired by the blog, including my upcoming short novel about a Japanese fashion model and spy in 1965 named Miki Zero. Spy Vibe is nearing one million visits- thank you to all Spy Vibers for going on this adventure together. I look forward to hearing more about your collections and favorite designers and secret agents. Here's to our operations, old and new! I always like to give away gifts on our birthday- so stay tuned for details! Yesterday's mission debrief below. 

About 1,500 people and I celebrated the centennial of Charlie Chaplin's first day on set as "the tramp" with a huge event at the Castro Theater. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival screened The Kid, Chaplin's moving comedy/drama co-starring little Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester/Addams Family). As arranged by contract with the Chaplin family, the film was screened with his own score and performed by the SF Chamber Orchestra with Timothy Brock. We were also treated to the first tramp-short, Kid Auto Races, which was filmed on January 11th, 2014. Chaplin historian Jeffrey Vance introduced the evening with hilarious insights, and put to rest a common myth that Charlie once secretly entered a look-alike contest- and lost. We held a competition yesterday with Chaplins of all ages and I lost my heart to a tramp named Susan. Although I had seen both movies before, the large-screen experience was like seeing them for the first time. So much of the human quality and emotional impact of a film is translated through the cinematography- and in this case, size really does matter. The print was lush and gorgeous, and Brock led the orchestra in a seamless performance with the images. I'm hoping we'll see The Kid appear on Criterion's list of upcoming Blu-ray editions. Chaplin fled the US during the McCarthy era and moved to Switzerland. He sold off his shares of United Artists (a company he co-founded), and spent the last 20 years of his life making new pictures, organizing his legacy for future distribution, and raising his large family with Oona O'Neill (daughter of Eugene O'Neill).  He released a romantic comedy in the 1960s called A Countess From Hong Kong (1967/Sophia Loren, Marlon Brando, Tippi Hedren). It was his first technicolor widescreen movie and sadly a box-office disappointment. Chaplin visited the US in 1972 for an honorary Oscar, where he was moved to tears by a twelve-minute standing ovation. Below is a limited-edition Castro event poster designed by artist Wayne Shellabarger. If you want to see silent movies with a spy-vibe, check out Fantomas, Judex, and Les Vampires by Louis Feuillade and the excellent Spies by Fritz Lang. 

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Batman 66 Stories, David Bowie at 67, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger nominated for Grammy,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, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, 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. 

WILD THINGS

I went to the Disney Family Museum yesterday to see a new Maurice Sendak show. Housed in their special exhibits building, the work on display celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sendak's classic (originally banned) book, Where the Wild Things Are (1963). If we celebrate the revolutionary milestones of the 1960s here on Spy Vibe, we can't overlook the significance of Sendak's message of rebellion against authority and the power of youth that resonated throughout that era. With independence came all of the anxieties of responsibility, just as Max had to learn the power he wielded as a "wild thing" and was forced to find the confidence within himself to tame the monsters. Looking at that time period, it's no surprise that similar themes cropped up in other areas of pop culture. A few novels and films that come to mind are Billy Liar (1963), Catch-22 (1961), West Side Story (1961), La Dolce Vita (1960), The Warped Ones (1960), Lolita (1962), Lord of the Flies (1963), Village of the Damned (1960), and The Leather Boys (1964). Even Spider-Man, who struggled with the responsibilities of his new-found power as a young man, first appeared in August of 1962. Every generation has its coming-of-age stories, but this was the era of "wild things."

Sendak was a great influence on me growing up and his illustration style inspired me to draw. I got to meet him a number of times over the years. We lived near each other in Connecticut and I tried to attend book signings when I could. The last time we met was at Amherst College. He gave a short presentation in an upstairs classroom and then signed autographs. The room was so hot, I remember I stayed up there and fanned him with my copy of In the Night Kitchen. 

Sendak gave some very candid and emotional interviews on Fresh Air toward the end of his life. He also was the subject of a quirky video portrait by director Spike Jonze called Tell Them Anything You Want. I picked up the DVD at the museum shop and watched it this morning. Like his books, Sendak comes through as a man honestly grappling with the complications of life. But for all of his kvetching, the movie captured the artist enjoying the true happiness and satisfaction he got from his work and from his friendships- the most prominent one in the film being with his German Shepherd. After looking at his lifetime of drawings of dogs and monsters in the exhibit, I was really moved to see so much footage that illustrated the love and communication he shared with his beautiful canine pal. So in honor of all of the four-legged "wild things" we love, here is a collection of some Spy Vibe heroes with furry friends: Maurice Sendak (above), Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee (The Avengers), Roger Moore, Buster Keaton, Alfred Hitchcock, Alain Delon, Cary Grant, Diana Rigg, Ian Fleming, Federico Fellini, Leonard Nimoy, Peter Lorre, Paul McCartney, Sean Connery, Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon, and assorted Patrick Macnee (on the set of The Avengers). Search the internet for more "wild things" with Alfred Hitchcock, Edward Gorey, George Harrison, Tilda Swinton, Anthony Perkins, Leonard Nimoy, and others. I've had fun looking through the menagerie.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about our fiendish villains archive, book designdopplegangers, Christopher Lee, Bettie Page, Dashiell Hammett, Miles Davis, WWII spy Krystyna Skarbek, recycled James Bond covers, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga. new James Bond omnibus, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, Ralph Byrd Dick Tracy, my review of SKYFALL and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here.

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Fleming birthday tribute, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, 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, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

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