Mattel announced today it is voluntarily recalling 436,000 Sarge toys from the "Cars" movie because of elevated levels of lead paint by a Chinese subcontractor. According to the company's release: The recall of the Sarge toy results from Mattel's increased investigation and ongoing testing procedures following the recall of select Fisher-Price toys on August 1, … Continue reading “Sarge” toy recalled because of lead paint
Category: Movies
Tow Tater vandalized
Tow Tater, the 1951 International boom truck (shown above in May) that was a primary inspiration for Mater in the movie "Cars," was vandalized late Friday or early Saturday in front of the 1940s-era gas station that's become a Route 66 welcome center in Galena, Kan. Melba Rigg, one of the Four Women on the … Continue reading Tow Tater vandalized
“RV” cast gets its kicks
The film "RV" was a critical bomb, but one of its bright spots was that its cast sang Bobby Troup's "Route 66" at the end. Co-star Kristin Chenoweth is from Oklahoma, so she does the yodeling thing pretty well.
Notes from the road
Seaba Station near Wellston, Okla., has been put up for sale. I'd been aware that Sue Preston and her husband, Sonny, had moved nearly 50 miles away to Yukon and that the operating hours of the Route 66 antique store had become sporadic. The well-maintained Seaba Station sits on more than an acre, and the … Continue reading Notes from the road
“Easy Rider’s” opening credits
Many a road trip on Route 66 has been inspired by the opening credits of the 1969 movie, "Easy Rider," with its sweeping cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs (who died a few days ago) and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" pulsing over the soundtrack. Here it is: Longtime roadies will recognize a few Route 66 spots … Continue reading “Easy Rider’s” opening credits
More details about “Route 66” DVD release
The upcoming DVD release of the critically acclaimed "Route 66" television series will be a four-disc set of the show's first 15 episodes in 1960. Among the special features will be descriptions of the Chevrolet Corvettes used during the series' run, plus biographies and filmographies of impressive list of actors who appeared on the show. … Continue reading More details about “Route 66” DVD release
“Independent America” on Route 66
This is an excerpt from the excellent 2006 documentary, "Independent America," which tells about besieged independent businesses fighting against big-box retailers. The first half of the excerpt contains a visit to Seligman, Ariz., and its Sno-Cap Drive-In and Route 66 advocate Angel Delgadillo. The second half tells about Wal-Mart's offensive ad against Flagstaff's efforts to … Continue reading “Independent America” on Route 66
Official DVD coming for “route 66”
The demand was there for years. Finally, on Oct. 23, the critically acclaimed "route 66" drama that aired from 1960 to 1964 will start to be officially released on DVD. Unofficial DVDs of "route 66" have floated around for years, many of them of erratic quality. This upcoming release by Roxbury Entertainment, in association with … Continue reading Official DVD coming for “route 66”
As cool as Steve McQueen
Ron Stahl of the Daily Oklahoman does a near-heroic job tracking down obscure museums in the Sooner State, including a few near Route 66 that escaped my notice or haven't visited yet. I have heard about the relatively new Route 66 Vintage Iron Museum in Miami, Okla., but didn't know about its special collection: One … Continue reading As cool as Steve McQueen
See it before they take it down
In the past week, someone posted on YouTube the performance by Randy Newman and James Taylor of "Our Town" during the 2007 Academy Awards. The Oscar-nominated song came from the hit animated movie, "Cars." You'd better watch this while you can. The Academy had inexplicably banned YouTube from posting performances of songs during the telecast. … Continue reading See it before they take it down