I was already onto more sophisticated teenage fare like Hullabaloo and Shindig by the time Green Acres, a hokey journey into the countryside by two rich city slickers, came on the air in 1968. But the hokier still theme song always stuck in my head so I was well aware of it. And there evidently was more to that theme song then there was magic glue or whatever it took for these “stay-on” clothes to stick to Eva Gabor/Lisa Douglas and Eddie Albert Jr./ Oliver Wendell Douglas (no garments for Arnold the pig) cuz they sho ain’t stickin anymore. Despite the directions, no amount of rubbing will get any of the 36 costumes that drop like dead flies as soon as you remove your hand to “stay-on”.
Everything in these Not So Magic Stay-On Dolls remains intact other than the plastic scissors and stand included in the original kit. Apparently those worked better than the clothes or they’d still be in the box today as only two costumes were cut out before the original owner apparently lost interest.
Green Acres spun out of the success of country bumpkin shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction and ran on CBS from 1965 to 1971. Eva Gabor ran a lot longer with kitschifyingly wonderful products like this:
More “Stay-Ons”:
Linda
I have a soft spot for these “magic” type paper dolls. Thanks for all the different pictures, too.
Christine
I have a soft spot for those Gabor sisters, but that darned song…arghh. It just won’t let go.
StoryTroy
Love this entry! Fascinated by the concept of “stay on” clothes.
You mention the late Vic Mizzy’s stay-in-your-head theme song from Green Acres; for a great snapshot of nursing-home-grade mirth, find his CD “Songs for the Jogging Crowd,” where you can enjoy his latter-day efforts like “Namedropping” and “It’s Your Ad Sylvia.”
You don’t have to be over eighty to enjoy it, but it probably helps.
Allee
Long live Vic Mizzy. Got a comment from Denny Tedesco, whose dad was part of the legendary Wrecking Crew who played on the theme song. Never knew that so now I’m going back and reassessing what I thought was just a ditzy little tune.
Lisa
I had no idea that there was such a thing as Ava Gabor Nipple Clamps! That must be worth a fortune.
“Ava Gabor Siamese Twins Roach Clip”
Love your blog Allee, thanks!
StoryTroy
Another Mizzy story while I’m at it… did you know Filmways was too cheap to pay for singers or the rental on the harpsichord Vic had to rent from Lawrence Welk to do the “Addams Family” theme? In return, they let him keep the rights to the tune. Now THAT’s a hefty price for a harpsichord.
Allee
@Troy – Never knew that!
Allee
Thank you, Lisa!