Merry Christmas Everyone! :)

Vintage postcard courtesy of The Old Design Shop



Merry Christmas Eve! :)

 

LB Loves A Parade! :)

Special programming note:

We interrupt the Mounted Police Rodeo Parade in Palm Springs in order to present another parade! :)

Last weekend, the Bartistamobile and I took a road trip so I could watch the 30th annual Horse Drawn Carriage Parade in historic Lebanon, Ohio. If there's anything I love almost as much as Jack Kelly, it's horses! And, there were plenty in this parade, which exclusively features equines pulling carriages--no mounted riders, marching bands, or motorized vehicles are permitted.

This parade was so wonderful I wanted to share some of the photos I took with you. Also, there was a surprise guest at the end of the parade you might recognize...;> 

Barbra Streisand sang a song in Funny Girl titled "Don't Rain On My Parade". Well, it rained on this parade. In fact, it was raining so hard before the parade that the start time was pushed back an hour. 

Luckily, the rain let up long enough for the carriages to begin rolling:

"On Dobbin, on Dixon!"--Santa swapped

his eight tiny reindeer for two large horses. That's the famous Golden Lamb Inn (est. 1803) in the background.

The tag says "13" but I was lucky

to see this beautiful Appaloosa.

This lovely carriage full of Santa's helpers

was pulled by a majestic black drafter.

More black drafters and an antique wagon

which proves grocery delivery is nothing new. 

A small but sturdy Norwegian

Fjord Horse pulled this cart.

A mighty miniature horse pulls

a portable gingerbread house

which almost looks good enough to eat! :)

Here comes an authentic Wells Fargo stagecoach!

A closer look at that magnificent team...

...and a side view of the stage.

A somewhat smaller stage

pulled by a pair of antlered mini-horses.

I wondered why these folks (and even their pony) were dressed as sharks in a holiday parade. I thought maybe it seemed apropos because of the wet weather. I later mentioned it to someone in the know (e.g. with young children) and they said it probably had to do with a certain song about a baby shark--which I will not link to here to spare you from having it stuck in your head for the next decade or so. :> 

No need to wonder why these beautiful Percheron drafters were in the parade.

 

I love this pretty pinto!

This fantastic vintage fire pumper

was led by a team of four drafters.

I thought that was the end of the parade,

but then this guy showed up--asleep at the reins!

He suddenly woke up and

I could have sworn it was...nah, it couldn't be!

(Could it?) ;> 

Before I could get a closer look, it started pouring buckets again and the parade was truly over.

There's also a nighttime version of this parade where the carriages are lit up. I thought about going to it that evening. Unfortunately, though, the rain continued with a vengeance and brought thunder and lightning along with it. Well, maybe next year!

 I hope you enjoyed seeing these wonderful horses and carriages as much as I did. Please stay tuned for more fun with JK in TDS! :)

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Psalm 65 clipart courtesy DuoParadigms

Thank You For Your Service :)

Clipart courtesy of veteransday.quotesms.com/

Remembering...

 

Bart Maverick Gets My Vote! :)

Hello!

Since today is Election Day in the U.S., a look at Jack Kelly's Maverick episode "The People's Friend" is in order. Below are some vintage newspaper ads which publicized the episode when it originally aired in 1960. Enjoy! :) 



"FAVORITE SON? MAVERICK - Pappy's boy Bart gets nominated for state senator--as a reform candidate. Poker, romance and other pleasures appear taboo--but trouble's a running mate on the ticket!"

 

"Give up poker for politics? It seems next to impossible, but see the reformed Bart Maverick in a campaign story rich in comedy and cutthroats."

 

 

 

BONUS IMAGE:

 

JK and Merry Anders in "The People's Friend", courtesy of the Internet Movie Database:

 



Let's Celebrate! :)

Hello Everyone!

As we celebrate the 91st anniversary of Jack Kelly's birth today, let's look back 40 years to another celebration:

 

I'm sure we've all seen this photo. It's sometimes identified as being from When the West Was Fun, the reunion of TV western stars which originally aired in 1979. However, this gallery of greats (L-R Hugh O'Brian, Chuck Connors, Clint Walker, John Wayne, David Carradine, Clayton Moore, Michael Ansara and JK) was actually gathered for the ABC television network's celebration of its 25th anniversary in 1978.

 

 

Here's a photo you may not have seen before. It's the same group in more contemporary garb:

 

 

The caption on the reverse of the photo reads: "The Old West lives again when eight great Western stars join the party on 'ABC's Silver Anniversary Celebration', a four-hour gala, airing on the ABC Television Network, Sunday, Feb. 5 (7:00-11:00 pm ET). The classic Westerners from ABC's past and present are (foreground, 1. to r.) Hugh O'Brian, Chuck Connors, John Wayne, Clayton Moore, (background, l. to r.) Clint Walker, David Carradine, Michael Ansara and Jack Kelly."

 

I found a remarkable clip with "the Duke" from the ABC anniversary special which features scenes from the network's most popular westerns and ends by showing how the preceding photos came to be:

 

 



And, here are a couple of close-ups of our birthday boy:

Happy Birthday, JK!

"And don't forget your carrot cake!" :)

 

...And Jack the Dad :)

Happy Father's Day!

Here's a photo of Jack Kelly's pop, John A. "Jack" Kelly, Sr., dancing with JK's younger sister, Karolee, in 1939:

 

According to the caption, Mr. Kelly was called "Jack" even by his children. And although it states that Karolee would make her screen debut in Gone With the Wind, I'm not sure if she actually appears in the film. She did go on to play minor roles in movies and on TV, but GWTW isn't among her credits on the Internet Movie Database.

Please stay tuned for more about JK (Jr., that is!) in TDS. :)

Happy Mother's Day...

 

...From

 

The Kelly Kids!

 

 Nancy, Clement, Karolee

.... and JACK! :)



Happy Easter 2018 From "TDS"! :)

Vintage Easter postcard courtesy BirdhouseBooks

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 2018 From "TDS"! :)

Original vintage postcard from The La Bartista Kellection

 

"Hmmm...'The best of luck

will always

wait upon you

 if you pick up on the road a horse's shoe'.

Is that true, Goldie?"

 

"It's not so lucky for the horse

who lost its shoe!" ;)

Happy Valentine's Day from "TDS"! :)

Playing card design courtesy Zazzle

That Has a "Crooked Ring" To It... ;)

Hi!

Let's "ring in" 2018 with some ephemera relating to Jack Kelly's 1955 movie Crooked Ring. Don't recognize the title? That's what the film was called in Great Britain. In the US, it was known as Double Jeopardy.

Below are scans of the film's British press brochure. It consists of one double-sided sheet. It's also legal-sized, so I fit as much of it as I could in my letter-sized scanner.

Highlights include one small photo of JK and a blurb which says, "UP-AND-COMING STAR IN 'CROOKED RING'--Jack Kelly, handsome six-footer in Republic's story of big-money blackmail, Crooked Ring...has only been in Hollywood since 1950, but from his record it appears he's likely to stay. To date, he has appeared in seventeen feature motion pictures and has been starred in six top-rated TV shows. For those who are superstitious, it might be well to note that Kelly's first Hollywood appearance was in a studio tryout play titled 'All It Takes Is One Good Break.'"

[Of course, this ignores the fact that JK acted in Hollywood films as a child, and thus his "first Hollywood appearance" took place years before he participated in studio showcases at Universal-International.]

Another write-up mentions JK: "TWO VILLAINS STUDIED LAW--Robert Armstrong and Jack Kelly, the two villains in Republic's drama of big-time blackmail, Crooked Ring...both studied to be lawyers prior to embarking upon acting careers. Armstrong studied law for three-and-a-half years at the University of Washington law school, while Kelly pored over legal books for one-and-a-half years before turning to thesping. World wars diverted each from the study of law. Armstrong served in World War I, while Kelly did his duty in World War II. Following their respective bits for their country, each sought a career in the entertainment world."

JK is also described in the brochure as "the believable 'cad' on whom [Gale] Robbins lavishes her extra-marital attentions".

Where in the world will TDS travel to next? Please stay tuned and find out! :)

Happy New Year From La Bartista & "TDS"! :)