There is more to enjoy at the Nostalgia Con than meeting Hollywood celebrities and shopping with vendors. The event room offers slide show seminars from historians, authors, professors and museum curators. Here, you will be treated to a variety of subjects including recent archival discoveries. You do not have to attend all of these events but we do recommend you take a moment and look over the schedule and plan to visit the seminar room during your visit. Some of these events are so popular that the room fills pretty quickly!
THURSDAY
9:30 am, THE MANY CAREERS OF DICK POWELL
From baby-faced crooner to film noir tough-guy, Dick Powell’s screen career proves he was a multi-faceted actor, but did you know he was a television executive, film director, and accomplished musician? Explore the many careers of Dick Powell with Samantha Glasser, Powell researcher and president of the Columbus Moving Picture Show.
11:00 a.m, TALES FROM TINSEL TOWN
Jim Rosin provides many entertaining memories of his encounters with Hollywood notables and colorful characters during an eleven year stint in La La Land: first as a bartender in the famed Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel, later as a cab driver for the Beverly Hills Cab Co., and finally as an actor/writer for series television.
12:00 noon, CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS
Hosted by Tom Doty.
3:30 pm, THE GOTHAM RADIO PLAYERS
The Gotham Radio Players specialize in performing re-enactments of “lost” radio scripts from the Golden Age of Radio, programs for which no recording exists and which have probably not been heard since their original broadcast more than 60 years ago. Among the shows the group recreated were episodes from the detective adventures of The Adventures of Sam Spade, Nick Carter, Master Detective, The Green Lama and The Amazing Mr. Malone. The Gotham Radio Players have presented romantic comedy from The First Nighter Program and On Stage, high adventure from Escape, and horror from The Witch’s Tale and Lights Out.
4:15 pm, THE MAKING OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S PSYCHO
TO BE ANNOUNCED. Will also feature an exclusive interview with Marli Renfro, Janet Leigh's uncredited body double for the shower stabbing sequence.
5:30 pm, JERRY MATHERS AND TONY DOW
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER defines the "golly gee" wholesomeness of 1950s and `60s TV, where dad Ward Cleaver always gets home in time for dinner, mom June cleans the house wearing a dress and pearls, and kids Wally and the Beav always learn a lesson by the end of the episode. Wally's friend, Eddie Haskell, causes trouble while kissing up to Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. The cast of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER will be on stage to recall those six memorable years, behind-the-scenes stories, and how the cast truly became a family over the years.
7:00 pm, THE HISTORY OF THE LONE RANGER
Author/historian Martin Grams, Jr. presents a fascinating slide show on the history of the masked man and his faithful Indian companion. His latest book, THE LONE RANGER: The Early Years, 1933-1937, co-authored by Terry Salomonson, will be published in June or July and Martin promises to reveal a large number of photos that have never been published before and could not make it in his book.
8:00 pm, INTERVIEW WITH HAYLEY MILLS, JULIET MILLS
AND MAXWELL CAUFIELD
Hosted by Don Ramlow, screen legends Hayley Mills, Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caufield will be on stage to discuss their careers on television and in motion-pictures. Bill Anderson, one of Walt Disney's producers, saw Tiger Bay in the movie theaters, Hayley Mills' first screen role, and suggested that she be given the lead role in Pollyanna. The role of the orphaned "glad girl" who moves in with her aunt catapulted Mills to stardom in the United States and earned her a special Academy Award. Her sister, Juliet, began her career as a child actress and was nominated for a Tony Award for her stage performance in Five Finger Exercise in 1960. She progressed to film work and then to television, playing the lead role on the sitcom Nanny and the Professor in the early 1970s. She received Golden Globe Award nominations for her work on that series. Juliet's husband, Maxwell Caulfield, appeared in films such as Grease 2 (1982), Electric Dreams (1984), Gettysburg (1993) and The Boys Next Door (1985).
9:15 pm, SPECIAL MOVIE SCREENING
Special movie screening with weekend guest Hayley Mills in the lead.
To be announced.
FRIDAY
9:00 am, ANIMATED GENESIS: The Origins and Future of King Kong
With he release of the new GODZILLA vs. KONG, it seems fitting to revisit the character of the mighty ape. The franchise of stop-motion animation, King Kong, has evolved over the years. Matthew Hahn, author of THE ANIMATED MARX BROTHERS, will provide us with a look at the evolution of King Kong from his prehistory in Willis O’Brien silents to what lies ahead.
10:00 am, THE LIFE AND CAREER OF DON DEFORE
Don DeFore starred in Broadway, film, and TV productions. He is perhaps best remembered in his TV roles as “Thorny” on the first five years of THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET and as “Mr. B” in the 1960s series, HAZEL. He made more than 35 feature films and co-starred in more than a dozen including the film debuts of Doris Day, Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. This presentation will be delivered by his two sons, Ron and David. Ron’s new book, Growing Up in Disneyland is all about his father and his own life in a celebrity family. You will learn a lot you may not know, like Don being the President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and selling the first national broadcast of the Emmy Awards Show to NBC, and as Ron’s book title suggests, Don was the only person to own a restaurant in Disneyland, “Don DeFore’s Silver Banjo Barbecue” in Frontierland.” Ron and David will be around all three days to sign copies of Ron’s new book, and some of their father’s films will be shown in the screening room.
11:00 am, THE WESTERN ON RADIO IN THE GOLDEN AGE
Hosted by Frank Morgan. As the mid-19th century westward expansion across the U. S. continent progressed, newspaper items, books, and pulp magazines brought to the “civilized” residents of the east coast the colorful stories of cowboys, Indians, brazen outlaws, and bolder lawmen they hungered for. Then the early 20th century gave birth to a new means of telling the stories – the silent movie. Audiences loved them and a new breed of western hero was born. So is it any wonder that when radio came along that the western would become a staple of the airwaves? Almost every day there was something – westerns with historical content, westerns for the kids, westerns for the adults. Join me for a discussion of the most popular westerns which entertained listeners during the Golden Age of Radio.
12 noon,
FUTURE PAST: CONCEPT SPACE VEHICLES OF THE 1950s
Hosted by Mike Turco.
Growing up in the 1950s was exciting. It was the dawn of the Atomic Age and the Space Age, as well as the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Satellites and space flight were serious topics that came to fruition at the end of the decade, as evidenced by Sputnik and the race to space that ensued between East and West. This fascinating slide show seminar will review the TV shows that introduced the early Baby Boomers to the Sci-Fi genre and engendered the deep interest in space travel that launched many a science and engineering career. Space vehicles that were conceptualized in the Fifties will be reviewed, including a look and discussion of a few of the top-secret Cold War projects of the times. From Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Walt Disney's Men Into Space series, to the iconic wheel concept of a futuristic space station, Mike will cover all areas of the spectrum. Explore the progression of the rocket designs, the mindset of the US military that pushed the limits of flight, and actual models of conceptual space vehicles of the 1950s, many of which will be on display at the convention.
1:00 p.m., OLD-TIME RADIO TRY-OUTS
Try your hand at playing a role on stage with script, sound effects and microphones. Open to anyone who attends the tryouts at 12:30 p.m. Win the role and you get to perform on stage!
3:30 p.m., OLD-TIME RADIO RE-ENACTMENT
TO BE ANNOUNCED
4:15 pm, CHARITY AUCTION FOR THE ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Have a few things about the house that you want to get rid of? Bring it to the convention on Friday and put them on the auction tables. All items will be accepted and every dollar raised during the sale of the auction items will help benefit children with treatable cancer. Bring your checkbook because you can make payment out to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, should you bid on items. (Please consult a CPA regarding tax deductions.) This year we are asking people NOT to donate audio cassettes or VHS videos, since no one is bidding on them during the auction. Thank you!
5:30 pm, CELEBRITY INTERVIEW WITH TELEVISION ICONS
How epic is this? Barbara Eden, Barbara Feldon and Richard Chamberlain on the stage together to discuss their screen careers. Barbara Eden will discuss HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, those classic science-fiction movies, and playing the title role in I DREAM OF JEANNIE. Barbara Feldon continues to be seen in television reruns as Agent 99 on GET SMART, but she also wrote a book and won as a contestant on THE $64,000 QUESTION. Richard Chamberlain became a teen idol for playing the title role of DOCTOR KILDARE, then a heart-throb for those classic mini-series including SHOGUN and THE THORN BIRDS. All three were stars of television programs that ran five seasons and all three graced the cover of TV GUIDE. Yep, this will be an epic event.
8:00 pm, INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK WAYNE AND STEFANIE POWERS
Before the screening of a movie classic, actors Patrick Wayne and Stefanie Powers will talk about their screen careers and introduce the film they both co-starred in.
(Free snacks and sodas will be provided during the evening screening.)
SATURDAY
9:00 am, SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS
TO BE ANNOUNCED. All cartoons will be screened from 16mm.
1:30 pm, FRANK LOVEJOY WORKS THE NIGHT BEAT
Researchers Joe Webb, Don Ramlow and Karl Schadow have been digging through the archives to unearth information about the popular radio program starring Frank Lovejoy. They will present their findings in a fascinating slide show.
12 noon, METRO WASHINGTON OLD-TIME RADIO CLUB
TO BE ANNOUNCED
1:30 pm, THE FUNNIEST DECADE: AMERICAN COMEDIANS OF THE 1930s
Details to be announced.
Hosted by Garry Berman.
2:30 pm, THE MAKING OF VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
7:00 pm, SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER BANQUET
(6:30 SEATING)
All you can eat buffet with live stage entertainment! Tickets always sell out for this event. This is a great way to close out the weekend. Details of this year’s entertainment to be announced. A great way to close the weekend of excitement. The dinner banquet is the only event that requires a separate fee and is not included with general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance, sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. (Which is why we recommend you purchase your tickets in advance.)