The Cabinet of Dr. Sweeney, plus Bonus Ghost Sign

 A couple of years ago my filmmaker friend Mark W. Stone took me on a tour of the neighborhood where Dr. Francis Sweeney, almost certainly Cleveland's infamous Torso Killer, had his practice.

 Which building it was is impossible to say at this point, but these were the buildings that held those sorts of offices at that time.

 This one still houses some medical offices.

 On the right, a library converted into a chapel.....

 And here, windows both broken and boarded up.

And finally, a really nice Ghost Sign, in multiple languages (Czech?) advertising Mail Pouch tobacco.

More Nudes in Nature: Arundel Holmes Nicholls

 Here are the last two of the Nicholls 8x10s from the estate sale the other week:

 

Thislady seems to come from an earlier era than the one below, whose bob places her squarely in the Jazz Age as opposed to the Edwardian.

She looks rather pixieish as well....

Ghost Signs, Beverage-Related

 The first two were taken in Nice, France in 1987. I don't know if they really qualify as Ghost Signs since they're painted on glass, but the loveliness of their deterioration is similar. As always, click to enlarge!

And this one is from Brussels in 1982--too modern to be a proper Ghost Sign, perhaps (the number at the bottom reads 1/23/68, which could be a date, though in Europe it's usually Day/Month/Year.) 

Major Astro, circa 1970

In Wichita we had several memorable kiddie show hosts (Cap'n Bill, played by Bill MacLain, Freddie Fudd, supposedly Elmer's cousin, played by Henry Harvey) but none loomed as large in our little cartoon-addled minds as Channel Three's Major Astro, played by Tom Leahy, who also served as The Host on KARD's late-night horror movie show "Nightmare" (the prime inspiration for Joel Sanderson's brilliant "Basement Sublet of Horror").

 The show began in the days of the Mercury program, but as you can see by the Moonbase set above, it was still running well into the Apollo years.

 Here the Major waves, looking like he's giving his signature sign-off line, "Happy orbits, boys and girls!" I met Tom once when my friend Jeff Killian interviewed him in his home, and I was running one of two video cameras. In the interview, Tom was very, very funny, (he referred to the character as "The Maj") and afterwards he invited us to have a drink with him. Jeff and the other cameraman demurred, as it was before noon, but I wasn't by God going to pass up the chance to have a snort with Major Astro. He gave me a glass of white wine and said "I believe I'll have something stronger myself." Then he poured himself a good-sized tumbler of scotch.

The viewing screen behind him to his left is where the cartoons would first appear before going full-screen.  I believe Jeff gave me these pictures in the late eighties to print; I just found them in a box of old slides. Most likely they came from The Maj himself. Tom died a year or two ago, mourned by thousands of Wichita's former kiddie-show viewers. Rest in Peace, Maj!

More Cake, More Lady

Here she is again, continuing her journey into erotic reverie, Jazz Age-style. Here's #10:

 She's lighting candles again, but without the wistful look! What do you suppose happened in #9, which is missing from my set? (I'm not quite sure if I ever had it.)

#11: Here she seems to have lapsed back into a pleasant state of sexy thoughtfulness, or thoughtful sexiness. Maybe she's thinking about Gilbert Roland, or maybe she's more of a William S. Hart kind of gal, or maybe she's dreaming of Lilian Gish's loving embrace.

 In #12 she just had an especially naughty thought.

 And in #13 she's looking right at you again, as though she just remembered she's being photographed.

 And finally, in #14, she gives in to temptation and uncovers her lovely bosom and slides her diaphonous garment  twixt her nether limbs!

And for some reason the breasts are covered again in #15, the last in the series. I wonder what ever happened to her.

Alfred E. Neuman twelve feet tall!

These giants can be found around the nation, often holding a giant axe or a colossal tire. This one, however, is the only one I know of with Alfred E. Neuman's head, missing tooth miraculously restored!

 I took this at the intersection of 43rd and Cambridge in Kansas City around 1985. Does anyone know if this is still standing? The film was motion picture print stock (don't ask) which made it unusually hard to scan and correct. Note, please, the image of Alfred E. on the banner above the storefront!

This has been your obscure midwestern signage report. Next: Vintage erotica!

Illinois Haunted House

 After dropping my kid off at camp this summer Mrs. Phillips and I passed by this Haunted House attraction in rural Illinois.

 I imagine that in-season this portasign is illuminated and marked with directions. Or maybe it isn't. Maybe it just sits there.

 "In season" would be right about now. I should go up there and check it out! Or you should.

 Here's the sign you see as you're driving away. See the tiny little car next to it for scale!

That's all I have in terms of rural haunted house attractions.