This American television sitcom aired on ABC from October 3, 1952 to April 23, 1966 and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television, where it continued its success, initially running simultaneously on radio and TV. In terms of seasons, it was the longest-running live-action sitcom in American television history. The series starred the entertainment duo of Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson and their sons, David and Ricky. Don DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' neighbor, "Thorny" from 1952 to 1957. DeFore also portrayed George Baxter (Mr. B") in the television sitcom titled Hazel from 1961 to 1965.
The show aired for 14 seasons with 435 episodes. Each show ran for 25 minutes and was filmed with a single-camera. It became the first prime-time scripted series on american television to reach the 10-year milestone. The series aimed for realism and featured exterior shots of the Nelsons' actual southern California home. Interior shots were filmed on General Service Studios' Stage 3. Ozzie had the interior of the family's real-life home duplicated down to the pictures on the wall, furniture, rugs, drapes and even Harriet's knick-knacks.
The first episode was titled "The Rivals" (Season 1, Episode 1). Air date was October 3, 1952. The plot summary was about David and his next-door neighbor, Will Thornberry compete for the attention of Nancy Baker regarding an upcoming dance.
The last episode was titled "The Game Room" (Season 14, Episode 26) .. the final of 435 total episodes. Air date was March 26, 1966. The plot summary was about Ozzie and Harriet wanting to convert the boys' old bedroom into something new: Harriest suggests a guest room, while Ozzie secretly tries to install a pool table and turn it into a game room.
Circa 1960
Ricky and David
The Nelson Boys
..every girl had a crush on them..
Thursday, November 5, 2026
1822 Camino Palmero Street
Hollywood Hills
Los Angeles, California
Ozzie and Harriet purchased this 1916 Cape Cod Colonial-style home in
November 1941. The Nelson family lived in the home for several decades serving as their residence for around 40 years and was the only home the couple ever owned. The traditional Colonial-style home was built in 1916 and features 5 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, 3 fireplaces, a carved oak staircase, wood paneling, a swimming pool
and a guest house. It was designed by architects Frank T. Kegley and H. Scott Gerity and is a spacious 5,283-square-foot residence sitting on a nearly half an acre (21,000-square-foot lot). Their sons grew up at the property.
The historic home with historic entertainment industry roots is best known as the real-life residence of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and the exterior model for their iconic television sitcom, The Adventues of Ozzie and Harriet.
Ozzie was an American actor, filmmaker, musician and bandleader. In October 1935, he married the band's vocalist, Harriet Hilliard (her father's middle name was Hilliard). Harriet was born Peggy Lou Snyder on July 18, 1909 in Des Moines, Iowa. By 1932, she was performing in vaudeville when she met a saxophone-playing bandleader name Ozzie. Nelson hired her to sing with his orchestra and the couple married three years later.
6260 Hollywood Boulevard
(radio category)
Ozzie Nelson also has an individual star for television at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. Harriet Nelson has an individual star for televsion at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
My Three Sons
Clockwise from left: William Frawley, Tim Considine, Fred MacMurray, Don Grady and Stanley Livingston
My Three Sons was an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960 to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons before moving to CBS for the remaning seven seasons which was filmed in color. The show chronicled the life of widow and aeronautical engineer Steven Douglas played by Fred MacMurray as he raises three sons.
The series originally featured William Frawley as the boy's maternal grandfather and live-in housekeeper, William Michael Francis "Bub" O'Casey.
The set was part of the Desilu Studio lot which also housed other productions and the interior scenes were filmed on a soundstage. It set near other famous TV houses of that era.
The series was a cornerstone of the ABC and CBS lineup in the 1960s, Disney producer Bill Walsh often mused on whether the concept of the show was inspired by the film The Shaggy Dog as in his view they shared "the same dog, the same kids and Fred MacMurray".
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Bungalow Heaven is a quiet, close-knit neighborhood of historic early 20th century bungalow homes, many built during the Arts & Crafts period. The Landmark District, the first of its kind in Pasadena, California was created in 1989 to preserve the historic significance of these homes. In 2008, Bungalow Heaven was listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and designated as one of the "10 great places in America" by the American Planning Association.
The neighborhood has been known as Bungalow Heaven since the 1970s. Coined by the city planner, the name reflects the abundance of one-and-two-story Craftsman homes in the compact, six-block-by-six-block neighborhood. The first house dates to 1888, but most of the bungalows were built between 1905 and 1920. Mature street trees and front porches provide abundant shade and opportunities for people watching.
Landscaping and gardening are neighborhood pastimes with most homes growing Pasadena's famous roses. The weather and soil contribute to an abundance of homegrown fruit and vegetables that neighbors readily share.
This oak-lined street is typical of Bungalow Heaven.
An ideal setting for neighborhood walks and visiting with neighbors.
Monday, November 2, 2026
What Happened to the Avon Lady?
For a few decades in post-war Britain, one sound would send women to the front door faster than the milkman or the postman: "Ding dong Avon calling!" Avon's long-running TV campaign (1954-1967) turned the Avon Lady into a minor celebrity. A neatly dressed emissary of affordable glamour who arrived with a suitcase full of lipstick and a reassuring smile.
The Avon door-to-door sales began because founder David H. McConnell discovered that women were highly successful at selling perfume to other women in their homes, a ground breaking career opportunity at a time when most women worked only within the domestic sphere.
Avon began in 1886 when founder David H. McConnell, a door-to-door book salesman in New York City, noticed that the free perfume samples he gave out with a purchase were often more popular than the books. He quickly noticed that women were far more interested in his homemade perfumes than the books they were supposed to be buying!
The Empowerment Factor:
The model exploded because it offered women a rare chance to earn their own income, run a flexible business and financial independence decades before they even had the right to vote.
When McConnell founded the California Perfume Company*, he hired Mrs. Persis Foster Eames Albee of Winchester, New Hampshire as the first "Avon Lady". She traveled by horse and buggy pioneering the door-to-door system and recruiting a network of other female representatives. In 1897 into the 1900s, the company opened its first laboratory in Suffern, New York, launched its first magazine called Outlook in 1905 and printed its first product catalogues in 1906.
*McConnell started the new business in a small office at 126 Chambers Street in Manhattan. McConnell changed the company name in 1892. His business partner suggested calling it the "California Perfume Company" as he was living in California at the time and suggested the name because of the abundance of flowers in California. In 1939, the California Perfume Company changed its name to Avon Products, Inc.
Mrs. P.F.E. Albee did not just sell perfume she engineered a duplicable business system that allowed the company to grow rapidly. Over her 12-year tenure, she personally recruited and trained more than 5,000 female agents. Albee started by traveling the country to secure "General Agents". She would book a room in a local hotel, display her perfume sets and invite respected local women to meet her. Once she found a capable leader, she apointed that woman to run that specific territory. She outfitted women with the California Perfume Company's first major product, the Little Dot Perfume Set. It was affordable, packaged beautifully and served as a non-intimidating entry-level product for new sellers to pitch to neighbors. Albee's genius lay in weaponizing the existing social structures of the late 19th century. Because middle-class women regularly hosted tea parties, church socials and parlor visits Albee taught her agents to seamlessly weave product demonstrations into daily social calls. A women selling wasn't viewed as a traveling salesman, but as a trusted friend sharing a luxury.
The slogan, "Avon calling" changed the psychology of door-to-door sales. In the 1950s, uninvited door-to-door salesmen were often viewed with suspicion. The "Ding-dong! Avon calling" campaign re-framed the interaction entirely. The commercials portrayed the Avon Lady as a polite, stylish welcome guest bringing "culture and class" directly to a homemaker's living room.
The jingle was so memorable that it became a cultural shorthand for the decade. By standardizing the greeting, Avon created an immediate sense of familarity. When a representative actually rang a phyical doorbell, housewives already knew the exact script and felt safe opening the front door.
David H. McConnell
(1858-1937)
The name Avon was inspired by Stratford-on-Avon, the English birthplace of founder David Hall McConnell's favorite playwright, William Shakespeare. The name was officially changed to Avon Products, Inc. in 1939. The word Avon itself comes from the Celtic and Welsh word afon, which simply means "river".
In 1946, Avon went public on the New York Stock Exchange. It launched the Avon Foundation in 1955 and the iconic "Ding Dong", Avon Calling!" ad campaign which cemented the "Avon Lady" in American culture. The classic product Skin-So-Soft debuted in 1961.
In 1999, Andrea Jung was appointed as Avon's first female CEO.
Today, Avon still exists though only online through digital catalogues, but the woman with the suitcase and the brochure is mostly gone. She remains a cultural icon: a reminder of a time when selling lipstick door-to-door could feel like liberation and when a simple "ding dong" could make you feel glamorous.
Sunday, November 1, 2026
American Sign Museum
1330 Monmouth Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio
The museum features a brilliantly lit, indoor faux-streetscape lined with period building facades, shop windows and historic street furniture where visitors can alk through different era of design. The facility houses a fully functioning, on-site neon workshop where visitors can peek through glass windows to watch professional artisans bend glass tubes. It is the largest public museum dedicated to commercial sign history in the United States and opened in 2005.
Tod Swormstedt, founder began working on the museum in 1999. Neonworks of Cincinnati moved its business into the museum's location and features a live exhibit showing visitors how they restore neon signs.
