Fun Finds: 1969 Spanish TV Cards

Marked on the back "Tele Banco Cancion," these cards showcase TV personalities popular in 1969 Spain. We've seen things like this before at Poseidon's Underworld, to the point where I nearly opted not to share these, but there seemed to be enough uniqueness with many of the photos to offset the familiarity of some others. This is not a whole set, just 41 (and I don't know how many there were to start with!) I also don't know the significance of the "suits" (cup, sun, sword, twig/branch), but perhaps a kindly Spanish reader will enlighten us in the comments section!

First up is Linda Cristal of The High Chaparral (1967-1971), a popular western concerning the inhabitants of a sprawling Arizona ranch.

Blue-eyed Mark Slade portrayed Cristal's stepson on Chaparral.

Cameron Mitchell was Cristal's fiery brother-in-law.

Leif Erickson, Cristal's on-screen husband, was the top-billed star of Chaparral and owner of the ranch.

Tony Franciosa was one of three stars who figured into The Name of the Game (1968-1971), a unique 90-minute drama series set in the world of publishing that allowed each lead actor to be the primary focus of his own episodes while sharing common supporting characters each week. By the way, Franciosa (who was fired early in the final season) did NOT have blue eyes as the tinting on this card (strongly) suggests!

Get Smart (1965-1970), a broadly comic spy series, starred Don Adams as Agent 86. (The show is noted here as "Superagente 86.")

Barbara Feldon was Adams' co-agent and love interest (and eventual wife on the show.)

I'm presenting these cards in numerical order and while many times the series' stars and shows are close together, this time there was interruption for some reason! So back to The Name of the Game with now-brown-eyed Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry and Robert Stack. At no time did all three of these gents appear in an episode together, though sometimes an installment would include a cameo by one of the other costars (though never from Stack.)

Raymond Burr's successful follow-up series to Perry Mason (1957-1966) was Ironside (1967-1975), about the crime-solving done by a wheelchair-bound police detective. Don Galloway was one of his faithful, dependable cohorts.

Don Mitchell began on Ironside as Burr's personal assistant, but through the course of the series became a policeman and ultimately a lawyer!

Back in Name of the Game territory, we find Gene Barry, but this photo is from his earlier series Burke's Law (1963-1966)!

Somewhere along the line, the above error must have been corrected because this card, featuring the same star, suit and number, now has Barry as he looked during Name of the Game.

Dick York, the harried husband of Bewitched, had played the iconic role from 1964, but 1969 would mark the year that health problems, principally with his back, led to the part being recast with Dick Sargent.

What a peculiar choice of photo for Agnes Moorehead of Bewitched (1964-1972.) While on the series, she was noted for a flaming red hairdo, often elaborately styled. So why this earlier, mis-tinted rendition?

We recently had some fun with the all grown-up Darby Hinton, but here he is as a rather enthusiastic tyke in Daniel Boone (1964-1970.)

At this time, Darrin McGavin was starring in a lesser-known show called The Outsider (1968-1969) about a down & out ex-con turned private investigator.

There have been a lot of viewers out there who got into a lather over young Luke Halpin of Flipper (1964-1967), but for me it was always the dad of the show Brian Kelly.

Tommy Norden, the younger of the show's two boys, only had a scant amount of screen credits after the series' demise.

Mike Connors (strangely noted as "Michael" here) scored a considerable hit with the private eye show Mannix (1965-1975.)

Not sure why Henry Darrow of High Chaparral was so out of sequence from his costars who were featured at the of this page. His role on the show was that of Linda Cristal's brother. Did you know that many years later he had a memorable guest role on The Golden Girls (in with gray hair and mustache) as Fidel Santiago, who simultaneously dates both Blanche and Sophia?

This is the cast of Cimarron Strip (1967-1968), a 90-minute western which starred Stuart Whitman as a frontier sheriff and had Percy Herbert, Jill Townsend and Randy Boone as his pals.

There was a time when execs wanted to (and did!) remove strongman Peter Lupus from Mission: Impossible because they thought him expendable, but viewers disagreed and he was soon reinstated full time, winding up working on the series from its debut in 1966 to its finale in 1973. Only Greg Morris appeared in more episodes.

These tykes, Marc Copage (misspelled "Mark" here) and Michael Link, were regular cast members on Julia (1968-1971), which was a groundbreaking series in that its lead character, a black female, was a professional, independent lady and not a domestic or other subservient type as was then the norm.

Breaking the chain of continuity again is Daniel Boone's Patricia Blair. The eye-popping redhead played Boone's wife Rebecca for the entire run of the series, though the first couple of seasons were in black & white.

Now back to Julia! If Marc Coppage was in any way let down by having his name misspelled you can just imagine how Miss Diahann Carroll would have felt had she ever seen this card (which is unlikely -- unless you're out there Miss C?! Drop in and say hi!) The fondly-remembered series about a widowed nurse with a young son was cancelled when Carroll finally had had her fill of the show's being criticized for not accurately reflecting black lives in their actual state. (A situation Bill Cosby overcame with ease about a dozen years later with The Cosby Show, 1984-1992.)

Suddenly, we're back to Mission: Impossible again, this time with Martin Landau. Landau played master of disguises Rollin Hand for the first three seasons, but departed (with this wife Barbara Bain) in a contract dispute

This little-known sitcom (1968-1970) The Good Guys starred a post-Gilligan's Island (1964-1967) Bob Denver along with Herb Edelman, who Golden Girls fans will know as Dorothy's ex-husband Stan.

This is really Desi Arnaz Jr, during his time on his mother's series Here's Lucy (1968-1972.) For all intents and purposes, Arnaz retired from screen acting in the mid-1980s and eventually segued into behind-the-scenes theatrical endeavors.

Although arguably best known for Dynasty (1981-1989), John Forsythe had previously enjoyed success on Bachelor Father (1957-1962) and to a lesser degree with To Rome with Love (1969-1971) about an American teacher and widowed father of three girls working in Italy's famed city.

Now we find Lucie Arnaz (misspelled Luci) of Here's Lucy (1968-1974.) Unlike her brother, she continued to work on television and in the occasional movie.

Sadly, we don't get close-ups of Martin Milner and especially square-jawed Kent McCord of Adam-12 (1968-1975.) The card amusingly refers to the show as "Area -12!"

Linda Thorson is a Canadian actress who burst onto the scene as Diana Rigg's replacement on The Avengers (1968-1969), though that gig turned out to be short-lived. The show was cancelled that year. However, she went on to an active career that continues to the present.

When it comes to Ron Ely of Tarzan (1966-1968), we prefer him practically naked in his loincloth as opposed to wearing a sportcoat and slacks, but this is an amusing picture of him at an NBC event with "Cheeta" on his lap.

Without the caption, we'd have been hard-pressed to recognize Susan St. James from her role on the aforementioned The Name of the Game (1968-1971)! As the (blonde!) stalwart secretary at the show's publishing house, she appeared in various episodes of the show no matter which of the star trio of actors was being featured that week.

Whoever trimmed this photo of Michael Landon of Bonanza (1959-1973) did a shitty job along the right side (his left)!

Though it's true that by 1969 Robert Young was starring in Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969-1976), this photo is from his earlier series Father Knows Best (1954-1960.)

Bonanza's proud papa Lorne Greene remained with the series while one son (Pernell Roberts) left and another (Dan Blocker) died, with various surrogate guys filling in here and there along the way.

Whoever made the decision to put Chad Everett of Medical Center (1969-1976) on a card with "wood" was a smart cookie!  LOL

Typically, the actor made famous by playing Dr. McCoy on Star Trek (1966-1969) has his first name together like this: DeForest Kelley. Interesting that the show's name is "La Conquista del Espacio" ("Conquest of Space" - ? - which infers a tad different meaning than merely trekking through it and exploring...)

Here's a cast photo from The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1972), based upon the 1963 movie of the same name which had starred Glenn Ford and Ron Howard.

And, lastly, we're back to Medical Center with James Daly, who was the father of Tyne and Tim, successful actors in their own right. Have a great weekend and we'll be back with more from the depths of The Underworld soon!

Kentucky Darby

Now don't panic too much. We aren't going to delve deep into the childhood career of freckle faced Darby Hinton, best known for his stint on Daniel Boone (1964-1970.) We simply couldn't resist the title for this post, though, which draws from his role as Israel Boone, son of the legendary Kentucky trailblazer. (As is often our goal here in The Underworld, there's a method to our madness.) Hinton, born into a bloodline of actors on August 19th, 1957 (that's my birthday, too!), was first cast in TV commercials at the tender age of six months and proceeded to work further from there!

Before he was even two, tragedy struck when he, his parents and two sisters (who also worked as child actors) were visiting Catalina Island. His father, actor Ed Hinton, was called to Utah for work on a film and boarded a small private plane to expedite his journey. However, after he asked to circle back in order to wave at his wife and kids, the plane collided with a cliff and crashed into the water, killing all on board. (Ed Hinton is second from the right in this photo from 1955's Devil Goddess.) Thus, his family was forced to watch in horror as their beloved patriarch perished before their eyes.

Darby Hinton, already a veteran of many commercials and several film and TV appear- ances at age six, was taken to audition for the highly-anticipated The Sound of Music (1965), though there wasn't even a role for a boy his age. He somehow wound up lost on the lot and, literally, stumbled into Fess Parker, who was preparing Daniel Boone and soon charmed the star into offering him the role of his young son on the upcoming series!

This photo on the set is of Hinton with his mother Marilynn. She emerged as a great Hollywood socialite, throwing many dazzling parties and maintaining a busy, active charity schedule. The godparents of her children included figures of no less fame than Jane Russell, Steve Cochran, Denise Darcel and Charlton Heston (Darby's)! Mrs. Hinton did not remarry after the 1958 death of her beloved husband.

Hinton was taken under the gentle giant Parker's wing and a fatherly relationship developed over the course of the successful series. Hinton also guest-starred on other hit shows such as Route 66, Wagon Train, The Big Valley and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. Afterwards, he attended school in Switzerland and embarked on the adventure that was World Campus Afloat (later named Semester at Sea), a shipboard educational exercise that left him with a lifelong sense of adventure.

During the mid-1970s, Hinton continued to work, occasionally on TV, but more often in low-budget flicks with sometimes gritty subject matter. As the 1980s dawned, he guest-starred on Magnum, P.I. and The Fall Guy, gigs that would put him in stead for the part that forms the, uh, meat of this post! In 1985, Daniel Boone's li'l boy was cast in a mind-boggling bit of low-budget entertainment called Malibu Express! Express sprang from the mind, pen and directorial hand of one Andy Sidaris, a former sports-programming director who turned to intentionally raunchy, but light-hearted, action films stuffed to the gills with as many Playboy Playmates as he could muster.

In my wildest dreams, I never would have even begun to watch an Andy Sidaris movie, not just because they are usually considered far from "good," but also because I have a near-zero interest in Playboy Playmates. However, a loyal friend and true of Poseidon's Underworld made it a point to tell me that these movies often served up equal or near-equal beefcake along with all the female T&A. Malibu Express was noted in particular. So when I happened upon a DVD set which included TWELVE of these movies for $5.50, I really felt I had no choice but to pick them up and at least get to see Express for the first time.

It's true. The plotlines of these movies don't merit any sort of in-depth assessment, nor is there much in the way of acting to be found, especially from the curvaceous ladies who, literally, at the drop of a hat, remove their tops and act like they're in heat. But it's also true that there is plenty of masculine charm on display as well, especially in this one with Hinton.

He plays a private investigator, very much in the mold of Tom Selleck's Thomas Magnum, complete with thick mustache, wavy hair and red sports car (in this case, a DeLorean!) Right off the bat, the spoofy nature of the film is demonstrated when Hinton heads into a shooting gallery and, firing off a ginormous gun, never once hits the target in question.

Before he enters the building, we're given a close-up of Hinton's crotch, swaddled in tight, faded jeans.

The budget for the film doesn't appear to have accounted for underwear, since Hinton looks to be going commando in most of his scenes (including this one at a race track.)

At Hinton's houseboat (called Malibu Express), he enters his kitchen to get some coffee brewing, then strips off in order to head downstairs for a shower.

Soon, we glimpse a big ol' close-up of Hinton's backside as he rinses off with the shower head attachment. Lest we be mistaken into thinking that this is a double, the camera rises without any cuts to reveal the face of our star.

All throughout the movie, Hinton and others fall into bed at the slightest provocation. It's practically along the lines of "Hmmm, it's 73 degrees. Let's get it on!" But who's complaining when it's just one more chance to see our hunky hero shirtless?

Just when you think things can't get much better, Hinton serves up another Underworld fixation, the Speedo! While investigating a case at a luxurious mansion, he does a few laps in the pool and steps out of it wearing this number.

Sidaris' films, though healthily stuffed with boobs, butts and bombs, often contain a surprising gay element as well. This movie, for example, has a drag queen in it (as do others of his.) This fight scene below has rather obvious gay subtext as well as shirtless Hinton is held at bay by two bare-chested bodybuilders while Art Metrano threatens to "blow his dick off!"

Praise Jesus, he's back in a Speedo again, this time after a swim in the company of Sybil Danning!

Following a murder at the mansion, he continues to investigate and question suspects, all the while remaining in this skimpy swimwear. (You never caught Thomas Magnum doing that!)

The final part of the movie is more conven- tional and though Hinton has still more sex and shirtless scenes, it becomes more about race car and helicopter chases and explosions than bodies on display. This shower sequence with him in some wet pants is welcome, however.

His tan, otter-like body is shown off to great advantage time and again. Sadly, he never made another film for Andy Sidaris. Married twice and with a total of four children, he's continued to act sporadically and has been trying to launch an adventuresome reality series that explores American history, including that of Kentucky's Daniel Boone.

Still handsome at fifty-eight, he popped up in the Bill Paxton miniseries Texas Rising (2015) and just finished a docudrama based on the ill-fated Donner Party wagon train. Though his beefcake-y, Speedo years are likely behind him, we may still see more of Mr. Hinton on screen in the years to come.

Editor's Note: Due to interest in Mr. Hinton's TV commercials (in the comments section), I've added this picture from a holiday jewelry ad that's been getting airtime recently. We've probably seen him in all sorts of ads and never even realized it.



THE END