50 Fun Facts About 60s Pop Culture

Which guitarist closed Woodstock in 1969 with a feedback-drenched version of the US national anthem?

Jimi Hendrix did not take the stage until 8:30 on Monday morning because of rain delays, and many in the crowd left during his set.

Which Scottish actor became the first big-screen James Bond in the 1962 film Dr. No?

Sean Connery was not what Bond's creator Ian Fleming had pictured, and Fleming doubted the casting until the first film proved a success.

Which 1966 series did Gene Roddenberry pitch as a space-going version of the Western Wagon Train?

Star Trek was nearly canceled before its first episode even aired, and NBC dropped it after three seasons of low ratings.

Which make of car is Herbie, the sentient racer in Disney's 1968 comedy The Love Bug?

Herbie the Volkswagen Beetle wears the number 53 because the film's producer was a fan of Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, who wore it on his jersey.

Which artist first showed 32 paintings of Campbell's soup cans at a Los Angeles gallery in 1962?

Andy Warhol gave each of the canvases a different variety of soup, all hand-painted in the same 20-by-16-inch format.

Which singer's cover of The Twist sparked a dance craze and topped the Hot 100 in two separate runs?

Chubby Checker took the song from Hank Ballard, whose own 1959 recording had stalled at number 16 on the rhythm and blues chart.

Which children's show premiered on public television in 1969 with Jim Henson's Muppets in the cast?

Sesame Street producers at first kept the human actors and the Muppets apart, on psychologists' advice that mixing them would confuse young viewers.

Which 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller shocked audiences by killing its heroine in a motel shower?

Psycho was the first film sold in the US on the condition that nobody would be let into the theater after it had started.

Which Marvel superhero, co-created by artist Steve Ditko, debuted in Amazing Fantasy in 1962?

Spider-Man was a gamble: publisher Martin Goodman objected to the idea and agreed only to a tryout in the final issue of a series.

Which sporty Ford, unveiled at New York's 1964 World's Fair, sold over 400,000 in its first year?

Mustang gave its name to the pony car class, and the millionth one was sold within two years of the launch.

Which singer, known as the Queen of Soul, turned Otis Redding's song Respect into a feminist anthem?

Aretha Franklin added the interlude that spells out the song's title, a flourish that Redding's 1965 original does not have.

Which 1965 film starring Julie Andrews as a governess in Austria won the Oscar for Best Picture?

The Sound of Music overtook Gone with the Wind as the highest-grossing film in history and held that title for five years.

Which songwriter drew boos for playing with an electric band at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival?

Bob Dylan played just three songs with the amplified band, in what was his first concert with electric instruments.

Which actor starred opposite Burt Ward's Robin in the campy 1966 Batman television series?

Adam West won the part after the producer saw him play a James Bond-style spy in a Nestlé Quik commercial.

Which Hanna-Barbera cartoon became television's first prime-time animated sitcom when it debuted in 1960?

The Flintstones took its inspiration from the live-action sitcom The Honeymooners, which William Hanna considered one of the finest comedies on television.

Which cookbook author became a public television favorite in 1963 as host of The French Chef?

Julia Child got the series after she cooked an omelette on a Boston book-review programme and viewers loved the demonstration.

Which singer wore a black leather suit for a 1968 NBC special later known as the Comeback Special?

Elvis Presley sweated so heavily under the lights that the leather suit stuck to his skin and had to be carefully removed after the first show.

Which teenage London model, born Lesley Hornby, did the Daily Express name the face of 1966?

Twiggy was a play on Twigs, her childhood nickname, and it was her manager boyfriend who persuaded her to adopt it.

Which childhood friend of Truman Capote won the Pulitzer Prize for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Harper Lee modelled the character Dill on Capote, then helped him research his own book In Cold Blood.

Which Detroit record label did Berry Gordy run from a studio nicknamed Hitsville U.S.A.?

Motown grew out of an $800 loan that Gordy asked his family to make from their shared savings account.

Which 1967 film stars Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, seduced by the married Mrs. Robinson?

The Graduate had a soundtrack recorded by Simon & Garfunkel, and the film's success boosted the profile of the folk-rock duo.

Which 1968 film ends with Charlton Heston's astronaut finding the ruins of the Statue of Liberty?

Planet of the Apes earned an honorary Academy Award for John Chambers, whose groundbreaking prosthetic makeup turned the cast into primates.

Which 1969 Beatles album cover shows the four band members walking across a London zebra crossing?

Abbey Road was photographed outside the band's studio from an idea drawn by Paul McCartney, who appears barefoot and out of step with the others.

Which sitcom starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, who cast spells by twitching her nose?

Bewitched finished its debut season as the second-highest-rated show in America, with Samantha's mortal husband working at a Madison Avenue ad agency.

Which BBC series, first shown in 1963, features a time machine that looks like a blue police box?

Doctor Who began 80 seconds late because of announcements about the previous day's assassination of the American president.

Which pop band was conceived by two television producers in 1965 for an NBC sitcom of the same name?

The Monkees sitcom won the 1967 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and the four members later fought for and won control of their own recordings.

Which San Francisco neighborhood became the hippie movement's hub during the 1967 Summer of Love?

Haight-Ashbury drew hippies because rooms in its 19th-century wooden houses were cheap: a proposed freeway had pushed property values down.

Which London designer, owner of the boutique Bazaar, is credited with naming the miniskirt?

Mary Quant reportedly named the skirt after her favourite make of car, the Mini, though who designed it first is still disputed.

Which toy with two knobs did the Ohio Art Company launch in time for Christmas 1960?

Etch A Sketch was the invention of Frenchman André Cassagnes, and Ohio Art had no interest in the toy when it first saw it.

Which line of toy cars did Mattel launch in 1968 as a competitor to Matchbox?

Hot Wheels were styled as customized hot rods, unlike Matchbox's models of everyday production cars; the first model produced was a dark blue Custom Camaro.

Which 1963 Elizabeth Taylor epic was the costliest film yet made and nearly bankrupted the studio?

Cleopatra was still the highest-grossing film of 1963, and its set produced a worldwide scandal: the affair between Taylor and leading man Richard Burton.

Which 1961 film put Audrey Hepburn in a black Givenchy dress as the socialite Holly Golightly?

Breakfast at Tiffany's nearly had a different lead: Marilyn Monroe was among the actors considered before Hepburn was cast.

Which NBC comedy show hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin made Goldie Hawn a household name?

Laugh-In began as a one-time special in 1967 and was such a success that NBC brought it back as a series, replacing The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Which writer created The Twilight Zone and appeared on screen to introduce its episodes?

Rod Serling was known as the angry young man of Hollywood for clashing with executives and sponsors over censorship, racism and war.

Which actor won five Emmy Awards as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show?

Don Knotts first came to fame on Steve Allen's variety show, where he always played an extremely nervous man in mock interviews with passers-by.

Which British band headlined 1969's Altamont Free Concert, where Hells Angels provided security?

The Rolling Stones took the stage as the final act, and during their set a spectator, Meredith Hunter, was fatally stabbed close to the stage.

Which Hasbro military toy, launched in 1964, was carefully never called a doll in its marketing?

G.I. Joe was sold as an action figure because the marketing wisdom of the early 1960s held that parents would never buy dolls for their sons.

Which Wham-O toy, made of a highly elastic synthetic rubber, sold over six million by late 1965?

Super Ball gave football its biggest name: AFL founder Lamar Hunt coined the term Super Bowl after watching his children play with one.

Which ukulele-playing singer married Miss Vicki on The Tonight Show in December 1969?

Tiny Tim drew a wedding audience that NBC put at 30 to 35 million, a year after his falsetto cover of Tiptoe Through the Tulips became a hit.

Which New York ballpark hosted the Beatles' record-breaking 1965 concert before 55,600 fans?

Shea Stadium was reached by helicopter and then a Wells Fargo armoured truck, and the crowd was so loud that security guards covered their ears.

Which 1960s drama about a physician hunting a one-armed man ended before over 78 million viewers?

The Fugitive began with a train derailment that freed Dr. Richard Kimble on his way to death row; many linked the plot to the Sam Sheppard case, though its creator denied it.

Which wild-haired toy creatures by Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam became an early-1960s American fad?

Trolls began as little wooden figures of mythical creatures that Dam carved for his own children, before his factory mass-produced them in rubber and then PVC.

Which white, low-heeled, mid-calf footwear did designer André Courrèges introduce in 1964?

Go-go boots got a further boost in 1966 from Nancy Sinatra, who wore them while performing These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.

Which Belgian performer topped the US Hot 100 in 1963 with the French-language song Dominique?

The Singing Nun was Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers, whose fellow sisters liked her songs so much that her superiors encouraged her to record an album.

Which comedy duo's CBS variety hour was abruptly canceled in 1969 after clashes with the censors?

Smothers Brothers episodes drew young viewers away from Bonanza with daring political satire, and after the axe fell the pair sued CBS for breach of contract.

Which ABC daytime soap opera became a teenage craze after adding the vampire Barnabas Collins?

Dark Shadows was limping toward cancellation when its creator brought in the vampire, and teenagers were soon hurrying home from school to watch at 4 p.m.

Which British hairstylist popularised the geometric hairstyle known as the five-point cut?

Vidal Sassoon was flown from London to Hollywood for a publicity event cutting Mia Farrow's hair for Rosemary's Baby, though Farrow later said she had already cut it short.

Which electronic instrument of 1964 reached the mainstream through the album Switched-On Bach?

Moog synthesizer tracks even accompanied the televised Apollo 11 moonwalk, which linked synthesizers with space in the popular mind.

Which diet soft drink, Coca-Cola's first, was launched in 1963 and discontinued in 2020?

Tab got its name after a company computer generated more than 185,000 four-letter candidates; the winner, Tabb, was then shortened.

Which Funny Girl actress shared the 1968 Best Actress Oscar with Katharine Hepburn in a rare tie?

Barbra Streisand was making her first film, reprising the role of Fanny Brice that she had played on Broadway in 1964.