Allen Swift

Allen Swift

Born: January 16, 1924
Died: April 18, 2010
in New York City, New York, USA
Ira Stadlen (January 16, 1924 – April 18, 2010 ), known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor,  known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show. He provided the voices of many of the characters in The Bluffers, most of the voices for the 1960s underwater puppet show Diver Dan, and the voices in Gene Deitch's 1960–1962 group of Tom and Jerry cartoons. Swift was a children's television show host on WPIX in New York City as "Captain Allen". He took his professional name from radio comedian Fred Allen and 18th century satirist Jonathan Swift. Swift was an early television star who hosted The Popeye Show from September 10, 1956 to September 23, 1960, until he was forced to leave the program. The reason for his dismissal from "The Popeye Show" was creative differences with station management.(Info can be found in"The Popeye Show"aticle in The NYC Kids Shows Round Up"section of"TV Party.Com") Swift did the majority of the voices in Rankin/Bass's Mad Monster Party?, credited as Alan (sic) Swift in the movie's credits.  He supplied most of the character voices for the NBC Howdy Doody Show, and when Buffalo Bob Smith, who himself did the voice of the lead puppet character Howdy Doody and had many times proclaimed that "nobody else could do Howdy" suffered a heart attack, Swift took home some recordings over the weekend, came back on Monday and did Howdy's voice for more than a year.(Info can be found in Tv Bloq section of TV Party.Com) Swift also served as the second comedy writer for "Howdy Doody." He took on the job, following the abrupt departure of the series' first comedy writer and songwriter, Edward Kean.(info at "TV Bloq"/Past entry #168 at "TV Party.Com") He also wrote the play Checking Out. Swift was married to actress Lenore Loveman, and is the father of character actor, mimic and singer Lewis J. Stadlen, holistic health practitioner, Maxime Stadlen and psychotherapist, Clare A. Stadlen. He lived in Manhattan. Allen had been "suffering with a series of health calamities for several years, since he fell and broke his hip while walking his dog. From that moment, one thing led to another," said personal friend and director Gene Deitch. "Even though [I've been] here for 50 years, hardly a year went by without a visit to his 57th Street apartment, nor a day go by without e-mail and most recently Skype visits," added Deitch, an American expatriate living in the Czech Republic.

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Movies for Allen Swift...

3-D Rarities
Title: 3-D Rarities
Character: Lookout (archive footage)
Released: June 11, 2015
Type: Movie
Selections include Kelley's Plasticon Pictures, the earliest extant 3-D demonstration film from 1922 with incredible footage of Washington and New York City; New Dimensions, the first domestic full color 3-D film originally shown at the World’s Fair in 1940; Thrills for You, a promotional film for the Pennsylvania Railroad; Stardust in Your Eyes, a hilarious standup routine by Slick Slavin; trailer for The Maze, with fantastic production design by William Cameron Menzies; Doom Town, a controversial anti-atomic testing film mysteriously pulled from release; puppet cartoon The Adventures of Sam Space, presented in widescreen; I’ll Sell My Shirt, a burlesque comedy unseen in 3-D for over 60 years; Boo Moon, an excellent example of color stereoscopic animation…and more!
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Safe Men
Title: Safe Men
Character: Sol
Released: August 7, 1998
Type: Movie
Two untalented singers are mistaken for a pair of major league safe crackers in Providence, Rhode Island. The two are pressed into service by the local hoodlums and quickly find themselves in conflict with their professional colleagues. Romantic interest is added by the daughter of the underworld leader who won't date the men she knows are gangsters.
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Title: Law & Order
Character: Abe Pomerance
Released: September 13, 1990
Type: TV
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
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Title: Law & Order
Character: Jacob Rosen
Released: September 13, 1990
Type: TV
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
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Title: Crime Story
Character: Hartman
Released: September 19, 1986
Type: TV
The hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca.
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Seize the Day
Title: Seize the Day
Character: Maurice Venice
Released: September 9, 1986
Type: Movie
Tommy Wilhelm (Robin Williams) is a salesman. An honest, hard-working guy who has lost his job, his girlfriend, and left part of his sanity behind as he heads to New York to pick up the pieces of his life. He's always been able to sell, but caught in a downward spiral, he must, in addition, face the father who never really understood him, while trying to balance his newly precarious existence.
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Title: The Equalizer
Character: Monty
Released: September 18, 1985
Type: TV
Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.
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Title: The Bluffers
Released: January 1, 1985
Type: TV
Welcome to the magical, musical land of Bluffoonia where the evil tyrant, Clandestino, rules the kingdom with an iron hand and a cold heart. Day by day he's destroying the beautiful forest for his own selfish gains, but the Bluffers—a group of lovable and mischievous animals—are determined to save their forest homeland.
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Title: Kate & Allie
Released: March 19, 1984
Type: TV
Kate & Allie is an American television situation comedy which ran from March 19, 1984, to May 22, 1989. Kate & Allie first aired on CBS as a midseason replacement series and only six episodes were initially commissioned, but the favorable response from critics and viewers alike easily convinced CBS to commit to a full season in the fall of 1984. The series was created by Sherry Coben.
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Pinocchio's Christmas
Title: Pinocchio's Christmas
Character: Fox (voice)
Released: December 3, 1980
Type: Movie
As Geppetto prepares for Christmas, Pinocchio joins a puppet show to earn money for a present. There he meets and elopes with the beautiful girl puppet, Julietta, leaving Geppetto alone and worried.
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A Family Circus Christmas
Title: A Family Circus Christmas
Character: Santa Claus
Released: December 18, 1979
Type: Movie
The family is decorating their tree when Daddy notices the star his father made is missing. When Billy asks Mommy why this made Daddy sad, she tells him it's because the star was made by his father, their Granddad, who is in Heaven. Jeffy then has a vivid dream about Santa, and asks him in the dream to bring Granddad home from Heaven for Christmas to make Daddy happy again. When Billy learns that Jeffy thinks this really will happen, he is afraid that Jeffy's Christmas will be ruined, since Santa can't do that. Mommy tries to explain why it's not possible to Jeffy after Dolly tells her what Jeffy thinks, but he gets upset and doesn't want to hear it. That night, he gets a visit from Santa, and Granddad.
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The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
Title: The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
Character: Gadzooks / Newsreel announcer / blue engine / Town guard (voice)
Released: April 6, 1977
Type: Movie
The Mailman decides to stop another deluge of letters by answering questions about the Easter Bunny: Sunny, a baby rabbit found and adopted by Kidville (a town of only kids--even a kid mailman). And when Sunny goes delivering eggs to the nearby town (which he has to dye to fool Gadzooks, the mean bear on the mountain), he discovers that there are no kids in the town, and that the rightful (kid) ruler is being suppressed by his aunt. But the young king likes Sunny's dyed eggs and jelly beans. So Kidsville, with the help of an old train engine, makes a few plans (and a decoy chocolate rabbit) to distribute them.
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Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure
Title: Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure
Character: Maxi-Fixit (voice)
Released: April 1, 1977
Type: Movie
Raggedy Ann and Andy leave their playroom to rescue Babette, a beautiful French doll kidnapped by a pirate.
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The Little Drummer Boy Book II
Title: The Little Drummer Boy Book II
Character: Simeon / Soldiers (voice)
Released: December 13, 1976
Type: Movie
Aaron, the drummer boy, struggles to protect a bellmaker's great silver bells from seizure by Roman soldiers
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Where the Wild Things Are
Title: Where the Wild Things Are
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: October 1, 1975
Type: Movie
A young boy named Max who, after dressing in his wolf costume, wreaks such havoc through his household that he is sent to bed without his supper. Max's bedroom undergoes a mysterious transformation into a jungle environment, and he winds up sailing to an island inhabited by malicious beasts known as the "Wild Things." After successfully intimidating the creatures, Max is hailed as the king of the Wild Things and enjoys a playful romp with his subjects. However, he starts to feel lonely and decides to return home, to the Wild Things' dismay. Upon returning to his bedroom, Max discovers a hot supper waiting for him.
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'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Title: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Character: Santa Claus (voice)
Released: December 8, 1974
Type: Movie
When a town learns that Santa Claus has struck it off his delivery schedule due to an insulting letter, a way must be found to change his mind.
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The Mad Magazine TV Special
Title: The Mad Magazine TV Special
Released: January 1, 1974
Type: Movie
Unaired TV special based on humor magazine.
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The Red Baron
Title: The Red Baron
Character: Voice
Released: December 9, 1972
Type: Movie
This animated feature casts the Red Baron as a hero, in a world of heroic anthropomorphic dogs and villainous anthropomorphic cats.
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The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters
Title: The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters
Character: Dracula / The Monster / Dr. Jekyll / The Invisible Man
Released: September 23, 1972
Type: Movie
All of Universal's greatest classic monsters gather at the Transylvania Astoria Hotel for Frankenstein's monster and his bride's Friday the 13th midnight wedding.
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The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes
Title: The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes
Character: Musty
Released: February 21, 1972
Type: Movie
This is one of the 'Animagical' titles from the children's film archive of Rankin/Bass. The story line is reminiscent of an earlier 1966 R/B Animagic film, 'The Daydreamer', both of which chronicles the fairy tales of Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen.
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Robin Hoodwinked
Title: Robin Hoodwinked
Character: Sir Blur / Robin Hood
Released: May 31, 1967
Type: Movie
Sir Blur, a nearsighted fellow who mistakes something or someone for something else.
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Mad Monster Party?
Title: Mad Monster Party?
Character: Felix Flankin / Yetch / Dracula / Invisible Man / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / Additional Voices
Released: March 8, 1967
Type: Movie
When Dr Frankenstein decides to retire from the monster-making business, he calls an international roster of monsters to a creepy convention to elect his successor. Everyone is there including Dracula, The Werewolf, The Creature, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and many more. But Frankenstein's title is not all that is at stake. The famous doctor has also discovered the secret of total destruction that must not fall into the wrong hands!
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Alice of Wonderland in Paris
Title: Alice of Wonderland in Paris
Character: François / Narrator / King (segment "Many Moons") / Lord High Chamberlain (voice)
Released: February 5, 1966
Type: Movie
Alice travels to Paris and hears five stories adapted from children's picture books in this anthology film. The books adapted include: "Anatole," "Madeline and the Bad Hat," "The Frowning Prince," "Many Moons," and "Madeline and the Gypsies."
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It Happened in Hualfin
Title: It Happened in Hualfin
Character: English Narrator (voice)
Released: March 12, 1965
Type: Movie
This three-part documentary on Indian peasant life in the Catamarca region of Argentina is an emotionally moving examination of the generational cycle of poverty in underdeveloped countries.
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Title: Underdog
Released: October 3, 1964
Type: TV
Underdog is an American animated television series that debuted October 3, 1964, on the NBC network under the primary sponsorship of General Mills, and continued in syndication until 1973, for a run of 124 episodes. Underdog, Shoeshine Boy's heroic alter-ego, appeared whenever love interest Sweet Polly Purebred was being victimized by such villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff. Underdog nearly always speaks in rhyme, as in, "There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!" His voice was supplied by Wally Cox.
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Slave Trade in the World Today
Title: Slave Trade in the World Today
Character: Narrator
Released: June 27, 1964
Type: Movie
The film documents modern slave trade through a number of African countries, under dictatorship rule. The filming was conducted both in public places, and sometimes with the use of hidden cameras, for high impact scenes of nudity, sex, and violence - and a few surprises, as slaves made out of peregrins to Asia, and slave traders paid in traveller checks.
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How to Avoid Friendship
Title: How to Avoid Friendship
Released: January 1, 1964
Type: Movie
The Independent League of Loners, known as the ILL, has studied the problem of excess camaraderie and has formulated this happy guide to solitude. A case study of person types to avoid.
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Title: Tennessee Tuxedo
Released: September 28, 1963
Type: TV
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is a semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills. The title is a play on “tuxedo and tails” formal wear.
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Sorry Safari
Title: Sorry Safari
Character: Tom Cat / Jerry Mouse / Clint Clobber (voice)
Released: October 12, 1962
Type: Movie
Tom joins his owner on a hunting safari in Kenya. Jerry has hidden himself in the Clint's luggage, and Tom quickly sees him and attempts to get rid of him.
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Tall in the Trap
Title: Tall in the Trap
Character: (voice)
Released: September 14, 1962
Type: Movie
When Jerry rustles cheese from the Dry Gulch General Store, Sheriff Mutt Dillin hires Tom, the fastest trap in the West.
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Anatole
Title: Anatole
Character: Francios (voice)
Released: September 14, 1962
Type: Movie
The adventures of Anatole, a suave and debonair French mouse, in a cheese factory.
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The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit
Title: The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: August 1, 1962
Type: Movie
A demonstration of how to make a "Tom & Jerry" cartoon.
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It's Greek to Me-ow!
Title: It's Greek to Me-ow!
Character: Tom Cat / Jerry Mouse / Clint Clobber (voice)
Released: December 6, 1961
Type: Movie
This cartoon opens with a narrator introducing the ancient Greek Acropolis, describing its wealth and beautiful architecture. Tom is depicted as one of these inhabitants, an alley cat who lives in the shadows of Athens searching for food.
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Down and Outing
Title: Down and Outing
Character: Tom Cat / Jerry Mouse / Clint Clobber (voice)
Released: October 25, 1961
Type: Movie
Tom accompanies his owner, Clint Clobber, who has severe anger management issues, on a fishing trip.
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Title: Tooter Turtle
Character: Tooter
Released: October 15, 1960
Type: TV
Tooter Turtle was a cartoon about a turtle that first appeared on TV in 1960, as a segment, along with The Hunter a detective dog, as part of the King Leonardo and His Short Subjects program. "Tooter Turtle" debuted on NBC, on Saturday, October 15, 1960, and ran for 39 original episodes through July 22, 1961. These episodes were later rerun as backups on other cartoon shows, but no more original episodes were made.
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Title: King Leonardo and His Short Subjects
Character: Odie Cologne (voice)
Released: October 15, 1960
Type: TV
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects is an animated cartoon series released in 1960 by Total Television, sponsored by General Mills.
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Gaston’s Mama Lisa
Title: Gaston’s Mama Lisa
Character: Gaston le Crayon
Released: June 1, 1959
Type: Movie
A Terrytoons cartoon of 1959 with Gaston le Crayon
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The Tale of a Dog
Title: The Tale of a Dog
Released: February 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Through a stray dog's mishaps, the stray gets mixed up with people who aren't really paying attention. He starts out as a shoe shine boy, then ends becoming the president of the GALLAGER and Foofer Frankfurter Co.
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Gaston's Easel Life
Title: Gaston's Easel Life
Released: October 1, 1958
Type: Movie
While Gaston LeCrayon is setting up his painting area on the sidewalk, a limousine zooms by and splashes mud all over the canvas. The wealthy woman, who was a passenger in that limousine, mistakes the mud-splashed canvas for "art" and invites Gaston to her mansion, wanting him to create a masterpiece with her expensive art supplies. Her husband, however, has different ideas.
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Old Mother Clobber
Title: Old Mother Clobber
Released: September 1, 1958
Type: Movie
A CinemaScope cartoon in which Clint Clobber, in his usual job as an apartment-house manager, is annoyed no end by a brat of a girl who seems determined to drive him out of his mind as she goes about wrecking the place. But, in the end, he finds out he needs her.
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Camp Clobber
Title: Camp Clobber
Character: Clint Clobber / General / Mr.Lofy (voice)
Released: July 22, 1958
Type: Movie
The apartment house superintendent, Clint Clobber, a turkey if there ever was one, is constantly pestered by an old retired Army general, who keeps the tenants in a dither and uproar with his hard-nosed and disciplined military habits. Clint finally finds a way to rid the house of the undesirable tenant.
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Gaston, Go Home
Title: Gaston, Go Home
Released: May 1, 1958
Type: Movie
Short with Gaston Le Crayon.
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It's a Living
Title: It's a Living
Character: (voice)
Released: November 16, 1957
Type: Movie
Dinky quits the cartoon business and gets a job as a spokes-duck for TV commercials.
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Depth Study
Title: Depth Study
Character: Economist / Communications Expert / Sociologist / Museum Curator / Wife / Bartender (voice)
Released: January 13, 1957
Type: Movie
Three archaeologists learn about the impact television, especially the CBS network, had on postwar America.
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Gaston Is Here
Title: Gaston Is Here
Released: January 1, 1957
Type: Movie
Gaston Le Crayon is a French (kind of beatnik-looking) artist who brings his artwork to life. He's doing a famous painting to be. Movie director Alfred Fitchcock moves in next door. Fitchcock is making a movie about a man stranded in the frozen Arctic. Gaston takes it seriously. He paints a toaster, stuffs the freezing man in it, and pops him out like a piece of toast. Gaston thinks that he's doing a good deed. Fitchcock is furious.
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Popeye's 20th Anniversary
Title: Popeye's 20th Anniversary
Character: Audience Members (uncredited)
Released: April 2, 1954
Type: Movie
Popeye is being honored for his 20 years of films, in a dinner hosted by 'Bob Hope' (several other celebrities are present, like Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, 'Jerry Lewis' and 'Dean Martin').
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The Seapreme Court
Title: The Seapreme Court
Character: Various Fish (uncredited)
Released: January 29, 1954
Type: Movie
Little Audrey, while fishing, falls to the bottom of the sea, where she encounters all types of sea-life and then is arrested by the local fish-constable. She is tried by a jury of sardines who find her guilty, and she is sentenced to the 'eelectric chair." She makes an escape attempt, and wakes up to find it has all been a dream. She has a nibble on her fishing line and reels in a small fish, which she quickly returns to the water.
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Boo Moon
Title: Boo Moon
Character: Lookout
Released: January 1, 1954
Type: Movie
Casper the Friendly Ghost comes to the aid of King Luna and his people after being attacked by invading Tree Men. On the 3D Bluray 3-D Rarities Volume 1, this appears as an extra in 3D.
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Title: Howdy Doody
Released: December 27, 1947
Type: TV
Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on the NBC network in the United States from December 27, 1947 until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer in children's television programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it was also a pioneer in early color production as NBC used the show in part to sell color television sets in the 1950s.