From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, a Christmas stop
motion television special that first aired Sunday, December
6, 1964, on the NBC television network. The special has aired
on CBS affiliate stations since 1972.

Sam the Snowman (voiced by folk singer Burl Ives) was the narrator.

The first Barbie doll was introduced in both blonde and brunette

Ruth Handler

The Fashion doll Barbie,manufactured by Mattel, Inc. was
launched in March 1959. Businesswoman Ruth Handler
(above) is credited with the creation of the doll using a
German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.

     Jane Fonda (Lady Jayne Seymour Fonda) is 75 today 

 
1979

American Flyer is a name rooted in the history of model trains that began in Chicago
in 1905 with toymaker William Hafner and his friend William Coleman. The American
Flyer name was adopted in 1908. Early trains were wind-up or clockwork models with
some large scale models being produced prior to the Great Depression. In 1918 the
company introduced its first electric train, an O-gauge model that was simply a 
windup model with an electric motor in place of the clockwork motor. 

A.C. Gilbert, of Erector Set fame, took over the company in 1938. Today, American
Flyer model trains still run on layouts and under Christmas trees across the U.S.

 
American Flyer S-gauge model from the early 1950s

Allied Radio began in 1928 as a mail-order and parts distribution arm 
of Columbia Radio Corporation, selling radio sets, tubes, electronic   
components, CB radios and other miscellaneous radio communications  
equipment and electronic kits. In 1970 the retailer changed ownership 
when Radio Shack’s parent Company, Tandy Corporation, bought both 
Allied Radio & Allied Electronics. By 1973, due to legal action, the Tandy
stores were renamed Radio Shack.