Jim's Toy BoxCollecting and sharing moments and memories.dean martin

Happy Birthday Dino! Memories are indeed made of… you!

One of my most favorite entertainers of all time was born on this date in 1917. To celebrate I’d like to share with you links back to a few of the nods I’ve give to the King of Cool over the years as well as my most favorite movie from the Martin & Lewis collection; Scared Stiff. Also check out some really neat Dean Martin stuff I just found on ebay. I had never seen any of that stuff before but man oh man has my list to Santa just gotten longer!

I just wish I had more time to really show my appreciation for this remarkable entertainer and to help educate the younger generation on the incredible talent that this man had. Thankfully we have his legacy captured forever in various spots around the web. A good place to start is at the official Dean Martin website as well as his daughter Deana’s page who is quite the entertainer herself. Tell her Jim sent you…. she has no clue who I am of course BUT she will if you do 😉 Anyway Happy Birthday and Thank You, Dean. Memories are indeed made of…. you!

Now, Go Play!

Jim 06/07/14

Dean as a booster

Dean’s Influence

Really NEAT stuff, pally!

It’s Donald’s birthday and with his brothers it’s most certainly something to sing about!

April 29, 1915 The world welcomed Donald Mills of the Mills brothers into the world. Their combined sounds were indeed something special and were actually the influence that inspired Dean Martin. The Mills Brothers seamless harmony and is unmatched in its unison and style.In this clip we find Dean and Don teaming up to open Paper Doll for brother Harry.

Thank God for toys and toy pals on tough days.

Some days it just seems like the world is not only on your shoulders but also your head and neck region too. I’ve been having one of those. Mountain after mountain, glitch after glitch, annoying humans… I’m sure you can all relate. But thankfully I have my toys and my toy pals.

IMG_20140210_141635_387 While there have been some annoyances going on lately, when the burden gets so heavy I turn to my Toy Box and take a look inside. At the moment Sheldon Cooper from Bif Bang Pow and Entertainment Earth helps me smile a little. Then I get on facebook and a conversation begins between myself and my toy pal Tom Hagar about the possibilities of doing custom Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Mego style action figures. The wheels start turning.

deanjerry

8 and 12 inch versions of my all time favorite comedy team would be so much fun to have around the house, office, car, everywhere. I have a vintage two sided hand puppet that could be cast or 3D scanned and worked into separate heads. Hmmmm. And then use the S-Type bodies from Castaway / ZICA. And then create or have the very talented Anthony Durso create custom card backs, individuals and of course a two pack. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. And then seal ’em up in a clamshell for display. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. AND THEN (let’s dream really big shall we, get the lickeness / license rights and release them world wide! HMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

deanjerry1 Sure it’s just a pipe dream but still its a fun daydream that really took my mind off the pressures of the real world. Imagination. Conversation. Inspiration. They all happened thanks to my toy pals and real pal Tom.