You are a great story teller. I like how you weave your personal life along with memories of the time. Most shocking video was your telling of your father's suicide. I was speechless. You highlight the good times the 60s were but remind us all we all had our family problems. Thank you Fred!
Sept 23 1955. My birthday. I remember all those TV shows. So glad I found your video. My dad also fell into to that downward spiral. He finally got sober later in his life but by then he had lost everything that was dear to him. Through it all I loved him unconditionally although I didn’t show it nearly enough. Buried him last November. Sorry. I’m rambling.
Fred, it was a blessing the day I discovered your channel. Rough week for you but thoroughly enjoy this video and all of your other ones. With all that you share, it feels like we know you! Thank you for this!
HANDS DOWN you have the very best nostalgia....baby boomer...etc. videos on youtube. In fact I end up watching them over and over again. The way you deliver, edit, choose the music etc. is really top notch. You are like the Michael Moore of Nostalgia videos
Wow Fred, your dad had a rough life. Sorry to hear that man. Sounds like he was built from some tough stock though. I'll bet he was a good father and husband too. 🍦Here's to our parents who raised us the best they could with what they had.
Thanks, Gregg. I loved my dad but because his father died when he was 5, he had no template of what to do and not do. He made a lot of mistakes but I've made sure not to repeat them with my boy.
FredFlix, my father was not perfect as was I not either, but I realise now how hard it is to be a good parent. It seems that you did what you had and knew to do to be a good parent. You were able to glean the good that your father did and use it to be the parent you have become. You're a good dude.
Gregg Goss amen to that! I drove truck 30 yrs and its a tough job before the satilite directions and computers and air ride but I was la yes off in 87 and went to work where my dad worked from 55-85 and was working on the dock the forklifts were going 30 mph on those frozen docks my hat literally froze to my head and worked 12 hours of that for 1 day and got on the phone to my boss who layed me off and told him he better hire me back and he did because that job my dad done for 30 yrs was a little to hairy for me and then realised just exactly why he always had a nasty attitude back then real work still existed not like to days wussified jobs.
@@guyazbell8169 My father drove a tractor trailer for thirty five years and he told me he drove in all sorts of weather and bad conditions. In the snow, sleet whatever it was doing. For him there were no days off. The noise of the motor made him almost deaf then he retired from that job and started driving a garbage truck for ten more years for the city. He had Bipolar disorder but never let anyone know about it. He had his good days and bad days but I just thought it was normal. After he died my mom told me about his mental problems.
Talk about "worst of times, best of times". Oddly enough my Dad had the same American but as a station wagon. His drinking story went something like this. He is walking down the sidewalk to his favorite bar. Just before he enters, a guy walks out and falls flat on his face stone drunk. Something clicked and Dad decided right there he did not want to be that guy. He turned around and never made the bar scene again. He drank the occasional beer around the house after that but that was it. We took our usual two week summer vacation that year. We went to the New York Worlds Fair. It was a great vacation. We camped in New Jersey and visited all the typical sites of New York City. The Empire State building and Statue of Liberty were awesome. Riding the subway and eating at a automat was like living in another world far away from Muncie, Indiana. I started the 6th grade that September. It was senior class at Claypool Elementary. On Fridays I got to wear all my Beatles garb. I had a Beatles haircut, wore Beatle boots with black pants and a black turtleneck pullover. It was a great time in my life that lasted several years. This video had so many images that I love so much. I have that same Frankenstein Monster picture. Mine is colorized with a green tint on his face. I could go on and on but will just say thanks for sharing #FredFlix. Long live 1964-65 school year.
John Vapes+So you were one of those weird"Mods"Grandpa used to talk about.He hated the Beatles and that dangerous Rock & Roll music.Agreed with TV's Joe Friday"Dragnet"comments on that"Dangerous Hippy Movement"Funny I just recently seen an old rerun of that episode a month ago then seen this comment.If gramps was still around today would see that's tame compared to what he'd see if he was still around now.👴😨BTW,what is an automat? A drive in?
An Automat was a restaurant that didn't have waitresses. You got your food from a vending machine. It didn't have the normal décor of a regular establishment. They were plain and cheap. Perfect for a "Mod" like me. I should add, there were people behind the machines keeping them full. You could get a hot sandwich and such. Todays vending machine food, typical around the country/ is a variation on that.
The '60's -- I knew them well. I was nine years old, too, in '64. The country had recently ended the "Forgotten War" in Korea and was getting deeper into a new war in Vietnam. Daily causality reports kept that war front and center. Then there was the arms race with the Soviet Union and the threat of atomic destruction triggering the end of the world. You had your choice of things to worry about: The Cold War or the Hot War. People needed relief from the endless grind of bad news and silly TV sitcoms filed the bill perfectly. It became a battle of the network sitcoms with the Addams Family pitted against the Munsters and so on. No VCR's back then. If your two favorite shows on different channels were on at the same time, you had to miss one to see the other, or flip the channel selector back and forth to catch snippets of both shows. Now-a-days, we can have over 100 channels to watch and there is nothing good on TV anymore -- except, of course, re-runs from the '60's! Naturally.
Thomas Levy that's why my tv accidentally got thrown out the 2nd floor window and shattered into as many peices as hitlery has e-mails never regretted it and its been yrs.
The upcoming war with regular army men and invasion by the US Marines did not occur in 1964 or before with Kennedy. LBJ started the real shooting, killings, and inhumane treatment of the S Vietnamese with the Mar. 8, 1965 invasion, not before that date. You can look it up on Wikipedia. That date is the real beginning to the shooting war that divided the country into pieces. JFK was trying to extricate the US from that quagmire he recognized as such. He hated war, done mostly for power and money to the armament industries plus the politicians who are elected or bought off from the war mongers. NSAM 263 that Kennedy signed as to his plan for removing the first 1,000 army advisors was on October 11, but reversed by LBJs NSAM 273 on Nov. 26, the day after Kennedy's funeral. Proving that Kennedy's turn toward peaceful co-existence since Oct. 1962, threatened the military and intelligence agencies budget and reason for existence. Therefore to their warped view of eternal Cold War mentality, he needed to be removed from office.
@J Smith That's ridiculous, and flies in the face of the facts! The idea of the War was never to "win", but to grab huge profits for the war profiteers and armament industry that benefited so many war lovers! LBJ was a prime beneficiary of the war he invented (Mar. 8, 1965 regular army and Marines landing in Da Nang) with Lady Bird owning thousands of war armament shares (stocks). The ridiculous idea of N. Vietnam, in a stretch of proposed insanity according to LBJ, attacked a huge destroyer, the USS Maddox in early Aug. 1964. How did that lead to over 58,000 deaths and over 2 million Vietnamese civilians dying and thousands of others N./S. Vietnam and the US soldiers left horribly wounded or drug addicted? It makes absolutely no sense, unless it was all a scam on the American people! Which it was. There was never a chance of the US "winning" in Vietnam, exactly as there was in Korea 14 years earlier, in a bloody no-win war. No less an authority as Gen. Douglas MacArthur warned Kennedy not to get involved in another land war in Asia, and JFK listened, and was in the process of pulling out the first 1,000 advisors by Dec. 31, 1963 (of the 16,500 there then), with his NSAM #263 (Oct. 11, and almost all of them out by 1965), where the troops would be badly outnumbered, and with a corrupt government, as S. Korea has been for years. The NVK was never ready to "give up" (despite whatever Cronkite said, in affirming the war was lost), just as in N. Vietnam. Your theory is insane on the face of it! Find another theory that fits the facts instead of your made-up fairy tale.
Fred flix , thank you for posting all these videos I was born in 1955 so I really appreciate them some things I haven't thought about any years. I am binge-watching them now thank you again
Fred..i can fully understand what your dad went thru..Back in 1979 i was involved in a spill during a harness race at the fair in Ionia, Mich...7 of us went down, and i was at the bottom of the pile..7 broken ribs, 1 fractured clavicle, 2 lower vertebra dissected, an oh, yes, 3500 small sutures in my face...Thank God for the Straith Clinic, their plastic surgeons performed miracles...the happy drugs they put me on were great, but weaning off of them was pure hell..Your Dad fought alot of pain, even when bones mend, you live with pain as a sidekick...
"His long downward spiral began." When my Mom died, Dad was 47. That's when he really started to drink. In his final days, all he could keep down was straight vodka. That's it. He died at 60; a broken man. I am a recovering alcoholic and prescription drug addict, by the way. Anybody who not an addict does not know how it feels...
San Michele, because of Diabetes complications I had to get off a drug I had been on daily for 27 years. Still trying to cope with that. Wow, sorry about your dad and the straight vodka. That's rough.
It is pretty easy, especially years ago, to become a prescription drug addict. All it takes is an injury or condition where the pain never stops. Then.....the meds that eased the pain for a while just aren't working like they used to,,,,,so,,,,,you have to take more and the situation keeps escalating.
As another commentator said I as well, feel that I know you. The end about your Dad was sad but I have to say most of us have lived through something which may have defined us in a positive way when it should have done the opposite...I can surely see you’re a good person with these wonderful videos. When I watch them I always feel better! Once again, I want to thank you for giving us all these memories so similar to our very own.
What I like about your videos (compared to other YT'rs) is that although you give us feel-good memories, you share yourself with us. I read all the comments on your videos and we all love you! It seems as though we might know you in real life, as a friend. That's a big accomplishment for a vlogger. You're the best.
I was born on Sept 30 of '64..it fell on a Wednesday as I was told Wednesday's child is full of WOE. Apparently babies born on the other days enjoyed a happier outlook. I had the same terrors of going to the dentist. Thanks for sharing these videos.
Very enjoyable video. Your nostalgia video compilations are so well composed and edited. You have a real talent there. I can relate to everything in this video. Playing outdoors all day until sundown on our own, nobody knew where we were or what we were doing, it taught us how to be self reliant and toughened us up for life when we got older. Kids today don't know that experience. My first car was a Rambler American exactly like the one in your picture except mine was a 4 door and was maroon. Great little car. I see your avatar for your channel is the "Galaxy Being" from The Outer Limits. My favorite episode. All your nostalgia videos are brilliant and pure joy to watch. Keep 'em coming.
Brilliant vid,,,, We got all your American programs here in England,,,I mainly watch 60's,70's, American TV to this day though I'm in my 50s,,,and that song about the GTO I only ever had one American car and it was a 70 Pontiac GTO Judge,,,,,,,,,I only just discovered your channel as it's now a fave of mine,,,so a big thanks from across the pond,,,,,,,
Clay Loomis ,,,,,Hi Clay no that was back in 1990,,,,I was looking for a 71 Mustang back then and then GTO turned up,,,,I worked in a USA speed and spares shop in London,,,back then GTO was £3000 sterling,,,,,least I can say I owned my dream car,,,,,,now like most folk I own a regular car,,,but at age 50+ luv Forza 7,,,,,,,awesome,,,hope your days good,,
Wow, I watched your video over again. Good Job!!! The Munster’s, Adams family, Gilligan’s Island were great tv shows. Black and white Tv. Game boards. My grandfather had a rambler automobile. His model was a classic. It was red and immaculate.
Thanks for this post, Fred. I was born this week (September 27, 1964)!! My father also got into a bad car accident back then...but he was drunk when the accident happened...hit a bridge support column. And no DUI...the cop told him he'd suffered enough.
I'm the same age as you and your videos are touching and bittersweet. We all came through hard times of one kind or another.,but it was better times then.Thanks for sharing yours , and the good memories, too.. I was an avid collector of Famous Monsters mags and I had every Aurora monster model they made!
The beautiful thing about memory is: when you understand why you can let the bad things slip away and just hang on to the good things. We're loving your videos of southern life up here in frozen Canada 🍁. Keep up the great work.
I love your videos. I am the same age as you, but from Texas. My life was amazingly similar to yours. Baseball games, football games, and bike riding all over. Man, that was fun. Thanks.
It’s amazing how you can bring these memories back!! I was 8 in 1964 and doing almost exactly the same things at the same time in Pennsylvania. Thanks for the trip!
I was in the 1st grade and I stayed a girl's house playing this cool new game OPERATION, it was addictive! When I got home it was dark, the police were waiting for me. Oops!
Oh man. Just checked the comments. Sorry for your loss... For what it's worth, from a complete stranger, your work has been the best part of my... well ever since I found ya! Literally every day I cross my fingers when I get home, hoping for a new vid. It's actually what led me to check recent comments. You've actually shown me a world I never thought I could touch. It's like magic. You're a driving force, and not just for the nostalgic. We love ya, man :)
Thanks for the videos Fred. We are so close in age, similar bur different life experiences. Those were really a different time. We had it pretty good in so many ways compared to kids today, but yeah, stuff like your dad went through wasn't good.
I was born in 1950. Yes, there were problems, but I have many great memories of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I would go back there in a heartbeat if given the chance. Great friends. Great cars. Great music. Great TV and radio shows. No stupid laws (at least not many) to interfere with a great life. My father had his own auto repair business in Ohio and Florida. And yes, my mother used to sell Avon. My brother introduced my 1969 Camaro to a tree about 2 years after I bought it brand new off the showroom floor at a Chevy dealership where I worked in Ohio. He was fine, but cars were never made to try to climb trees. Great post.
My dad was in a bad car wreck as well, but five years later in 1969 Drunk driver plowed into back of my dad while waiting to make a left turn at 45 M.P.H. Dad was in a 1962 Ford Econoline panel van, van was pushed into a pick up in front, that was waiting to make a left turn as well. My dad went through the windshield, and ended up in the bed of the truck. He looked like your dad, Frankenstein when he came home all stitched up. I was with him a few months later, when he purchased a 2nd hand Cadillac Sedan De Ville, saying that he was going to drive a bigger, weightier, and safer car from then on!!
Fred, so sorry to see what happened to your dad then, and how he suffered needlessly when he could have had a better doctor care for his injuries. And someone did not help him on his battle with the bottle.
I was only 3 years old in that time frame. However I do remember those shows and you're right they became television icons and became some of my favorites over the years . Sorry to hear about what your dad went through. I lost my dad yesterday to liver cancer at the age of 79. We moved him back to the Buffalo area over the summer last year from North Carolina he and my step-mom. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in October of 2016. I always look for your videos on RU-vid and watch them at least once or twice. They're good memories
Man do I ever feel for what your dad went thru. you and all your family an neighbors, friends of his, but for him especially after such an ordeal as that. Nothing compares when it happens at home to our closest family. My own dad worked the rest of his life with pins in his ankle from a fall at work but wasn't the same. Our Dad's were still the greatest and the responsibility they had to carry we can't begin to measure or thank them enough for that. Thank You FredFlix for sharing that experience which you didn't have to but did anyway. Very thoughtful of you really.
I was 9 years old in 64 too must be why I relate everything you have posted. Best years of my life. My mom was Ill ever since I can remember but we never spoke about it. My Dad kept it from us. Again, sorry to hear about your Dad. You and your Dad
Sept 1964 - Had a new baby sister and was in Mrs. Mandel's 3rd grade class at Memorial School. I remember those wonderful shows and premier nights!! We had the 1962 station wagon version of your Rambler, it was dark blue with a white roof, NJ/GKX192 (yes, I remember the plate), purchased from Lakeview Rambler, Woodcliff Lake, NJ. Thanks for being so open about your family's tragedy.
Thanks for sharing your story Fred. I've been in ICU and it wasn't fun. I'm sorry to hear about your Father and I recall his tragic passing you alluded to an earlier entry. My Father has dementia which unfortunately is progressing. It's real sad for me to see him in his current condition. At least the assisted care facility he resides is giving him the best care possible. All the best from John in Calgary.
Wow Fred!! You would have been my big brother..... I had two older sisters! That is my Birthday week! Knew everything you posted.. Thanks! Two thumbs up!!!!! One of my fondest memories was watching TV in my Parents Bedroom, Friday Night 1965 CBS Brooklyn NY, watching "Wild Wild West". While my mom was frying fish in the kitchen.... Daddy was in the LIving room reading the paper and smoking his pipe! Ahhh the simple life! I cried about hearing about your father....... I lost mine in 1994...Glad you pop was okay! Peace...
Fred! another fabulous peek into your life. I do adore these "A week in the life" series. I believe that the 60's were magical, creative, happy, abundant and not of great interest to you i'm sure but THE FASHION!! oh my it was stunning and never have we recreated those super elegant lines of the 60's. Sad to hear what your poor dad went through, but lucky he was having a loving wife and family.....
1964 was a big year for me as well when I was 6. My Dad was transferred to Australia that year and so we saw a mixture of English, Australian and US shows. The US shows probably showed up a year or so late, but at least we saw them. Thanks for the memories ! (sorry about your dad)
Fred, I love all of your videos. But, as a kid, I cannot help but not see some of the favorite past times of ours. (1) Frisbee catch; (2) those long cylinder cardboard tubes that when you pushed down hard so that the top one went into the bottom one, and then you released, it would ka-bong, and the long cardboard rocket would fly up into the air 100 feet or so; (3) the little rockets with a parachute that you would launch with the handy dandy rubber band included; (4) those wooden mallets where you strike a large wooden ball threw a maze of metal hoops, (what was that called? crochet?); (5) "Dick Tracy" where everyone would run crazy around the yard beating each other up until the "Call Person" said, "Hold everything", and we would all have to freeze and allow the caller to go around and try to get the players to laugh; (6) the board game Stratego; (7) and I can never forget playing "Cape Canaveral", where you move these little men and rockets around, (it was as close to playing dolls that I got, but they could be launched too); (8) making forts inside LARGE hay bales, I mean these strapped bales were piled on top one another perhaps 20 feet tall and at least that wide, then the farmer would throw canvases on top of them to keep the rain out - they made for really neat forts and were so tall you could easily see the farmer coming thru peep holes in the canvas, which meant, time to run!
On the 24th of September 1964, I was 6 1/2 months old, so needless to say, I wasn't collecting comic books just yet, and I wasn't having any teeth pulled either; although, I was probably in just as much pain - considering it's the age when a baby starts teething. I'm sorry to hear about your dad's accident, Fred. You may not mention it in the video, but I'm sure it must have been devastating for you to have gone through that at such a young age. As for the downward spiral, my old man went through one of those too. And last but not least, you were a cute kid, but I can also see it in your eyes that you were a mischevious little bugger, weren't you? Your poor mother, God rest her soul if she's no longer with us, and if she is, give her my condolences.! 😆 I know. I make long comments, but I can't help myself sometimes - especially when I come across awesome videos like yours. Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky, and somebody will read it. 😁
Fred, hearing about your dads accident reminded me of spending the night at a friend's and his parents went to a New Year's party and on the way home they got in a head on collision with a drunk driver and his mom went thru the windshield and it took over a thousand stitches in her face.. She finally healed up but they moved shortly after that.. That was about 64 if I remember correctly.. Hope all is well and thx for the many memories...
Wow! So sorry your family had to go through that awful event. It's so unfair... but, I have to say that I believe guys like you and I were born in a great era. It's too bad it took years for me to realize how good someone like myself had it at the time... even though i have also experienced a few tragedies with family and friends myself... still, collectively, it was just so much fun to be a kid in those days. Wish I can go back. Oh well, we still take the good with the not-too-good, I suppose. My best to you Fred! edit: Weren't we the handsome bunch??? lol
Ah yes, this was in the days where some sixties parents drank their cocktails quite freely without any thought of "Maybe this isn't very healthy for the children to see all the time". Drinking and smoking in front of the kids wasn't a big deal in many households back then. My dad also had a car accident around the same time. Small world for sure.
I'm sorry about what happened to your dad here and how it affected him. My college roomie (and friend for these last almost 35 years) was born the day this all started. Funny coincidence that he grew to be as tall (6'5") as the stars of both THE MUNSTERS (Fred Gwynne) and DANIEL BOONE (Fess Parker), which premiered in the same time slot as THE MUNSTERS but on NBC.
Just wanted to show it was not all sweetness and light, David. In fact, if you knew the details of my whole childhood, well. it wouldn't exactly lift your spirits
@@FredFlix I know. After this video, I watched the one where you spoke of your eating disorder. I guess I must have only viewed your happier videos up until now. We're the same age, so you really brought back a lot of memories for me.
Wasn’t so different than Thunder Bay, Canada. Dressed in the 3 US TV Channels. A Dec. ‘64 moment was the cover of The Beatles ‘65 album cover and how I studied it for hours. At age 9.
I was so saddened hearing about your dad. It was the other way around for me. I knowingly and deliberately got into booze and drugs in the '80's and hid it from my family, making up all kinds of lies and excuses for not coming home for Thanksgivings and Christmases. I didn't even go to my sister's wedding.. Ultimately, I "hit the wall". I wound up in ER with the DTs. It was painful and terrifying. But, bless 'em, my family stood by me and helped me recover. I've been clean and sober since 1990. I hope your father was equally fortunate. I know he had a wonderful son to assist him, at any rate.. I was only 3 in '64...all I remember is the day my mom came home from the hospital with my newborn sister Joanne. I always enjoy your stuff! How about a 1970 installment? For me, '70 was such a terrific year!
I've been eyeing 1970, Paul. I also hid stuff from my family. I had an eating disorder and had to make excuses for Thanksgiving and Christmas like you...except I LIVED there. (Got help, got over it.)
I sincerely enjoy these videos even though I wasn’t born till August of 1967 I relate to living in the Carolinas . Would love to see a video about the “Soaps” as my Gram called them. I remember many a summer weekday watching WBTV with her waiting on The edge of night, Guiding light ,etc. Watching Betty Feezor with my Gram is another treasured memory. Thank you for the delightful memories.
Fred, I just turned 61 years old but have most of the memories your videos bring up. Ironically, our 2 car family included a Rambler "Rebel". And my Dad had one too many beers one day and took the neighbors souped-up go-cart gas engine for a spin down the street that ended at a city park. He crashed where the road ended and was catapulted from the go-cart at a very high speed. My Mom and us kids ran down to the crash site and saw my Dad massively bleeding from his head. Broken arm and leg and he never drank more than 2 or 3 beers after that. Similar story. The neighbors go-cart engine was modified by our then close professional race car driver Buddy Bennett whom moved back to Alabama where he went on to becoming a professional race car driver.
Hi Fred. Thanks so much for these. What a difficult week for your family and you. I didn't realize so many iconic shows started then. My mom would meet once in a while with the Avon lady. In early teenagehood I tried Avon after shave. Within an hour my face became beat red, followed by a large number of splotches all over my face! Horrifying to a teen! Needless to say I stayed far away from Avon products.
In the summer of 1964, I was 2 1/2 years old.....with a broken leg. That was also the year my family moved from Superior, Nebraska to Loomis, Nebraska. My Dad was a truck driver for the Superior Co-op, and he was stopped by a man who wanted him to start an electrician's business in Loomis. My Dad did, but had trouble getting business because his 1964 Ford van kept breaking down. In 1968 he saw a job open up at the Becton-Dickinson (BD, the medical supply company that makes syringes, especially for diabetics) and took it. He was an electrician for them until 1994. He traded that van for a 1969 Dodge A-108 Sportsman van. My Mom didn't have a job until 1968. She didn't drive until she was 35, but she had to drive my Dad to the hospital once a couple years earlier.
I don't remember much about it, except that it happened before the move. There is a picture of me walking around in the cast, but I don't know where that is now.
I was a toddler during this time....I was living on a Army base in Va....I don’t remember much tv.....sorry about your dads issues...seems most dads had these issues...I had the angry dad who would use us as a punching bag or we could never do anything right....moving to Germany didn’t help.....we lived there for 8 years
Holy Toledo Fred I love this more than the others I've seen so far. I had those Rock em Sock em robots & didn't remember what the box looked like. South Carolina looks like a wonderful place to have grown up. Or have you?☺ And all those new TV shows in same year. What are the odds? Thanks for the memories.
I remember as a 9 year old that year going to see Hard Day's Night and screaming at the screen with all the other kids. The manager of the theater gave us a second showing for free. I think we paid a quarter to see the movie.
Fred..I love these DAY IN A LIFE VIDEOS the MOST! What an emotional and difficult experience for a little boy to contend with. Your tooth was probably stress related. So sorry about your dad...but..two lessons here, and they are ...always use your seatbelt... and only allow an ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON to deal with fractures and diagnosis of such. It seems from the little I know that this chronic pain caused the drinking problem which anyone could easily understand as I'm sure he needed some relief. Who could live with such chronic PAIN? Very unfortunate for sure.
