No, that isn’t exactly what I’m talking about…

It’s picture time around here today. 

Hey, that chicken isn’t even a real chicken.  It’s Ray Harryhausen’s giant bird from Mysterious Island.  Here’s what I’m talking about –

Now that’s a real man eating chicken, in fact it’s silent comedy great Harold Lloyd eating fried chicken at a gathering of Shriners on June 21, 1950.   Lloyd was passing the Imperial Potentate fez to new Shriner leader Dr. Hubert M. Poteat of North Carolina, both seen below.   Those giddy Shriners!

Speaking of leaders, how about this photo of President Harry Truman, doing business with Duke Ellington? 

Actually, Ellington was presenting the score of his new composition “Harlem” to the President, who was a well-known music lover.  The date was Friday, September 29, 1950.

Forget Frost/Nixon.  Try on Arnold/Nixon?  Well, you might think so from this photo –

Did you know that actor  and Republican Edward Arnold both wanted to run for the Senate seat from California in 1950?  Rep. Richard Nixon ended up as the candidate and went on to win over former actress Democrat Helen Gahagan Douglas — Mrs. Melvyn Douglas – in a campaign where Nixon attacked her alleged Communist sympathies.  It was then-Representative Douglas who dubbed Nixon “Tricky Dick” for his tactics during their campaign, proving that the lady was not only a good actress but a terrific judge of character.

And on a lighter note –

Actor Arthur Franz here tries his hand at mixing ice cream delights as he poses for this publicity photo as a soda jerk-in-training.  You’ll probably remember Franz, an always capable actor who never quite became a star but had a long and wonderful career, from movies like The Sniper, Flight to Mars, and the classic childhood science fiction nightmare-instigator Invaders from Mars.

That’s all the crazy photos I have for now!