April 1969
Here we find Becky and her friend or possibly sister, Tina. The notes on the back indicate that Becky was in eighth grade when this was taken and Tina was in the seventh.
Tina rivals Becky in the stupid face pulling schenanigans. Quasimodo comes to mind in the last two photos!
Vic Parks on tour.
Vic Parks was a car salesman, real estate agent, radio host, farmer, acrobat, vaudeville performer and
Lou Costello’s stunt man. The above booth photos and a series of other small identity pictures, (see below) proudly sit alongside three original studio portraits of Vic in my collection. You can see the other photos on Mugshots and Miscellaneous.
In the set of undated photobooth photos, above, we see Vic posing in a dapper silk tie and scarf. On the back of one image is written “Let me see, I’ve been away about 6 months now! …more…that…” (The second sentence has been mostly obscured by glue.) For a time in the 1930s Vic toured in an acrobatic/dance show, so I imagine these were taken specifically to send home to loved ones while he was away.
Probably taken in a semi-automatic booth in a photographers studio. Undated; maybe late 1920s.
There are many references to Vic’s relationship with Lou to be found online. One of the more curious is from Stories of the Past.
“January 29, 1959
Have you seen TV and movie star Lou Costello walking down the streets of Calexico lately?
We hate to disillusion you, but chances are it’s Vic Parks, owner of Border Fords. And there is a good reason for the resemblance to Costello. Parks is his stand-in in Hollywood.
Parks has been working with the comedian since 1938. Parks has been in one form of show business or another for many years. He and his wife, Margie, still keep their hand in the entertainment business in Calexico.
Parks continues to double for Costello, traveling to Hollywood or other parts of the country when the shooting of a picture is in progress.”
From the photograph in his obituary article (below), it is easy to see why one may have mistaken him for Mr Costello.
Obituary from the North County Times, 1995. How incredibly alike are they in this photo.
Vic Parks and George Lamar with The Keene Twins circa 1930. Photo courtesy of Brian Murphy.
Above is a publicity portrait of Vic with Leona and Naomi Krummel (The Keene Twins) and George Lamar, Vic’s vaudeville “tumbling” partner. The troupe were at Fays Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island, from March 4 to March 10, 1933.
Brian Murphy, who has given me permission to use this image, has a wonderful photostream on Flickr that show cases hundreds of wonderful vaudeville images and ephemera from the 1920s, 30s and other eras. His father was a vaudeville performer at the same time as Vic. Please have a look at Brian’s archive.
Remember to go to Mugshots and Miscellaneous to see more images of Vic.
Small proof photos from a studio portrait sitting.
Wonderful memories of my time in San Francisco with Anette. RayKo Photo Center has a 75 year old photobooth that produces the most beautiful pictures.
“Me and Part of Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
“Me and Part of Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
“Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
“Pam Meadow. 7th Grade.”
Here is Becky again, a little older. This time she is on a day out with her friend, Pam Meadow. In her posing style, Pam is a little more serious and less creative than Becky. Maybe she is just less willing to make herself look like a complete fool. She has gorgeous Becks to do that job for her.
These were all taken on the same day. They are undated, but from the dates on other strips, they were probably taken in 1968.
7 July 1998, Museum Station, Melbourne
This is my cousin Rachel, from Hamilton, New Zealand. She was visiting Melbourne at the same time as her mum, who was here for a conference of The Australian String Teachers Association, which my mum was organising. Rachel and I were volunteers at the event. We took this photo on our way to the conference venue in North Melbourne.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Undated. Possibly 1966.
Undated. With unidentified friend or sibling.
1968.
These are the first three strips of photos from 14 strips that came from the USA as one lot. They document the changing face and life of a girl called Becky over a period of 10 or more years.
Becky loves to pull a face and muck about in photobooths with her friends and family. In some pictures her hair is straightened; in others wild and curly. You will enjoy getting to know her and watching her growth into adulthood.
The top two strips are undated but the lower has written on the back “Me and Robin, probably in the summer of 1968. I can’t remember exactly when.” The photos of Robin are missing. Robin, being the male spelling of the name, is possibly a younger brother who appears in future photos.
From information on other photos in the series I have worked out that Becky was about 13 years old when the third strip of pictures was taken. I guess she was two years younger in the first set and a year or so younger in the second.
More coming soon.
13 June 1998, Melbourne Central Station, Melbourne
Lost Fun Zone, who has a great Berlin based photography blog called
has helped me out by telling me of the mistake I made in naming the Danish percussion duo I saw on this evening in June, 1998. It was the Safri Duo not the Safari Duo.
Thanks Mister Zone from Berlin. I hate making mistakes and appreciate being picked up on them when I do.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
13 June 1998, Melbourne Central Station, Melbourne
A quick excursion to a photobooth on the way to see a percussion group called Safari Duo.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
I laugh every time I look at this strip. Mr Mullet seems very in love with himself. From the deliberate, alternating poses, I think it is his luxuriant face-fuzz that he is out to capture in all its glory.
It is quite surprising that he let go of this set of photos. My guess is he gave them to a girl he fancied and she didn’t value him or the photos enough to keep them.
I am not sure where these photos originated, probably the USA. I’d say from the colours and the type of booth strip the photos were taken in the 1990s.
6 March 1998, Spencer Street Station, Melbourne
This photo was taken just before a trip to Ballarat to attend the opening celebrations for the Eureka Centre, which now appears to have become the Museum for Australian Democracy.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Photobooth Journal 