By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
More than two decades after the final episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood aired in 2001, the legacy of Fred Rogers has endured. Rogers has been the topic of a major feature film, It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks, and a documentary film, Won’t You Be My Neighbor. His namesake company, Fred Rogers Productions, has produced numerous public television series, including the spinoff Daniel Tiger’s […]
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Seven Things Learned in Five Days in January
I arrived at The Strong National Museum of Play near the end of January 2024 with nine days to spare to submit a book manuscript and a Research Fellowship lasting just five days. This, then, would not be a luxurious waltz around the vast collection in the archives. It was more a sprint through I had already reconnoitered titles in the hope of verifying previous leads, and tidying up some loose ends in some previously written chapters.
This book is about […]
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The Man Behind Memorable Game Show Graphics
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
Game shows are not just television programs. They are brands unto themselves, and some of them are represented by graphic icons—the blobby red Whammys of Press Your Luck; the merry joker of The Joker’s Wild; the distinctive dollar sign in The Price Is Right’s logo. These elements are calling cards for classic game shows. The best ones stand on their own as representatives of their show.
One of these classic […]
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The End of the Original, Daytime Game Show Format
By Adam Nedeff, researcher for the National Archives of Game Show History
Thirty years ago this month, a sad bit of game show history was made, but nobody recognized it at the time. On January 14, 1994, NBC aired Caesar’s Challenge for the last time. The following Monday, the network’s schedule was a wall of talk shows and soap operas. With no fanfare at all, viewers witnessed the end of the last original game show format to air on network […]
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Unstoppable Historical Research Meets Immovable Secrecy Clause
Ever signed an NDA? It stands for Non-Disclosure Agreement, basically a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose any information covered by it. Personally, as a screenwriter, I’ve signed a few. About what? Well, that I can’t reveal, of course. That’s the whole purpose of an NDA, right? But what if (hopefully), five or ten years from now, someone becomes interested in the creative process of the project covered by that particular NDA? Will its secrecy have expired […]
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Child’s Play and Investment in the City
“The evolution of the building toy is intertwined with the developmental history of the child as builder.” Toying with Architecture: The Building Toy in the Arena of Play, 1800 to the present, 1997-1998
In August 2023, I had the privilege of two weeks of research in The Strong Museum archives, courtesy of the Valentine-Cosman Research Fellowship. This was the most family-friendly research adventure of my life. During the day, I handled precious objects in the museum archives. On Thursday, Friday, and […]
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A Brief Jewish History of the Toy and Game Industry: The United States
The Toy and Game Industry in the U.S.
The U.S. toy industry, for obvious reasons, doesn’t have hundreds of years of history extending before the industrial revolution that Europe experienced. Before the early 1800s, if you were a child of wealthy parents, you likely had toys purchased from overseas for you or perhaps purchased in one of the new-fangled “department stores” in a major city. If you weren’t so fortunate, the few toys and games you most likely had were “folk […]
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A Brief Jewish History of the Toy and Game Industry: Nuremberg, Germany
Many people know how much impact Jews and Jewish culture have had on entertainment industries like film, television, and comic books. But Jewish designers, entrepreneurs, and inventors have also shaped the world of toys, games, pinball, and video games, and the products of their careers are a huge part of the collections of both The Strong museum and the childhoods of millions in the U.S. and around the world. Those careers go back to the early days of the industrial […]
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The Battle over Street Play in New York City (1910-1930)
“Where there are kids, there is play.” Iona Opie
“The setting of boundaries is always a political act.” Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder
“We begin with the child when he is three years old. As soon as he begins to think he gets a little flag put in his hand.” Dr Robert LEY, leader of Nazi Labor Front.
As an urban game designer, and an immigrant to the US, I find it particularly interesting to understand the relationship between cultures and […]
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