Antique Autos Part 2: Mrs. White's Parakeet

Last week we showed you some Herbie cars from the film Herbie Rides Again, on display at the Antique Auto Club of America Museum in Hershey, PA. Today we want to take a look another special car which is part of the museum's collection. What you're looking at here is a 1977 Cadillac Seville once owned by television superstar Mrs. Betty White. This car was a gift from her husband Allen Ludden, and was custom painted in her favorite color Sea-Mist Green. Betty had lovingly nicknamed the car "Parakeet" before donating it to the Human Society in 2002 for a charity auction. From the auction, it lived with a private owner until it found it's way to the AACA Museum in 2009. Along with the car, the museum also has on display several items commemorating Betty White's awesome career in showbiz.

The car was also used in a two-part episode of Mama's Family. Impressed?

Betty White's Cadillac is a permanent exhibit at the Antique Auto Museum.

Antique Autos Part 1: Herbie

Easily one of my favorite film franchises of all-time is the Herbie The Love Bug series of films from Disney. I've seen plenty of Herbie cars in my travels, mostly cars used in the newer 2005 movie or the Disney On Ice production from the 80's. But to see a real honest to goodness Herbie used in one of the original movies is a real treat. So, when I learned that the REAL HERBIE was going to be in my neck of the woods I got pretty excited.

This past weekend I dragged my kids up to the Antique Auto Club of America Museum in Hershey, PA to see two authentic Herbie The Love Bugs used in the filming of the 1974 sequel Herbie Rides Again. The original movie, The Love Bug, was the highest grossing movie of 1969 and apparently stayed the top box office grosser of all time until a little film with some spaceships, robots and lightsabers showed up in 1977.

The AACA Museum has two Herbie cars on loan from the William E. Swigart, Jr Automobile Museum in Huntingdon, PA. They are on display until April 24, 2011. The first Herbie is in beautiful condition:

The original Herbie was a pearl white 1963 Volkswagen (VW) Model 117 Deluxe 2-door sedan equipped with a sunroof.


Also on display is this beat up Herbie:

The beat up interior

Poor Herbie, he's been through a lot.

And for extra nerdy fun, here's the registration for Herbie:

This is a sign that was used when Herbie made public appearances back in the day. Since the original four theatrical films, there has also been a TV movie in 1997 and a 5th theatrical production, Herbie Fully Loaded in 2005.

Herbie is awesome!

Check back later in the week with some pictures of another neat car on display at the AACA Museum.

Prop-eye

Fans of movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones often get the chance to see props actually used in the movies, at various exhibits and theme parks. When you're like me, and you're a huge fan of oddball films that the general public doesn't care about, you don't get the same opportunity to see props from your favorite movies. Which is why I was delighted to find this prop from one of my all-time favorite movies, 1980's Popeye. The Robert Altman film is a musical, live-action adaptation of E.C. Segar's 1930 era comic strip. It's a bizarre film based on the comic strip universe and not the more well-known animated cartoons, which makes it a little harder to follow at times. Since I've seen Popeye no less than 100 times...and that's no exaggeration, I've been able to figure out what the heck is going on. Anywho...the prop in question here is Popeye's famous pipe, which I'm sure is one of many that Robin Williams chomped on while filming this movie. The pipe is on display, like all good Hollywood props, at a Planet Hollywood...this one a stand alone gift shop in Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios. If you look closely, you can see a lightsaber on display right above the picture of Robin Williams. Those Star Wars props are everywhere!

Check out this website for: Popeye Village, a tourist attraction in Malta built around the village that was constructed for the movie.