Heartbeat's One and Two - 50's and 60's

1955 -- One of the Best Years Ever!

1955...Ann Landers appears in newspapers, Disneyland opens for business in California and Marilyn Monroe shows a lot of leg in The Seven-Year Itch.

Events

Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California. The new amusement park was built by Walt Disney and cost $17 million.

In Washington D.C., the A.F.L. and C.I.O. agrees to merge. The United States government announces that it plans to launch the world´s first orbiting satellite in 1957. In other news, French and British foreign ministers create a plan to include the Eastern bloc nations in a new Council of Europe. Austria formally regains its sovereignty. About 1,000 Catholic demonstrators are arrested in Buenos Aires for protesting the Peron "tyranny."

The Mickey Mouse Club premiered on October 3, 1955 till 1959. The Mousketeers made their first appearance on July 17, 1955 on the ABC broadcast special celebrating the opening of Disneyland

Sports

This year in sports, Brooklyn defeats New York in the seventh game to clinch the World Series. Seven-foot-two-inch Wilt Chamberlain is scheduled to attend the University of Kansas. In the NBA, Syracuse beats out Ft. Wayne to become NBA Champs. The Rams defeat the Browns 38-14 for football title. For the third consecutive year, Louison Bobet wins the Tour de France. Ken Rosewall wins Australian tennis title. "Swaps" ridden by W. Shoemaker wins the Kentucky Derby.

In 1955 James Dean is killed while driving his new Porsche Spyder at high speed, his movie; "Rebel Without A Cause", staring James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo has just been released and he becomes an instant icon for teens

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was our 34th President. Many of us formerly Democrat southern college girls decided that we
"liked Ike".

We never heard of Aids, Red M&M's, Compact Disc, Computers, Push Button Telephones, Answering Machines, ID Box's, Cable TV, VCR's, Remote Control, The Beatles, Hippies, Riots in the Street, Vietnam, Shopping Malls, Drive By Shotings, Disco, Heavy Metal, and Bill Gates. Our TV's only had 3 channels.

Vice President Richard M. Nixon

Vice President

On TV in 1955

Dragnet, People are Funny, The Jackie Gleason Show, What's My Line, Disneyland, The $64,000 Question, The Loretta Young Show, Your Hit Parade, Buick-Berle Show, Lux Video Theatre The George Gobel Show, The Toast of the Town, December Bride, The Chevy Show, The Perry Como Show Ford Theatre, I've Got a Secret, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Roy Rogers Show, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends Private Secretary, The Life of Riley, The Lineup, You Bet Your Life, General Electric Theatre, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Phil Silvers Show, Climax, I Love Lucy, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Red Skelton Show, Fireside Theatre, My Little Margie, The Honeymooners, This Is Your Life, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts, The Jack Benny Show, Topper, Two for the Money The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Millionnaire, American Bandstand - September 1952 - Host: Bob Horn - Aired on WFIL-TV

Cost Of Living In 1955

Gallon of Milk	.92
Loaf of Bread	.18
Dozen Eggs	.78
Postage Stamp	.03
Min. Wage Hour	.75
Gallon of Gas	.23
DOW Avg.	489
New Auto	1,950.00
New Home	22,000.00
Average Income	4,137.00

Songs

Back in 1955, the popular songs of that time were: "Ain´t That a Shame" performed by Pat Boone; "Autumn Leaves" performed by Roger Williams; "Hearts of Stone" sung by The Fontane Sisters and as well as "Learnin´ the Blues" by Frank Sinatra. Also topping the musical charts that year were: "Let Me Go Lover" by Joan Weber; "Sincerely" by The McGuire Sisters; "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ford; and the ever popular "Unchained Melody" by Les Baxter. "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" by Four Aces. "A Blossom Fell" by nat King Cole. "I Hear You Knocking" by gale Storm. "The Yellow Rose of Texas" by Mitch Miller. "Moments to Remember" by Four Lads

New Toys in 1955

Play-doh