#Kaye Don

[rmsqueenmaryonthisday]

Among The Hoi Polloi

On July 30, 1936, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, mother of twelve year old heiress Gloria Laura Vanderbilt, sailed for Europe aboard the RMS Queen Mary with her sister, Lady Furness. They are pictured above the previous year as they arrived home after a month in the country. Also on board: The Earl and Countess of Lincoln, Sir Malcolm and Lady Perks; Mrs. Lewis Cass Ledyard Jr., Kaye Don, racing…

[cantsayidont]

April-May 1943. In the modern Batman comics and most modern Batman media, Bruce Wayne grew up with butler Alfred Pennyworth, who became his surrogate father, but originally, Alfred arrived well after Bruce was an adult. In his first appearance in BATMAN #16 (above), Alfred was a former English musical hall comedy actor whose father Jarvis had once been the Wayne butler. Arriving in America, Alfred essentially bluffs and browbeats Bruce into giving him a job. Before Bruce can send him away, Alfred, who fancies himself an amateur detective, accidentally stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave, just as Dick had feared. Later:

Alfred was probably loosely modeled on, and certainly inspired by, Arthur Treacher, an English actor who had been a music hall star before finding his niche in movies as the quintessential English butler, playing P.G. Wodehouse's immortal Jeeves and various other butler roles. In DETECTIVE COMICS #83, Alfred spends his vacation "at a health resort, cultivatin' a new figure," returning in his now-familiar skinny, mustached form, which was modeled on William Austin, the actor who played Alfred in the 1943 BATMAN serial.

In 1957, a story in BATMAN #110 presented a new version of how Alfred was originally hired:

Note that in this version, Alfred already has his more familiar appearance when he's first hired; the original version was later attributed to Earth-2. (As this story eventually reveals, "Noyes" is actually Bruce Wayne in disguise, testing if Alfred can be trusted.)

The 1980 miniseries THE UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN, intended as the definitive Bronze Age account of Batman's origins, presents a hybrid version of these two stories, referencing Alfred's previous music hall career and Jarvis Pennyworth having previously worked for the Wayne family, but retaining the 1957 story's version of how Alfred learned his employers' secret. (I think that's too bad, as the original version with Alfred stumbling onto the secret by accident and then pretending to have deduced it is really very funny, but by 1980, Alfred was no longer being treated as comic relief.)

From whence the idea that Alfred raised Bruce? For that you may thank Frank Miller, as first seen in THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS in 1986 and then incorporated into "Batman: Year One" in BATMAN #404–407.

In any case, when reading older appearances of Alfred, including his apparent demise in 1964 and his ludicrous resurrection in 1966, it bears keeping in mind that he's really just Bruce and Dick's employee, and is absolutely, unquestionably not getting paid enough.

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #1: 1950

Kicking this project off with the first poll in the series by ranking the Billboard Top 10 Year-End singles from 1950. It will be another 8 years before the creation of Billboard's Hot 100 metric for charting popular music. The top songs were chosen based off of jukebox popularity, retail sales (both records and sheet music) and calculated via a survey Billboard Magazine would send out nationwide.

More information about this blog here

[nerds-yearbook]

In 1959, the time traveling alien known as the Doctor (Doctor 7) and his companion attempted to save the soul survivors of the Chimeron race (Delta and the egg for a new princess). Delta attempted to hide at Disneyland, but due to a crash with a satellite ended up at the Shangri-La holiday camp in South Wales. ("Delta and the Banner Men", Doctor Who, vlm 1 TV)

[camyfilms]

ETERNALS 2021

I've watched humans destroy each other when I could stop it all in a heartbeat. Do you know what that does to someone after centuries? Could our mission have been a mistake? Are we really helping these people build a better world? We're just like the soldiers down there: pawns to their leaders, blinded by loyalty.

[oldshowbiz]

Don Rickles: The Overnight Guest

[mitjalovse]

The 60's are not that clear-cut at all. I mean, Love – the band, not the real thing – are probably the group that dealt with the complexities of the period thanks to them being not as successful as they should've ben and also thanks to them having a different perspective. Forever Changes, their masterpiece, serves as a warning, since Arthur Lee, their frontman, felt something was off with the flower power movement. Thus, the platter resembles a chronicle of someone who noticed how all hopes slipped away, yet that person still cherishes the memory of the emotions, which were promised by these hopes. I could be cheeky here and call Forever Changes one of the early examples of the famous Mark Fisher term, though that would have been too much.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY’S DINGING GUIDE!

The Restaurants & Eateries of the Lucyverse ~ Part 2

Eating out brought Lucy to a wide variety of dining spots: sit down resaurants, diners, cafés and lunch counters are all here – in Lucy’s Dining Guide!

The Cavalier Restaurant ~ "Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (1962)

When Lucy’s knit dress unravels, she has no choice but to don a kangaroo costume to deliver important papers to a fancy restaurant. A bowl of onion soup is spilled in her pouch! 

The Elm Tree Inn ~ “Chris’s New Year’s Eve Party” (1962) 

While Chris has a party for her teenage friends, Lucy and Viv bring their sons to the Elm Tree Inn for dinner and dancing. The boys especially enjoy the ice cream sundaes. 

When Chris’s party is a dud, Lucy, Viv and Harry (Dick Martin) come to the rescue with entertainment, a silent movie sketch featuring Charlie Chaplin at a café. 

The Pink Pheasant ~ “No More Double Dates” (1963)

When Lucy and Viv double date, there’s an argument about where to dine and the couples split up, fibbing about their plans. Harry suggests going to Tony DiBello’s for Italian food. DiBello’s will be featured in “Lucy Meets a Millionaire” (1964). Viv suggests The Country Kitchen in Ridgebury. Eddie wants to dine where George Washington slept – the 300 year-old Colonial Inn. Lucy makes one more suggestion: The Café Tambourine, which is probably a gypsy tea room.

Naturally they end up at the same classy restaurant: The Pink Pheasant. So that Viv and Eddie (Don Briggs) don’t discover their deception, Lucy hides under the table. [The Pink Pheasant restaurant is really just a re-dressed version of The Cavalier, a restaurant seen earlier in the season in “Lucy Is A Kangaroo for a Day”. They even use the same chairs!] 

Wilbur’s Ice Cream Parlor ~ “Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (1963)

When Chris can’t make it to work at Wilbur’s Ice Cream Parlor, Lucy and Viv fill in. While Lucy works the counter, Viv handles table service, waiting on patrons played by James Gonzales and Desi Arnaz Jr.

Charlie’s Café ~ “Lucy Visits the White House” (1963)

When the train to Washington DC stops in Greenview, Lucy darts into a trackside café to steal their sugar cubes to rebuld the model of the White House her cub scouts are bringing to President Kennedy. Charlie’s menu includes coffee, sundaes, hamburgers, and bacon & tomato sandwiches. 

Tony DiBello’s ~ “Lucy Meets a Millionaire” (1964) 

Lucy’s dates Umberto Fabrini, an Italian millionaire who doesn’t speak English. Naturally, he takes her to an Italian restaurant - Tony DiBello’s. Tony is played by Jay Novello. Novello is associated with Italian food having played Mario, the "Visitor from Italy” turned pizza chef on “I Love Lucy.”

Umberto (Cesare Danova) orders Tortellini Bolognese, which - thanks to Lucy - ends up in his lap!  

Fleeing the restaurant to make a phone call, Lucy and Mr. Mooney pass an un-named café . 

Four Corners Café ~ “Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (1964) 

The abandoned and run down café offers Raviola (another name for ravioli) and has a Sugar Bowl Special. 

Despite their renovations, the café fails to bring in any customers. To rescue their investment, Lucy and Viv hastily reinvent their investment.

LUCY: “How about making it a Spanish restaurant?” VIV: “Great! How about calling it El Fiasco.”

They settle on a Gypsy Tea Room, serving Hungarian fare.

OLGA the COOK: “Push the Hungarian goulash.” 

When the Gypsy Tea Room doesn’t work out, they transform it into The Colonial Inn, an Early American themed restaurant, complete with the George and Martha as greeters (aka Lucy and Viv).

OLGA the COOK: “Push the Yankee Pot Roast.”

Danfield Train Depot Snack Bar ~ “Lucy is a Process Server” (1964)

The chalkboard says they offer Roast Beef Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, and Hamburgers. Stafford Repp plays the bored counterman. Mr. Mooney orders a hot dog and accidentally squirts himself with mustard. [Oops! Gale Gordon actually is eating a hamburger, not a hot dog.]

Restaurant ~ “Lucy the Meter Maid” (1964) and “Lucy the Coin Collector” (1964)

The streets of Danfield featured these same no-name restaurant windows. 

The Park Royal Restaurant ~ “Lucy Meets Danny Kaye” (1964) 

Lucy pursues the star into a fancy restaurant, where she succeeds in dumping a tray of food on his head! 

Coffee Shop ~ “Lucy and the Ceramic Cat” (1965) 

After shopping for sales at Bigelow’s, Lucy and Viv duck into a coffee shop for a cup of tea. They run into Mr. Mooney, who is having liver for lunch. 

The Golden Greek ~ “Lucy and The Golden Greek” (1965)

Lucy and Mary Jane double date at a Greek restaurant. Lucy’s date Howard suggests the moussaka. Lucy thinks he is talking about the musicians!

International Supper Club ~ “Lucy and the Undercover Agent” (1965) 

After seeing a James Bond movie, Mr. Mooney takes Lucy and the Countess (Ann Sothern) for dinner at a fancy restaurant. There Lucy sees a man she believes to be a spy. 

Seafood House ~ “Lucy and Bob Crane” (1966)

Crane takes “simple and unassuming” Lucy out for a lobster dinner at a “simple and unassmuing” restaurant decorated in a nautical theme. Crane orders them both lobster. 

LUCY: “Lobster is so ‘simple and unassuming’.” 

The Studio Café ~ “Lucy and John Wayne” (1966)

While Wayne is filming a movie, Lucy has lunch with him at the commissary. Thanks to Lucy, Wayne ends up with a face full of catsup! 

Hamburger Hovel ~ “Lucy Visits Viv” (1966)

To find a wayward Danfield boy, Lucy and Viv visit the Sunset Strip, where they search a biker bar. Motorcycles are parked in front of a burger joint called Hamburger Hovel, home of the original Bikerburger!  The eatery’s name is a pun on the real-life

Hamburger Haven

on Santa Monica Boulevard. 

Doc Putnam’s Drug Store ~ “Main Street U.S.A.” & “Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (1967)

In Bancroft, Lucy and Mel (Mel Torme) order two Strawberry Ice Cream Sodas (Mel: “In a clean glass”). Doc Porter is played by Paul Winchell. 

Restaurant ~ “Lucy Meets the Law” (1967)

After shopping (and before getting arrested), Lucy and Mary Jane pass by an un-named restaurant on their way to the bus stop.

Phil’s Fatboy Burgers ~ “Lucy Gets Involved” (1968)

Lucy takes a part-time job as a carhop at a drive-in burger joint where she must deliver food on roller skates!  Lucy’s boss, Mr. Burton, is played by Jackie Coogan. 

The Dining Room of the Lafayette Men's Club ~ “Lucy Meets Sid Caesar” (1968)

Lucy order. chicken cacciatore, baked lasagna and broccoli with Hollandaise sauce. Mr. Mooney orders roast turkey with oyster dressing, apple fritters, candied yams, and homemade cornbread. Sid Caesar (aka Frankie the Forger) orders cottage cheese and skim milk - because he’s on a diet. 

BONUS RESTAURANT(S)

“The Danny Kaye Show” (1962) 

In this Emmy Award-winning special, Kaye and Ball play three couples visiting three themed restaurants of different cuisines: Japanese, French, and Tahitian.

Kaye introduces all three sketches as himself. The first sketch is done without dialogue. At a Japanese Restaurant, Lucy has trouble with chopsticks, a bowl of fried noodles, and lychees. 

In the second sketch, this time with dialogue, co-workers Miss Naomi Dinsmore (Lucy) and Charlie(Kaye), are on a first date at an elegant French Restaurant.

Kaye:“Where the menu is in French, and the waiters are in French, and the prices are insane. The food is not only in French, but in Brandy, Cognac, and pure alcohol.  You can get drunk just by breathing the napkin.”

Lastly, married couple the Andersons go to a tropical restaurant named The Tahitian Typhoon.  

Kaye: “These are usually, the most exotic, the most authentic, the most uncomfortable, and… the most popular.”

It lives up to its name when a sudden downpour drenches the couple. On the way through the tropical foliage, Mrs. Anderson steps in quicksand.  

Mr. Anderson: “Don't struggle, you'll only sink faster. I learned that in the Amazon.”  Mrs. Anderson: “The Amazon?”  Mr. Anderson: “Yeah, it's a restaurant in Cleveland.”

Refusing to pay the check since they didn’t eat anything, the angry tribal maître d’ claps his hands, mutters an incantation, and shrinks the Andersons to pygmy size!  

Look for Part 3 of LUCY’S DINING GUIDE

[rwpohl]

wonder man, h. bruce humberstone 1945

[robynsassenmyview]

Crash! Bang! Alakazam! For the Vincent in the gallery – and the one in your heart

"Crash! Bang! Alakazam! For the Vincent in the gallery and the one in your heart", a review of Daniel Anderson in 'Vincent', at Theatre on the Square in Sandton until 10 June.

SOMEBODY to love. Daniel Anderson in ‘Vincent’ at Theatre on the Square. Photograph by Harry Lock. His was the story that changed the world’s understanding of the artist’s struggle. He yearned to, but failed to find love. He yearned to, but failed to make a conventional success of life. And at 37, died a pauper, alone. And then his work rocked the art world and auction houses as it broke records…

[blorb-el]

happy pride as a present here is a non-exhaustive compilation of ways precrisis clark has carted bruce around from the 50s to the 80s. sources and artists under readmore

[row 1] it's the early days, perhaps they're not comfortable yet with pda: wf 108, 1960, pencils dick sprang, inks sheldon moldoff well they sure got over that fast: wf 118, 1961, artists same as prev strong arms to show off husband and son: wf 135, 1963, artists same as prev

[row 2] belt hold: wf 80, 1956, pencils dick sprang, inks stan kaye cheek to cheek: wf 251, 1978, pencils george tuska, inks vince colletta, colors jerry serpe burrito: wf 172, 1967, pencils curt swan, inks george klein

[row 3] kitten scruffed: justice league of america 144, 1977, pencils dick dillin, inks frank mclaughlin, colors anthony tollin third wheeling: justice league of america 144, same as above like a sack of groceries: wf 257, 1979, pencils dick dillin, inks frank mclaughlin, colors gene d'angelo

[row 4] bridal, manila bruce style: wf 128, 1962, pencils and ink by jim mooney bridal batman style: wf 281, 1982, pencils irv novick, inks frank chiaramonte, colors carl gafford instinctive bridal catch: wf 266, 1981, pencils rich buckler, inks bob smith, colors gene d'angelo

[row 5] clarks hand is Where: wf 267, 1981, pencils rich buckler, inks dick giordano, colors gene d'angelo bruce has been mind controlled and given superpowers and they're.....'wrestling': wf 109, 1960, pencils curt swan, inks stan kaye piggyback ride: wf 224, 1974, pencils dick dillin, inks vince colletta [should be noted that this one is in an elseworlds...kind of, however this is indeed bruce and clark, as opposed to bruce jr. and clark jr., their sons who look exactly like them]

[row 6] this is just like picking up a kitty cat: wf 253, 1978, kurt schaffenberger, inks frank chiaramonte, colors gene d'angelo disgruntled burrito: wf 251, 1978, pencils george tuska, inks vince colletta, colors jerry serpe i have to hold you closely it's aerodynamic: wf 277, 1982, pencils don heck, inks romeo tanghal, colors gene d'angelo

[row 7] their toesies are in sync: wf 266, 1981, same as row 4 picture 3 kinda gone beyond burritoing into kidnapping: wf 272, 1981, pencils rich buckler, inks joe giella, colors gene d'angelo clark kneeing bruce: wf 266, same as the first one in this row

[row 8] bruce rolling over midflight in order to look clark in the eyes as he talks about running away from a mysterious ~feeling: wf 285, pencils rich buckler, inks sam de la rosa, colors gene d'angelo wrapping up his disgruntled husband in his cape like a blankie: wf 245, 1977, pencils curt swan, inks murphy anderson, colors jerry serpe

[row 9] actually this is a costume swap and bruce is carrying clark: wf 71, 1954, pencils curt swan, inks stan kaye carting off his civilian husband and son: wf 243, 1977, pencils curt swan, inks al milgrom, colors jerry serpe

bonus for clicking on the readmore; depowered clark getting... carried??? by bruce. they have beards because they are in caveman times but also they're on an alien planet don't worry about it. wf 138, 1963, pencils and inks by jim mooney

[hotvintagepoll]

this is a poll for a movie that doesn't exist.

It is vintage times. The powers that be have decided to again remake the classic vampire novel Dracula for the screen. in an amazing show of inter-studio solidarity, Hollywood’s most elite hotties are up for the starring roles. the producers know whoever they cast will greatly impact the genre, quality, and tone of the finished film, so they are turning to their wisest voices for guidance.

you are the new casting director for this star-studded epic. choose your players wisely.

Previously cast:

Jonathan Harker—Jimmy Stewart

The Old Woman—Martita Hunt

Count Dracula—Gloria Holden

Mina Murray—Setsuko Hara

Lucy Westenra—Judy Garland (rip)

The Three Voluptuous Women—Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall

The Agonized Mother—Mary Philbin (rip)

Dr. Jack Seward—Vincent Price

Quincey P. Morris—Toshiro Mifune

Arthur Holmwood—Sidney Poitier

R.M. Renfield—Conrad Veidt

The Captain of the Demeter—Omar Sharif (rip)

The First Mate of the Demeter—Leonard Nimoy (rip)

Mr. Swales—Ed Wynn (rip)

The Correspondent for The Daily Graph—Ethel Waters

Dracula in dog form—Frank Oz with a puppet

Sister Agatha—Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Westenra—Gladys Cooper (rip)

Dracula's solicitors—Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee

Dr. Van Helsing—Orson Welles

The Pall Mall Gazette reporter is an intrepid reporter who is not over-fond of wolves.

[vintagetvstars]

Hot Vintage TV Men's Bracket - Round 1 - Part 1/2 (Polls 1-99)

Round 1 (All Polls)

Ted Bessell Vs. Dick Van Dyke

Jonathan Frid Vs. William Hartnell

Claude Rains Vs. William Hopper

Eric Idle Vs. Peter Tork

Henry Winkler Vs. Tom Smothers

Martin Kove Vs. Tom Selleck

Jeff Conaway Vs. John de Lancie

Dave Foley Vs. Michael J. Fox

David Hyde Pierce Vs. Tony Shalhoub

Jason Bateman Vs. Rob Lowe

Ted Cassidy Vs. Boris Karloff

Eddie Albert Vs. Russell Johnson

Bobby Sherman Vs. Micky Dolenz

Robin Williams Vs. Fred Grandy

Kevin Smith Vs. Bruce Campbell

Brad Dourif Vs. LeVar Burton

Seth Green Vs. Brandon Quinn

Matthew Perry Vs. Tim Daly

Mike Farrell Vs. Judd Hirsch

Matt Bomer Vs. Timothy Olyphant

Larry Hagman Vs. Kent McCord

Fred Rogers Vs. Bobby Troup

David Cassidy Vs. Luke Halpin

George Takei Vs. Richard Hatch

Ricardo Montalban Vs. John Forsythe

Richard Dean Anderson Vs. Bruce Willis

Anthony Head Vs. Paul McGann

Thorsten Kaye Vs. Michael Horse

Darren E. Burrows Vs. Dana Ashbrook

Adam Brody Vs. Milo Ventimiglia

Adam West Vs. Richard Chamberlain

Randy Boone Vs. Dean Butler

Clint Walker Vs. George Maharis

Erik Estrada Vs. Paul Michael Glaser

Billy Dee Williams Vs. Rock Hudson

Ted Danson Vs. Jameson Parker

Sylvester McCoy Vs. Armin Shimerman

Joe Lando Vs. Spencer Rochfort

Ben Browder Vs. Keith Hamilton Cobb

Richard Ayoade Vs. Kevin McDonald

Patrick McGoohan Vs. Robert Vaughn

Chad Everett Vs. DeForest Kelley

Jon Pertwee Vs. Mark Lenard

Darren McGavin Vs. Peter Falk

Terry Jones Vs. Alan Alda

Michael Tylo Vs. Timothy Dalton

Sean Bean Vs. Valentine Pelka

Ioan Gruffudd Vs. Colin Firth

David Tennant Vs. Robert Carlyle

Jason Priestley Vs. Tom Welling

Martin Milner Vs. James Garner

David Soul Vs. Lee Majors

Derek Jacobi Vs. Andrew Robinson

David Hasselhoff Vs. Stephen Nichols

Jimmy Smits Vs. Hal Linden

Brent Spiner Vs. Ted Raimi

Patrick Troughton Vs. Andreas Katsulas

Miguel Ferrer Vs. Mitch Pileggi

David James Elliot Vs. Andre Braugher

Blair Underwood Vs. Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Don Adams Vs. Cesar Romero

Bob Crane Vs. John Astin

Walter Koenig Vs. Davy Jones

Tom Baker Vs. Jamie Farr

Woody Harrelson Vs. John Schneider

John Goodman Vs. Joseph Marcell

Danny John-Jules Vs. Marc Alaimo

Michael Praed Vs. Kevin Sorbo

Mark McKinney Vs. Colm Meaney

Neil Patrick Harris Vs. David Schwimmer

James Arness Vs. Robert Fuller

Clint Eastwood Vs. Robert Conrad

Jonathan Frakes Vs. Michael Hurst

David Duchovny Vs. Michael T. Weiss

Luke Perry Vs. Jeremy Sisto

Matt LeBlanc Vs. John Stamos

Reece Shearsmith Vs. Alexander Siddig

Eric Close Vs. William Shockley

Daniel Dae Kim Vs. Robert Beltran

Scott Cohen Vs. Scott Patterson

Dick Gautier Vs. Michael Landon

Wayne Rogers Vs. Alejandro Rey

Gerald McRaney Vs. Robert Wagner

Simon Williams Vs. John Cleese

Brian Blessed Vs. James Earl Jones

Noah Wyle Vs. Kyle MacLachlan

James Marsters Vs. Paul Gross

Paolo Montalban Vs. Robert Duncan McNeill

Garrett Wang Vs. Nate Richert

Christian Kane Vs. Michael Vartan

David McCallum Vs. David Selby

Leonard Nimoy Vs. Colin Baker

Randolph Mantooth Vs. Michael Nesmith

Demond Wilson Vs. Tony Danza

Ron Perlman Vs. Mr. T

Ron Glass Vs. Dirk Benedict

John Shea Vs. Michael Ontkean

Jeffrey Combs Vs. Rowan Atkinson

Tim Russ Vs. Bruce Boxleitner

Round 1 Polls 100 - 128

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Patti Smith - Blue Hawaiian Discotheque, New York City, November 10, 1974

Patti Smith — poet, rock & roller ... or standup comic? A tape from about 50 years ago suggests that Patti could've moved in the comedy direction; she's got the audience in stitches for a lot of the performance, even when her poetry readings move into extremely taboo zones. Smith's coy (almost camp at times) bearing at the Hotel Roosevelt carries the crowd along effortlessly no matter where she goes. Charisma is what they call it!

For much of the show, Patti is joined by her comrades Lenny Kaye on guitar and Richard Sohl on piano, and they already sound very simpatico, moving fearlessly in the direction of Horses, though obviously somewhat held back by the lack of a rhythm section.

But wait! Who is that pounding away on bass during the reprise of "Gloria" at the end? Could it be opening act Sandy Bull? What a strange mid-70s that guy had — he had more or less stopped making records after 1972's Demolition Derby, but he clearly was haunting the NYC scene at the time, collaborating semi-frequently onstage with Don Cherry. What would the world be like now if Patti and Lenny had asked Sandy to play oud on "Birdland"?! I don't know, but probably better.

[chronotsr]

Pre-G1 Modules, part 1 - Temple of the Frog

So we're going to blow through this really fast cus there's a lot to cover -- I have 9 modules to go through before we hit G1.

G1 enjoys the reputation of "first DND module", but the reality is a little more complicated than that. G1 is more properly, "The first published standalone TSR adventure module". Which, as you can guess by the number of qualifiers, means it's not the first anything, really.

In the beginning, Tactical Studies Rules was Don Kaye, Gary Gygax, and Dave Arneson in a design capacity. They flopped around for a while, stealing copyrighted shit for money, releasing mediocre wargames, and eventually shrug and release DND anyway. It does very well. Don Kaye dies, they reorganize TSR into TSR Hobbies because Don's wife didn't like being involved, and we have enough preamble to get to Temple of the Frog.

TSR Hobbies had pole position to win the race to first adventure, and it worked, although for a variety of reasons (like Gary not really getting why someone would want to buy a premade adventure), they didn't publish discrete adventure scenarios. The first published, commercial adventure is technically in the original D&D ("Little Brown Booklet") supplement #2, Blackmoor: Temple of the Frog, and the dungeon is Arneson's.

Keeping in your head that Temple of the Frog is the literal first adventure is the very first adventure because this is basic as hell. There's a cult to the frogs, they're trying to make the most bestest amphibian monsters, and 1.0 twists.

It's kinda charming though. This could be anyone's first map. My first maps looked kind of like this, in fact my first dungeon map was also a big church. A lot of early conventions are already here: a map is provided, on grid paper. Rooms are keyed, evocative descriptions are given (although this is actually pretty ho-hum, stating things as boring fact). The preamble is adequately interesting, but doesn't really establish any important context information about the actual conquering of this temple (the key system would be nice to have first, rather than buried halfway in, but be nice it's the first one). Conspicuously missing: any information about suggested starting level or party size. Now there is a old-school tendency that the levels of a dungeon should increase in difficulty about one level per….level.

In traditional Arneson form, there's some scifi bullshit going on. Here's some fast tidbits about this module:

The new head of the temple is an alien. His magic devices are all technological devices. There's spaceships. It's not my jam, but you simply have to accept that scifi/fantasy fusion was the trope of the time, it is completely ubiquitous in 70s fantasy books.

There is a weirdly complicated system of magic (technology) rings that control doors. There's a hierarchy to them that takes a whole page. It's clearly very important to Dave!

There's something about timeshifting that is, frankly incomprehensible to me. I do like hiding the big secret lair under a giant organ, though.

After you get through the first floor of so, so many people wandering around, we finally have monsters. A room of medusae (former captives), gargoyles operated with scifi bullshit, magic chains that turn off traps, giant rats and skeletons.

There's some very fun verbiage here, "each [medusa] taking 16 hit points". Like, taking 16 points worth of hits. It makes sense but there's something very fascinating of seeing this period where the metaphor of hitpoints is not just A Thing That Has Always Existed, but clearly something you have to explain to people and they are still thinking of it in less abstract ways.

Some further fun verbiage is that at this point, "Dungeons and Dragons" is a specific book that you can reference in the way you nowadays would say "Check the Dungeon Master's Guide". Check the Dungeons and Dragons! (Fun fact: the titular Dungeon with Dragons is, in fact, Blackmoor Castle's Dungeons.)

This sentence drove fear into my heart. You are bolder than me if you're gonna run an encounter that has 1,200 enemies in it. In what I can only describe as rank cruelty, cloudkill expressly doesn't work on them. And then the adventure just kind of ends. Dave, buddy, you can't tell me that the alien-priest reports back to the mothership and give me no means to go there. That's malpractice man! It would be my literal first port of call if I was rewriting this. I NEED TO SEE THE FROG FANDOM ALIENS' SPACESHIP.

Overall, the vibes are still very wargame. The building is a castle that feels like it's meant to be sieged more than raided. But it's the first! Anyone who runs this in 2024, and in a modern game engine, deserves a kiss on the forehead for their hard work.