Growing up in the great US of A, the poster in this Blog has naturally seen a zillion, or perhaps a google, of television episodes where there is a clock that is a mainstay in the background.
Grandfather Clocks in the background come to mind immediately from such shows as The Cosby Show and All in the Family, and the show Full House too!
1-800-4CLOCKS once made a proposal to the New York City based Museum of Broadcasting to work cooperatively to catalog most or all of the clocks – whether grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantle clocks, or something else. While they were quite intrigued at the time, it appeared that Funding did not allow for it to happen, at least just yet.
Movies also reserve special places for grandfather clocks. There is a children’s book that was made into a movie, a Goosebumps production we recall, where a Grandfather Clock acted as a somewhat villainous time capsule, with some never returning to their current time period.
We welcome input from readers who can comment on what shows or in what books or movies or other media clocks have played a role. We are especially interested in the role of grandfather clocks.
1-800-4CLOCKS has been asked to supply clocks, including wall clocks and grandfather clocks, for numerous movies and television shots. One of our Howard Miller Clocks recently played a feature role in one of the Coen brothers movie productions featuring, among others, the great actor William Hurt.
Television shows also come to us on many occasions looking for something special in a clock. Saturday Night Live once came to us looking for a prop-like grandfather clock that would do something like explode upon impact. The Tyra Banks Show contacted us seeking 2 cuckoo clocks that had some quite unusual features. And on and on …. but we never clock and tell 🙂 .
We are very serious, even if we put it in a time capsule or as an heirloom gift for future generations, we would like to catalog the role of clocks minimally in television, and ideally also in the movies and film. Anyone out there that might be able to devote some time to a great clocks research project like this, please do let us know.
The world will be richer for it.
In the mean-time, please keep comments coming with your best recollections of seeing a grandfather clock on a particular television show, or a great wall clock or antique mantle clock.
We eagerly await your input.