Foxy Colleen

[dheineCECfan]

Since this is St. Patrick's Day, I bet almost some of us never seen or heard 1978-1981 CECPTT character/Pizza Time Players guest star Foxy Colleen. Even Trey Lewis never sent me on loan to transfer reel to cassette tape the circa 1980 CECPTT Foxy Colleen "Irish Stew" show, although I heard what Sally Sashay sounds like.

[captslappy]

I'd be surprised if anyone on here saw her. I would have been like 2-4 years old when she was introduced and there weren't really a lot of PTT locations around in those early years.

[RAFE CEC Guy]

I've Seen Foxy. But It Wasn't At A PTT. Later On, They Got Rid Of It, Saying That It Scared The Children. Later On, The Store Closed.

I Can't Believe They'd Do Such A Thing.>: I'm Glad They Closed.:evil

[captslappy]

When and where was this???

[RAFE CEC Guy]

This Was Around 8 Years Ago In A Department Store. It Actually Sang To Some Normal Songs, Not PTT Tapes. To See It Was Weird, Because I Frequently Visited The Road Stage In Wayne. This Was Because It Looked Cheap. Back then, I Wanted Everything, So I Asked My Mom For It. But She Said No.

[MMBBfan327]

Any pics? I've never heard of a PTT bot singing at a Department Store...

[RAFE CEC Guy]

Sorry, But No. We Only Went In There Twice. First Time, It Was There. Second Time, It Was Gone.

[spectromen]

I saw Foxy once and only once :( It must've been roughly 1981 at the Sun Valley, CA location. To date, the best PTT I have EVER seen in my life.
But by the time I went back next, she had been replaced by Helen, and would alternate between her and Oink for a couple years afterward. Haven't been back to that store since then - I shudder to think what it's been transformed into.

[captslappy]

They went to Helen again after Foxy? We haven't found any Helen reels from 80. So far evidence suggests that Sally, Foxy and Oink were all used around 79 or 80. If it was 81, it must have been the early part of it cuz I think that's about when Harmony came in. Can you give us any new info? What did Oink and Helen look like?

[MMBBfan327]

When was the next time you went (when you saw Oink and Helen)? Cuz if it was a couple years later then that's the normal time they returned, but if it was in the early '80s then that puzzles me.

[captslappy]

Yeah good point. You may have missed Harmony. The order as near as we can tell is Portrait Helen, Oink (miss piggy version), Foxy, Sally, Harmony, Oink (Sophisticated version), Classic Helen and then new Helen.

The earliest Helen and Crusty reels haven't turned up. We think Sally and Foxy had one each. Madame Oink had 2 reels from 1980. #2 was around the world. We do not know the title of #1. Then we have Harmony's Wild West Show, Harmony' Hoe Down, Madame Oink's Tune Machine, Madame Oink's Tunnel of Love, Broadway Helen Henny and then Helen became permanent from then on out until they redid her in her younger version with her new voice.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I had JUST MISSED seeing Foxy when i was living in Florida back in the early 80's. There were two stores near me then. the best being Brandon. There was a older location in what i think was Spring Hill that was most certainly one of the first PTT's in Fl judging by it's layout and debut Guest. Foxy performed here, and i missed her!

In the summer of 81' i first went to Brandon and it was awesome. Soon afterwards my Mom learned of another nearby location and we would go there, but i did'nt like it as much as it was very run down and so much smaller then Brandon was. Spring Hill ( i am guessing on the area...) was a early post-Portrait Bot' layout store. It was small, winding, and had all the hallmarks of a very early PTT. Who knows, it COULD have opened originally with Portraits....my memory is foggy when trying to remember the Showroom size and setup. I actually don't even remember what Guest they had when i visited....which is unusual since the show was foremost in my attention.

Spring Hill definately did have Foxy, but i sadly missed seeing her. I know they had her as a ended up buying their Guest Poster that was displayed outside in the window box and still have it to this day. Spring Hill was a very unusual place, as it was also the only store i ever saw a Artie Antlers in. They also had the Beagles in the Lounge too...which i had already seen in Brandon back then.

[spectromen]

I wish I could give you more information - this is 26 years ago we're talking about :cec_smile:
Foxy was definitely the first I saw - her poster was out front for sure, and it had to be very close to 1981. I may have the order mixed up, but it was definitely Helen and Oink in that slot afterward. I returned to the location within a few months of seeing Foxy. I don't know all the terminologies yet since I'm new here (portrait? etc) but this was a show where both Pasqually and Munch were behind doors that opened every time they had lines. Black Warblettes, clapboards and flags were all present.
Style of Oink? I'm not aware of more than one, but based on what I've read here, I'd say Miss Piggy style. Helen was not as ridiculous with the feathers and sequins as she appeared later, so it might have been a more generic outfit.
Dolli was in the lounge at this time and was replaced by Artie within a couple years, and finally the King took over. Not sure if the Beagles ever moved in after that as I quit going to that location. Hope that helps.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Spectromen, can i ask what year and the location of the store you describe above? Sorry if you had mentioned it earlier......

The "shutter doors" on Pasqaully and Munch are definate early era hallmarks. These were discontinued shortly after the Balcony Stage setup was introduced ( 81' was the major roll out). I am sure some stores kept them afterwards....but most were phased out once the focus on having a actual stage area was developed.

Helen was originally very goose-like in appearence, however, that version of her as far as we know was restricted to the very early PTT era of the late 70's. Like all Bot' cosmetics however, it is possible that she was kept on in some early locations. The first few PTT's built in CA in the beginning were all custom crafted and built by a small team. Same goes for the robots that performed inside them. It is very possible that you were at one of the original 9 and witnessed a early version of the show.

The only thing conflicting this view is the date you mention: 1981. By then, most PTT"s were converting over to the Balcony setup and "goose Helen" was gone, as well as "Miss Piggy-ish" version of Oink. 1981 was when PTT was really in the midst of it's Classic Era, and compared to the late 70's was very slick, organized, and unified in appearence. Perhaps though, again, you were visiting one of the "originals" and they had not yet converted over. Much like the "Spring Hill" PTT i used to go to. It was very different from other locations in my area. Same could be true for yours, and it would seem very so based on your recolections.

Fasinating.

Foxy was introduced in 1980, originally as a Portrait Era figure. Later that year the Cyberamic System was created and all the characters were redesigned into the familiar mode most people remember them by. The Balcony Stage was introduced to bring the focus of the show to one area ( a stage) instead of being spread around a room ( hanging in frames). At this time the new robots were starting to appear in the newly opened stores ( 81' primarily) and Foxy was redesigned into a Cyberamic version of her former self. Same holds true for Madame Oink, although for her there was a gap between her reappearence.

So Foxy was one of the first two Cyberamic Guests. She appeared in 1980 and was replaced in most cases by Harmony in 1981. Oink came along shortly afterwards and replaced Harmony, with "sequined" Helen taking the spot in late 82/early 83'. In some locations, the "new" Oink may have come first...replacing Foxy instead of Harmony. One thing that has been confirmed though is Oink did exsit in Portrait form and Harmony did not. This would lead one to beleive that Oink came before Harmony, but in many PTT's she came after.

Foxy did not stay long, that is also something we know. In that short time span ( 79' thru 80') we saw several characters emerge and be introduced, and several more that never made it past the prototype mode. Sally Sashay, Foxy Colleen, "Piggy" Madame Oink", and "goose" Helen all fought each other in succesion to take the stage. Personally i think these characters were sent to different locations in the beginning to keep each store fresh and unique show wise. Later in the early 80's when PTT was branching out and expanding by selling franchises like crazy, we then saw a shift to keep the Guest Character the same at most stores, streamlining the operation in a way. This was doubly done once PTT went under in 83' or so, as by then only Helen was kept around and she is still there ( well, her "daughter" at least...lol)

[dheineCECfan]

I thought it was 1978 and not 1980 that Foxy Colleen (Flannigan) was introduced in the CECPTT Pizza Time Players portrait format.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

78' she was around as a Portrait, yes..... There is a photo of her in 78' at the first PTT so we know she was there then.

Sorry about noting 1980 above...i was thinking of the Cyberamic version and misstated the date.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Okay, so to refresh:

The Guest Character lineup theory, based on collected info:

Crusty
Helen ( 1st "Folky Goose" version)
Foxy
Madame Oink ( 1st version "Miss Piggy" lookalike)
Sally Sashay
Harmony
Madame Oink ( 2nd version "Piggie from Paree")
Helen ( 2nd version "Broadway")

then to evolve post PTT into:

Helen ( 3rd version, "Country Chick")
Helen ( 4th version " Modern")

[captslappy]

Country Helen I think was just for that one showtape. Keep in mind they all had special costumes throughout most of the 80s once Showbiz took over PTT. I don't know if they ever went back to their original clothes again or not.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

What i mean by "Country Helen" is her look during the Rocker Stage shows Captain....not any of the "costumes" they wore during those funky themed show reels.

You dig?