Tabloid offers pills, thrills, and various painful aches. Above: assorted pages from an issue of National Close-Up published today in 1968, with sex pills called vitogen, sexual perversion, sex parties, and sex swingers, then conversely, mass suicides, a monster baby, an acid burn victim, car crash deaths, and all that is terrible and painful in the world. Somewhere between those extremes are celebrities, including Julie Christie, Bing Crosby, Donna Marlowe again (seems she was a tabloid staple in ’68), Playboy centerfold Sue Williams (in the advertisement for strip poker cards), and, just above, the lovely June Palmer.
Mixing business and family is always a bad idea. Above, a cover of The National Close-Up published today in 1967, sporting the slogan “Daring Enough To Print The Facts.” That phrase disappeared from later issues, possibly because the magazine shifted, like other ’70s tabloids, from occasionally factual to totally fictional. This particular headline about a mom casting her daughters into prostitution could be true—we found mention of a few stories along those lines from the 1960s. National Close-Up falls into the category of very rare publications—in many years of looking we’ve seen only a few (exorbitantly expensive) issues for sale. But we’ll keep looking.
It's not the best job, but at least it's something. National Close-Up from today, forty years ago, with a phony story about a girl forced to pose for pornographic photos. How do we know this particular story is fake? Because this is the same magazine that once touted a penis-equipped robot as the scientific breakthrough of the century. You always have to consider the source.
He's qualified to satisfy. National Close-Up from today, 1968, with a cover story about a sex robot named Hercules. The robot comes equipped with multiple penises, all of which, thankfully, are missing in this photo. It was designed and built at the Sex Research Center in New York City, and its creator, Dr. Harold C. Chandler, gushes, “Hercules never quits. I’ve seen him go for days on end with experimental patients without blowing a fuse or overheating.” The good doctor goes on to boast that Hercules can do anything sexually a human male can do, but better. We assume that includes making the girl sleep on the wet spot.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1927—Mae West Sentenced to Jail
American actress and playwright Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for the content of her play Sex. The trial occurred even though the play had run for a year and had been seen by 325,000 people. However West's considerable popularity, already based on her risque image, only increased due to the controversy. 1971—Manson Sentenced to Death
In the U.S, cult leader Charles Manson is sentenced to death for inciting the murders of Sharon Tate and several other people. Three accomplices, who had actually done the killing, were also sentenced to death, but the state of California abolished capital punishment in 1972 and neither they nor Manson were ever actually executed. 1923—Yankee Stadium Opens
In New York City, Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees, opens with the Yankees beating their eternal rivals the Boston Red Sox 4 to 1. The stadium, which is nicknamed The House that Ruth Built, sees the Yankees become the most successful franchise in baseball history. It is eventually replaced by a new Yankee Stadium and closes in September 2008. 1961—Bay of Pigs Invasion Is Launched
A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. However, the invasion fails badly and the result is embarrassment for U.S. president John F. Kennedy and a major boost in popularity for Fidel Castro, and also has the effect of pushing him toward the Soviet Union for protection.
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