Vacuum Cleaner in "Highway Patrol"

[electrolux~137]

"Highway Patrol" was one of the first "cop" TV shows. It aired in the late 1950s. I remember watching reruns of it with my family when I was a kid in the 1960s.

Today, the show seems stilted and a bit comical at times, but back in those days it was tense and compelling drama!

It comes on late-night on the "This" channel (what irritating commercials they have... but that's another subject) and I sometimes watch it as I am going to bed.

I was watching it last night, when "what to wondering eyes should appear" but an Air-Way 77!!

The scene was of a patrolman coming to a lady's house to tell her her patrolman husband had been killed by a bad guy. He rings the doorbell, and the scene cuts to inside the lady's living room where she is vacuuming with her Air-Way. It's standing upright in the center of the room. The vacuuming sound is the actual sound of the Air-Way, not something else dubbed in later.

She clicks the machine off, rests the hose handle across the top of the machine, and then goes to the door and lets the patrolman in. During the course of their conversation you can see the Air-Way several times, and twice she reaches for the hose handle as if she is going to start vacuuming again.

Later, another patrolman whose wife has been pleading with him to quit the force after his buddy was killed, decides to become a salesman. He is shown in an appliance sales office talking to the sales recruiter. Behind the recruiter on a shelf are several small appliances -- a toaster (couldn't tell what make), a Sunbeam Model 10 Mixmaster, and ... an Air-Way 77!!!

This, I believe, is the first time I've ever seen an Air-Way in an old tv show.

 

[arh1953]

I love "Highway Patrol"!! I don't think I've seen it in more than 40 years. Seems like I only saw it since we moved here. I'd love to see the Airway show and the rest someday. Come on vintage video, cough some up for us!

 

[electrolux~137]

I found a web site dedicated to the show -- see link. I have emailed the site's proprietor and described the episode, hoping he might be able to identify if and whether or not it's available on-line.



http://www.highwaypatroltv.com/

 

[briankirbyclass]

That is really cool Charles,,thanks so much for the link. Wow, i havnt even thought of that show in years!
Speaking of Airway's on TV, i distinctly remember seeing(in re-runs,probablly about 10-15 yrs ago) an episode of "Dragnet",,taped in the mid to late 1960s where "Sg.Joe Friday" and "Officer Bill Gannon" are investigating a murder.

They go to a woman's house and ask to see her vacuum cleaner!
(They have discovered There is a missing diamond involved, that may have gotten sucked up in the vacuum bag)
This put my vacuum radar up immediatly! haha
So,the woman's teenage daughter who answered the door, goes to the hall closet, and pulls out an Airway (not sure of the model# but its blue in color and has the skids on all 4 sides.)
She asks if they want the hose and attachments too,,of course they say NO,,all we want is the bag inside the vacuum.

So, she opens the lid, and pulls the bag out,,there is a good close up shot of this and the bag is distinctly marked AIRWAY SANITIZOR on the top. And as it turns out,,they find out the woman was involved with the murder,,as they do find the diamond in the vacuum bag. VERY risque' stuff for mid 1960s!

I wish i would have had my VCR taping this at the time, as ive never seen this episode again,,and then shortly thereafter, Nick at Nite discontinued showing Dragnet. But i know i DID see it,,and it does exist.

 

[williamr1248]

vacuum cleaner in

Now where have you been Charlie? Just kidding. Air-Way appeared on the following shows in the 50's.
(1) Lassie
(2) Mr. Ed
(3) Dagwood Bumstead
(4) The Life of Riley
I know there were others but those come to my mind.
You are correct-back in those days-the sound was a real Air-Way. You always remember how the motors wound down when turned off.

 

[arh1953]

Officer's Wife

Might this be the episode Charles? The plot is similar, and here's a link to Guy Williams as the officer who gets killed in the first few minutes of the episode.

http://www.guywilliams.tv/highway4.html

 

[electrolux~137]

Wow, cool. I wonder if it was the same Air-Way in all of them.

I don't remember any vacuum cleaners in "Lassie" - I just seem to remember the mom using a broom a lot.

The only vacuum cleaner I remember from "Mr. Ed" is a Kirby, which I saw not too long ago.

I also don't remember any vacuum cleaners in "Dagwood Bumstead."

I don't think we ever watched "The Life of Riley."

btw, the only Air-Way that I *ever* remember seeing in my childhood was a 77. The lady who owned it was named Marjorie Wroten and lived on Gywnns Island. I saw her using it, or it being hooked up and ready to go, quite a few times.

She laid it on the floor long-ways, like an Electrolux. Not knowing anything about Air-Way and the way it was supposed to be used (standing on end), I found it -very- odd (and irritating!) that it had four runners. That made no sense to me at all when I was 10 years old!

I didn't like Mrs. Wroten all that much -- her stockings made fft-fft-fft sounds when she walked because she had fat legs and my little brother and I used to make fun of her behind her back. While sitting in church, all one of us had to do was softly go "ftt-fft-ftt" to send the other one into fits of stifled snickering. Which elicited glares from Daddy in the pulpit and finger-snapping from Mama at the organ. Which meant "Curtains" for us when we got home........

Mrs. Wroten sang in the choir with a bellowing, offkey voice, and when she talked she "tch-ed" a LOT -- like, "Well, tch, Hello there Charles, tch, how are you today? tch" -- you know, that "tch" sound like she's trying to extriate a piece of corn stuck between her teeth.

I have a wonderful 77 with, I think, every goodie that ever came with it including an amazing cart-on-wheels! Here are some pix of it. I have the original hose for it but it leaks like crazy, so I adapted a maroon Kirby hose which looks very festive with the green ends on it -- very Christmasy!

It's a really neat machine but I have hardly ever used it. For some reason, every time I go near it I start going "tch" a lot, and I keep hearing "fft-fft-ftt" in my mind.......

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[electrolux~137]

Yes, YES Alan, that's it!!!

Too bad, because so far only the first season is available anywhere on-line.

Thanks for the most thorough detective work!!!

 

[electrolux~137]

Here are a couple of cool Air-Way things I came across looking for photos of my 77. Fred, feel free to purloin these for Vac-O-Day if you wish!

 

[electrolux~137]

 

[electrolux~137]

 

[electrolux~137]

 

[electrolux~137]

 

[arh1953]

Officer's Wife

Thank you Charles! And you're welcome! I just ran through the plots and titles and looked for anything dealing with police officers, it was just too easy. I ended up watching three episodes, and watched one I thought could be it, but it had more to do with someone fleecing a bookstore owner and stealing her car, which did have to do with the death of the other officer.

 

[williamr1248]

vacuum cleaner in "highway patrol"

Charlie,
(1) Mr. Ed-Carol askes for help removing the crevice tool from the end of the tubes. It was a 66
(2) Lassie-she is using the Air-Way to clean the starway in the front hall. Have you ever heard the story about how June Lockhart's husband was a big time Air-Way dealer in California. Tania knows the whole story. I think it was Don Clark who visited their home.
(3) Dagwood is doing housework and he is trying to clean the sofa using the Air-Way and the sofa tool. Of course it worried me because they had the hose in the exhaust end of the machine!
(4) Life of Riley-The neighbor started selling vacuums
I also remember Art Linkletter promoting Air-Ways
have you ever seen the matching "green" tinted wands that went with the 77 Sanitizor?
Wasn't it fun in the 50's when EVERY vacuum was different!No mistaking one vacuum from another vacuum

 

[portable]

Charles -

I love that deck of cards. It almost looks, on first glance, like that hose is going under her dress. fft-fft-fft......

 

[electrolux~137]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!