FuzzyMemories of Classic Chicago TV
I have a lot of things on my mind (and plate) today, but I did want to pass along a pointer to a site that I received from Kevin Anetsberger: FuzzyMemories.TV, the Museum of Classic Chicago Television. What we have here is a large collection of short video clips from Chicago TV, the bulk of it from the 1977-1990 era. The clips are mostly short snippets of local TV shows, local TV station IDs and transitions, and especially commercials. I haven't had the time to go through much of it, but the Empire Carpet Man is in there, along with Boushelle Rugs ("Hudson 3-2700" sung in that boomy, basso profundo voice) and clumsy pitches for a lot of other local companies, including McDade (now long extinct), Zayre (ditto, though not exclusively of Chicago), Jewel, Venture (gone), Kiddieland (still there), Victory Auto Wreckers, and lots of TV ads for Chicago radio stations, like "FM 103 and a half." Plenty of kid stuff from Bozo, Ray Rayner, Garfield Goose, Svengoolie, Son of Svengoolie, and Gigglesnort Hotel. The clips that aren't commercials often include commercials, and the site provides abundant evidence that 70s hairdos and clothes really were as bad as we remember them, and not just in Chicago. (WFLD news anchor Kathy McFarland looks better than most, but oh, those guys on Fernwood 2 Night...)
Carol and I left Chicago when I got a transfer to Rochester, NY in early 1979, so nearly all of this stuff dates from after my era, but there are a handful of things from the early 70s, and some clips from an early educational cartoon called "The Funny Company" from 1962. Home videotaping first became a big thing in the late 70s, and that's probably why there isn't much there from the 60s, as much as I would have liked to see it.
Here's an interview with Rick Klein, FuzzyMemories.TV's creator. The site is on my short list of things to spend some time on when I have time to spend, but if you're in that space right now, go take a look.