Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?: The Lost Toys, Tastes & Trends of the ‘70s & ‘80s [Review]

In the mid-1990s, the zine Ben Is Dead dedicated three issues to forgotten pop culture relics of the 1970s and ‘80s. Given the moniker “Retro Hell,” these installments were written by a team of writers (including Darby Romeo and the late Bruce Elliott) all of whom came of age during the era.

Eventually, the issues were compiled into a book that served as a eulogy for a forgotten age. Although it is missing the pathos that Retro Hell explored, Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont’s new book Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?: The Lost Toys, Tastes & Trends of the ‘70s & ‘80s is nevertheless a memory-jarring chronicle of a bygone age.

Spanning from After School Specials to the children’s show ZOOM, the title is a breezy read that concerns itself more with presenting information about each entry rather than getting bogged down by I Love the ‘80s-styled snark. Which isn’t to say that the book is a humorless affair by any means. It’s clear that Cooper (a writer for MSNBC and the creator of the Pop Culture Junk Mail blog) and Bellmont have an obvious affinity for the subjects they are focusing on there. What could have been a cheap cash in on the nostalgia of others instead takes on a reverence for a more innocent time when happiness could be obtained simply by reading the new issue of Mad while chugging down a Jolt Cola.

Perhaps the book’s greatest strength is how it covers topics that are often left out of these types of works. This is best exemplified by the inclusion of Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces. Hugo was an awesome/ terrifying puppet replica of a bald men in a blue smock that was released by Kenner in the mid-1970s. Inspired by Lon Chaney, Hugo came with various noses, scars, accessories and facial hair configurations that allowed kids to constantly change his appearance.

The problem was that the thing was super creepy, the exact type of toy that you expect will kill you in the night. (Hugo later took on a second life when he became a regular puppet featured on The Uncle Floyd Show–a program that is equally worthy of some nostalgia). The fact that this toy gets an entry here really impressed me, but that could be just because I have an unhealthy obsession with good old Hugo.

Ultimately, Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? is a fun and quick read. I highly recommend doing what I did and kicking back with it while enjoying an old school Otter Pop to fully enjoy the retro experience. Better still, it’s also a cheap purchase… which will allow you to spend more money on eBay rebuying the items featured within its pages.

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?
Amazon: http://amzn.to/hWMKRa