One of the most popular posts on this blog has been the one about the Star Wars Burger Chef/Burger King posters painted by Del Nichols and offered by both restaurant chains back in the early months of 1978. Well, here's a vintage Burger Chef commercial for those highly collectible fast food premiums, starring pitchdroids C-3PO, R2-D2, and some of their galactic "pals."
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Burger Chef STAR WARS (1977) Posters Commercial
One of the most popular posts on this blog has been the one about the Star Wars Burger Chef/Burger King posters painted by Del Nichols and offered by both restaurant chains back in the early months of 1978. Well, here's a vintage Burger Chef commercial for those highly collectible fast food premiums, starring pitchdroids C-3PO, R2-D2, and some of their galactic "pals."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Gee whiz, the character actress behind the counter was in a lot of things in the 1970s. Can anyone ID her?
ReplyDeleteUnless I'm mistaken, that's Denise Nickerson. You're right--she did a lot of TV and film in the late 60s/early 70s, including regular stints on Dark Shadows and The Electric Company. But she is probably best remembered as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
DeleteWow! Now THAT takes me back to my childhood. Seeing the cashiers in their hats and uniforms is also mind-blowing. Talk about checking your dignity at the door. LOL
ReplyDeleteI remember having the R2-D2/C3P0 one and the one with Chewbacca and Han Solo hanging in the hallway. Burger Chef also had "Fun Meals" (the forerunners of McDonald's "Happy Meal") that was like a little cardboard tray with a punch-out toy on the top. I had a very cool X-Wing Fighter Fun Meal. Played with that sucker til it fell apart!
ReplyDeleteBurger Chef was really a pretty cool fast-food franchise. I believe at one point in the late '70's they were nearly as big as McDonald's. I remember they also offered some great "King Kong" glasses, and a friend of mine had all four.
We didn't have Burger Chef in Maine.
DeleteI did show the Burger Chef Kong glasses here a few months back. They looked cool.
Hi Christopher! Thanks for the quick response and thank you for your wonderful blog! You cover everything from the Space1970's era and it's been a trip down memory lane for me and for countless others who grew up watching these thrilling, imaginative movies and TV shows.
ReplyDeleteI believe Burger Chef was owned by General Foods, who in the early '80s decided it wanted out of the fast-food business and sold the chain. Many became Hardees restaurants, and ours here in my hometown in south Louisiana became a "Mr. Cook's" for a few years before closing.
Gonna have to track down the Kong glasses post. I wonder if my buddy held onto his?
Man, I had completely forgotten Burger Chef.
ReplyDeleteI had all of the Star Wars Posters and King Kong Glasses from Burger Chef. I remember that our town in South Louisiana did not have a McDonalds, but a Burger Chef instead. Heck! I had the All 7 Star Wars Funmeal Trays/Toys Landspeeder, X-Wing, Tie Fighter, R2-D2, C-3PO, Flight Game, Darth Vader Game. I sure do miss that old Burger Chef.
ReplyDeleteHi Teddy! It's your cousin Hank here! Small world, huh? Isn't this a great blog?
ReplyDeleteI remember your parents taking you and me to that Burger Chef in Abbeville before going to a Boy Scout rally where I believe you were getting an award.
Anyway, hope things are going well for you and your family in New Hampshire. Saw your mom a few months ago and she looked great. Say hi to Peter for me when you get the chance!
Hank
Wow! Thanks for posting this. I am always fasinated when I hear of an old (rather large) chain that I have never heard of before. I guess that they never existed in New York as I have never seen a comercial for it before. I was assuming that it was an alternate name of Burger King (much like Kay Bee and Toy Works) but it appears that they were seprate entities.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested there's a ton of info on the franchise on the internet, including lots of commercials on YouTube. As I recall the food was on a par with McDonald's only they were more innovative in other ways. For example they introduced a "Works Bar" where you could order your burger plain and then dress it yourself at this big sort of salad bar-like station in the middle of the restaurant, that way you always got exactly what you wanted. For kids, their characters weren't quite as creepy as the McDonaldland Gang, and they had great movie tie-ins, as you can see.
DeleteBurger Chef actually began their Star Wars poster promotion during the late summer of '77. I remember this commercial well because I hadn't actually seen Star Wars yet when the promotion started, but did before it was over. We had two Burger Chef restaurants where I grew up (Bradenton, Florida), but both locations closed in the early '80s--one became a Hardee's and was later torn down; the other is now a Schlotzsky's Deli.
ReplyDelete