Today is the birthday of Sandy Dvore (August 28, 1934-November 20, 2020). He was a prolific American artist, graphic designer, and title designer. This short biography from his Wikipedia page gives the highlights:
Around 1962, he met Hollywood publicist Guy McElwaine playing baseball, who represented Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Judy Garland and Tony Bennett and needed ads created. Through this connection, Dvore became well known for designing back cover art for Sammy Davis Jr. in Variety. Dvore then illustrated an ad for Judy Garland for Judy at Carnegie Hall which caught the attention of American theatrical agent and film producer Freddie Fields. The pair worked together for 13 years on numerous projects. Dvore would go on to illustrate hundreds of ads for stars like Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Natalie Wood, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Steve McQueen. His minimal but vibrant illustrated trade ads held the coveted back pages of The Hollywood Reporter and Variety for years.
Sandy Dvore is best known for his work in designing television title sequences, such as the walking partridges in The Partridge Family, and the brush-stroke logo and paintings from the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless. His film title credits include the 1976 film Lipstick and the 1972 Blaxploitation thriller Blacula. He also designed the opening credits for selected seasons of the nighttime soap opera Knots Landing.
Dvore’s work in graphic design won him an Emmy Award in 1987 for Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin.
But as memorable as that work is, that’s not why I’m sharing his birthday here, as you might expect. He also worked on a more beer-related project. Robert Leo Hulseman, whose father founded the Solo Cup Company. In the 1970s, Hulseman hired Dvore to design a new plastic cup for the company. Here’s the story, from the now-defunct design blog Design-Ago:
One rainy day in early 1970’s Los Angeles…
Leo Hulesman, founder of the Solo cup company, stopped by the studio of Hollywood designer Sandy Dvore.
“I heard you’re the best commercial artist around.” Said Hulesman.
This was true. Dvore was the hottest designer in Hollywood. His work appeared everywhere from billboards to trade ads and most famously, every week in the Hollywood Reporter and Variety publications. At the time, these were the most important pieces of the Hollywood community. EVERYONE looked to these weekly magazines to see what their peers were doing.
Hulesman was looking for a design for his new venture, children’s records that would be a promotional giveaway on the Solo cup box. You see, Dora Hall, a singer who was also Mrs. Hulesman, had given up her career in Ziegfield Follies to raise their children. This was a chance for her to get back to performing again and do something her children could enjoy.
“I’m doing very well now” said Dvore. “I’ve got some major projects and I really don’t want to do small piece work. It would take up a lot of time.”
“What if I give you a retainer?” Said Hulesman.
“He was sharp”, Dvore thought.
At the time Dvore was doing big name television projects, The Partidge Family and The Waltons.
“I could send you a chunk of money…” “What kind of number are we talking?” Asked Hulseman.
“$17,500” stated Dvore.
“Why don’t we just make it a flat $25,000.” Replied Hulesman.
They shook hands and Hulesman smiled. He enjoyed the banter as he, like Dvore, was a self made man from Chicago.
“He liked that I could handle myself.” Dvore remembered. “We became friends and I enjoyed knowing him.”
Hulesman enjoyed sharing the success he had. He would pay for entire television specials for his wife Dora so she could have an opportunity perform.
When it’s time to change.
“The Solo company at the time had an old serif logo right out of a type book.” Dvore remembers.
Dvore looked at the two O’s in the SOLO logo and the idea came to him, simple as that. He hadn’t been asked to create a new logo either. He just thought,
“as a artist, we can do better.”
Hulesman had his feet propped up on Dvore’s desk when he showed him what he had come up with.
“We should change your logo, this should be the logo for your company.” Dvore slid the concept to Hulesman.
The negative space in the SOLO, O’s replaced with cups, along with a new san-serif type.
Hulesman looked at it and replied, “send it to the company.”
And, one short phone call later, it became the logo you still see everywhere today.
Sometimes, but not often, it IS that easy.
A relationship of trust formed between Dvore and Hulesman. Which is why Dvore felt comfortable proposing new ideas.
“Why are all your cups white? You should have some colored cups.”
With this idea Dvore took the colors from his recent Partridge Family art and applied the same blue, yellow and red to the cups.
And in another short phone call to the factory, the Solo cup company started producing color cups.
“I even used the same color numbers from the Partridge Family logo.” Recalls Dvore.
And so, once again, a simple yet smart idea, a phone call, and the rest is history, the red Solo cup was born.
Whoever would have thought a cup would be so famous?
It has inspired songs, drinking games, tattoo’s, merchandise and created plenty of hazy memories.
Why red became the go-to, and a cultural icon is anyone’s guess.
“It’s become the most well known and most seen thing I have ever done.” Dvore states today.
Every day, millions of people get their morning cup of coffee and before they take a sip there it is, the Solo cup logo.
Every night, people attend a party or have a game of beer pong and there it is again, the red Solo cup.
Today is the birthday of Robert Leo Hulseman (April 5, 1932-December 21, 2016). You may not know his name, but you’ve almost certainly used the product he pioneered in the 1970s, especially if you’ve ever been to a party. Hulseman was born in Chicago and began working at the company his father started in 1936, The Solo Cup Company, when he was only eighteen, eventually becoming CEO in 1980. But the reason he deserves to be remembered came in the 1970s when he came up with the now-ubiquitous red solo cup, the cup of choice for countless keg parties, backyard barbecues and almost any other large-scale gathering you can name.
In the early 1970s, Hulseman hired famed Hollywood designer Sandy Dvore to redesign their plastic cups. Dvore had worked on such projects as the title sequence for the Partridge Family, Knot’s Landing, and the Young and the Restless, as well as doing trade ads for the back cover of Variety for many years. He apparently redesigned their logo on the spot, and it was immediately accepted and implemented (and is still in use today). He also suggested that they add some color to the cups themselves, and the initial cup colors were the exact same ones he used in the Partridge Family titles: blue, yellow, and, of course, the iconic red. While other colors have been available, it’s the red that really took off. The company has run numerous consumer surveys over the years, and red always emerges as the favorite by a wide margin. So you may see additional colors from time to time, but the red is likely never going away.
One other innovation that Hulseman created, that you probably use several times a week, is the “Solo Traveler coffee cup lid.” So drink a toast to Robert Leo Hulseman with whatever your favorite beverage happens to be, just make sure you drink it out of a red solo cup.
Today in 1896, US Patent 572257 A was issued, an invention of Albert Heinemann, for his “Hermetically Closing Jug.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
This invention relates to a jug, pitcher, or like receptacle having a slightly conical neck and a correspondingly-shaped lid, such lid being tightly closed by means of a suitable locking device, which can be readily opened or closed by a suitably-shaped lever. A packing-ring of india-rubber or other suitable material is placed on the lid in such manner that it is tightly pressed against the conical neck of the receptacle when the lid is closed. This receptacle is particularly adapted for gaseous liquids, such as beer, as also for preserves, seeing that the packing-ring prevents any gases escaping, and also prevents atmospheric air gaining access tothe contents of the receptacle.
Today in 1915, US Patent D48217 S was issued, an invention of Frederick E. Anderson, for his “Design for a Drinking Glass.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
I have invented a certain new, original, and ornamental Design for a Drinking-Glass, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings forming a part thereof, wherein the side wall of the drinking glass is substantially straight from its lower end upwardly to a point near its top edge, at which point a pronounced outward curvature is developed in the form of a concavo convex bulge. This rounded or bulged formation is comparatively shallow vertically and terminates in the top edge, which edge is substantially in the plane of the straight side wall portion. It is thus characteristic of the design that the side of the glass presents a substantially straight line from its bottom to its top edge, save the outward bulge-which is adjacent to the top.
Today in 1876, US Patent 184317 A was issued, an invention of Elijah Avey, for his “Improvement in Mustache-Guards.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
This invention has relation to mustache guards; and the nature of my invention consists in a mustache-guard, which is provided with clasps on its ends, in combination with a loop adapted to receive a napkin, and also to afford an outside bearing against the cup, as will be hereinafter explained.
Even though this invention is 140 years old, it seems like with today’s hipsters and the rise of unruly beards, that this could actually be still relevant today.
Today in 1895, both US Patent 548587 A and US Patent 548588 A were issued, and both are related inventions of Michael J. Owens, under the same name: “Machine For Blowing Glass.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims for the first one:
This invention relates to a partially-automatic machine for blowing glass into pastemolds, the object being to provide a machine which is susceptible of practical use for the rapid production of large quantities of glass vessels or objects of a given shape.
The machine of this invention embodies a means for supporting the blow-pipe with its one end in communication with the air-supplying device and its other in operative proximity to or within the mold; certain means for automatically admitting air through the blow-pipe; a sectional mold, which is adapted to be closed about or adjacent the gathering end of the blowpipe and to be also automatically opened, whereby the paste covered inner surface thereof may be subjected to a sprinkling action; means for automatically effecting the closing and afterward the opening of the mold-sections and for imparting to them while they are closed rotary motions, and means for automatically causing a sprinkling of the paste-lined mold-sections while opened. The automatic operations are instituted by and in consequence of the placing of the blow-pipe which has the gathering of glass thereon in the machine in its position of support and for the reception of air communication therethrough.
And here’s a description of the claims for the second patent:
This invention relates to improvements in machinery for blowing glass into sectional [O molds, and particularly to the organization in a machine of means for severally and respectively performing automatically and mechanically operations which heretofore have been done manually or through the operation of implements or devices which have been manipulated or in some manner actuated by or dependent upon hand, foot, or lung power.
With these two patents under his belt, Michael Owns co-founded, along with Edward Drummond Libbey, the Owens Bottle Machine Co., which today is Owens-Illinois. O-I supplies a lot of beer bottles to the brewing industry, of course.
Today in 1893, US Patent 506120 A was issued, an invention of William Kiel, for his “Beer Tray.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
The object of my invention is to provide a rapid draining tray for holding wet articles, or vessels subject to overflow. It is designed more especially for holding beer glasses;
The invention consists in the herein described construction of the tray, the details of which will first be set forth, and the novel features then pointed out and claimed.
Today in 1860, US Patent 29666 A was issued, an invention of Robert D. Bryce, for his “Attachment of Covers to Glass Vessels,” or “Pitcher Cover.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
I have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Mode of Attaching Metallic Covers to Mugs, &o.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being’ had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which Figure l is a perspective representation of a glass mug, with a metallic cover attached thereto on my improved plan. Fig. 2 is a side view of the metallic cover, detached from the mug showing a vertical section of the hinge piece, and the handle of the mug in the same plane. Fig. 3 is a View of the cover and part of t-he handle of a mug similar to Fig. 2, showing a slight modification of the mode of attachment.
In the several figures, like letters of reference denote similar parts.
There are several articles of domestic use, which it is convenient to furnish with metallic covers, to open readily with a hinge, such as lager-beer mugs, cream-pitchers, molasses-pitchers, and other vessels. These metallic covers are made with a. hinge usually placed near the handle, the hinge piece being in two pieces, united by a pin or pivot, the upper hinge piece being united to, and forming part of the cover, and the lower hinge piece being attached to the vessel and thereby securing the cover to the vessel. It has been found difficult, however, to limit the lower hinge piece of the cover to the vessel, so as to form a neat and workmanlike job, without casting it on to the handle of the mug, pitcher, but this is expensive in itself, and is very apt to break the vessel, if it be made of glassware.
My improvement consists in attaching the upper hinge piece of the cover immediately to the handle, or to a projection on or near the rim of the vessel, so as to dispense with the lower hinge piece of metal.
Today in 1911, US Patent 1000581 A was issued, an invention of Robert Clarke, for his “Protector For Drinking Glasses, Etc.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, cheap and ornamental means for protecting the flanged bases of tumblers, medicine glasses and other articles of a frangible nature which are readily chipped or broken by contact with tables or other hard objects and to prevent drippings adhering to the bottoms of such vessels when raised. The invention is applicable, for instance, to beer glasses which are likely to be broken in setting them down on stone slabs or counters and which are liable to drip when raised from a wet counter.
My invention comprises an endless elastic coil which is adapted to surround the base of a receptacle and grip and sustain the same and hold it from contact with a table or other support upon which it may rest. My improved protector is also elastic and forms a cushion to prevent breakage of the base of the vessel when setting it down.
Today in 1906, US Patent 821208 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich Voss, for his “Beer Glass Tray.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:
This invention relates to a beer-glass tray which absorbs the drippings and conveys the same to a receiving-trough, so that cleanliness is insured.
