0 Comments

“… a pouty thrush named Robin lights up Times Square.”

Detail from start of an article on new celebrities of 1980.  Text:  ARRIVALS A “mogulette” cements her place in Hollywood. A good skate plays Heiden seek. A new Angel sprouts wings and replaces one who couldn’t Hack it. And a pouty thrush named Robin lights up Times Square. They’re just a few of the names who made it in ’80!

Detail from third page of an article about new celebrities of 1980.  Text:  Robin Johnson  Her pouting lips have earned comparisons with Mick Jagger’s. But only a year ago, Times Square bad girl Robin Johnson was just another teen hanging out on the steps of Brooklyn Tech high school with a dangling cigarette. That’s where a talent scout for the Robert Stigwood Organisation spotted her; he encouraged her to audition—and whammo!

RSO’s and AFD’s publicity departments were sure that Times Square would be a hit, and more importantly, that Robin would be the breakout star, and the Hollywood press agreed long enough for US magazine to run her picture as one of the new talents of 1980.

The photo is a crop of Robin from TS-72-8A/14 from the US Press Materials folder, which also appeared in the AFD Campaign Pressbook, on the UK soundtrack sampler, and as the cover of the Japanese soundtrack sampler.

Robin Johnson
Her pouting lips have earned comparisons with Mick Jagger’s. But only a year ago, Times Square bad girl Robin Johnson was just another teen hanging out on the steps of Brooklyn Tech high school with a dangling cigarette. That’s where a talent scout for the Robert Stigwood Organisation spotted her; he encouraged her to audition—and whammo!

The date of this year-end wrap-up issue was December 23. The irony that Times Square had likely already closed across the nation by the time Robin was heralded as an “Arrival,” is far overshadowed by a story on page 62, about the spectacular “Comeback” of John Lennon.

 

 

US, vol. IV no. 18, December 23, 1980
8 1/8 in (W) x 10 3/4 in (H)
(“Arrivals,” pp. 48-50
“Robin Johnson,” p. 50) (work)

 

©1980 Peters Publishing Co.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

photoplay, Vol. 32 No. 4, April 1981

  The Paul Wilson Column ("The man you want to read every month...") in the April 1981 photoplay contained a brief bit of publicity that was typical of the coverage Robin and Times Square was getting by now in Great Britain (where the movie had long since closed) and Australia:…

Times Square lobby cards, Germany, 1982 (post 1 of 5)

Germany may have gotten Times Square last, but they got a set of 15 lobby cards to promote it with. At least, 15 that I've found, over several years, in two batches of 14 that each had one different card in them. While 15 sounds like a nice round number,…

Side 1 of the UK promotional sampler record TS-1, "Times Square" Trailer. Text: TIMES SQUARE TRAILER Excerpts from the original motion picture soundtrack of Times Square TRAILER ONE 45 rpm STEREO TS1 © 1980 RSO Records Inc. Marketed and distributed by Polydor Ltd. TAKE THIS TOWN - XTC (A. Partridge) Produced by Steve Lillywhite Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd. ℗ 1980 Virgin Records Ltd. PRETTY BOYS-JOE JACKSON (J. Jackson) Produced by Joe Jackson Albion Music Ltd. ℗ 1980 A&M Records Ltd. LIFE DURING WARTIME - TALKING HEADS (D. Byrne) Produced by Brian Eno and Talking Heads Warner Bros Music Ltd. ℗ 1979 Sire Records Ltd. Album Executive Producer: Bill Oaks ALL RIGHTS OF THE MANUFACTURER AND OF THE OWNER OF THE RECORDED WORK RESERVED ● UNAUTHORISED PUBLIC PERFORMANCE BROADCASTING AND COPYING OF THIS RECORD PROHIBITED. [This digital surrogate created by Sean Rockoff for robinjohnson.net.]

TIMES SQUARE Trailer

... was, for some reason, the title of the promotional soundtrack sampler in the UK. [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="1695,1696"] It's a much more attractive package than the US sampler, with a strip of stills across the top emphasizing that yes, there's a movie involved, as opposed to the US white…