The Hoardiculturist #4
'If you're looking for trouble...'
In Joel Schumacher’s 1994 film The Client, starring Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones, there’s a scene where a young boy says, ‘look, Elvis Pezley’, after spotting a Pez dispenser with sideburns and a quiff. Pez collectors went into a frenzy after hearing about this, but it was all in vain as there was only one Elvis Pezley that was made specifically for the film. Fortunately the mythical Elvis Pezley became reality last year for Pez collectors, not once, but three times with a limited edition box set of Elvis Pezleys, representing the King from 1958 (GI Elvis), 1968 (comeback Elvis) and 1973 (almost fat Elvis) – also in the box, along with a CD, are some cola flavoured Pez sweets. Actually the sweets are disappointment. Why not cheeseburger flavour, meatloaf flavour or maybe fried peanut butter and banana sandwich flavour? Uh huh.
If you like trivia, then you’ll be interested to know that Pez were introduced in 1927 by Austrian Edward Haas. The first sweets were mint flavoured and were aimed at adults, specifically as a product to rival cigarettes. As for the odd name, it derives from the German pfefferminz, using the first, middle and last letter of the word. Launched in the US during the 1950s, it is thought that there have been around 500 different dispenser heads.
Although I’m sure I had a few Pez dispensers as a kid, I certainly don’t have any from childhood knocking around now. I started buying them again at college, starting with a Star Wars set of Chewbecca, Storm Trooper, Yoda, Darth Vader and C3-PO. In my collection I’ve got super heroes, Simpsons, Hannah-Barbera/Disney/Warner Brothers cartoon characters and loads more, including some that glow in the dark and one with the head of a donkey that turns into a whistle.
A big hunk o' Pez
