Mad #176 (Albert Feldstein) - Airplot 75 Issue - July 1975

Henry Kissinger is sleeping on the airplane with the cast on Airport 1975 and, of course, Alfred E. Neuman is there.  Mort Drucker did a great job of caricaturing this all-star cast that included Charlton Heston (1923-2008), Karen Black, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Gloria Swanson (1899-1983), Linda Blair, Dana Andrews (1909-1992), Myrna Loy (1905-1993), Larry Storch, George Kennedy, Helen Reddy, Sid Caesar, Susan Clark, Roy Thinnes, Jerry Stiller, Norman Fell (1924-1998), Beverly Garland (1926-2008), Erik Estrada and Sharon Gless.  There were so many stars on this film that they could not afford a plausible plot as amply noted by Mad writer Dick DeBartolo.

Writer George Gipe (1933-1986) made his first of only two appearances in Mad with "Publishers Closeout Sale."  Gipe was a novelist and screenplay writer whose credits included Back to the Future, Melvin and Howard, Gremlins, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and The Man With Two Brains.  He died suddenly from an allergic reaction to a bee sting at the age of 53.  [JAM 6/24/2010]

Departments:
Crashing Bore - Airplot '75
Fright Instructions - "In Case of Emergency" Cards for Special People
Don Martin - Don Martin Escapes from Prison ... Almost
True to Form - Appropriate Photo Corps
Look Before You Leech - The Mad Handbook of Houseguesting
Shoe Biz - Footnotes to Hollywood
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Graduation
"Con" Tests - Talent Evaluation Ads for Other Career Training Programs
Odds for the Love of Moola - Other Betting Pools
Float Some And Jettison Some - A Mad Look at Burial at Sea
Bugs Funnies - Headlines of the Insect World
Reynolds' Rap - The Longest Yardbird
Remainders to Be Seen - Publishers Close-Out Sale

Fold-In - Policeman