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Say Hello to the 1965 Gottlieb “Hi Dolly” Pinball Machine

Romance as a pinball machine theme?

Dolly is one popular showgirl. This performer juggles two telephones and a multitude of would-be suitors who also happen to be past Gottlieb stars including a gaucho, a Texas oil baron, a sailor, and a vaudeville clown.

According to the playfield, the clown might be a fellow stage performer as he seems to have the inside track towards Dolly’s attention. The poor girl’s assistant can’t even hang up her stage dress without encountering an enthusiastic boyfriend trying to barge in on Dolly lounging around her dressing room half undressed.

Artist Roy Parker placed on the backglass male characters from some of the previous games he did for Gottlieb. The referenced games as they appear on the backglass, from left to right:

1964 ‘Ship-Mates’
1957 ‘Falstaff’
1963 ‘Square Head’
1961 ‘Egg Head
1960 ‘Texan’
1964 ‘Happy Clown’
1963 ‘Gaucho’

“Hi Dolly” was released by Gottlieb in April of 1965 and only 1,600 units were produced.