Pinball has always been big on celebrity tie ins. As a result, weve got plenty of good machines to choose. For our best evaluation the quality of the game a factor well only be part of the criteria.

Well also consider the collectability of the machine, or more specifically consider if the theme enhances or detracts from the machines value to the pinball enthusiast aftermarket. Another way to look at this component is to consider the machines floor appeal in your den or rec room.

5) Eight Ball by Bally Manufacturing (1977):

This is a somewhat controversial machine in pinball circles, and some would question if it belongs on the list at all. Well get to the controversy in a moment. If you didnt live through it, you have no idea of what a big deal Fonzie from the TV series Happy Days was during the mid to late 1970s. You could even make a case that hes the most popular and influential TV sitcom character ever.

Eight Ball features the leather jacket clad Fonzie in a pool hall. Or does it? The intent is certainly to suggest its the iconic Happy Days character but theres no reference made to his name. Nor is there any other Happy Days iconography present on the machine. Debate rages to this day about whether or not it was a licensed image of Fonzie, or a lookalike doppelganger changed just enough to skirt copyright laws.

4) KISS by Bally Manufacturing (1979):

You could make a case that this was a poorly timed release as by 1979 KISS was considered to be running on fumes, having just released their disco inspired album Dynasty. Fortunately, the machine depicted the band in all of their earlier glory and featured polyphonic renditions of classic songs like Rock n Roll All Night and Shout It Out Loud. The machine was fun to play, and was very popular with a production run of 17,000 units.

3) Wizard! by Bally Manufacturing (1974)

Wizard is often incorrectly named as the first licensed celebrity theme machine, but it definitely set off the flood of tie-in machines in the latter half of the 20th century. The machines artwork is long on stylish symbolism and short of specific references to the film. Thats helped the machine age well and remain a sought after collectable up through the present day.

2) Playboy by Bally Manufacturing (1978)

With the Chicago roots of the magazine, a pinball machine tribute would have been a natural notwithstanding its significant cultural influence. This was the first of three Playboy licensed machine (subsequent releases were a 1989 35th Anniversary machine by Data East and a 2002 Stern Pinball release that offered both clothed and nude Playmate options) and in my opinion the best. The machine is a blast to play and captures all of the cool of Playboys early days including Leroy Neimans Femlin cartoon and digitized music based on the theme to the Playboy After Dark TV show composed by Cy Coleman. And, of course, Playboys legendary bunny head is everywhere. A perfect union of a great theme, amazing artwork and fun gameplay made this a very popular machine upon release (18,250 unit production run) and is prized by collectors even today.

1) Evel Kneivel by Bally Manufacturing (1976)

The Last of the Gladiators on a great pinball machine. The fact that I could end the description with that sentence should convey why this is #1 on my list and completes a Bally Manufacturing sweep of the top 5. This was one of the first machines to be made almost exclusively with solid state scoring as the industry moved away from the reel based electromechanical scoring that had been the norm since the 1930s. A simple, but fun to play design with all sorts of officially licensed Evel Knievel imagery. With the death of the legendary daredevil last year this machine is harder to find than ever. Fun gameplay combined with a theme that is off the charts in terms of cool makes this my choice for the best celebrity themed pinball machine ever.