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Post by MDG on Apr 17, 2017 8:07:01 GMT -5
Howdy Doody was a sweet, little puppet compared to the evil and loathsome visage of Clarabell The Clown   In the 50s, Jack Davis worked on a proposed Howdy Doody comic strip:  |
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 17, 2017 8:30:05 GMT -5
Ah, Howdy Doody... Very much a part of my halcyon days. I only remeber snippets of it; the raucous kids in the "Peanut Gallery," the various characters, Buffalo Bob's appealingly croaky voice (which sounded a lot like Howdy's, now that I think of it), and sponsors, nabisco's Wheat Honeys and Rice Honeys. One clear memory I have, but which I can find no photographic evidence of on-line, I wrote about here: classiccomics.org/thread/3785/comic-lovers-memories?q=HowdyAnd I only wish I had a memory of the quintessential Howdy Doody moment. To apprehend its meaning to the fullest perhaps you'd have to have been of that era, when the idea of ever seeing again something that had just been broadcast was not even thinkable. If you missed a show, you missed it. That's what made shows like "Charlie Brown's Christmas" truly special. When the last strains of "Hark, the Hearld Angels Sing" faded out, you knew only that your next chance to see it might come a year later. That "might" was the key word, because you couldn't even take a re-broadcast for granted. When I was 6, which is how old I was when Howdy Doody left the air, I had no clue that it was the final show. I can't recall seeing it, though I know I loved Shari Lewis's show that took its place (and distinctly remember refusing to believe it when that show left the air three years later), so my guess is I was watching. What happened as the show faded to black (nobody had color tv then) is an early legend of television. I'll let you watch, hoping that the poignance of the moment remains. Clarabell, btw, is played by Bob Keeshan, who was also the wonderful Captain Kangaroo. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 17, 2017 8:56:56 GMT -5
It's strange but I don't recall watching Howdy Doody when it aired although my Mom mentioned I did watch it every day before I attended kindergarten. I just don't have any memories of occurrences before I was 5 years old. Years ago, I did buy this DVD. It remains unopened to this day but I must get around to it soon  My kid's TV memories from the 1960's include Shary Lewis, Wonderama w/Sunny Fox, Let's Have Fun w/Chuck McCann, Romper Room, Officer Joe Bolton and his 3 Stooges movies and the greatest of them all- Soupy Sales
I do have a Wonderama story. I was once on the show, along with 2 dozen other children. I'll tell that story soon |
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 17, 2017 9:01:52 GMT -5
It's strange but I don't recall watching Howdy Doody when it aired although my Mom mentioned I did watch it every day before I attended kindergarten. I just don't have any memories of occurrences before I was 5 years old. Years ago, I did buy this DVD. It remains unopened to this day but I must get around to it soon My kid's TV memories from the 1960's include Shary Lewis, Wonderama w/Sunny Fox, Let's Have Fun w/Chuck McCann, Romper Room, Officer Joe Bolton and his 3 Stooges movies and the greatest of them all- Soupy Sales
I do have a Wonderama story. I was once on the show, along with 2 dozen other children. I'll tell that story soon Ditto all around, ish! I always envied those kids on Wonderama. They seemd to go home with lots of loot. Many also seemed obnoxious, though I'm sure Kid Ish was the epitome of politeness. Evena s a kid i thougth Sonny Fox deserved combat pay. Remeber, he also ran "Just for Fun" on Saturday mornings. Talk about working for the weekend... Looking forward to reading your story. Curious if it stripped away some of the magic watching Wonderama "in the raw." The "man-behind-the-curtain" effect. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Apr 17, 2017 9:25:44 GMT -5
OK, you prodded me
Somehow, my parents got me entry to a Wonderama show. Not sure of the year-probably when I was 6 or 7 years old. It was hosted at that time by Sonny Fox and aired on Sunday mornings for 3 hours. And it was live TV folks. Can you imagine them doing live kids programming in this day and age?
One of the things they did on every show was have a contest as to who can open the big wooden treasure chest. The treasure chest had a padlock and 2 kids were chosen to partake in the contest. There was a table near the treasure chest and on the table seemed to be a thousand individual keys. Only one key would open the treasure chest. While the show commenced with all its activities and shenanigans, right before going to a commercial the camera would check in on the two kids vying against each other trying out the keys.
And I, like an idiot, must have volunteered to be that show's key kid. I recall everyone having fun and laughing throughout the show while I had to remain standing up and getting more and more frustrated trying to find the key that fit the padlock. You didn't dare take a bathroom break. You began to really hate the other kid you were competing with. This was kiddie torture. And it went on for hours
There were no VCRs back then. No one to record the TV appearance for posterity. And that might have been a good thing because who knows, I might have been yelling at my opponent, throwing keys at him, on the verge of crying..I just recall the frustration and anger and jealousy of the other kids having fun.
Did I finally find the key? Absolutely not. Did the other kid find the key? I don't recall. What was in the treasure chest? I don't know if they told you unless you opened it.
I hated Sonny Fox after that show. And now you know why I'm a cantankerous old curmudgeon
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Post by Icctrombone on Apr 17, 2017 9:55:33 GMT -5
The origin of ishkabible. ..
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Post by MDG on Apr 17, 2017 10:00:32 GMT -5
It's strange but I don't recall watching Howdy Doody when it aired although my Mom mentioned I did watch it every day before I attended kindergarten. I just don't have any memories of occurrences before I was 5 years old. Years ago, I did buy this DVD. It remains unopened to this day but I must get around to it soon My mom never let me watch Howdy Doody because she didn't like the way they treated the old man character (this must've been directed more at my older sister, since a check of wikipedia shows I was only 18 months old when the show went off). (However, it was my own actions that caused an outright ban on the three stooges for many, many years.) I hated Sonny Fox after that show. And now you know why I'm a cantankerous old curmudgeon For a few years, Macy's would do a day-after-thanksgiving parade in White Plains, bringing up some of the floats (but not the balloons). Sonny Fox appeared at the parade and it was one of my biggest thrills up to that point in my life. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Apr 20, 2017 10:32:22 GMT -5
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