Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
Created in 1933 for the radio
by WXYZ (now WXYT) owner Georg W. Trendle and writer Fran Striker, The Lone Ranger was
a masked cowboy vigilante. He began as a Texas Ranger named John Reid (Earle Graser until his death, Brace Beemer for the
remainder, and several fill-ins), the sole survivor of an ambush on him and
five of his fellow Rangers by a gang led by a man named Bartholomew “Butch”
Cavendish (Bill
Saunders). He was found and nursed to health by Native American Tonto (John Todd). Reid
adopted the guise of the Lone Ranger to bring Cavendish to justice with Tonto
and his trusty horse, Silver, by his side, and to continue to protect the west.
As the Ranger was never identified as such verbally, those he helped were often
left to ponder “Who was that masked man, anyway?” at the end of each episode.
The show proved immensely popular, running until 1956 and spawning two Republic serials and
books
largely written by Striker. In 1949, Trendle brought the series to television
with Clayton Moore in the title
role and Jay Silverheels as
Tonto.
The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Silver.
The
Lone Ranger debuted on the fledgling ABC, who bought WXYZ in 1946, on September 15,
1949. Like the radio show, it used the ending of the “William Tell Overture”
by Gioachino
Rossini as its theme, which has become synonymous with the franchise as a
result. 78 episodes were filmed and aired for 78 weeks, then rerun all-over
again for another year. It became the first hit for the network, earning an Emmy nomination in 1950. For the next batch
of 52 episodes, Moore was fired over a contractual dispute and replaced with John Hart. It was believed that
the mask would hide the change and keep the audience invested, but he was
disliked in the role and his episodes weren’t aired again until the 1980s. In
1954, Trendle sold the rights to Jack
Wrather who produced another 52 episodes after promptly hiring back Moore.
For the final season, only 39 episodes were produced, as that had become the
industry standard, and Wrather fronted the money to produce them in color
despite ABC still broadcasting in black and white. Wrather decided to skip
dealing with the network and went on to produce two theatrical films, while
ABC kept the show in daytime reruns for years.
Bill LeCornec
(until 1952) – Chief Thunderthud, Dilly Dally, various
Dayton Allen
(until 1952) – Sir Archibald, Clarabell (Keeshan’s stand-in), various
Bobby “Nick”
Nicholson – J. Cornelius Cobb (1952, 1955-60), Clarabell the Clown
(1953-54)
Rufus Rose
– J. Cornelius Cobb (1953-54), Sandra the Witch
Bob Smith
got his start working in radio in his hometown of Buffalo, New York at WGR before moving to WBEN; where he managed to help the network
beat WGR’s #1 morning program in the ratings. After gaining the attention of NBC, he was brought to New York City to serve as
the early morning host on WNBC
where he became known as Buffalo Bob (a double reference to his home and the
frontier hero Buffalo
Bill). While there, Smith performed a voice for a character whose trademark was opening show by saying “Howwwwwdy Doody.”
The original Howdy Doody.
NBC’s
television division was looking to expand their roster of children’s programs
at about the time Smith was contemplating a move to television. Executive E. Roger Muir noticed the
popularity of Smith’s show and decided to bring Smith’s voices to life via
puppetry. Christened “Howdy Doody”, the initial marionet was designed by Frank Paris featuring a large
chin and a crop of wild hair. Smith continued to provide the voice for Howdy,
but he wasn’t a ventriloquist. A system was set up where typically after a
verbal cue, the director would cut to a shot of Howdy that Smith could see on a
screen past the puppet which would signal him to deliver Howdy’s lines. As
Smith also voiced several other puppet characters, cue cards used on the set we
rendered in different colors to tell Smith which character he was supposed to
be providing the dialogue for at a given time. By 1949, the puppets’ dialogue
was pre-recorded and played during the live broadcasts.
Buffalo Bob in front of the Peanut Gallery.
Howdy
Doody debuted on NBC on December 27, 1947 under the name Puppet
Playhouse Presents before it was changed within a week. It became the first
nationally-televised children’s program, as well as one of the first to air in
color (one episode in 1953, and a full week in 1954, mostly as a way to help
push the sales of color televisions). Initially, the show was given a circus
setting but was quickly changed to the western town of “Doodyville”. A group of
kids were on hand in the studio audience called The Peanut Gallery. Each show
was opened with Smith asking “Say, kids, what time is it?” to which the kids
replied in unison “It’s Howdy Doody Time!” The kids would then proceed to sing
the show’s theme song set to the tune of “Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay”.
The kids would also sing the jingles of the various sponsors for the commercial
breaks under the leadership of Smith or Howdy. Howdy Doody was one of
the first television programs with audience participation as a major feature.
The Peanut Gallery inspired the executives at United Features
Syndicate to name Charles M.
Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts,
much to his chagrin.
Clarabell the Clown.
To help keep the kids on their best
behavior and to quiet the anxious ones, the character of Clarabell the Clown
was introduced. Clarabell was mute and communicated in mime, by honking a horn
on his belt, and squirting seltzer (usually on Smith). Clarabell was portrayed
by Bob Keeshan or several stand-ins when Keeshan was needed for another
function on the show. In 1952, Keeshan left and became the host of his own successful
children’s show, Captain
Kangaroo. Clarabell was then played by Bobby “Nick” Nicholson and
finally Lew Anderson for the remainder of the show’s run. Other puppet characters
included Heidi Doody, a stranger who saved Smith’s life and was adopted as
Howdy’s sister; Phineas T. Bluster (Smith), skinflint and mayor of Doodyville;
Phineas’ brothers Hector Hamhock and Don Jose and nephew Petey; Princess
SummerFallWinterSpring (began as a puppet until she was taken over by Judy
Tyler, then returned to puppet form upon Tyler’s death in 1953 voiced by Linda Marsh); Dilly Dally
(Smith), Howdy’s boyhood friend; Inspector John J. Fadoozle (Smith), a private
eye; Flub-a-Dub (Smith), a mixture of 8 different animals; and shopkeeper J.
Cornelius Cobb (Nicholson), who had a strong dislike for clowns. Other human
characters included Native Americans Chief Thunderthud (Bill LeCornec) and
Chief Featherman, used to emphasize the show’s western theme.
Princess SummerWinterFallSpring in live and puppet forms.
Howdy Doody began on
Saturday nights as an hour live program and quickly rose in popularity. NBC
expanded the show with two additional airings during the week, and soon to a
daily half-hour program. Each new market NBC began broadcasting to became
enamored with the show, increasing its viewership tremendously. Pregnant women
would often write in for an attempt to get a seat in The Peanut Gallery for
their children by the time they were four (only 40 kids were allowed by fire
department regulations, and no one got in without a ticket). NBC was sure to
suitably market the show with lunch
boxes, shirts,
cereal
premiums, and home
versions of Howdy. Head writer Edward Kean wrote many of the comics
published by Dell from 1950-56, as well as the Sunday-only comic
strip from United Features Syndicate (with additional writing by Stan Lee). UPA was even
commissioned to produce an animated special, Howdy Doody and his Magic
Hat, marking the directorial debut of Gene Deitch, and international
versions of the program aired in Mexico and Canada.
Buffalo Bob with the revised Howdy Doody.
This success came with a cost.
Paris felt that since he created the puppet, he was due a larger portion of the
profits, and often got into heated arguments with Smith and the producers about
it. In 1948, he walked off the show with the puppet. While a new one was being
fabricated, the show used the storyline it established about Howdy running for
President to explain his absence by saying he was out campaigning. Further, it
was said that in order for Howdy to beat his rival, Mr. X (revealed to be the
Inspector), he had to become more handsome and got plastic surgery. Howdy’s new
head was designed by Disney artist Thelma
Thomas and built by Velma
Dawson. He now had big ears, a goofy smile, a solid head of red wooden hair
and 48 freckles (representing the number of American states at the time). Rhoda Mann took over
controlling Howdy. Paris attempted to put an injunction on NBC to stop them
from using the name “Howdy Doody”, but the courts sided with NBC and Smith.
Paris was also unable to use the original puppet in another production. Further,
Keeshan, Allen, LeCornec and Mann all left the show in 1952 over a salary
dispute.
Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney stop by Howdy Doody while Gabby Hayes hosts.
Smith kept himself busy. In 1948,
NBC gave him another show, The Bob Smith Show, to try and work his charms
on the parents as he had their kids. Smith continued hosting his radio show on
WNBC, and in 1952 added a radio version of Howdy Doody that allowed him
to be more innovative with the concept. Guitarist Tony Mottola and organist Doc Whipple played on the show
with Howdy’s washboard band. In 1954, Smith took on another show from 10-11 AM
to compete with Arthur
Godfrey and a midday local TV program. It turned out to be a little too
much as Smith suffered a heart attack that year and was ordered to remain home
for recovery. Smith’s absence from the show was explained that he was
vacationing at Pioneer Village while actor Gabby Hayes and disc jockey Ted Brown filled in
for him. NBC was willing to give Smith the time to recover, but sponsors were
getting anxious; they wanted him to sell their wares. A temporary studio was
set up in Smith’s home so that he could make appearances on the program. Allen
Swift took over voicing Howdy and Smith’s other puppet roles, and kept on doing
them for the remainder of the program even after Smith’s eventual return.
Buffalo Bob with Howdy and Flubadub.
By 1956, Howdy
Doody was losing favor with the network. While his original audience was
outgrowing him and a new audience moved in to take their places, the fact was
the show was taking up a good chunk of NBC’s schedule that could be used for
more profitable adult programming. The weekday versions were dropped in favor
of a Saturday morning version, replacing The Pinky Lee Show. To further
cut costs associated with Howdy Doody, the program was no longer
broadcast live. Five weeks of shows were filmed at a time to be broadcast later;
after which the sets would be struck and the studio space used for other
programs.
As the decade was coming to a close,
the landscape for children’s television began to change and NBC no longer had a
place for Howdy. After 2,343 episodes, the show was cancelled on September 24,
1960. The final episode was an hour-long retrospective of the entire program.
The stand-out moment was that Clarabell finally spoke, saying a somber
“Goodbye, kids.” “Auld
Lang Syne”, the song most would recognize from New Year’s celebrations,
played as the credits rolled over the empty, darkened set, followed by the
announcement that The Shari Lewis Show would replace it the following
week. The main Howdy puppet currently resides in the Detroit
Institute of Arts following a custody battle
between the museum and the family of Rose, who wanted to sell it at auction.
Buffalo Bob on the set with the star of Happy Days, Ron Howard.
The 1970s brought a wave of
nostalgia for the 1950s, capped off with the successful film American Graffitiand
the show Happy Days.
Smith and Howdy returned for an episode of Happy Days entitled “The
Howdy Doody Show”. Shortly after, Nicholson-Muir
Productions, owned by Nicholson and Muir, secured the rights from NBC to
produce a new version of the program. The New Howdy Doody Showwas
filmed out of Miami and aired in syndication. LeCornec returned to play the
fictional producer of the show, Nicholson Muir, and Nicholson and Anderson
returned to their roles of J. Cornelius Cobb and Clarabell, respectively. Howdy
was redesigned and given a mop of real hair. Unfortunately, it was hard to
recapture the magic of the original program; especially as networks were
pressed to schedule the show and rarely did so on a consistent basis. They
tried to play things towards the returning fans instead of just focusing on the
current children, and the audience (now numbering 400, a mix of children and
adults) was only used for certain parts to make it easier to film. The show
only lasted six months, from August 1976 until January 1977.
Created by puppeteers Hope and Morey Bunin, The Adventures
of Lucky Pup was a 15-minute show based around a cute dog (Hope) that
inherited $5 million from the estate of a circus queen. Pup’s fortune was under
constant threat from an evil magician named Foodini (Morey), and his dim-witted
associate, Pinhead (Hope).
The
Adventures of Lucky Pup debuted on CBS on
August 23, 1948, with Doris Brown
serving as hostess and the only on-air human character. The series aired live
on the east coast, with kinescopes recorded for later broadcast in markets
further west. While the series was successful, the audience’s interest began to
shift from the “goody goody” Pup towards the entertaining interactions of
Foodini and Pinhead. When Brown left the show after getting married, the show
was cancelled by CBS. ABC picked up a retooled
version that focused on Foodini and Pinhead and renamed Foodini, the Great. The
series ended its run in the summer of 1951, while kinescopes of the program
were shown on Saturday mornings through the winter.
