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Shout! Factory has
put together a wonderful compendium of seminal Saturday morning TV shows
from the 1950s that is a jam packed treat any boomer will enjoy, it's
time travel in a box.
The way the collection
is arranged is to give you the feel of a 1950's Saturday morning lineup,
with the shows meant for younger kids coming first on each disc. Most
of this material is from before my time in front of the tube - but not
by much.
Oddly, disc one opens
with the most intelligent show of the bunch, Kukla, Fran & Ollie.
In this episode, the Kuklapolitan Players delve into class structure in
the USA, if you can believe it, responding to an article in a then current
issue of Life magazine. This would have been way over the heads of preschoolers
but episodes of Kukla, Fran & Ollie are rare and this one
is a sparkling gem. I'm dreaming of a comprehensive Kukla, Fran &
Ollie DVD release some day in the future.
Probably the most
famous show of the bunch, Howdy Doody is followed by a very early
episode of Lassie, a primetime show that turned up briefly on
Saturdays.
Annie Oakley
in 'Annie and the Bicycle Riders' with Gail Davis is pure western fun
and comic strip hero Flash Gordon from 1954 rounds out the first
disc with low tech, small budget excitement.
Highlights on disc
two include Ding Dong School, one of network TV's very first
educational programs for the wee ones. What a stark contrast with today's
kiddie fare, Miss Frances teaches with a gentle and kind nature. No wonder
she was an early TV icon. I don't think this show actually aired on Saturdays
but it is a logical addition.
Time For Beany
is a marvelously imaginative show, this is the puppet version that preceded
the cartoon series with the sea sick sea serpent and his friends looking
for a giant white gorilla on a mysterious island.
The Paul Winchell
Show is a genuinely funny rarity with Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead
Smiff in a musical Christmas themed program. This is actually a primetime
show that aired before NBC moved the program to Saturday mornings and
comes complete with commercials.
Shot on location,
The Roy Rogers Show was big time kid's entertainment in the 1950s
that popped up in reruns on Saturday mornings in the early-1960s; here
Roy and Trigger are kidnapped as Dale Evans, Bullet and Pat Brady ride
to the rescue.
The intelligent but
low budgeted syndicated series Captain Z-RO from 1954 offers
up an amusing look into the future from a fifties' perspective. The picture
quality is appalling but it looks like you're watching with rabbit ears
reception, appropriate since that's how most kids experienced TV in the
1950s.
On disc three you'll
find preschooler favorite The Rootie Kazootie Club and Winky
Dink & You, the very first interactive video game, will thrill
those who grew up with this unique program. Just remember not to draw
on your TV screen. (This episode is the one you'll find sampled on TVparty.)
Super Circus
with Claude Kirshner and the lovely Mary Hartline is another fondly remembered
series as is Andy's Gang with Froggy the Gremlin ("Plunk
your Magic Twanger, Froggy!"), a show that contains one of the weirdest
stories with an unmistakably homoerotic undertone ("Get to your horse
quickly or feel my lance pierce your throat!").
The Cisco Kid
was TV's first color series and the picture quality here is only fair.
It's followed by one of my favorites, Sky King, in an episode
found on other DVD sets. Watching Sky King with his niece Penny
patrolling the skies in the Songbird is one of my first TV memories and
the show holds up very well, simple and charming.
Disc 4 opens with
2 fifteen minute episodes of Bomono's The Magic Clown another
rarity from around 1950 that aired in some markets on Saturday mornings.
Kids and Company
and Juvenile Jury are followed by The Pinky Lee Show,
a manic musical journey with one of the most beloved and talented kid
show hosts of all time. In this highly entertaining episode, Pinky becomes
a detective while Sheena, Queen of the Jungle tries to overt
a tribal war in the final installment in the DVD collection.
Some of these episodes
have turned up on dollar store DVDs but they generally look a heck of
a lot better in this collection. The picture and sound quality throughout
is quite nice, especially considering the source material on some of these
shows is less than desirable.
A true bargain at
around $28.00
if you order online now.
Product
Description:
Some dreamed of a chance to be in the Peanut Gallery of Howdy Doody. Some
begged their parents for a dog just like Lassie. Many wore cowboy hats to
watch The Roy Rogers Show. In the 1950s, television was new and thrilling.
Looking back, these shows had a significant impact on the children of the
first television generation and helped to shape the medium as it increasingly
became a part of our culture. Hiya
Kids!! A '50s Saturday Morning is a collection of the best kids' shows
from the infancy of the genre. 4-DVD Box Set including 21 classic shows:
Kukla, Fran And Ollie, Howdy Doody, Flash Gordon, Lassie, Annie Oakley,
Ding Dong School, Time For Beany, The Paul Winchell Show, The Roy Rogers
Show, Captain Z-RO, The Rootie Kazootie Club, Winky Dink And You, Super
Circus, Andy s Gang, The Cisco Kid, Sky King, The Magic Clown, Kids And
Company, Juvenile Jury, The Pinky Lee Show & Sheena, Queen Of The
Jungle.
# Actors:
Hiya Kids
# Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
# Language: English
# Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
# Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
# Number of discs: 4
# Studio: Shout! Factory
# DVD Release Date: May 6, 2008
# Run Time: 570 minutes
Leslie Evans
responds to my Hiya Kids review: "I want to say 'Thank
you' to your reviewer, the only one who seems to know what he's talking
about with this set. I'm a big Kukla, Fran and Ollie fan, and,
like any KFO fan, know that their show was NOT all kid fair, despite
the presence of the Kuklapolitans (one does not call them 'puppets'). The
producers of the set seem to over look this, and so put it in the first
slot of the first DVD, supposed programming for the youngest children. Had
they bothered to do some research, they would know that Kukla, Fran
and Ollie ran during 'prime time' for much of its initial ten year run.
Even when they were shoved into a Sunday afternoon slot by NBC, they continued
to make very sophisticated shows. Your review was the only one out of many
that remembered the real KFO, and didn't just go by what the promotional
material said. Kudos for that, and double kudos for requesting a comprehensive
KFO DVD!"
8 Simple Rules 30 Rock 30 Rock Season 3
24 24 Season 7 30 Rock
ABC After School Specials Abbott & Costello Show
Adam-12 Adam-12: Season 2 Adam-12: Season 3 Adam-12 - Season 4
Addams
Family
Adventures of
Ozzie & Harriet
Adventures of Superman Adventure Time Ally McBeal Alvin Show
American
Dad American Dad Volume 3 American Dad Volume 4
American Gangster American Gladiator
Amos 'n' Andy
Annie Oakley
Aqua Teen Hunger
Force
Aqua Teen
Hunger Force Colon Movie
A Team
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Banacek
Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck Show
Barbra Streisand
Specials
Batman Animated
Series
Barney Miller
Battlestar Galactica Battlestar Galactica: The Plan The Beast
Beauty and the Beast Being Human
Best of Comedy Central Presents Better Off Ted
Beverly Hills
90210 Bewitched Big Bang Theory
Big Love Big Love: Season 3
Bob Hope Specials
Bob Newhart Show Bonekickers Bones Season 4
Bosom Buddies Boston Legal
Brady Bunch
Bravestarr Breaking Bad Brian Regan - Epitome of Hyperbole
Brothers and
Sisters Brothers and Sisters - Season 2 Burn Notice Burn Notice 2
Cagney &
Lacey
Captain N Caprica Car 54, Where Are You?
Catherine Tate Show
Chappelle's Show
Cheers
Cheyenne
Chico & the
Man
Chinatown
/ Two Jakes
Christy
The Closer The Closer: Season 4
Code Monkeys
A Colbert Christmas The Colbert
Report
Columbo
Combat
Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav
Comedy
Central Roast of William Shatner
Comic Legends
Cool McCool Craig Ferguson: A Wee Bit of Revolution Curb Your Enthusiasm
Da Ali G Show
Dallas Dallas Season 11 Dallas Season 12 Dallas Season 13
Damages Dana Carvey Show Dane Cook: ISolated INcident
Dark Shadows
Bloopers & Treasures
Darkwing Duck
Dastardly,
Muttley and their Flying Machines
DC Super Heroes D.E.A.: Detroit
Decoy Dennis the Menace Dennis the Menace: Season 3
Designing Women Designing Women Season 2 Designing Women Season 3 Designing Women Season 5
Desperate
Housewives Desperate Housewives - season 4 Dexter Dexter - Season 2 Dexter - Blu-Ray
Dick Cavett Show
Dinosaurs Dinosaurs
Dirty Sexy Money Doc Martin Dog The Bounty Hunter Dollhouse
Doris Day Show Doris Day Show - Complete Collection
Dragnet Dragnet 1968 Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog
Dr. Who Dr. Who - Vintage series
Dukes of Hazzard Dynasty
Elvis: 1970's TV Movie ER ER: Season 11 Eastbound & Down Entourage Entourage - Season 5 Entourage - Season 6 Expedition Africa
Extras
The Fabulous 60s The Facts of Life Falcon Crest The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Fall Guy Fame
Family
Affair Family Guy Family Guy Vol. 7
Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Darkside
Family Guy
Family Ties Farscape Father Knows Best Father Knows Best - Season 2
Filmation's
Ghostbusters
The First 48
The Flash Flashforward Flight of the Conchords Four Family Movies Freaks & Geeks
Fresh Prince of
Bel Air
Friday Night
Lights
Friday Night Lights - Season 2
Frontier Doctor
F-Troop
Full House
The Fugitive Funny Or Die
Futurama: Bender's
Big Score
G Force Gangbusters Gary Unmarried Gene Simmons Family Jewels
George of the Jungle George of the Jungle (2008 version) Get Smart
The Ghost Busters
Ghost
Whisperer
Gilligan's Island Gilligan's Island Glee Glee Season 1
Godzilla movies The Goldbergs
Gomer Pyle, USMC
Green Acres Grey's Anatomy
Growing Pains The Guild
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke Season
2 |
Hallelujah! Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
Happy Days Harry Potter Kids
Harvey Birdman,
Attorney at Law
Harvey Toons
Have Gun Will Travel Hawaii Five-0
Here's Lucy Here's Lucy: Season One Here's Lucy: Season Two
Hero High
Heroes Season 2 Heroes Heroes Season 4
Highlander
Highlander: The Source Hiya Kids - A '50s Saturday Morning
Hogan's Heroes Hotel
Holiday on Ice
Home
Improvement
Home Improvement 8
Home Movies Honeymooners (Color) Honeymooners Specials
Hootenanny Hot In Cleveland How I Met Your Mother The Hunger
I Heart Jonas I Love Lucy
I Love New York I'm Dickens He's Fenster Important Things with Demetri Martin Indiana Jones - The Adventure Collection
The Invaders The Invisibles Ironside The IT Crowd The IT Crowd Season 2 The IT Crowd Season 3
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Christmas It's Garry Shandling's Show
J.A.G James Dean TV Shows Jeff Foxworthy Show
Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special The Jewish Americans
Joey Bishop Show
Johnny Carson
Show
Johnny Cash Show John Oliver: Terrifying Times Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience Jonas Brothers: Rockin' the House
Josie and the
Pussycats Judge Roy Bean Justice League: New Frontier
Katt Williams American Hustle: The Movie Kenny vs Spenny
Kitchen Confidential
Kojak Kukla, Fran & Ollie
Kung Fu
Kyle XY Kyle XY - Season 2
Land of the Lost
Larry Sanders Show Last Days of Left Eye Last Detective Last of the Mohicans
Laverne & Shirley Leave it to Beaver Leave it to Beaver: The Complete Series
Legion of Super Heroes Leverage Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
Lidsville Lie To Me Life After People Life On Mars (American) Life On Mars (American) 2 Life On Mars (British) Lincoln Heights L'il Bush
Little
Britain The Littles Long Way Down
Looney Tunes
The Loop Lost Season 4 Lost Season 5 Lost Season 6
Lost Season 4
Love American Style
Lucille Ball Specials Lucy Calls The President Lucy's Really Lost Moments Lucy Show Lucy Show Season One Lucy Show Season Two
MacGuyver Mad Men
Magnum P.I. Mail Order Bride
Make Room for Daddy 5
Make Room for Daddy 6 Manswers Marcus Welby, M.D.
Mary Tyler Moore Show Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 (Another view) Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 6
Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7
Masters of Science Fiction
Maude
Maverick
McHale's Navy
Melrose
Place
Men Behaving Badly
Miami Vice Mickey's Adventures in Wonderland Mickey's Christmas Carol Mickey's Magical Christmas
The Mickey Rooney
& Judy Garland Collection The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16 Ton Megaset
Mr. Belvedere Mr. Ed Mr. Ed: Season 2 Milton the Monster Show
Mission Impossible
Mission: Magic Mod Squad
Moonlighting Motown The DVD The Mothers-In-Law
Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami
The Munsters
The Muppet Show
Murphy Brown My Name Is Earl My Name Is Earl - Season 4
Mystery Science
Theater 3000 Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 15 Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 16 Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 17
Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 19 My Three Sons My Three Sons: Season 2
New Adventures of Mighty Mouse New Adventures of Old Christine New World Order
New Zoo Review
Night Gallery
No Direction Home:
Bob Dylan
Noir Films
Northern Exposure
Nowhere Man
Numb3rs
Oblivious
The O.C. October Road The Odd Couple The Office The Office Season 5 The Office Omnibus: King Lear
One Man Show
Oswald's
Ghost
Outer Limits Outer Limits: Complete Series Ozzie & Harriet Ozzie & Harriet: Best of Ricky & Dave
Pale Force Paper Chase Parker Lewis Can't LoseParker Lewis Can't Lose: Season 2 Passport to Adventure Patty Duke Show
Paul Lynde Halloween Special Pawn Stars Peanuts 1960s Specials Peanuts 1970s Specials
Peanuts Christmas Special
Perils of Penelope
Pitstop
Perry Mason
The Persuaders The People Speak Petticoat Junction
Picket Fences
Pimp My Ride
Pioneers of Television Plastic Man Poldark
Popeye the Sailor |
Popeye - 1941-1943
Pride & Prejudice Primal Fear
Prince Valiant Prison Break Prison Break: Final Break The Prisoner The Prisoner: American Version Private Practice Pulling
Psychic Kids |
Quantum
Leap
Quincy, ME
Racket Squad Real Ghostbusters Red Green Show Reno 911 Reno 911: Season 6 Rescue Me Revenge Rhoda Season 2 The Riches Rise of Monty Python: The Other British Invasion
Rob &
Big
Robert Klein HBO Specials Robin Hood
Rockford Files Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock of Love
Rocky &
Bullwinkle
Rodney Carrington:
Live at the Majestic
Rome Room 222 Room 222: Season 2 Roots: The Next Generations
Ron White Ron White-Behavioral Problems Roseanne
Route 66 Russell Brand
Samantha Who? Sanctuary Sarah Silverman
Program Sarah Silverman Program - Season 2
Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Volume 1
Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Volume 1 Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s & 1970s Volume 2
Saturday Night
Live Saving Grace Scarecrow & Mrs. King
Schoolhouse Rock Scooby Doo Scooby Doo Abracadabra Doo Scrubs Scrubs - Season 8
SCTV
Secrets of Isis Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy
Secret Life of the American Teenager Sgt. Bilko: Season One Shari Lewis Christmas Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends
Sheriff of Cochise
The Shield
Shotgun Slade The Simpsons The Simpsons: Season 20
Sledge Hammer
Smallville Smallville: Season 8 Smallville: Season 9 Small Wonder Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic Underground
Sonny & Cher
South Park South Park Season 12 on Blu-Ray South Park Season 13 South Park: The Cult of Cartman
Space Ghost Spectacular Spiderman Spectacular Spiderman Vol. 8 Speed Racer Spin City Spin City: Season 3 Sports Night
Squidbillies
Stargate Atlantis Stargate Atlantis: Season 5
Stargate SGI Stargate SGU Stargate Universe
Star Trek Star Trek Blu-Ray Star Trek: Best of Star Trek: Best of Volume 2 Star Trek Next Generation Street Hawk
Streets of San Francisco Stella
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Superman Batman - Public Enemies
Super Friends
Super Friends: All New Super Friends Hour
Super Friends:
The Legendary Super Powers Show
Superman: Doomsday Supernatural Supernatural - Season 5 Swingtown
Tales of the Crypt
Teenarama
Dance Party
Tales
of Tomorrow
That '70s Show That Girl Taxi Taxi: Season 5 These Old Broads
The Third Man thirtysomething
This American Life This American Life: Season 2
This Is Tom
Jones
This Is Your Life
Thundercats
Tom and Jerry Tom and Jerry: Chuck Jones Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases 4 Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary
Tony Orlando &
Dawn Transformers Animated
Transformers: Cybertron Tripping The Rift: The Movie The Tudors True Blood TV Funhouse TV Sets: Action Packed TV Sets: Forever Funny
26 Men
Twin Peaks
Two and a Half
Men Two and a Half Men Season 6
The Unit
Upright Citizens
Brigade
Ugly Betty Ugly Betty Season 2 The Unit
Unseen Beatles
The Untouchables
Up In Smoke
U.S. Marshall
Veronica Mars
Victor Borge Show
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - Season 4
The Waltons
Wanda Sykes
Wanted Dead or
Alive
The War
Weeds
West Wing
What's New Scooby Doo When We Left Earth
Wild Wild
West
The Wire The Wire - Season 5 The Whitest Kids U Know
Wizard of Oz
WKRP in Cincinnati
World Poker Tour WWII in HD
X-Files Revelations X-Men Animated 1 X-Men Animated 2
Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg Young Indiana Jones - 1 Young Indiana Jones - 3 You're A Good Man Charlie Brown Zorro Zorro: Season 2 |
|
TVparty!
for TV on DVD!
DISC 1:
Episode from Kukla, Fran And Ollie 1948 - 1957
Kukla, Fran And Ollie debuted as a local Chicago show entitled Junior
Jamboree and was renamed in 1948 when the installation of a coaxial
cable linking the East Coast to the Midwest expanded its broadcast range.
Established radio star Fran Allison played herself on the show as the
perfect counterbalance to the antics of the puppets, and her uncanny
ability to ad-lib allowed the show to run completely unscripted and
unrehearsed.
Kukla, Fran And Ollie featured the creations of Burr Tillstrom, considered
one of the greats in puppet history. He voiced and performed all of
the puppet characters on the show and is credited with creating the
puppeteering technique of watching the action on a small monitor while
performing the characters, a practice still in use today.
Episode from Howdy Doody 1947 - 1960
Howdy Doody evolved from The Triple B Ranch, a radio program that featured
the voice of "Buffalo" Bob Smith as himself and a character
named Elmer who opened the show by saying "Howdy Doody." When
Howdy Doody premiered on television it was an hour-long series that
aired on Saturdays, but in 1948 it became the first network children's
show to run five days a week, and eventually was broadcast in color
in 1955. "Buffalo" Bob Smith created and hosted the show,
as well as providing the voice of Howdy Doody.
For the show's final episode, Clarabelle the Clown--who never uttered
a word throughout the program run--finally spoke the series' very last
two words, saying, "Goodbye, kids."
Episode from Lassie 1954 - 1974
Originally created in 1938 by Eric Knight for a short story published
in the Saturday Evening Post, Lassie became an immediate sensation that
spawned a full-length novel, a feature film starring an 11-year-old
named Elizabeth Taylor, a radio show and, in 1954, the Lassie television
series.
The series--which ran for an amazing 20 years and won two of six Emmy
Awards for which it was nominated--originally starred 13-year-old film
veteran Tommy Rettig as Jeff Miller, Lassie's faithful owner and best
friend for 110 episodes.
Episode from Annie Oakley 1954 - 1957
The real Annie Oakley, on whom this character was loosely based, was
a sharpshooter with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in the late 1800s.
As a television series, Annie Oakley hit the entertainment bull's-eye
every week for three years in the mid-1950s.
Having appeared in dozens of both big- and small-screen Westerns, including
14 features with Gene Autry, Gail Davis was a natural to play the title
role in the television series. In fact, Autry's own Flying `A' Productions
coproduced Annie Oakley's syndicated 81-episode run.
Episode from Flash Gordon 1954
Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon comic strip, which debuted in 1934, has
been translated into radio serials, animated television series, numerous
feature films, comic books and novels over the past 50 years. This incarnation--filmed
in Germany less than a decade after the end of World War II--was the
first, and only, live-action television series up until 2007 and starred
chiseled Steve Holland as Flash Gordon, operative of the Galaxy Bureau
of Investigation.
DISC 2:
Episode from Ding Dong School 1952 - 1959
Dr. Frances R. Horwich, known simply to audiences as Miss Frances, took
a leave of absence from her position as chairman of the education department
at Chicago's Roosevelt College to host Ding Dong School, which became
monumental in paving the way for preschool television.
Originally filmed in Chicago, and later in New York, Ding Dong School
was so popular that after just six weeks it was picked up by NBC and
was soon seen by millions of children throughout the United States.
Episode from Time For Beany 1949 - 1954
While viewers may be more familiar with Bob Clampett's Beany And Cecil
in their cartoon incarnations, the public was first introduced to the
silly, seasick serpent and his beanie-topped companion when they premiered
as puppets, voiced by the talented Daws Butler and Stan Freberg. Though
the series began as a local show in Los Angeles in 1949, by the following
year Time For Beany had gone national and continued with much success
through 1954.
One of the most famous fans of Time For Beany was none other than Albert
Einstein.
Episode from The Paul Winchell Show 1956 - 1960
In 1956 self-taught ventriloquist Paul Winchell starred in Circus Time,
only one of his many television series. After a year Circus Time was
revamped and renamed The Paul Winchell Show, a moniker it retained until
the show ended in 1960.
Giving voice to his own Jerry Mahoney puppet, Gargamel on The Smurfs
and Tigger of Disney's Winnie The Pooh animated films, Paul Winchell
brought heart to the characters he created. A true renaissance man,
Winchell was also an inventor who held 30 patents, including one for
an early model of an artificial heart he built in 1963. He also studied
and practiced acupuncture and hypnosis and wrote widely on theology.
Episode from The Roy Rogers Show 1951 - 1957
The "King of Cowboys," Roy Rogers was no stranger to America
by the time he starred in The Roy Rogers Show, having already appeared
in over a hundred movies by 1951.
In 1947 Rogers married Dale Evans, who became the "Queen of the
West." Together they were one of America's most beloved couples.
Along with many honors, they have the distinction of being the only
married couple to serve as Grand Marshals of the Pasadena Tournament
of Roses Parade.
You can't think of The Roy Rogers Show, which ran from 1951 to 1957,
without remembering "his golden palomino" Trigger and Bullet
"the wonder dog." Visitors to the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum
in Branson, Missouri, can actually see a taxidermist-prepared Trigger,
stuffed and mounted, rearing up on his back legs, as one of the museum's
most popular exhibits.
Episode from Captain Z-RO 1951 - 1956
Captain Z-RO came to us from a remote, uncharted region of a planet
called Earth. When Captain Z-RO debuted in 1951, it was a 15-minute
local show from San Francisco. In 1954, however, the show became syndicated
and went national, switching to a 30-minute format and continuing with
original episodes until 1956. It stayed on in reruns through 1960.
Captain Z-RO received much praise for its outstanding educational value,
including honorable mention at the Twentieth American Exhibition of
Educational Radio-Television Programs in 1956.
Roy Steffens, who also created and wrote the show, portrayed the title
role of Captain Z-RO.
DISC 3:
Episode from The Rootie Kazootie Club 1950 - 1954
Created by Steve Carlin, who at the time was in charge of RCA's children's
phonograph records, The Rootie Kazootie Club met over the airwaves from
1950 to 1954 with "Big Todd" Russell, Mr. Deetle Doodle and,
of course, Rootie Kazootie!
"Big Todd" Russell wasn't just comfortable with the juvenile
members of The Rootie Kazootie Club. He also hosted quiz shows on radio
such as Double Or Nothing and Strike It Rich and is perhaps best remembered
as the creator and producer of The $64,000 Question.
Rootie Kazootie was extremely popular and led to a series of Rootie
Kazootie Golden Books.
Episode from Winky Dink And You 1953 - 1957
Get out your Winky Dink kit, because it's time for Winky Dink And You--a
show you didn't just watch . . . you actually got to play! Winky Dink
And You was the first interactive television show, allowing children
the opportunity to be a part of the show by placing a clear "magic
window" on the television and drawing on it with crayons.
Jack Barry, who already had a successful run with Juvenile Jury, hosted
the show. Barry later went on to emcee the 1970s game show Joker's Wild,
but is perhaps most famous as the host and coproducer of the wildly
popular Twenty-One, which created a great scandal by providing answers
to contestants, nearly ruining Barry's career and prompting Congress
to develop new laws that prohibited the fixing of quiz shows.
Winky Dink And You ran from 1953 to 1957, and if Winky Dink sounds a
bit familiar, it's because the voice was provided by Mae Questel--best
known as the voice of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop.
Episode from Super Circus 1949 - 1955
From 1949 to 1955, the small screen was transformed into the big top
during Super Circus featuring Ringmaster (and former radio announcer)
Claude Kirchner.
Ringmaster Kirchner, clowns Cliffy, Nicky and Scampy, and the various
circus acts thrilled the kids. But it was bandleader Mary Hartline who
became the real attraction.
Mary Hartline had a certain appeal, and suddenly fathers were happy
to watch television alongside their kids. Hartline wasn't just popular
with the dads, however. Kids adored her, which led to an abundance of
merchandise such as Mary Hartline dolls, paper figures, apparel and
books--even comic books titled Super Circus Featuring Mary Hartline.
Episode from Andy's Gang 1955 - 1960
"Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!" Andy's Gang was an immensly
popular variety show for kids starring Andy Devine ("Cookie"
in over 400 Roy Rogers Westerns, and "Jingles" in The Adventures
Of Wild Bill Hickock). Along with Froggy the Gremlin, Midnight the Cat,
Squeaky the Mouse and some other oddball regulars, there were skits,
book-readings and weekly serials such as Little Fox (included in this
episode) and Rhama Of The Jungle.
The show, the format, even Froggy the Gremlin all derived from Ed McConnell,
who had been a children's radio host since the 1920s, and his 1943 program
Smilin' Ed McConnell And The Buster Brown Shoe Gang. In 1950 Smilin'
Ed brought the show to television under the title Smilin' Ed's Gang.
When Ed died unexpectedly in 1955, Andy Devine took his place, and the
show became Andy's Gang.
Episode from The Cisco Kid 1950 - 1956
"Here's adventure! Here's romance! Here's O. Henry's famous Robin
Hood of the Old West--The Cisco Kid!" While each episode of The
Cisco Kid began with those words, very little about the television Cisco
Kid harkened back to O. Henry's version.
In his 1907 book of short stories, The Heart Of The West, O. Henry introduced
the Cisco Kid in "The Caballero's Way." The character was
not Hispanic, he had no sidekick and, according to O. Henry, the Cisco
Kid " . . . killed for the love of it--because he was quick-tempered--to
avoid arrest--for his own amusement--any reason that came to his mind
would suffice."
There were numerous films about the Cisco Kid as early as 1914 and even
a radio series, but in the 1945 film The Cisco Kid Returns, Duncan Renaldo
was introduced to audiences in the title role. He continued to make
Cisco Kid films and was paired with Leo Carrillo as Pancho in his last
five features.
In 1950 Renaldo and Carrillo reprised their roles for the Cisco Kid
television series, ending each episode with the exclamations: "Oh,
Pancho!" "Oh, Cisco!"
Episode from Sky King 1951 - 1959
"Out of the clear blue of the Western sky comes Sky King,"
a '50s television series about an Arizona rancher and pilot who stumbles
upon danger in every episode and then saves the day. Kirby Grant, who
played as Schuyler "Sky" King, had appeared in dozens of films
and was an accomplished aviator, which contributed to the believability
of the show. The plane Sky flew was the Songbird and his ranch was called
The Flying Crown.
Gloria Winters played Sky's niece, Penny. Winters was a well-rounded
actress who appeared in many films and onstage. In 1964 her book Penny's
Guide To Teen-age Charm And Popularity was published as an etiquette
guide for teenage girls.
DISC 4:
2 Episodes from The Magic Clown 1949 - 1954
The Magic Clown was definitely sponsored by Bonamo's Turkish Taffy.
The live and at-home audience sang the Bonamo's theme song, they said
the magic word ("Bonamo"), and if they wanted the magic face
kit, they could send in 20 cents . . . plus a wrapper from Bonamo's
Turkish Taffy (which everyone in the studio seemed to be chewing). The
Magic Clown might even make Turkish Taffy appear as part of his magic
tricks.
The two ostensibly Turkish men making taffy on the wrapper of Bonamo's
Turkish Taffy wore fezzes, so everyone on the program donned the headgear
as well: from the Magic Clown--portrayed by several actors throughout
the program's run--the audience, and even the puppet, Laffy (rhymes
with "taffy"). Ironically, in 1925, the fez was banned in
Turkey and to this day is not usually worn.
In 1971 internationally renowned magician James Randi revived the series
as The Magic Clown, but while the clowns may have changed, Bonamo's
Turkish Taffy certainly did not.
Episode from Kids And Company 1951 - 1952
Originating in New York, this 1950s American Idol of the moppet world
showcased kids with various abilities, but if you didn't have a great
talent it was no matter. If you rescued a kid from quicksand or from
the jaws of an alligator, there was a good chance you'd get your few
minutes of fame on Kids And Company as well.
Kids And Company was hosted by Johnny Olson, who went on to become the
announcer for successful game shows such as Match Game, To Tell The
Truth and What's My Line? and, in 1972, went on to popularize one of
the greatest catchphrases in game show history: The Price Is Right's
"Come on down!"
Episode from Juvenile Jury 1947 - 1954
Before Joker's Wild, and even before Winky Dink And You, Jack Barry
hosted Juvenile Jury. Beginning on radio, the jury made their first
televised deliberation in 1947 and continued offering their unpredictable
verdicts until 1954.
A panel of five children between the ages of three and 12 appeared on
the program every week to make pronouncements on dilemmas posed by viewers
and audience members. Questions ranged from simple matters of opinion
to advice on everyday problems of interest to children, with Barry skillfully
managing to keep the participants at ease. Aside from the obvious entertainment
value of the cast's candid responses, Juvenile Jury is also notable
as the first commercially sponsored network television series (in this
case, by General Foods).
Juvenile Jury was revived twice, in the 1970s (with Jack Barry returning)
and again for a short time in 1983 with host Nipsey Russell.
Episode from The Pinky Lee Show 1954 - 1956
Pinky Lee was doing a show with Vivian Blaine called Those Two when
producer Lawrence White found himself in need of a new host for a children's
show after The Gabby Hayes Show was dropped. White's son begged him
to hire Pinky Lee, and thus Lee was able to add "children's show
host" to his résumé.
The fast pace of The Pinky Lee Show, which aired from 1954 to 1956,
was quite ahead of its time, more comparable with the shows of today.
A former burlesque performer, Pinky Lee brought a squeaky clean version
of burlesque to his children's show.
Although the show ran until 1956, an illness caused Lee's absence from
1955 until the end of the show's run.
Episode from Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle 1955 - 1956
Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle first swung onto television screens in 1955,
but Sheena's history jumps back to 1937 where the character was introduced
in Wags, a British tabloid magazine. The following year Sheena appeared
in Jumbo Comics, and that's when her popularity started to grow. She
appeared in each issue and was even spun off into her own comic book,
making her the first female to be a title character, three months ahead
of DC's Wonder Woman.
Former model Irish McCalla played Sheena, despite never having done
any acting before she was asked to audition for the part while pregnant
with her second child.
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