Vanessa's
Wonderama Diary
TVparty
viewer Vanessa Phillips kept a diary during 1977, and occasionally
would note what was happening that day on Wonderama. We present
her entries here along with her updates and comments.
January
16, 1977: Two girls came on the show who made an statue of Bob
McAllister out of plaster! Also the new Mouseketeers were featured.
Comment:
The statue was as tall as he was and now I wonder whatever happened
to these girls? Did they grow up to be sculptors? Does the statue
still exist? Are there any photos of it? Does his daughter Susan know
or remember it?
January
23, 1977: The music group Bay City Rollers were featured on Wonderama
with a hit called "Saturday Night"
January
30, 1977: Pearl Bailey and her daughter Dee Dee were guests on
Wonderama along with Harry Chapin and his son Josh and daughter Jenny.
Dee Dee sang a song!
No entries for February!
Sunday
March 20, 1977: wonderama featured singer/actress Melba Moore,
who was pregnant and sang songs from her new album.
Comments:
Her baby daughter is now in college.
Sunday
March 27, 1977: Wonderama featured Pat Collins and her husband
Joe Raposo, Rita Coolidge and her daughter, Casey.
Comments: Raposo wrote the music to "Kids Are
People, Too" and died in 1989 from cancer, I think!
Sunday
April 3, 1977: Wonderama featured Ray Stevens who performed "The
Streak" and "Gitarzan".
Easter
Sunday April 10, 1977: Wonderama featured Van McCoy who demonstrated
"The Hustle" while playing the song of the same name.
Comments:
Van McCoy died in 1979 of a heart attack! Love the song to this day!!
Sunday
April 24, 1977: Wonderama featured The Jacksons featuring Michael
Jackson.
Comments:
Bob got Michael to kiss one of the girls from the audience. I remember
she had pigtails!!! Wonder where she is today.
Sunday
May 1, 1977: Wonderama featured Jose Feliciano and actor Jim Backus
Comment:
Jim Backus was the voice of Mr. Magoo! By George!!
Mother's
Day Sunday May 8, 1977: Wonderama featured some Mouseketeers.
Sunday
May 15, 1977: Wonderama featured a yo-yo expert, a maze expect
and a singer (name unknown).
Sunday
May 22, 1977: Wonderama featured two magicians. Some kids participated
in the Olympiad while others made things out of paper - origami I
think!
Sunday
June 5, 1977: Wonderama featured stuntman and daredevil Evil Knievel,
Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley)
Sunday
June 19, 1977: Wonderama featured singer/actress Lynn Kellogg
of 'Animals, Animals, Animals' as well as Mohammed Ali.
Comments:
'Animals, Animals Animals' came on after 'Wonderama' on ABC at 11:00
a.m. The show also starred Hal Linden (Barney Miller). Kellogg was
also in the 1969 cast of the B'way musical "Hair".
Sunday
July 24, 1977: Wonderama featured Ralph Graham and the cast from
the Broadway Musical "Grease" were featured!.
Comment:
Stephanie Mills and the cast from the B'way musical "The Wiz" was
also featured on Wonderama (date unknown).
Bob
tidbits: Dates are approximate!
I
remember Bob had a Hungarian poodle named Ralph on the show doing
tricks. (1970's)
Every
year on Halloween night, Bob and his magician friends would go to
a Bronx cemetery to visit Harry Houdini's grave to see if Houdini
returns from the dead as he said he would. The news was there to document
this event as part of their Halloween segment for at least two years
in a row during the late 80's/early 90"s. Wonder what his friends
will do this Halloween?
Bob
had hosted the Hollywood Celebrity Christmas parade in Los Angeles
with an announcer named Bob Welch for a couple of years during the
80's!!
Bob
was good friends with Jerry Lewis, Lewis appeared on Wonderama and
Bob appeared on the telethon doing magic tricks! (1970's)
I
am still trying to find that taped conversation between him and Howard
Stern regarding children's television! (1990's)
Bob's
last public appearance was at IKEA in New Jersey. He and Cap't Kangaroo
introduced a line of kids furniture that kids could get rough with.
That happened last November! I found out about it too late though
or I would have gone!!
Back
in 1975, Bob's youngest, Molly Jo was featured on the show in a red
wig and dress like Andrea McArdle wore in the Broadway musical Annie!
Bob commented as she walked off stage that her hair under the wig
was red also!
- Vanessa Phillips
I
have a sister much older than I am, with kids who are my age. When
we were little, my sister and her husband used to get up earlier than
they had to on weekdays to watch a kiddie show called The Bob McAllister
Show out of Baltimore, MD. This was prior to Bob's days on Wonderama.
He did a number of characters on the show, even transforming himself
from a geeky character into the mighty Mike Fury. He would duck behind
furniture on the set and throw his clothes up in the air, then appear
with the Mike Fury outfit on.
Eventually,
they ran out of changing places on the set and expanded out of it.
Once he was changing behind a car in the studio parking lot and a
guy came out and drove the car away. The last time I remember him
doing the character he changed in a telephone booth near the entrance
of a store in downtown Baltimore and was chased down the street by
hundreds of kids.
I
noticed the dearth of information about Wonderama on your site. I,
too, used to watch it regularly as a child. There was lots of music.
One song in particular stood out, it was "The Aardvark song" and went
something like this, "Does anybody here have an aardvark? Does anybody
here have an aardvark? Everyone here has a right and left ear, but
does anybody here have an aardvark?"
I
have an LP by Bob McAllister called "Kids Are People Too". The copyright
date is 1971 and it was on Roulette Records. One of the comments on
the back says that all the songs are written by "Susan & Robin McAllister's
daddy: Bob"
The
list of songs include: Kids Are
People Too, "Fingleheimer stomp", "I wish, I wish (the animal
song)", Exercise, "Abracadabra
(instrumental)", "Heavy, heavy", "(have you heard any) Good News",
"The no, no song (eh-eh- eh)", "The make-up song", and "Ecology".
- Randy Ralston
I
grew up in washington, DC in the early 60's and watched Bob McAllister's
show on WJZ TV 13 from Baltimore. I remember his characters Thurman,
Prof. Fingleheimer (Fingleheimer song: "the more you fingle, the less
you heimer"). Mike Fury was a super hero character who proclaimed
that he was "courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, friendly,
brave and a goody".
When
Bob left for Wonderama, WJZ did a final show in which Bob talked about
the Mike Fury character. In order to make him fly, they strapped him
to the top of a Westinghouse van and drove around the Baltimore beltway.
Supposedly the van was only available once a year so all flying was
taped on that day.
The
Baltimore show was fun and I felt that Bob lost something when he
moved to Wonderama in New York. There was no real mention of his death
in the Baltimore Sun other than a few short lines and then no mention
of his work on WJZ.
The
Washington Post, in an article surprisingly larger than the Baltimore
Sun, mentioned his role on Wonderama, as well as work in Baltimore
and Norfolk.
- Wesley
My
parents sent in a ticket request when I was eight years old. I got
my ticket and went on the show when I was 14. I felt like an idiot
sitting in the middle of the audience with kids whose requests must
have been put in when they were still in the womb. I have to admit
though that I had a great time. Until I had to go back to high school
the next day and face my friends who had seen me on the show waving
my hands back and forth at the opening of the show like I was trying
to guide a 747 to the runway.
I'm
38 years old now, I went to my 20 year class reunion this past November
and guess what the first topic of conversation was when I got there.
And I've still never seen an aardvark.
- Tom Larkin
I
grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC, where, on the few
television channels we received, was the local Metromedia affiliate
that carried "Wonderama." Always a big fan of Bob McAllister, Wonderama
was the only kids' program to watch on Sunday morning, other than
the claymation religious cartoon, "Davey and Goliath."
In
early 1967, while getting ready for school, I tuned in a Baltimore,
MD, station that was broadcasting a weekday children's show featuring
Bob McAllister. Tuning in the fuzzy Baltimore stations from Northern
Virginia was difficult at best, but, back then, another city's programming
was so mysterious and exciting, it was like I was viewing Mars.
On
this particular day, McAllister was romping through the streets of
Baltimore in his "Mike Fury" costume. At the time, anything "remote"
or out-of-the-studio broadcasts was rare for local programming. It
was so entrancing to a eight year old, that to this day I haven't
forgotten it...
I
can still recall the Mike Fury song, "Are you a goodie? Mike Fury
is a goodie." Mike Fury, I'll miss you...
- Michael Jordan
Herndon, VA
When
I was a kid in the mid 1960's, my father worked at WJZ TV in Baltimore
and got me on 'The Bob McAllister Show' when I was about three. On
my own appearance I followed him around and asked him so many questions
he could hardly do the show. My father told me that he once ran into
McAllister after a taping and McAllister described that day's group
of kids this way: "They weren't just shitting in their own pants,
they were shitting in EACH OTHER'S pants..."
- a reader
I
too remember Bob from his morning shows on WJZ in Baltimore in the
60's. His Mike Fury bit was a fav in my school. I think he even showed
"Diver Dan" shorts on the show. I'm sure he showed those goofy Mighty
Hercules cartoons ("Herc, Herc! Wait for me! said the centaur).
Bob
also hosted an afternoon adult program called People Are Talking
while at WJZ. It was your basic man on the street interview show filmed
at Lexington Market and other local places. Kind of like talk radio
today. It was the coolest show on when I was in seventh grade. Bob
would occasionally sing his song, "I Want To Take a Bath in Bath,
New York, the Cleanest City in the State." :-)
Bob
was a great magician, and you could run into him on Saturday afternoons
at Phil Thomas's Yogi's Magic Mart on Charles Street. I was also way
into performing magic tricks in seventh grade too. Bob created some
very cool tricks. One I remember buying from Phil and performing was
a color changing scarf trick in a spotted can. You'd have to see it,
but it was a funny trick. We would watch Wonderama after he
went to NY, but those shows never quite clicked with my Junior High
crowd.
Baltimore
television of the 50's and 60's was pretty good. We had the Buddy
Dean dance show after school (I dated one of the dancers, Faith
Worschofsky. She wore long, blonde hair that was ironed straight!
And VERY short skirts!) John Waters immortalized the show in Hairspray,
changing the name to The Corny Collins Show. And then there was that
strange little 15 minute show after the news on WBAL with these really
clever puppets. It was called Sam & Friends brought to you
by Eskay. The puppeteer behind the show's name was Jim Henson-- I
wonder what ever became of him?
- Mark Salditch
Wonderama was
previously hosted by Sonny Fox and Robert Kennedy was a guest on that
version of the show. Bob McAllister hosted afterwards, which was the
part of the run I recall. McAllister came out as a character called
'Dr. Finkleheimer' on occasion.
There
was also a contest called "What is it?", in which he would hold up
an obscure object and the audience would try to guess what it was
(one was an Ugli Fruit). After the audience was stumped, a voice with
a thick Yiddish accent would say, "What the heck is it?" and McAllister
would give the answer.
The
audience dance segments were interrupted by the "Disco Kid" who would
be a kid who would run in with a song request, although I recall that
the song stayed the same for weeks on end.
Some
of the guests I recall are: Michael Palin and Terry Jones, who were
in town to promote Monty Python on PBS, as well as the "Big Red Book".
The kids were completely bewildered by them, a pratfall or an explanation
of the game "Pass the Bengal Tiger" notwithstanding.
Stephanie
Mills, when she was in "The Wiz", Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, who appeared
with Spider-Man, who did a dance called, "The Spider-Man". A contest
was held for the kid who did the dance the best. I regret to say I
remember part of the dance!
Mel
Blanc was conscripted to do a contest - the kids had to guess how
many voices he could do in a minute. He did 11, ending with Jack Benny's
Maxwell.
- A Reader
Sunday
mornings on KTTV CH.11 Los Angeles, Wonderama was on, and recall
Watching Joe Frazier, Mohammed Ali, David Essex ABBA, Bay City Rollers,
Maria von Trapp, Jerry Lewis and Bob McAllister asking an 11 year
audience member who their favorite music artist is, their response
being, "The Grateful Dead" Bob's expression was one of being oblivious
to who they were or are. Adam Corrolla of "Loveline" waxes nostalgic
of Wonderama on occasion, and it cracks me up hearing him sing the
Exercise and Aardvark songs.
Your
website rocks my world! COOL! - Ethel
It
seems many people remember Bob McAllister fondly. Bob used to live
in my home town of Pelham, NY. Every Halloween, Bob put on quite a
show for the neighborhood kids. I remember the elaborately carved
pumpkins and waiting in line for a quick show that was performed inside
his garage. I was really impressed when R2D2 was there one year along
with a magician. There was also a witch flying in circles around his
back yard. I watched that witch for quite some time and never did
figure out how it was done. We never saw Bob on those nights, but
we did see around town and he always took the time to say hello to
kids and to sign autographs.
- Robert Pflugfelder
When
I was 7 years old, Bob McAllister came to do a show in New Milford,
Connecticut - the high school auditorium was completely packed. When
he came onstage, he opened with "Do you want to hear a joke?" (and
700 kids go:) YEAH! "Do you want to hear a *dirty* joke?" YEAH! "Well,
I was behind the school here earlier today, behind the gym, and you
know what?" WHAT!!!!!???? "I fell in the mud." GROOOOAAAANNNN......
I
loved Wonderama, and remember it as one of the happiest points of
a rather confused and messed up childhood. (My parents divorced right
during that time.) Unfortunately, my memories are scattered - I remember
his New Milford performance, and having him come through the crowd
to pick kids to go on stage - we were mobbing him pretty badly, and
he came to my row. In my enthusiasm in waving my hand towards him
to be picked, instead of coming within feet of Mr. McAllister, I came
within inches - and he rightly told me, "Get your hand out of my face!"
He ended up picking the sister of my best friend, two seats away -
it was a ball-and-blanket game. I just remember *really* wanting one
of those balls (they looked neat under the purplish lighting.)
He
didn't do autographs that day, but we managed to convince an assistant
to bring a photo of him we'd bought back to him while he was eating
lunch - I didn't get to see him, though. I can imagine it would be
difficult, being mobbed like that show after show.
I
had the album, "Gee It's Great to Be a Kid," but lost it somewhere
along the way. All I remember of it is loving it immensely, and the
second song being about a magician.
One
show featured three cartoonists, one of which was the fellow who does
"Hagar the Horrible" (Johnny Hart). They had a drawing contest, to
see you could "draw the fastest" - each others characters.
I'm
also wondering if Bob's magic video is still available from someone,
somewhere.
I
never got to do it while he was around, so I'll do so now - Thanks,
Mr. McAllister, for some of the best, happiest memories of my life.
May we meet on streets of gold, and may you pull a coin from my ear.
- Walter White