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81-792: Howdy Doody is an American children's television program (with circus and Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell and E. Roger Muir . It was broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States from December 27, 1947, until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer of children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center , in Studio 3A, it pioneered color production in 1956 and NBC (then owned by RCA Television) used

162-455: A Howdy Doody doll. However, while Paris had created the puppet, Bob Smith owned the rights to the character. An argument ensued between the two men, Paris claiming he felt he was being cheated out of any financial benefits. After one such disagreement, Paris took the puppet and angrily left the NBC studios about four hours before the show was to air live - leaving the program with no "star". It was not

243-480: A block on Animax , known as "Nick Time") and Cartoon Network (Cartoon Network's age demographic is moving towards older viewers with shows such as Hello Kitty , Regular Show and Adventure Time ) One of the most well-known children's TV programmes comes from Iceland, LazyTown , was created by Magnus Scheving , European Gymnastics Champion and CEO of Lazytown Entertainment . The show has aired in over 180 countries, been dubbed into more than 32 languages and

324-497: A cable, satellite, streaming, or internet subscription to view them on first airing." In the United States, there are three major commercial cable networks dedicated to children's television. All three also operate secondary services with specialized scopes drawing upon their respective libraries, such as a focus on specific demographics, or a focus upon classic programming that fall within their scope and demographics; all three have also extensively franchised their brands outside

405-724: A few exceptions, perhaps the best-known being the Power Rangers franchise). Typically, programs are either 'for boys' or 'for girls'. The teen demographic targets viewers 12 to 18 years of age. Live-action series that target this demographic are more dramatic and developed, including teen dramas and teen sitcoms . In some cases, they may contain more mature content that is usually not permissible on shows targeting younger viewers, and can include some profanity or suggestive dialogue. Educational programming targeted at this demographic has historically been rare, other than on NASA TV 's education block. However, some programming aimed at

486-483: A foolish carpenter who was usually the butt of Bluster's plots, Flub-a-dub, a beast with a duck's head, cat's whiskers, and the parts of several other animals, Heidi Doody, Howdy's sister, and Howdy himself, of course, were retained from the U.S. production. But it had some major differences from its American cousin. Other puppets included Percival, a parrot, and Mr. X, who zipped through time and space in his "whatsis box," traits that British-based expatriate Sydney Newman

567-510: A forest ranger, played by Peter Mews. Mews later appeared in the films The Unforeseen , Folio and First Performance . He also appeared on television in the 1954 production of Delilah , and the 1974 mini-series The National Dream . One of his most notable works was as Matthew Cuthbert in the Charlottetown Festival’s production of Anne of Green Gables , which he played for over twenty years. Peter Mews died on November 24, 1984, at

648-556: A major component. In many of the 1949–1954 episodes released on DVD by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2008, the children also can be heard singing jingles for commercial breaks, with Buffalo Bob or Howdy leading them and the lyrics appearing on screen. Colgate toothpaste, Halo Shampoo, 3 Musketeers candy bars, Tootsie Rolls and Poll Parrot Shoes are among the products advertised this way, as well as series-long sponsor Wonder Bread . The popularity of Howdy Doody and its Peanut Gallery led executives at United Features Syndicate to use

729-408: A moveable mouth is used only for gestural expression, or speech might be produced by a non-moving mouth. In traditional glove puppetry often one puppeteer will operate two puppets at a time out of a cast of several. Much work is produced without any speech at all with all the emphasis on movement. In a shadow play , only the shadows of the puppet are seen on a screen positioned between the puppets and

810-462: A new Photo Doody which Smith used in personal appearances until his death from cancer on July 30, 1998, at the age of 80. One of Semok's marionette duplicates appears on a 2005 cover of TV Guide magazine as part of a series recreating classic covers from the magazine's history. The cover featured Howdy with TV host Conan O'Brien dressed as Buffalo Bob Smith. Another of the Semok duplicates resides in

891-454: A number of children's channels under the Pop and Tiny Pop brands. British versions of Cartoon Network and its sister channels Boomerang and Cartoonito also operate in the country, some 25 years after the initial launch. Ireland has one dedicated children's TV service RTÉjr . Since 1998 RTÉ2 has provided children's programming from 07:00 to 17:30 each weekday, originally titled The Den ,

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972-428: A puppeteer whose puppets appeared on the program, was asked to create a Howdy Doody puppet. Bob Smith, the show's host, was dubbed "Buffalo Bob" early in the show's run (a reference to the historical American frontier character Buffalo Bill as well as to Smith's hometown of Buffalo, New York ). At first the set was supposed to be a circus tent, but it was soon changed to a western town. Smith wore cowboy garb, as did

1053-407: A secret for long!!") Finally, in the show's closing moments, the surprise was disclosed through pantomime to Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody; as it turned out, Clarabell the mute clown actually could talk. Amazed, Bob frantically told Clarabell to prove it, as this was his last chance. An ominous drum roll began as Clarabell faced the camera as it came in for an extreme closeup . His lips quivered as

1134-478: A spot for the TV series National Velvet . The restored color videotape of the final broadcast is available commercially. Three Musketeers candy bars offered a promotion early in 1950 in which sending in 10 cents and one wrapper from a Three Musketeers bar obtained a Howdy Doody puppet. The show had two one-minute announcements about the promotion on consecutive weeks. The first announcement resulted in 80,000 requests;

1215-528: A wave of nostalgia interest in an idealized representation of the 1950s, and with it films such as American Graffiti and the TV show Happy Days . An episode of Happy Days was entitled "The Howdy Doody Show" (number 33 of the series; original airdate February 18, 1975) during the series' second season, having a Howdy Doody storyline featuring Smith as Buffalo Bob with actor Bob Brunner as Clarabell. Shortly thereafter, Nicholson-Muir Productions (owned by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir) acquired from NBC

1296-578: Is believed to have loved so much as to inspire him to create such a character of his own in the UK, creating what has since become the Guinness World Record holder for the longest-running science-fiction television series: Doctor Who . The show had Howdy and Clarabell, but most of the human performers differed in the CBC version. There was no Buffalo Bob, for instance. The show's host was Timber Tom,

1377-414: Is generally more overtly educational. In a number of cases, such shows are produced in consultation with educators and child psychologists in an effort to teach age-appropriate lessons (the series Sesame Street pioneered this approach when it debuted in 1969). A format that has increased in popularity since the 1990s is the " pseudo-interactive " program, in which the action of the show stops and breaks

1458-635: Is the most expensive children's show of all time. In 1995, Cartoon Network became the first children's channel to be launched in India. Subsequently, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon arrived. Hungama TV (2004) was the first children's channel that had local content. Pogo and BabyTV came later in 2006. By 2018, 23 channels have aired in India. Nickelodeon was the first children's channel in Romania, launched in December 1998. Afterwards, Minimax became

1539-647: The BBC 's For the Children was first broadcast in 1946, and in English-speaking circles, is generally credited with being the first TV programme specifically for children. Some authors posit television for children tended to originate from similar programs on radio. For example, the BBC's Children's Hour was launched as a radio broadcast in 1922, with BBC School Radio commencing live broadcasts in 1924. In

1620-589: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , and first aired on November 15, 1954. The CBC built its own Doodyville in a Toronto studio, and the show was set in Canada’s north. It was more low-budget than its American counterpart, with less raucous plots and fewer villainous villains, as well as a more educational orientation. Most of the puppet characters, including Phineas T. Bluster, the cranky mayor and chief killjoy of Doodyville, Dilly Dally,

1701-513: The Cartoon Network , Disney Channel , Disney Junior , Disney XD , and Nickelodeon brands. WildBrain operates Family Channel , as well as the spin-off services WildBrainTV and Family Jr. it has been majority owned and operated by British Columbia's public broadcaster Knowledge Network . In French, Corus operates Télétoon and La chaîne Disney , WildBrain operates Télémagino (a French version of Family Jr.), TVA Group operates

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1782-614: The FCC mandates. (The rule for digital subchannels was repealed in July 2019; in practice, most still carry educational programs anyway.) In 2017, there was a programming block that aired on syndication called KidsClick ; it was notable as a concerted effort to program children's shows on television without regard to their educational content, one of the first such efforts since the E/I rule took effect. The transition to digital television has allowed for

1863-405: The fourth wall to give a young viewer the opportunity to answer a question or dilemma put forth on the show, with the action continuing as if the viewer answered correctly. Shows that target the demographic of persons 6 to 11 years old focus primarily on entertainment and can range from comedic cartoons to action series. Most children's television series targeting this age range are animated (with

1944-689: The 1990s, more children's television series such as Barney & Friends , Blue's Clues , SpongeBob SquarePants , Bear in the Big Blue House , and The Big Comfy Couch were created. A voluminous range of children's television programming now exists in the 2020s. Notable successes outside the US include shows like Play School , Noggin the Nog , Clangers , Bagpuss , Teletubbies , Thunderbirds , Danger Mouse , Count Duckula , Mr. Men and Thomas & Friends originating from

2025-404: The BBC runs CBBC as well as the preschool-oriented CBeebies , while ITV runs CITV as well as the preschool-oriented LittleBe , as a programming block on ITVBe . Both channels were spun off from children's television strands on their respective flagship channels ( BBC One , BBC Two , and ITV ). The BBC and ITV have largely phased out children's programming from their main channels to focus on

2106-641: The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, the private museum owned by illusionist David Copperfield . After Bob Smith's death, a fierce legal and custody battle for the original Howdy Doody puppet erupted among his heirs, the Rufus Rose estate, and a museum to which the marionette had been bequeathed. Howdy was in the news once again, with his face and story making headline broadcast, wire, talk show and print news around

2187-654: The Kagran Corporation, the organization which produced the original Howdy Doody for NBC, started production on La Hora de Jaudi Dudi, a daily Spanish-language version of the program filmed in Mexico City. The program aired over Canal 2 in Mexico and, beginning on April 27, CMQ-TV in Havana, Cuba. According to Billboard , the series featured a freckleless Howdy puppet and a new puppet named Don Burro. While

2268-407: The UK, Paw Patrol from Canada, Le Manege Enchantè from France, The Singing Ringing Tree from Germany, and Marine Boy and Pokémon from Japan. Canadian studio Nelvana is a particularly prolific producer of children's programming. Much of Nelvana's product is broadcast worldwide, especially in the US, where the similarities in dialect do not require any dubbing or localization. In

2349-445: The United States, early children's television was often co-opted as a platform to market products and it rarely contained any educational elements (for instance, The Magic Clown , a popular early children's program, was primarily an advertisement for Bonomo's Turkish taffy .) In the early years of television, advertising to children posed a dilemma as most children have no disposable income of their own. As such, children's television

2430-458: The United States. Under current mandates, all broadcast television stations in the United States must show a minimum of three hours per week of educational children's programming , regardless of format. Until 2019, this rule also applied to digital subchannels ; as a result, digital multicast networks whose formats should not fit children's programming, such as Live Well Network and TheCoolTV , were required to carry educational programs to fit

2511-467: The Universe , the 1980s saw a dramatic rise in television programs featuring characters of whom toy characters were being sold to retail consumers in bricks and mortar stores, underscoring the value potential of manufacturing merchandise for fans of children's programs. This practice remains firmly embedded in the broadcast sector's business case broadly in the 2020s. Commercial-free children television

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2592-479: The age of 63. Children%27s television series The purpose of these shows, aside from profit, is mainly to entertain or educate children, with each series targeting a certain age of child: some are aimed at infants and toddlers, some are aimed at those aged 6 to 11 years old, and others are aimed at all children. Children's television is nearly as old as television itself. In the United Kingdom,

2673-643: The aim was to produce a series to distribute to the entirety of Latin America, the company halted production after six months due to unforeseen production difficulties (at the time, Mexican television programming was scarce and often improvised, unlike the American-influenced Cuban market, apart from the fact that Mexican broadcasters weren't interested in foreign production) and market considerations (until 1960, most South American countries did not have television services or supermarkets ; by 1953,

2754-560: The air occasionally. "Double Doody", the Howdy stand-in, is in the entertainment collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History . Photo Doody is the near-stringless marionette that was used in personal appearances, photos, parades, and the famed NBC test pattern. He was sold by Leland's Sports Auction House in 1997 for more than $ 113,000 to a private art collector, TJ Fisher . Besides Howdy Doody,

2835-455: The audience. The relationship between the puppeteer and the puppet-maker is similar to that between an actor and a playwright , in cases where a puppet-maker designs a puppet for a puppeteer. Very often, though, the puppeteer assumes the joint roles of puppet-maker, director , designer , writer and performer . In this case a puppeteer is a more complete theatre practitioner than is the case with other theatre forms, in which one person writes

2916-416: The body- such as the legs. Some puppet styles require two or more puppeteers to work together to create a single puppet character. The puppeteer's role is to manipulate the physical object in such a manner that the audience believes the object is imbued with life. In some instances, the persona of the puppeteer is also an important feature, as with ventriloquist's dummy performers, in which the puppeteer and

2997-456: The camera and simulate small talk with the viewing audience at home, demonstrating basic skills for the camera. This practice lives on in contemporary children's broadcasting as a genre in of itself, with Australia's ongoing program Play School one example. At one time, a program called Winky Dink and You took a more interactive approach, prompting its viewers to affix a clear vinyl sheet to their television and draw pictures to match what

3078-501: The campaign trail, Howdy decided to improve his appearance with some plastic surgery . This made it possible for the network to hire Disney animator Mel Shaw and his business partner Bob Allen to design (refer to U.S. Patent D156687 for a "new, original, and ornamental design" for the puppet) and Velma Wayne Dawson to build and operate a visual character more handsome and appealing than Paris's original, which Bob Smith had called "the ugliest puppet imaginable". Since Paris did not provide

3159-490: The cast members (particularly the witty Dayton Allen) and the puppet characters. Corny Cobb was played by Bobby "Nick" Nicholson in 1952, by puppeteer Rufus Rose in 1953 and 1954 while Nicholson assumed the role of Clarabell, and again by Nicholson from early 1955 until the end of the show. Clarabell was first played by Bob Keeshan (who also played The Featherman). Keeshan continued in that role until December 1952, when he, Dayton Allen, puppeteer Rhoda Mann, and Bill LeCornec left

3240-569: The chain had restaurants in as many as 27 locations throughout New England before dissolving toward the end of the 1970s. A 1955 merchandise catalog had 24 pages showcasing the range of products licensed by the show. The extensive merchandising included the aforementioned puppet, toys and clothing, plus tie-ins with cereals and other food products. Dell published a comic book from 1950 to 1956 along with Little Golden Books and Tell-a-Tale books, many written by Doody head writer Edward Kean . In addition Dell scribe John Stanley contributed scripts for

3321-556: The character's voice, Howdy's voice remained the same after his appearance changed. The puppet remembered as the "original" Howdy Doody replaced Paris's original. Howdy Doody himself was a freckle-faced boy marionette with 48 freckles, one for each state of the union at the time of his creation (up until January 3, 1959, when Alaska became the 49th state), and originally was voiced by Smith. The Howdy Doody show's various marionettes were created and built by puppeteers Dawson, Scott Brinker (the show's prop man), and Rufus Rose throughout

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3402-399: The comic book. Kean also did some scripting (along with Stan Lee ) of a Sunday-only Doody comic strip through United Feature Syndicate which ran from October 15, 1950, to June 21, 1953. Milt Neil and Chad Grothkopf were the initial art team through December 3, 1950, after which Grothkopf handled the art solo. UPA was hired to do an animated cartoon ( Howdy Doody and his Magic Hat ),

3483-572: The cultural similarities between Canada and the US, along with film credits and subsidies available from the Canadian government, a large number of animated children's series have been made in Canada with the intention of exporting them to the United States. Such programs carry a prominent Government of Canada wordmark in their closing credits. The BBC and ITV plc both operate children's oriented television networks on digital terrestrial television:

3564-498: The debut of whole subchannels that air children's programming 24/7; examples include BabyFirst , PBS Kids , Smile , and Universal Kids . The country's only directly nationally operated TV service for public consumption, NASA TV , also includes educational programs in its schedule for use in schools. English-language children's specialty channels in Canada are primarily owned by Corus Entertainment and WildBrain . Corus operates YTV and Treehouse , as well as localized versions of

3645-633: The dedicated services; in 2012, as part of the "Delivering Quality First" initiative, the BBC announced that it would end the broadcast of CBBC programmes on BBC One following the completion of the transition to digital terrestrial television, citing low viewership in comparison to broadcasts of the programmes on the CBBC channel. Channel 5 also broadcasts a preschool-oriented block known as Milkshake! , while its owner, Paramount Networks International , also runs versions of Nickelodeon and its sister networks Nicktoons and Nick Jr. Narrative Capital operate

3726-534: The demographic has had some tangential educational value in regard to social issues, such as the now-defunct TNBC block of sitcoms, which often tackled issues such as underage drinking or drug use. According to at least one journalist, for years, Broadcast Standards and Practices departments of networks, Parental Guidelines , and campaigns by social conservatives limited "efforts to make kids animation more inclusive." One former executive of Disney, David Levine, said that "a lot of conservative opinion" drove what

3807-581: The drumroll continued. When it stopped, Clarabell simply said softly, "Goodbye, kids." A tear could be seen in his right eye as the picture faded to black, and some children in the Peanut Gallery could faintly be heard sobbing immediately before the credits music played. The show quietly ended with a roll of credits over an empty, darkened set as " Auld Lang Syne " was played on a Celesta , followed by an announcement that The Shari Lewis Show would be seen in its place at that time next week followed by

3888-464: The early 1930s, radio adventure serials such as Little Orphan Annie began to emerge in the United States and became a staple of children's afternoon radio listening. Early children's shows included Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947), Howdy Doody , and Captain Kangaroo . Another show, Ding Dong School , aired from 1952 to 1965. Its creator and host, Frances Horwich , would sit in front of

3969-514: The explanation, show sponsors insisted they wanted Smith himself to hawk their products. In response, NBC set up a special studio at Smith's home so he could appear live "from Pioneer Village" to do commercials. During Smith's absence from the show, Howdy was voiced by Allen Swift . Swift continued to voice the character for the remainder of the show's run, even after Smith's return in September 1955. The final episode , "Clarabell's Big Surprise",

4050-546: The final words of the final broadcast: "Goodbye, kids." Howdy Doody dolls and marionettes of Howdy Doody and Flub-a-dub were sold commercially. There were also two other marionettes, Don José and Hector Hamhock Bluster, brothers of Phineas T. In addition to the original vintage puppets, puppet maker Alan Semok (at the request of Bob Smith in the early 1990s) created several precise replicas of Howdy, including—thanks to improved materials and new molding techniques—a more exact marionette replica than had ever been produced, as well as

4131-465: The first Romanian children's channel to air locally produced content, launched on Children's Day in 2001. Since then, channels like BabyTV and Disney Channel have arrived. Children's channels that exist in Turkey are Cartoon Network , TRT Çocuk , MinikaÇOCUK , Minika GO and Zarok TV . Puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create

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4212-475: The first directorial effort of Gene Deitch and long thought lost until a print turned up at the Library of Congress in 2010. On April 15 of that year, the film was posted online. On February 20, 2001, NBC Home Video licensed Image Entertainment to release four individual discs, each containing four episodes. These shows came from the latter part of the series run, from 1957 to 1960. One show from April 1, 1953,

4293-441: The first time this had happened. With Paris's past disappearances, impromptu excuses regarding the whereabouts of Howdy Doody had been hastily concocted. This time, an elaborate explanation was offered—that Howdy was busy with elections on the campaign trail. NBC hurriedly constructed a map of the United States, which allowed viewers, with the help of Smith, to learn where Howdy was on the road. The explanation continued that while on

4374-986: The highest number of LGBTQ characters they ever recorded up to that point. In 2017, some said that LGBTQ+ characters in animated television were somewhat rare, despite the fact that GLAAD praised the number of characters in broadcast and primetime television. From 2017 to 2019, Insider noted that there was a "more than 200% spike in queer and gender-minority characters in children's animated TV shows." In 2018 and 2019, GLAAD stated that Amazon , Hulu , and Netflix, had increased LGBTQ representation in "daytime kids and family television." In their January 2021 report, GLAAD praised LGBTQ representation in episodes of DuckTales , The Owl House and Adventure Time: Distant Lands . Despite this, some industry practitioners state that more than 90% of LGBTQ characters in kid's animated shows within Insider 's database of characters in children's animated television shows "require either

4455-404: The human figure-styled puppet appear onstage together, and in theatre shows like Avenue Q . The puppeteer might speak in the role of the puppet's character, synchronising the movements of the puppet's mouth. However, there is much puppetry which does not use the moving mouth (which is a lip-sync innovation created originally for television where close-ups are popular). Often, in theatre ,

4536-425: The illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature . The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. Performing as a puppeteer can be physically demanding. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by their own hands placed inside the puppet or holding it externally or any other part of

4617-496: The last years pre-recorded on color videotape. A distinctive feature was the Peanut Gallery , onstage bleachers seating about 40 children. Each show began with Buffalo Bob asking, "Say kids, what time is it?" and the kids yelling in unison, "It's Howdy Doody Time!" The kids then sang the show's theme song (to the tune of " Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay "): It was thus one of the first television shows with audience participation as

4698-461: The name Peanuts for syndication of Charles M. Schulz 's Li'l Folks comic strip, reportedly to the lifelong chagrin of Schulz. In September 1954, Bob Smith suffered a heart attack and was ordered to recuperate at home. NBC managed to keep the show going with guest hosts, including Gabby Hayes and New York disc jockey Ted Brown as Bison Bill, explaining to kids that Smith was vacationing at Pioneer Village. While kids generally were satisfied with

4779-513: The networks turned to affiliated cable cartoon channels or outside programmers for their blocks. On September 27, 2014, the last traditional Saturday network morning cartoon block, Vortexx , ended and was replaced the following week by the syndicated One Magnificent Morning on The CW . Children's television series can target a wide variety of key demographics based on age and gender. Few television networks target infants and toddlers under two years of age. Preschool-oriented programming

4860-508: The only ones in the region were located in Havana and Lima, Peru ). 96 half-hour episodes were filmed. Cuban television later launched its own local version, named Club Chirikin , which lasted through 1959 or early 1960 over CMQ. It was a Monday-Saturday show produced by Stone Associates, a company formed by former Kagran president Martin Stone. The Canadian Howdy Doody Show was produced by

4941-516: The original Howdy. Originally an hour on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (at 5 p.m. Eastern), the show moved to Monday - Friday, 5:30 to 6 p.m. EST in August 1948. During part of its run, it was preceded by the 15-minute The Gabby Hayes Show , hosted by veteran cowboy sidekick actor George "Gabby" Hayes . In June 1956, it began to be shown on Saturday mornings only (10-10:30 Eastern), continuing until its final broadcast on September 24, 1960, with

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5022-591: The other characters in this show included: The show also featured animal puppets such as: There also were several human characters, most notably: The characters inhabited the fictional town of Doodyville. Several characters (including Ugly Sam, the world's worst wrestler, and Pierre the Chef) were played by comedian Dayton Allen , who would become a cast regular on NBC's prime time The Steve Allen Show . The Howdy show's non-televised rehearsals were renowned for including considerable double-entendre dialogue between

5103-700: The preschool-oriented Yoopa , and Bell Media runs the teen-oriented Vrak . Via its majority-owned subsidiary Telelatino , Corus also operates two children and family-oriented networks in Spanish and Italian, TeleNiños and Telebimbi respectively. On broadcast television and satellite to cable undertakings, children's television content is relegated to the country's public and designated provincial educational broadcasters, including CBC Television and Ici Radio-Canada Télé , as well as City Saskatchewan , CTV Two Alberta (formerly Access), Knowledge Network , Télé-Québec , TFO , and TVOntario ( TVOKids ). Aided by

5184-418: The program. Cast members Lew Anderson and Robert "Nick" Nicholson were both experienced jazz musicians. As both the character and TV program grew in popularity, demand for Howdy Doody-related merchandise began to surface. By 1948, toymakers and department stores had been approached with requests for Howdy Doody dolls and similar items. Macy's department store contacted Frank Paris to ask about rights for

5265-628: The puppet. The name of the puppet "star" was derived from the expression "howdy doody"/"howdy do," a commonplace corruption of the phrase "How do you do?" used in the Western United States and in Britain as well (e.g. " Here's a howdy-do " from The Mikado ). (The straightforward use of that expression was also in the theme song's lyrics.) Smith, who had gotten his start as a singing radio personality in Buffalo, frequently used music in

5346-677: The rights to produce the New Howdy Doody Show , an attempt by Buffalo Bob and most of the old cast to recreate their past fame. For this incarnation, which aired in first-run syndication , the Howdy Doody marionette had actual hair in a contemporary 1970s style and was operated by puppeteer Pady Blackwood. New cast members included: Crew members: It was staged before a larger Peanut Gallery of children and their parents originating from and taped in Florida. The revived series

5427-684: The second increased the total number of requests to 240,000. In the early 1960s, William Rosenberg founded a fast food chain, Howdy Beefburgers (later Howdy Beef n' Burger), in Massachusetts, locating many of its restaurants beside Dunkin' Donuts shops so they could share common parking lots to compete with larger chains such as McDonald's for retail space and customer draw. Howdy Beefburgers was inspired by The Howdy Doody Show that had run on television from 1947 to 1960, and even adopted Howdy Doody as its mascot. Serving such products as hamburgers, French fries, fish sandwiches and New England clam chowder,

5508-762: The service was renamed TRTÉ and RTÉjr in 2010. Irish-language service TG4 provide two strands of children's programming Cúla 4 Na nÓg and Cúla 4 during the day. Commercial broadcaster TV3 broadcast a children's strand called Gimme 3 from 1998 to 1999. And then broadcast a new strand called 3Kids . Children's channels that exist in Australia are ABC Family , ABC Kids , and its spin-off CBeebies , Nickelodeon and its spin-off Nick Jr. , and Cartoon Network and its spin-off Boomerang . Children's channels that exist in Japan are NHK Educational TV , Kids Station , Disney Channel , Disney XD , Nickelodeon (also under

5589-492: The show over a salary dispute. The role of Clarabell was then taken by Nicholson, who played it for about 22 months. In January 1955, the role was turned over to Anderson, who kept it until the series ended and for all subsequent revivals and specials, while Nicholson took on the role of J. Cornelius "Corny" Cobb. Each of the cast members also played other roles as required. At the end of the final episode, telecast on September 24, 1960, Clarabell broke his series-long silence to say

5670-443: The show to promote color television sets in the late 1950s. Buffalo Bob Smith created Howdy Doody during his days as a radio announcer on WNBC . At that time, Howdy Doody was only a voice Smith performed on the radio. When Smith made an appearance on NBC's television program Puppet Playhouse on December 27, 1947, the reception for the character was great enough to begin a demand for a visual character for television. Frank Paris,

5751-642: The show's run. The redheaded Howdy marionette on the original show was operated with 11 strings: two heads, one mouth, one eye, two shoulders, one back, two hands and two knees. Three strings were added when the show returned—two elbows and one nose. The original marionette now resides at the Detroit Institute of Arts . There were duplicate Howdy Doody puppets, designed to be used expressly for off-the-air purposes (lighting rehearsals, personal appearances, etc.), although surviving kinescope recordings clearly show that these duplicate puppets were indeed used on

5832-427: The world. For a while during the tug-of-war fight, the puppet was held in a bank safe deposit box while the saga played out in the federal courts. During one day of deposition, puppet maker Semok (who had performed various maintenance and repainting of the original Howdy marionette beginning in 1989) was called upon to unseal a trap door on the back of the puppet's head; Velma Dawson , the puppet's original builder, who

5913-428: Was 88 at the time of the deposition, was present and given the opportunity to examine the inside of the head in an effort to verify that the puppet in question was the original she created. Despite 50 years of numerous repairs, repaints, and replaced body parts, Dawson eventually declared the head of the puppet to be the one she originally made in 1948. The Detroit Institute of Arts ultimately prevailed and has custody of

5994-571: Was also included. On November 4, 2008, Mill Creek Entertainment (under license from NBCUniversal ) released Howdy Doody Show: 40 Episodes 1949–1954 on DVD in Region 1. The five-disc set features 40 of the best episodes from the series as selected by fans as well as the final color episode (also on the Image discs) and bonus features. Early episodes of Howdy Doody are available in the public domain and are online for audiences to view. The 1970s brought

6075-443: Was broadcast September 24, 1960. The hour-long episode was mostly a fond look back at highlights of the show's past. Meanwhile, in the midst of it all, Clarabell has what he calls a "big surprise." The rest of the cast attempts to find out what it is throughout the entire show, with only Mayor Phineas T. Bluster succeeding and promising to keep it a secret. ("But," he says upon leaving, "it's not gonna be easy to keep something like this

6156-420: Was depicted on Cartoon Network , Disney Channel , and other alike channels. Some argued that cable television, which began to pick up in the 1990s, "opened the door for more representation" even though various levels of approvals remained. Through the 2000s', advocacy group GLAAD repeatedly highlighted the lack of LGBT representation in children's programming in particular. Two years later, they recorded

6237-486: Was first introduced with Sesame Street on PBS in November 1969. It was produced by what is now known as Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop, known as CTW). In the United States, Saturday mornings were generally scheduled with cartoons from the 1960s to 1980s. In 1992, teen comedies and a "Today" show weekend edition were first to displace the cartoon blocks on NBC. Starting in September 2002,

6318-586: Was going on on-screen. This format did not persist, nor was it replicated, due to a number of factors unrelated to its popularity: children whose parents did not buy them the vinyl sheet would draw with crayons directly on the television screen itself, potentially causing expensive damage; there were also concerns that having children within arm's length of a television screen of the era could expose them to harmful radiation. Later and more recognisably modern shows for young children include Sesame Street , The Electric Company and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood . In

6399-603: Was not a particularly high priority for the networks. This practice continued in a toned-down manner through the 1980s in the United States after the Federal Communications Commission prohibited tie-in advertising on broadcast television. These regulations did not apply to cable, which remains out of the reach of the FCC's content regulations. Due in part to the success of He-Man and the Masters of

6480-622: Was not as successful as its predecessor, lasting only 130 episodes; the show debuted at the start of August 1976 and was canceled six months later at the end of January 1977. Reruns of the show later aired on Sundays on Cozi TV . Recently, Amazon Prime began offering 20 episodes online. A decade later, the show celebrated its 40th anniversary with a two-hour syndicated TV special, It's Howdy Doody Time: A 40-Year Celebration , featuring Smith, Anderson, Nicholson and LeCornec, who reprised his former role of Chief Thunderthud. Late in life, Bob Smith befriended New York-based fan Jack Roth, who already

6561-439: Was quite familiar with Smith's gallery of puppet characters. Since Smith's death in 1998, Roth usually has provided the voice for Howdy in TV appearances and live venues. Actor-puppeteer Alan Semok, who was approached by Smith to re-create the Howdy marionette, also has voiced Howdy. Like the later Sesame Street , Canadian, Cuban, and Mexican spin-off shows were licensed using local casts and duplicate puppets. In March 1953,

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