Happy Thanksgiving!

Clip from Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 22, 1936. Junior Eagle Section. 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 24, 1935, From the  Junior Eagle section

This Month In Children's Media: November 2016 (Part II)

Here are more highlights from the month of November

100 Years Ago Today

José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Meléndez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008)

Image from Cartoon Research. http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-182/

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Valentines Day wouldn't be the same without the wonderful Peanuts Productions by Lee Mendelson and the late Bill Melendez that have aired since 1965.

November 14, 1936

Robinson Crusoe on Clipper Island the fourth serial from the newly formed Republic Pictures is released to theaters.This Saturday matinee serial premiered (or was made available) 80 years ago today. Not necessarily the greatest serial, but fun at times, with spies, old fashioned dirigibles, an athletic hero, an island princess, loyal animals and lots of outdoor adventure. The first Republic Serial was "Darkest Africa" premiered February 15, 1936.  

November 23, 1968  

Birmingham Press, Saturday, November 23, 1968

From Rankin/Bass came the "Mouse on The Mayflower" which premiered on NBC, by Tennessee Ernie Ford. There many not have been that many Thanksgiving specials to speak of but it would be nice to see this one and others back on television again. There will be more from this blog about Thanksgiving media in the coming week.

This Month in Children's Media: November 2016 - Part I

I want to post more dates, but for now here are some notable premieres from the Golden Age of Television.

For reasons still unknown to the author November premieres seemed to cease after 1948.

November 1, 1948 - The TV version of Helen Parkhurst's "A Child's World" debuts on ABC-TV. Neither the radio or television version of this child's discussion series exists, but a book by Parkhurst is widely available in many academic libraries.

November 4, 1948 - The Adventures of Oky Doky, a children's adventures series about a puppet who gained extra strength in the nick of time from his "magic milk" premieres on the DuMont network. The program was later retitled "Oky Doky Ranch" in 1949 and ran until May 26, 1949

November 7, 1948 - Ireene Wicker, radio's famous "Singing Lady" debuts in a series over ABC television. Wicker appeared on television in character as early as 1939 and even earlier as an actress in 1939.

Radio and Television Mirror, June 1949

November 14, 1948 - Cartoon Teletales (above), a drawing/sketchpad storytelling series hosted and produced by brothers Chuck and Jack Luchsinger premieres on ABC. Jack was the narrator, while Chuck illustrated the stories. The series ran until September 24, 1950.

November 24, 1952 - The beloved "Miss Frances" and her "Ding Dong School" premiere over NBC and soon dominate the preschool audience.

November 29, 1948 - "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" premieres over NBC-TV