syndicated. 1950
Host, cartoonist and puppet voices: Jack Kenaston
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| Image capture from the 2015 Ebay sale of composite prints for "Unk and Andy" |
UPDATE: One episode of this series is now available on DVD! Please see this blog article "DVD Review - Primeval Puppets From Festive Films".
The Hook (or what makes this show interesting today): This may have been the first educational television series for children based on the alphabet, and one of the first to teach about animals.
Twenty-six letters, twenty-six 15 minute episodes, and twenty-six characters to teach about animal wildlife using each letter of the alphabet. The characters of this series ranged from Andy Auk to Zachary Zebra, each drawn by “Uncle Jack” Kenaston. The puppet Andy Auk, voiced by Kenaston, was Uncle Jack's co-host for each episode. The series was distributed by Calvacade Pictures, and produced by Jack Kenaston Productions which may have been based out of the artist’s home in California. It would be nice to know the names of the animals from B to Y. Also it is interesting to learn about a series from the pioneering age of television that used both a puppet and live drawing to engage young children.
According to the 1950 copyright record, this series was based on another work by Kenaston called "Uncle Jack's ABC Art Adventures". It is not stated whether this was a book, radio series or possibly and earlier television series.
Further examination of the 1951 copyright records reveal that Kenaston may have produced another series in 1951 called "Unk and Andy, Star Gazing With Professor Twink". It is described as a proposed series, 25 minutes each "to be used for sales purposes which features the adventures of Unk, the sketching skipper of the good ship Copy Cat, of Andy Auk, puppet First Mate, and of Professor Twink, puppet North Star." Based on that description this was probably a show designed to teach about astronomy or the solar system.
Jack Kenaston (1913 - 2002) was a University of Wisconsin graduate and WWII veteran who began a long career in West Coast television beginning in 1946.
Survival Status: Unknown. Some composite prints of the series were sold by an Ebay dealer in June 2015. If you were the purchaser of those prints or know of where more can be obtained please respond to this post in the comment sections.
For more information about Jack Kenaston and "Unk and Andy":
Obituary for Jack Kenaston - Los Angeles Times
Terrace, Vincent. 2011. Encyclopedia of television shows, 1925 through 2010. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=800716.
Woolery, George W. 1983. Children's television, the first thirty-five years, 1946-1981. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press.
