OTR Child Star of the Month April 2025 - Growing Up With Bob Hastings

Screen capture of "Bobby Hastings" in the short film "Toyland Casino" (1938). This short film marked his live-action debut. 

Bob Hastings (April 18, 1925–June 30, 2014) who was born 100 years ago this month was a prolific star of stage, screen, television and radio. His nearly 80 year career began in radio as a child in the late 1930s. 

Young millennials like myself fondly remember him the most for his commanding voice work as Commissioner James Gordon on “Batman: The Animated Series” and related DC Comics based animation and video games from 1992 - 2004. As it has been said before, Hastings was much more than that role, and he is probably more famous for his work in live action television. While he is not primarily thought of as a major figure in children’s media, it can be accurately said that Hastings played memorable roles in children's media across several generations. 

Bob Hastings was born in New York the elder son of Charles and Hazel Hastings. As a boy Hastings began as a singer on radio and would co-star on NBC's hallmark children's series Coast to Coast on a Bus. Under the direction of Milton Cross, young Hastings sang and performed on the “White Rabbit Line Chorus”. It was during the production of that series that he met Joan Rice would become his wife of 66 years. Among many juvenile roles he was also “Jerry”, the young aid to Captain Silver on “The Sea Hound” radio series.

Crop from a widely printed image of Bob Hastings as Archie Andrews and Gloria Mann as Veronica. Image from Los Angeles Evening Citizen-News, June 22, 1949. 

After serving in Workd War II, Bob Hastings was cast as Archie Andrews on radio, the fourth and most famous of several actors to have played the part. The Adventures of Archie Andrews (1943-1953) was a staple of Saturday morning radio for most of its run. Hastings played the part from 1945 to 1953, and to date only Dal McKennon the voice of Filmation's Archie played the part longer in mass media. At least 20 episodes of this series have survived with Hal Stone as Jughead, Rosemary Rice as Betty, and Gloria Mann as Veronica.

Ad from the St. Louis Dispatch, April 28, 1946.

In the Golden Age of Television he appeared on Captain Video and His Video Rangers where his younger brother Don Hastings (1934 -) was the Video Ranger. Bob also co-starred on the now lost sci-fi series Atom Squad (1953-1954). Atom Squad brought young audience the live adventures of a group of scientists working for a secret government agency who fought radiation and nuclear threats to the United States.  

Bob Hastings (left) and Steve Courtleigh on the set of "Atom Squad". Image from Honolulu Star-Advertiser, November 28, 1953.

In the 1960s and 1970s Hastings began voice over work in animation. He was notably the voice of Superboy for Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman [The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1966-1970). At the time, Filmation would launch the hit series "The Archie Show" and it was a lost opportunity that Hastings was not considered for the role of Archie again. Filmation notably had Bud Collyer and most of the cast of the Superman radio program return for the "New Adventures of Superman" animated series. 

He had numerous voicing roles on many Saturday Morning cartoons like "Jeanie", “Clue Club” "Superfriends", and  "Fred Flintstone and Friend. He even appeared as a police detective in the ratings winning 1977 live-action Spider-Man TV Movie with Nicholas Hammond.

"Bob Hastings: 45 Songs Children Love to Sing" (1960). Image from Discogs.com

He also released at least 2 albums for children. In my research, a collection of his songs may have also been syndicated to local radio stations. Hastings was one of several former OTR child stars to create or read for children’s albums after radio’s golden age like Rosemary Rice and Gwen Davies. 

One thing that my generation did not realize while hearing Hasting's voice work on "Batman" was that not only were we growing up in the last era of Saturday morning cartoons, but also the last era of working voice actors from the Golden Age of Radio. Generations grew up with the voice work of Lucille Bliss, Alan Young, June Foray, Jackson Beck, Don Messick, Hans Conried, Ginny Tyler, Mel Blanc, Janet Waldo and many others in television animation, audio books, and children's records. In the cases of Alan Young and Janet Waldo young children could hear them in new radio dramas like Adventures in Odyssey. 

We were listening to the greatest talents who were founded on 30 and even 70 years of voice acting expertise from the Golden Age of Radio. Bob Hastings remains one of the most enduring of those legends.

Is The Children's Media Archive Real?

Yes Virginia, There is a Children's Media Archive....in theory! Here is a history of how this blog and accompanying YouTube channel began.

As a 1990s kid, I consumed new kids shows from both TV and VHS tapes. In a typical week I looked forward to the syndicated Disney Afternoon shows and a new episode of Family Matters on 5he ABC TGIF lineup. My parents are baby boomers, and it was through them and my grandmother that I was encouraged to try Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, Shirley Temple and much more.

As an adolescent I was perfectly comfortable watching media that children would have enjoyed from multiple generations across 75 years. My bedroom included VHS tapes recordings of movie serials from American Movie Classics, old time radio sets from Radio Spirits, and books on every day life in American history. The 1930s was a favorite decade of study, when radio, comic strips, sound features and mass merchandise properties began to dominate the American childhood. Gradually, I accepted my growing fascination with what entertained, and educated kids from the past century.

A decade ago while studying instructional technology in college, I developed an idea that if today's content creators, digital storytellers, teachers, and media makers studied the kids media of yesteryear, it would lead to richer content today and a greater appreciation for the changes in methods, storytelling and technology across a century. 

An example of this would be comparing NBC TV Ding Dong School's Dr. Frances Horwich with a YouTube content creator for children. In the early 1950s "Miss Frances" Horwich was limited to one television camera on a studio set, compared to a teacher today who can record, edit, stream, and share multiple videos (in Color!!) with their phone.

Admittedly outside of this theory, it is still fascinating to learn about what past generations watched, read, or listened to. For fun one can for a few minutes imagine being part of the first generation to watch TV, or learn about kids who made their own instructional films with a super 8mm camera. With an episode of Radio's The Lone Ranger, Red Ryder, and Little Orphan Annie you can be Ralphie from "A Christmas Story".

Part of research collection before it was placed in storage earlier this year. If you squint, you can see hundreds of DVDs and VHS tapes, children's 45 LP records, and toys from Fisher Price, G.I. JOE and more.

Learning about historical children's media can also give an appreciation for how we became a society where a kid can over consume media. Just a little over 90 years ago CBS and NBC radio had only a handful of programs for children directed by Yolande Langworthy and Madge Tucker. 75 years ago the youngest baby boomers began to watch Howdy Doody, and the Small Fry Club on television. From 30 years ago, I remember the wonder, and curiosity of VHS tapes, and whether it was a big deal not having cable, since the networks still had the best kid shows anyway.

While several colleges and universities in the United States have archival collections full of children's literature, and others have rare children's films as part of a large collection, I am not aware of a massive collection devoted solely to the study of children's audio & video media; across decades and formats.

Materials in storage include a collection of TV Guides from the "Little House on the Prairie" (1974-1983) TV series, and a file box on James Basquette, the pioneering Oscar winning actor who starred in Disney's "Song of the South".

This motivated me to create an experimental "children's media archive" collection. In 2015, I began this blog to practice writing for books, and a YouTube channel to share content. My personal research collection has grown to include materials from the estates of Ireene Wicker, Mary Hartline, rare signed books by 1920s children's radio hosts, numerous recordings in multiple formats, reference books, and small toys. 

The blog and YouTube logo were handdrawn, with text added with Microsoft Paint.

As a trained librarian and archivist, I organize and preserve items as if I were running an actual children's media archive. Most of my collection is currently in storage as my wife and I make room for our own expanding family(!) 

I am especially proud that children are using the resources of this blog for their school projects. It is terrific to know that today's kids are looking into the past.