A research blog on the history of radio, film, television and classroom media geared towards children and young audiences through most of the 20th century.
Larry on Location (Early Puppet series from Chicago)
June 13, 1949 - July 22, 1949
WBKB*, Chicago. Monday - Friday, 6:00pm
October 2, 1949 - December 2, 1949
WENR-TV, Chicago Monday - Friday 5:15pm
Creator/producer: Les Weinrott
Puppeteer: Don Tennatt
Cast: Toni Gilman,
Music: Carolyn Gilbert
Director: Bill Balaban
Overlooked in many kids TV show histories is Larry on Location, a short lived replacement for Kukla Fran and Ollie when that series left WBKB in Chicago for WNBQ in the same city. The series was critiqued as being a clone of the more famous Kukla series in terms of characterizations, but Variety said that it was "not a bad show and some adults will like it."
Toni Gilman (1923 - 2017) had the role of Fran Alison, the human woman who would ad-lib with the puppet cast who worked in the fictitious movie company, Highly Unlikely Productions. The puppet characters included the producer Gaylord Nosegay, camera man Newton Figg (whose personality was said to be similar to Ollie the Dragon), prop boy Larry, and writer Nosmo King.
Don Tennant (1922 - 2001) puppeteer for the series also did another local series Hold Er' Newt for WENR-TV. He is much more famous today for his years in advertising, and for his role in creating Kellogg's Tony the Tiger and the Marlboro Man.
Carolyn Gilbert was a music performer originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the local NBC affiliate and local stage productions. After this series she had her own program "The Carolyn Gilbert Show" on WENR-TV, with comedy skits by Tennant.
While on WBKB the Larry on Location series aired in the 6:00pm timeslot where it competed with WNBQ's Judy Splinters and Mary Kay and Johnny. In the fall the series moved to WENR until its run ended that December.
*WBKB-TV in Chicago became WBBM-TV in 1953. Also cast and crew information is based on reviews from the June 13, 1949 premiere.
"Fun House" video game by Hi-Tech Expressions of New York, NY, 1990
Home game versions of TV shows have existed for decades as board games and other toys. It is interesting coming across earlier versions of home video games based on TV shows.
“Fun House” also known as “Fox’s Fun House” (1987 - 1991) was a children’s game show that ran in syndication, then on Saturday mornings as one the vey young FOX network.
Super Jeopardy video game by GameTek of North Miami Beach, Florida, 1991
Jeopardy! needs no introduction. The current version of the hit game show hosted by Alex Trebek, just started its 36th season. Game versions of Jeopardy! have existed in multiple formats, from board games, to CD-ROM to handheld electronic versions.
Image of "Little Red Riding Hood" WCKY star from What's On The Air magazine June 1931
Red Riding Hood [Red Riding Hood Kiddie Klub] - WCKY Covington, Kentucky, c. May 1931 - ????. Weekdays at various times, sometimes twice a day, Central Time.
There are many interesting finds when searching old radio magazines for yesterday's children's shows. The "Little Red Riding Hood" radio program from station WCKY is just one of them.
Jeanne Ellis (originally named Jean Barber) (c. 1925 - 2007) was a radio child prodigy who became more famous for her time with Paul Whiteman's band around 1937. She began her radio career at age four singing for station KNOX. By age six she was cast as Little Red Riding Hood for Covington, Kentucky station WCKY (W, C, KY...get it) beginning about 1931.
According to the June 5, 1931 issue of Radio Dial, many people could not believe a child so young was the star of a radio program and could have such a singing range. A publicity photo of the little girl was published to dispel any doubts.
Exact contents of the "Red Riding Hood Kiddie Klub" are unknown, asides from little Jeanne
s singing. The program was reportedly so popular that the little girl's sixth birthday party held at a theater attracted over 5,000 children. While the program seems to have drawn a lot of promotion and attention, it is not know if it aired after September 1931.
Bibliography:
"Child Prodigy to be heard; got start over WCKY" The Cincinnati Enquirer, Sun. Sept. 12, 1937
Rayno, Don. 2003. Paul Whiteman: pioneer in American music. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.
Newspaper ad for the new "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" series that premiered Saturday, September 13, 1969 on CBS stations.
70 Years Ago - 1949
September 15, 1949 - The Lone Ranger, the "mysterious masked rider of the plains" comes to television on ABC. To date it is the only dramatic series that premiered before 1950 that is still being broadcast on American television (currently the Cowboy Channel).
50 Years Ago - 1969
September 6, 1969 - Classic Saturday Mornings [Yes, All of these shows premiered on the same day!] The Hardy Boys Cattanooga Cats Skyhawks H. R. Pufnstuf Hot Wheels Here Comes The Grump Pink Panther Show
Scooby Doo wasn't the only series to premiere September 13, 1969. "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop" was one of Saturday Morning's first sequels; to Hanna-Barbera's "Wacky Races".
September 13, 1969 Scooby Doo, Where Are You? - A little disappointed that the gang was not on TV for their big 50th, (except for two recent movies) but streaming and Blu-Ray are where we are today. Dastardly and Muttedly The Perils of Penelope Pitstop - One of Saturday mornings first sequels and a homage spoof to silent serials and melodrama.
September 26, 1969 The Brady Bunch - The classic sitcom about Mike, Carol, their 3 sons, 3 daughters with "hair of gold, like their mother" and Alice. What else can be said.
One classic of childhood that streaming and digital devices doesn't seem to have completed antiquated is the coloring book. Here are some fun and interesting examples from the early 1990s.
Courtney, Richard. 1988. [Teenage mutant ninja turtles] Rat trap: an adventure to color. New York: Random House.
Peter Pan and the Pirates Paint With Water. Golden Books.
"Peter Pan and the Pirates" (1990 - 1991) was a very memorable show from the defunct Fox Kids lineup on the Fox Network.
New Kids on the Block a Coloring Book, Golden
Just how many boy bands or music groups had a coloring book?
Dick Tracy Audio Action Adventures. Episode 01 "Big Boy Turns Up the Heat." 1900 Walt Disney Company, Buena Vista Distribution.
Audio cassette tapes are defiinitly on the many once everyday media experiences that today' children will not use. Unless they have an interest in media history, which I definitely would.
As a kid of the 1990s, I did not think there would not be sequel to the Warren Beatty Dick Tracy movie, based on how much advertising and merchandise was promoted with this movie. I was unaware of these audio adventures.
Mother Goose Treasury Volumes I & II. 1991 J2 Communications
This was an album from a nice live action version of the Mother Goose stories that used to air on the Disney Channel in the United States.
The Fables of Aesop. Date Unknown. Spoken Arts
This was one of several public school discarded cassettes from the "Spoken Arts" label that I have acquired. Featuring narration by John Franklyn, Pamela Mant, Sara Franklyn, Simon Franklyn, "Fables of Aesop" was also released as an LP.
Photo of the Video Ranger (actor Don Hastings) with Captain Video holding a scientific weapon (Al Hodge).
In the 1970s reportedly hundreds of rare TV recordings from the legendary DuMont Network (1946 - 1956) were tossed into New York City's East River. Among the hundreds of classic programs destroyed were episodes of "Captain Video and His Video Rangers" which premiered 70 years ago (June 27, 1949) as American TV's first science-fiction series and became a huge hit with kid and adult audiences in the Golden Age of Television.
The series featured the adventures of the titular hero who led multiple Video Rangers and his junior companion The Video Ranger who operated from a secret mountain base in the future, and fought evil on Earth and across the universe. Richard Coogan (1914 - 2014) was the first Captain Video. After 17 months he was replaced by Al Hodge (1912 - 1979) who stayed with the series until its end in 1955. There was only one Junior Ranger, actor Don Hastings (1934 - ) who later became a major daytime television actor.
The program was filmed live 5 to 6 days a week and any recorded episodes would have been kine-scoped. Innovative in its storylines while limited on a budget, it is unfortunate that only 24 episodes out of a possible 1,700+ (or 1.4% percent) are known to exist. It is this writer's hope that more may surface one day. Here is a research summary of what has survived from this historic series, and what could still be out there.
Episodes available to the public.
5 complete episodes have been circulating for years among collectors and they are all available for download from the Internet Archive.
Two of these episodes were uploaded to the "Children's Media Archive" YouTube Channel
4 of these episodes were released on a DVD from Alpha Video, with their logo placed in the opening credits.
UCLA Television/Film Archives
24 episodes (including the 5 released ones), all that are believed to exist are held at the UCLA Film/Television Archives and can be seen by appointment only. Hopefully one day they will be released as part of a digital collection or a DVD/ Blu-Ray set.
Ad Views Digital Collection
Duke University in Durham, North Carolina at has least six Post Cereals commercials as part of its massive AdViews digital collections. These Captain Video ads were a part of the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles advertising agency archives which are held in the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at the Duke University Libraries.
These ads were downloaded and uploaded to YouTube in various channels. In acknowledging these rare commercials it is hoped that other "Captain Video" advertisements may exist in another advertisement archival collection.
Al Hodge's personal collection???
A possible myth that I picked up from at least one printed text years ago was that a few episodes of Captain Video were in the possession of Al Hodge's hotel room residence at the time of his passing in 1979. This is doubtful because in a 1972 interview on radio's What Ever Happened To...? with Richard Lamparski,Hodge was asked if he was aware of surviving episodes of Captain Video and he said no. However, if he did have copies at the time of his death, what became of those films?
Personal collections of other cast and crew???
In the same radio interview it was mentioned that a copy was believed to be held in an unnamed Ohio university's collection and more episodes may have existed in the possession of a former makeup artist. It would be great if either story could be confirmed even after 40 years.
