"Dear Mr. Man In The Moon", Children's Letter's To Radio's First Kids Host.

Banner from Newark Sunday Call, March 12, 1922. This newspaper devoted a page to the popular radio program "The Man in The Moon".  

Today's kids watch and listen to hundreds of programs on TV and smartphones, but 99 years ago, there was only ONE program for them, and it was on the "radio-phone". Children have written fan letters, and now tweets, to their favorite programs and stars as long as mass media has existed. Thanks to digital collections, it is possible to read kids' letters from the first children's program in all broadcast media, "The Man In The Moon".

"The Man in the Moon" was a fantasy bedtime storytelling program that delighted thousands of American children in the infancy of radio broadcasting. This program was broadcast from WJZ* in Newark, New Jersey beginning in October 1921. At that time WJZ was the radio station of the Newark Sunday Call newspaper. The new storytime program was originally supposed to feature the program's writer, author Josephine Lawrence who had a children's page in the Newark Sunday Call.

According to a famous behind the scenes story by WJZ announcer Tommy Cowan, Lawrence fainted while trying to climb the 15-foot ladder that led to the WJZ radio station before showtime...the ladder went through a whole in a factory roof. A Newark Morning Call reporter named William F. B. McNeary (1891-1934) was asked to step in. The audience was expecting a storytelling lady, not a man, so a new name was needed. A quick glance at the moon in the night sky and Cowan named McNeary the "Man In the Moon".

From the Newark Sunday Call. February 12, 1922

McNeary would greet the children with a line like "Hello Children Are you listening? It is the Man-in-the-Moon talking. What do you suppose I saw today." Children loved the Man In the Moon, as evidenced by reading several of the letters published in the Sunday Call. The program was popular enough for a full page devoted to these letters, as well as stories and from "The Man In The Moon." Thanks to Google Newspapers it is possible to study these letters. Below in this blog article are 3 samples from two newspaper editions. Keep in mind, that these youngsters, were the very first generation to have an electronic device in the home that could receive any signal from a broadcaster.

From February 12, 1922.

Dear Mr. Man in the Moon,

Every Tuesday and Friday night I listen to your stories. Where do you keep all the animals I heard tonight? I would like to see them. I think the stories are fine. I would like to hear one every night. I always clap my hand, but I don't think you hear me. 

MYRTLE STEWART.
8703 Fort Hamilton Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

Dear Mr. Man in the Moon, 

My daddy has made a wireless set for me, so I want to let you know how much I like your stories and I hope you name a little star for me, as I am only a little girl. My name is Helen Merz, and would like to hear you mention my name over the wireless some night. Good Night, Mr. Man in the Moon, I am going to bed now. 

HELEN MERZ,
North Thirteenth Street, Newark [NJ]

Use this link to see more from the Newark Sunday Call, February 12, 1922.


From March 12, 1922

Dear Mr. Man in  the Moon, 

We enjoyed listening to the Man in the Moon's story tonight and would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly mention our children who are attentive listeners --- Helen Maybury, aged 5, who is a lover of all children's stories, and her brother, Sherman Maybury, aged 9, who does not like to go to bed nights without hearing a bedtime story, and their cousin, Gordon Slater, 4 years old, who has a large fire engine which he rides and enjoys, and his sister Sally Slater, aged 3, who would be happy at anything you might say to her. 

 Mrs. John G. Slater,
187 Waverly Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Use this link, for more from the March 12, 1922 edition, of the Newark Sunday Call.

It is not known if McNeary personally answered these letters, and it is hoped that his papers or correspondence still exist in an archive or family collection. 

Photo of William Francis Baxnum McNeary (1891-1934), from Radio Digest, August 1930.

                                         
 
While the "Man In The Moon" did not last throughout the 1920s, McNeary continued to work as a radio editor for WJZ and the Newark Call until his death in 1934 from complications of tonsillitis. Radio's "first bedtime story teller" was only 43 years old and left behind his wife Majorie and the very first generation of children gleaned on broadcast media in the home.

Notes:

*WJZ is now WABC-AM in New York

For More Letters to "The Man In The Moon":

The Newark Sunday Call was digitized, and upload by Google Newspapers in mostly fair condition. Unfortunately, the October to December 1921 editions with the very first stories and fan letters are missing.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=KjnAay3C9J8C

For More Online Research:

Lawrence, Josephine. Man in the Moon Stories Told Over the Radio-phone. 1922. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Man_in_the_Moon_Stories/PVpDAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Early Radio History. "The Man In The Moon" - https://earlyradiohistory.us/1922mm.htm

Find-A-Grave: William McNeary - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99714693/william-mcneary. 

William Francis Baxnum McNeary. New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949. Family Search. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WV6-5QS

Books:

Gross, Ben, 1891-1979. I looked and I listened; informal recollections of radio and TV

If you have more information about William F. B. McNeary or "The Man In the Moon" series, please leave a comment or write to archivebuilder@gmail.com.

      

Brian Cartoons and "Diver Dan"

This the first blog post designed to answer a question from the Children's Media Archive YouTube Channel:

"I wonder what happened to Brian Cartoons. Seemed they ONLY existed for that one show [Diver Dan]..."

Brian Cartoons, Inc., was an animation company established in 1955 as a part of Louis W. Kellman Productions, a producer of commercial and industrial films based in Philadelphia. Along with producing the making the popular "Diver Dan" TV series, Brian also created the first animated film produced in Philadelphia. The company was named after Kellman's son.

Although the goal was to produce animated cartoons, records and press articles of the time suggest that only one theatrically released cartoon was completed before the "Diver Dan" series. "Li'l Davy and Dan'l Coon", a seven minute color cartoon was listed in film magazines and screened in at least one theater in the Philadelphia area.

The Brian Cartoons production - "Li'l Davy and Dan'l Coon" listed in the August 22, 1956 edition
of the Motion Picture Herald.  Click HERE to see the full cartoon listing. 

The cartoon was about the childhood of Davy Crockett and a raccoon friend, most likely made to capitalize on the Disney/Fess Parker/Davy Crockett craze of the time. If this cartoon still exists, it is not cataloged in any known film archive or library collection. Perhaps it is in the hands of a private collector or historian.

Diver Dan was the creation of Philadelphia cartoonist and puppeteer J. Anthony "John" Ferlaine. The new series was based on an underwater fantasy comic strip idea that was never syndicated. Ferlaine was also a longtime art director at WCAU-TV the local CBS affiliate station. He produced a live-action marionette pilot for this new series in 1956 titled "Fish Tales" using WCAU-TV talent. When the series was not picked up, Ferlaine partnered with Martin B. Young of Young Development Inc, (Young Productions, Inc as subsidiary) a local TV producer, and Louis W. Kellman of Brian Cartoons, and the rest is history.

Snippet from a February 1961 Philadelphia Tribune ad for the new Diver Dan series. Note that it the series was filmed by "Louis Kellman-Brian Cartoons"

It was easier to find out what Brian Cartoons did before Diver Dan that after. For now, what productions Brian Cartoons made after "Diver Dan" are unknown, but the company was listed in production directories as late as 1969.

Louis W. Kelleman passed away in the 1988 at the age of 82, Martin Young in 2000, and John Ferlaine in 2011 at age 90.

Telecomics: The Search for Surviving Elements of A Pioneering TV Cartoon Series

Telecomics was considered the first "animated" TV program in some sources, even though technically there is little to no animation. The process of having voice overs with storyboard art under the name "Telecomics" goes back to 1942. 

The first version of the program aired in 1949, but none of the earlier shorts are known to exist. According to the Tralfaz animation history blog, and various animation encyclopedias, the earlier stories were: “Brother Goose” by Cal Howard; “Joey and Jug”, a clown story by Arnold Gillespie; “Rick Rack Secret Agent,” by Miles Pike and Pete Burness, and “Sa-Lah,” (Sa-Lih in some sources) an Arabian Knights fantasy drawn by A.J. Metcalf." 

Duke University in Durham, North Carolina holds the Dick Moores Papers, 1937 - 1976, which includes some correspondences related to Telecomics, Inc. 

Drawings from the Rick Rack series have resurfaced in online auctions. Also cels were auctioned from Hakes. Rick Rack is almost identical to "Dick Tracy" which is fitting since the series was created by cartoonist Dick Moores, a former assistant to Tracy's creator Chester Gould. If footage or production elements exist from the other titles, they have yet to surface online or in another listed archives collection. 

Recently in my own research I found out that Telecomics did a Christmas special called "Santa and the Angel" in 1947 narrated by Ireene Wicker, radio's "Singing Story Lady". This may have been the first "animated" Christmas special in TV history. 

The NBC Comics version began in 1950, and was supposedly network television's first cartoon series, This version featured "Space Barton", "Kid Champion", "Danny March" and "Johnny and Mr. Do Right". 

At least 3 complete episodes of the NBC version exist in the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Film TV Archives: 

Telecomics. [Unidentified issue, no. 93].

Telecomics. [Unidentified issue, no. 139]

Telecomics. [Unidentified issue, no. 140]

In 2008 a channel posted 2 episodes of NBC Comics/Telecomics to YouTube claiming that the prints were found in a New York camera shop.

Telecomics 113 Space Barton - https://youtu.be/knBxnltsEGE

Telecomics 113 Kid Champion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDxlShHSFCQ

Telecomics 113 Danny March - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVd-4hiDtpI

Telecomics 151 Danny March - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OACym1TX2ZM

Telecomics 151 Space Barton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP4JdmoPNuY

Telecomics 151 Kid Champion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1N-1W4bRig

"Johnny and Mr. Do Right" survives in scenes reused for a classroom educational film "Good Health Habits" (1950) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI24wv30Kn8

Recently I came across articles saying that Telecomics, Inc, changed their name to Illustrate, Inc and moved to Hollywood. There many of the same creators began "The Search For Christ" a religious series for children around 1952. There were at least 13 episodes, some made available for classrooms, and it did receive some praise for audience surveys in Variety as one of the best syndicated religious programs on TV. Some elements of this series exist in the film research center at Regent University.

At some point in the future (way beyond the pandemic) I would love to see the Moores collection, and the film elements at UCLA for more pieces on the story of the Telecomics, Inc. Also it is hopes that more prints of the works of Telecomics, Inc., and Illustrate, Inc., will resurface.  

Lost Kids TV: "Playtime" Early NBC Kids TV

Playtime
WNBW-TV, Washington, D. C. [Now WRC-TV], For NBC
Wednesday, October 22, 1947* - c. 1951, Aired weekly, Wednesdays 5:00PM, later Saturdays afternoons beginning in 1948, Thursdays in 1950
Produced by the Junior League of Washington, D. C., later
Cast: Agnes "Bitsy" Birney ("Popit"), Bliss Schumann ("G. G., the Guessing Girl"),

The Hook: This was the first children's series on NBC to be shown in more than one TV market (or viewing area), before "Howdy Doody". Also "Popit" and the "Guessing Girl" were two to TV's earliest female favorites with young children. 

Snippet of a press image of Agnes Birney as "Popit" of WNBT-TV's "Playtime", 1947

Even before the landmark "Puppet Playhouse" introduced "Howdy Doody", NBC's east coast stations (all 4 of them) featured a widely praised series for kids called "Playtime" broadcast from Washington D.C. This serious was produced by the Junior League of Washington D. C. For decades only George W. Woolery's monumental book Children's Television, the First Thirty-Five Years, 1946 - 1981 Part I Live Action, had a history of this series. With more resources available today, it is possible to take a closer look at this early series.

The hour long series featured program segments linked together by Popit a colorful elf character and the Guessing Girl an "intellectual dope" dressed in an glasses and academic gown. The two characters would perform quizzes, riddles and charades based on familiar books that served as bridges between the program segments. A clever techniques would be to have a "magic" or "super-sonic electronic" ballon appear which would be popped to reveal what segment was next. "Busy Hands" was a segment on how to make things at home; "Special Events" featured musical performances, shadow plays, and marionette plays by members of the Junior League.

Playtime aired for two seasons on the four station NBC east coast connection of D. C., Schenectady, New York, New York City, and Philadelphia. It's first run lasted at least 18 weeks with a second east coast season beginning fall of 1948 which lasted until March 1949. Playtime continued to air in the Washington, D.C. in between those seasons, and for a third season that began October 1950.

Snippet of press image of Bliss Schumann in character as "G. G." or the "Guessing Girl" from WNBW's "Playtime".

Agnes "Bitsy" Birney was a native of the D.C. area and a student of Wells College, Yale University, and American University. She seemed born for the role of Popit as even one of her college year books noted her as "tiny" "fun" with a "turned up nose" and tendencies to giggle during biology classes. She was later a successful horticulturalist. Birney and Bliss Schumann as Popit and the Guessing Girl became two of TV's earliest character heroes for small children, and their parents. "Playtime" was the kind of series that parents and educators wanted, good for their children and engaging to them as well. During its second season on NBC, the series was reportedly so popular, that 70% of TV sets in the Washington D.C. area were said to be set to "Playtime" in its new Saturday evening time slot.

To my knowledge no recordings of "Playtime" are known to exist, but photos and other memorabilia my survive with private collections. If you have more information about this series or remember watching it, please comment below or write to archivebuilder@gmail.com with "Playtime" as part of the subject heading.

*Woolery's text lists November 26, 1947 as the premiere date, however coverage by the Washington, D.C. Evening Star newspapers suggest the debut date of October 22, 1947.

For more information about "Playtime".

Boushall, Frances. "Elf Is Children's Video Hero". Richmond, Virginia Times-Dispatch, December 12, 1948

Downey, Sally A. Agnes Hood, 88, actress, horticulturist, volunteer. Philadelphia Inquirer. July 27, 2009. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20090727_Agnes_Hood_88_actress_horticulturist_volunteer.html

Junior League offers 'Playtime' again, Evening star. [Washington, D.C.], October 01, 1950. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1950-10-01/ed-1/seq-68/

Junior League produces show for television: weekly program for children. Evening star. [Washington , D.C.], October 19, 1947, Image 58. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1947-10-19/ed-1/seq-58/

DVD Review - "Primeval Puppets TV Shows" from Festival Films

Primeval TV Puppet Shows -- Trailer from Movie Memories on Vimeo.

"Primeval TV Puppet Shows"

This is my first DVD Review and it is for a set that I hope to see a second edition of in the future. 

Primeval TV Puppets Shows is the latest DVD from Festival Films in their Lost and Rare series. Lost and rare is definitely true description for a number of shows in this collection. I was happy to supply information of a couple of the titles.

The one series on this set that I never thought I would ever see is "Unk and Andy, Stargazing With Professor Twink" (1951). It was a sequel or continuation of "Unk and Andy" a 1950s series, and one of the first to teach the alphabet. Produced by host "Unk" Jack Kenaston, this series probably has not been available for over 55 years. I found the puppet Andy Auk to be funny and wonder if Jim Henson could have seen this series.

"Topsy Turvy Theater" is a funny puppet series with the talents of Walter Edminson from around 1961. It is like a spin of the "Fractured Fairy Tales" format with puppet characters doing their take on story, in this case Sherlock Holmes.

Johnny and B-12 from "Johnny Jupiter". 

Another favorite surprise is the episode of "Johnny Jupiter" (1953) with the late Wright King. Johnny Jupiter was a puppet/live action sitcom about janitor Ernest P. Duckweather (King) who invents a TV set allows him to communicate with characters on the planet Jupiter trying to explain the ways of the planet Earth. This was ALF before ALF. In recent decades there were only 2 episodes of "Johnny" circulating. This DVD brings that number of surviving episodes up to 3.

Scene from "Fearless Fosdick" 

The collection is rounded out nicely with an episode of the very rare "Fearless Fosdick" based on Al Capp's "Dick Tracy" parody strip within the "Li'l Abner" comic strip, the "Rootie Kazootie Club" a puppet show very similar to Howdy Doody, that I find more entertaining, "The Magic Clown" a short Saturday morning series, the long time favorite "Howdy Doody's Christmas" and clips from "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" and "Andy's Gang" with Froggy the Gremlin.

This DVD is a must have for collectors and enthusiasts of Golden age television, early children's media and of course, puppets.

For more information or to purchase a copy:

Lost and Rare: Film and TV Treasures - https://www.lostandrare.com/

Amazon.com -
https://www.amazon.com/Primeval-TV-Puppet-Shows-1950s/dp/B08231GHCV

A Castle Films Christmas: Four Short Films

Castle Films released two dozen live action and animated Christmas shorts to the home movie market from 1939 to 1959. This video combines four of those classic films.

The First Christmas (1957) - The Nativity enacted by puppets.
Merry Christmas
The Night Before Christmas (1945)
The Little Match Girl (1954), was originally a French short film from 1952. The child actress playing the lead role is unknown.

Island of Lost Christmas Specials: Ireene Wicker in "Cinderella" (1939) on CBS-TV

TV listing from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 23, 1939 about the Cinderella broadcast for Christmas Eve.

Cinderella
"A Christmas pantomime" 
W2XBS (now WNBC New York). 8:30pm EST
Cast: Ireene Wicker and "Jolly Bill" Steinke
Play or script(?): Madge Tucker

Publicity photo of Ireene Wicker. From Wikimedia Commons

Very little is known about this early broadcast of the famous fairy tale from 80 years ago. Ireene Wicker was radio's famous "Singing Lady" and Bill Steinke was the long-time host of the popular children's radio program "Jolly Bill and Jane". Madge Tucker who was credited as the writer was NBC's famous "Lady Next Door" and like Wicker a household name as a quality entertainer of children.

Along with Cinderella, Ireene Wicker has a number of forgotten landmark early Christmas specials. She would return to television nearly a decade later in 1947 to narrate "Santa and the Angel", and again in 1949 for the A&S Christmas Party.

Like most early television broadcasts, "Cinderella" was most likely never recorded in any format, but hopefully a script or behind the scenes images may still exist.