The Version of "Annie" You May Never Get To See.

Tonight on December 2nd, 2021, NBC is debuting "Annie Live!", a 3-hour telecast of the Tony Award winning musical based on Harold Gray's comic strip moppet. Since "Little Orphan Annie" debuted on the funny pages in 1924, her adventures have been translated to movies, radio (remember the Ovaltine decoder from "A Christmas Story"), books, and merchandise. 

One version of Annie, which by an amazing coincidence, debuted December 2nd, 1938, seems to be lost today.

"Little Orphan Annie" (1938, Paramount Pictures) was the second big screen version of the character, the first being in 1932. 11 year old Ann Gillis (1927-2018) starred as Annie. She is best remembered today as Becky Thatcher in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" also from 1938. By some accounts "Annie" recieved mostly poor reviews. In an interview later in life, Gillis herself said it was "pretty dreadful". Part of the blame could be on a screenplay that derived a lot from the comic strip and radio version that was on the air at the time. The story concerned Annie's attempts to help a prizefighter in a community, with no mention of Daddy Warbucks and other elements from Gray's comic strip.

Having researched this film for years, I have found no evidence that it was screened in American theaters after 1941, was ever shown on television, or exists in any film archive. A film research peer has also shared with me that this film is lost and, if found, is now in the public domain. Adding more sadness to this story, I recall that when IMDB had discussion forums, one was posted by a relative of Ann Gillis hoping for any information leading to a copy of this movie. Sadly, like many performers from Hollywood's Golden Age, "Annie" was a part of her filmography that Gillis never saw again. 

After 83 years it is unlikely, but not impossible, that this lost version of Annie will ever resurface.

Saluting 100 Years of Children's Radio

Sometime between October 1 and October 5, 1921, a newspaper editor named William F. B. McNeary climbed a 15 ft ladder, entered the rooftop radio studio of station WJZ in Newark, New Jersey and read a bedtime story by writer Josephine Lawrence over the microphone as the "Man In The Moon". This was the beginning of the first radio series constructed specifically for children. Childhood has been tremendously different ever since.

Today 100 years later children have access to more hours of broadcast and streaming media than they could possibly consume in a lifetime. Yet it all started with one program over the radio. In reflection of this milestone, more histories of pioneering radio and television juvenile series will be explored in future blog posts and videos from the Children's Media Archive.

From The Archives: A Quiz Kids Radio Postcard

Above and below is a front and back view of a vintage postcard from the classic radio series "Quiz Kids" (1940-1953). Dated some time in the 1940s, this postcard was a special Christmas gift from my wife.

September 2021 Part 1 - This Month in Kids Media

It has been over a year since I posted a feature based on children's media anniversaries. September being the traditional fall season debut month makes it a great time to restart.

A cropped publicity photo of the cast of "Sky King". Image for Wikimedia Commons.

70 Years Ago - September 16, 1951. The television adaptation of radio's "Sky King" debuted on ABC-TV. The aviation western series would make iconic 1950s stars of its leads (above left to right) Kirby Grant Gloria Winters, and Ron Hagerty.

    (Above: A 1953 ABC promo for Sky King and other ABC Saturday Morning TV Series)

The TV Version of "Sky King" was to be a replacement for "The Magic Slate", another children's series sponsored by Swift Foods Peter Pan Peanut Butter.

(Above: Radio ad at the end of Mutual's "Sky King" for TV's "The Magic Slate" another program, sponsored by Peter Pan Peanut Butter).

Thunderbolt the Wondercolt - TV's First Super Animal Series

Thunderbolt The Wondercolt

Broadcast: June 03, 1953 - July 1955 ** KTTV Los Angeles, CA. Weekdays at 6:00pm Pacific Time.

Sponsors; Challenger Dairy Products.

Producer: Bob Clampett.

The Hook: If considered a superhero-themed show, Thunderbolt would be the second or third superhero program in TV history after "Adventures of Superman" with George Reeves.

Thunderbolt the Wondercolt was a children's puppet TV series about the adventures of a horse with a super-powered secret identity. It aired weekday afternoons on station KTTV from Los Angeles, California from 1953** - 1955.

Thunderbolt is extra unique as a spinoff from animation legend Bob Clampett's Emmy-winning "Time For Beany series. That meant satire to pull in an adult audience just as "Beany" had pulled in Albert Einstein. From review articles in Los Angeles newspapers the series was popular during its short run, and it is unfortunate the so few of the Clampett puppet shows are available to the public today.

An overlooked aspect of "Thunderbolt" is that it debuted on Wednesday, June 3, 1953, less than a year after "Adventures of Superman" with George Reeves. This makes it a contender for TV's second superhero series (3rd if "The Lone Ranger" with Clayton Moore counts.

If this claim is over the top, since it is a satirical puppet series, Thunderbolt could at least be considered the TV's first super animal.

Sources:

**Broadcast dates are based on newspaper TV listings of station KTTV from The Los Angeles Times. While the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists the show as starting in 1952, the following articles list Thunderbolt as a "new creation" from Clampett.

Ames, Walter. "Star Studded Palsy Show on KECA Tonight; Thunderbolt The Colt Is New Puppet Hit". June 5, 1953.

T. V. Tops. "To Be Seen and Heard". June 8, 1953. San Bernadino County Sun. https://www.newspapers.com/image/49399034

Searching For 1950s Saturday Morning TV Promos

When a classic kid's TV show from the Golden Age of Television is lost or missing, it is hoped that footage or any visual of a program may exist in promos within other broadcasts.

I really hope to find promos for ABC-TV's "Acrobat Ranch" and "Animal Clinic", TV's first Saturday Morning shows for kids. Those programs debuted in 1951 70 years ago this summer. One complete episode of the former is archived and has surfaced online, while "Animal Clinic" is not listed in a searchable library/archive. So far I have found a promo from a few years later. 

(Above) 1953 ABC Saturday Morning Promos - Space Patrol, Sky King, and More"

This slide promo for ABC-TV Saturday Morning programs aired Friday, February 13, 1953 in the opening of the "Tales of Tomorrow" episode "Another Chance" with Leslie Nielsen. The announcer implies that the parents tell their sleeping children not to miss the ABC programs to air the next morning, Valentine's Day 1953. Did the network air a version of this promo earlier in the day that was before a child's bedtime? 

This promo includes visual slides for the following programs. 

1) "Scouting In Action" - I have not found a lot about this series except that it may have originated in Chicago in Summer of 1951 and aired nationally a year later. It is a forgotten series in the history of children's television. Any info on this program is appreciated.

2) "Rootie Kazootie Show" is a well-documented puppet program with one episode on the Children's Media Archive YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/fPjEC5cqk8A 

 

3) "Space Patrol" was a classic early space opera with Ed Kemmer as Commander Buzz Corey. Of all the 1950s kid's space shows, it is considered the best all-around. Also heard on ABC radio with the same cast. 

4) "Sky King" is a fondly remembered aviation/western adventure series with Kirby Grant, Gloria Saunders, and Ron Hagerthy. It was based on an ABC radio series that debuted in 1946.

5) "Hail The Champ" was a 1950s Chicago game show hosted by Howie Roberts and Angel Casey where kids competed in fun athletic games for prizes. Decades before "Double Dare" this was Nickelodeon before Nickelodeon. One episode exists in the UCLA Film/Television Archives.

The search for rare kids' shows, and promos will continue. If you know of a promo for a rare kids TV show from 1941 - 1960, please leave a comment or write to archivebuilder@gmail.com with "TV promo" as the subject heading. 

From The Archives: More Jon Gnagy Inspired Artwork

Another great thrift store find is this 1950 edition of "Learn to Draw" by Jon Gnagy America's first television art instructor. What makes this worn copy so special is that it includes artwork based on Gnagy's instructions. The name "Emma" is written on the top left cover in pencil and we can assume these were her sketches. Other drawings in this book included a portrait of a dog and a colored picture of a bird.

2021 is the 75th anniversary year of Gnagy's first appearances on television (May 13, 1946). According to some television histories, Gnagy's program could be considered the first children's program on regular broadcast television. This may be true for the post-war period when television finally began to captivate the masses. Gnagy's program "You Are An Artist" (1946-1950) predated NBC's "Campus Hoopla" (1946-1947), a teen dancing program, by seven months.

Whoever "Emma" was, she showed promosing talent. She was most likely a young girl born between 1930 and 1945. This copy with Emma's art was found in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina.