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.
According to many TV histories, when Small Fry Club (originally "Movies For Small Fry) premiered March 11, 1947 it was the first children's program to air on a multiple stations by a network. In this case the DuMont Network.
It was a new beginning for commercial broadcasting for American children. Big Brother Bob Emory (1897 - 1982) would be a familiar and welcome face on the small screen months before Fran Allison and even Buffalo Bob Smith.
A real Small Fry Club for membership did exist and children would receive membership cards. The orginal Small Fry Club ended in 1951. Reportedly only a small portion of one episode has survived to this day.
Those small children who watched old movies and cartoons with Big Brother Bob, and the puppet shows, lessons on good manners, and funny characters would most likely be between 75 and 84 years of age today. If you remember this gem from TV's golden age please leave a comment or write to archivebuilder@gmail.com with "Small Fry Club" as a header.
Aired: c. January 1949*** to January 1950 or 1951(?) WXYZ-TV Detroit, Michigan. Various times, usually Mondays at 7:00pm EST.
Puppets and Stories: Betty Rypsam and Marion Parker.
The Hook (what makes this series extra appealing): An overlooked early children's series depicting fairy tales by a gifted college graduate.
Radio station WXYZ of Detroit, Michigan was famously known as "the last name in radio" and as a powerhouse of legendary juvenile radio shows like The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. When the WXYZ television station launched in October 1948 series for children's premiered soon after.
Betty Rypsam as president of the Michigan State University Orcheis Modern Dance Artists, from the 1947 Wolverine Yearbook, Michigan State University. Image courtesy of the University Archives and Historical Collections of Michigan State University.
One of the first kids series on WXYZ-TV was called "Famous Fairy Tales". The star of this program was Betty Rypsam a recent art graduate from Michigan State University. Rypsam was only 21 years old when she signed a 13 week contract to do a puppet show on the station. The 13 weeks turned in a full year of programs every Monday at 7:00pm. Well qualified for this series Rypsam had crafted puppets since the age of 8 and drew attention in the local media for co-writing puppet shows.
The Detroit Free Press newspaper devoted a full page article to Rypsam's puppetry, which earned her additional praise in the Puppetry Journal published by the Puppeteers of America. In a few newspaper TV schedules, her puppets were billed as the "Rypsam Marionettes." As a student Rypsam was president of the MSU Orcheis Modern Dance Artist Organization, and one wonders if she incorporated dance into her TV storytelling as well.
Helping her with scripts, voices and manipulating the puppets for "Famous Fairy Tales" was a woman named Marion Parker. As of this writing no other information has been found on Parker.
The exact format of the program is unknown. The programs can be found in TV listings for Canada, and Ohio. Only a handful of titles could be pulled from station listings which include:
WXYZ-TV. 1949, May 02, 8:00pm - "Jorinda and Joringel"
WXYZ-TV. 1949, September 12, 7:00pm "Peasants Wise Daughter"
WXYZ-TV. 1949, September 19, 7:00pm "Tortoise and The Hare.
"Famous Fairy Tales" disappeared from TV listings after January 1950. Rypsam and Parker did return to the air, but with adventure stories instead of fairy tales. The new name of their series and whether they switched stations is still unknown. A 1984 article in the Detroit Free Times claimed that their series ran until 1951. After 1955 Betty married and became Betty Schudel. She passed away in Naples, Florida in 2012.
If you have more information about Betty Rypsam, Marion Parker or "Famous Fairy Tales " on WXYZ-TV please leave a comment or email archivebuilder@gmail.com with "Rypsam" or "Famous Fairy Tales" as a subject.
***Notes: A program called "Grimms' Fairy Tales" aired on WXYZ-TV from October to December 1948. It is unknown if this program was the predecessor to "Famous Fairy Tales".
Behind the scenes look at a Keds commercial for "Campus Hoopla", from Televiser, March 04, 1947. Image scan from worldradiohistory.com
Campus Hoopla (debuted as Campus Sugar Bowl***) Aired: December 27, 1946 - December 19, 1947 Fridays at 8:00pm EST on WNBT New York. Seen on NBC's Eastern stations (only 6 in 1946)
Host: Lou Little. Sports Reporter: Bob Stanton Commercial Spokeswoman: Eva Marie Saint, Soda Shop Dancers: Carleton Carpenter, various.
The Hook: (what makes the series unique) This was the first television program geared to a teenage audience on an American television network. Some sources would say this was the first children's TV program after World War II.
75 years ago today, television audiences viewed a new program that was set in a campus soda shop. The program featured teens dancing to juke box music, cheerleader performances and playing quiz games. Bob Stanton would report on high school sports. Also a talented songwriter, Stanton worked under his real name Bob Haymes (1923-1989) beginning in the 1950s.
Woolery's history claims that this series premiered over WNBT on Friday, December 27, 1946. In TV listings for that date, the program in the 8:00pm time slot is called "Campus Sugar Bowl". The very next week, the series was called "Campus Hoopla" suggesting a last-minute name change.
The series was sponsored by the U.S. Rubber Company, parent corporation over Keds shoes. Keds shoes were among the products plugged to teens during the program. The U. S. Rubber Company also promoted other shows that may have appealed to young audiences like "Serving Thru' Science".
From Television magazine, March 1947
Unlike a majority of programs from television's pioneering era, footage of "Campus Hoopla" has survived as part of the Hubert Chain Kinescope collection. This footage from the October 3, 1947 broadcast was uploaded to YouTube in 2019 by the "Free The Kinescopes" channel.
1947/48 Hubert Chain pre-kinescope television recordings (For the Campus Hoopla footage start at 34:40)
Hopefully, a descendant of a cast member may uncover behind-the-scenes home movies of this landmark series. Classic television and film actress Eve Marie Saint (1924 - present) is one of the few surviving original cast members.
NOTES:
***The TV Listing for the premier of "Campus Hoopla" as "Campus Sugar Bowl" comes from The Daily Record (Long Branch, New Jersey), dated Fri, Dec 27, 1946 . This listing is accessible at https://www.newspapers.com/image/497437950
Woolery, George W. Children's Television, the first thirty-five years, 1946-1981, Part II: live, film and tape series. 1981. Scarecrow Press.
One of the most popular videos on the Children's Media Archive YouTube Channel is "The 12 Days of Christmas" (1956). From research, this short is either a 5 minute special that aired on CBS before midnight, an episode of the Gerald McBoingBoing Show or a UPA cartoon produced for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). To date, it is still unverified which one it could be. Further research suggests that this short fell into the public domain in 1984.
One leading excellent question in the comments section is who was the singer in this short? Whoever it was had an excellent singing range. Their voice, with the animated visuals has been a part of many people's childhoods for 65 years.
Documentation of the singer has to exist, possibly in records belonging to CBS or the animation studio that produced the short.
If you have any information on this short film, and/or the woman singing the vocals please leave a comment below. You can also write archivebuilder@gmail.com with "12 Days of Christmas" as a subject.
December 5 - 26, 1941 - Shirley Temple Time For Elgin (or Shirley Temple Time) was a four-episode Christmas season radio program that featured the world's most famous child star in her first regular radio series. Two of the four episodes have survived and are widely available as downloads or CDs. Each episode paired Temple with a popular Hollywood leading man. For the definitive guide to this series go to this page from the Digital Deli.
Image from Find-A-Grave. George Elliott "Old Rebel" Perry (1921 - 1980)
"Greensboro's Santa Claus". For generations of people in North Carolina as well as Virginia and beyond, that phrase may conjure memories of "The Old Rebel". This was the kids TV persona of WFMY Channel 2 reporter and host George Perry who was born 100 years ago on December 2, 1921 in Iredell County, NC.
From the early 1950s to the 1970s, Perry was an institution with his top hat, tie and false whiskers. The Old Rebel was accompanied by Pecos Pete, Uncle Roy, Lonesome Lee and many other beloved characters.
There are many memories of Perry to be found online at sites like TV Party, WFMY-TV, North Carolina History blogs.
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.
