tv star collector
11-09-2005, 06:21 PM
Though not a cartoon, much Howdy Doody merchandise was designed by former Disney animator
Milt Neil. THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW ran on NBC, from 1947 to 1960, racking up a total of 2,343 episodes. It was: the first national TV show to win a Peabody Award for Best Children's Show, the first to do a split screen broadcast, the first to broadcast live a solar eclipse, the first regularly broadcast color TV show, the first one to air every day in color, and the first show to reach 2,000 performances. At its height of popularity, in 1955, the show received 12 million fan letters. It was so popular that mothers-- in order to secure a spot for their offspring ahead of time in the coveted Peanut Gallery live audience--would write in for tickets for their unborn children!
The Doodyville Historical Society, founded by Jeff Judson in 1978, is the only fan club devoted to Howdy and his friends. For more info, you can e-mail Jeff at jjudson@earthlink.net.
O.K., Peanuts. Who were your favorite live performers and favorite puppets
on the show? The people I remember best are Buffalo Bob (of course),
Clarabell the Clown, Chief Thunderthud, Princess Summerfall Winterspring,
Cornelius J. Cobb and Peppi Mint. My favorite puppets include Howdy (natch!), Dilly Dally, Phineas T. Bluster, the Flub-a-Dub, Inspector John J.
Fedoozle and Captain Scuttlebutt.
How about favorite songs and storylines? Who can forget the Howdy for
President campaign? (In fact, Howdy received more write-in votes than
third-party candidate Henry Wallace.) Or the catch-phrase "Cowabonga!"?
(Howdy had it decades before the surfers, the Ninja Turtles, and Bart
Simpson!) Does anyone (besides yours truly) collect HD memorabilia? Does
anyone have a favorite item? Mine is my Howdy marionette, which I have
had for about fifty years! The local newspaper ran a photo and article
about Howdy and me a few years ago. Trivia note: HOWDY DOODY #1
(Dell; January 1950) was the first comic book devoted to a TV show.
Milt Neil. THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW ran on NBC, from 1947 to 1960, racking up a total of 2,343 episodes. It was: the first national TV show to win a Peabody Award for Best Children's Show, the first to do a split screen broadcast, the first to broadcast live a solar eclipse, the first regularly broadcast color TV show, the first one to air every day in color, and the first show to reach 2,000 performances. At its height of popularity, in 1955, the show received 12 million fan letters. It was so popular that mothers-- in order to secure a spot for their offspring ahead of time in the coveted Peanut Gallery live audience--would write in for tickets for their unborn children!
The Doodyville Historical Society, founded by Jeff Judson in 1978, is the only fan club devoted to Howdy and his friends. For more info, you can e-mail Jeff at jjudson@earthlink.net.
O.K., Peanuts. Who were your favorite live performers and favorite puppets
on the show? The people I remember best are Buffalo Bob (of course),
Clarabell the Clown, Chief Thunderthud, Princess Summerfall Winterspring,
Cornelius J. Cobb and Peppi Mint. My favorite puppets include Howdy (natch!), Dilly Dally, Phineas T. Bluster, the Flub-a-Dub, Inspector John J.
Fedoozle and Captain Scuttlebutt.
How about favorite songs and storylines? Who can forget the Howdy for
President campaign? (In fact, Howdy received more write-in votes than
third-party candidate Henry Wallace.) Or the catch-phrase "Cowabonga!"?
(Howdy had it decades before the surfers, the Ninja Turtles, and Bart
Simpson!) Does anyone (besides yours truly) collect HD memorabilia? Does
anyone have a favorite item? Mine is my Howdy marionette, which I have
had for about fifty years! The local newspaper ran a photo and article
about Howdy and me a few years ago. Trivia note: HOWDY DOODY #1
(Dell; January 1950) was the first comic book devoted to a TV show.