I’m 63 years old and I just finished listening to “Puffin Billy”, the theme from Captain Kangaroo on YouTube. I wasn’t expecting it, but by the end, I had tears in my eyes. I was not expecting such a powerful emotional reaction to hearing a children’s TV theme for the first time since I was a kid…
Just thought I’d share.
I get a fairly powerful emotional reaction but probably a different one than yours. I found him to be a condescending jackass when I was a little kid. Didn’t like much that was intended as kid’s fare, to be honest. Romper Room sure wasn’t an improvement. I did like Friendly Giant. Go figure.
Fond memories of the Captain and his show. And good job photo shopping the Captain’s head on Jerry Garcia’s body!
As soon as I read this, I started humming the song from 50 years ago. I loved the Captain and Mr. Moose. And ping pong balls.
Wow–after reading the thread title,I immediately started to hum the tune. I had no idea it was still there, buried somewhere in my brain
But now–another important topic:
Am I weird because I never knew why Mr. Green Jeans had that name?
I only saw the show in black and white. And everybody knew that there was only one kind of pants: “blue jeans”.
So obviously, “Greenjeans” was just his last name, like, say, Smith .
I loved the show as a child, and learned a LOT on it.
I can still remember how to spell Massachusetts without looking it up, because of a song on that show.
Once when I was perusing an article on China in the National Geographic there was a picture of a guy fishing with a cormorant. The bird dives for a fish and brings it up without swallowing it because a cord has been tied loosely around it’s neck. On the show there was a story about a Chinese boy who fished that way, and I always thought it couldn’t be real.
Ping-pong balls, carrots, Dancing bear, those two sheepdogs the Captain had for a while,
I’m heaving a long, nostalgic sigh just now.
I watched CK as a child but couldn’t recall a trace of the theme before listening to the Youtube link–which I recognized instantly. (If I had heard the music without context I wouldn’t have been able to name the source if my life depended on it, though. In fact, I swear I’ve heard it somewhere else more recently.)
Not a big fan as a kid. I preferred cartoons. Later, when we got cable, I would watch Chuck McCann and Sandy Becker from NYC ( Didn’t care for Wonderama). The Captain was just too bland.
My wife was a fan, though, and we got a chance to meet him with my daughter when he moved to PBS.
More of a Mr. Greenjeans fan myself. Always liked it when they went down to the barn.
So many books were so firmly driven into my being from that show. Not only the cormorant, but the steamshovel one? Would be interesting to see a list of the books from the show.
And didn’t CK have Tom Terrific?
I also preferred cartoons, but my mom didn’t think them “appropriate.” So I had to switch between Captain Kangaroo when my mom was around, and Ray Rayner when she wasn’t. Not all that easy in the days before remote control! And today’s kids think THEY have it hard!
Captain Kangaroo taught me to tie my shoes.
Smokin’ cigarettes and watchin’ Captain Kangaroo,
now don’t tell me I’ve nothin’ to do
Dancing Bear taught me how to dance. I’ve used this basic step my whole life.
Not sure why willing dance partners have always eluded me. Fear of being out-danced, no doubt.
And the Mighty Manfred, the Wonder Dog!
Ah, Captain Kangaroo. I loved that show.
Still can hear him reading about “the Yaangg see river”, or “the first corner, nice and square”. And the identical Chinese brothers with the remarkable talents.
See, to me this is the Captain “selling out” to modernism. I hated the changes. Maybe at heart I’m really a conservative.:eek:
Of course, maybe it was really me who changed.
Are there no surviving complete episodes? I’d love to see some again, just for fun.
I would have bet money there was no theme for Captain Kangaroo, but I recognized it from the first few measures.
My favorite bit was the cabinet full of ping-pong balls. I may build one in my garage just to get one last laugh on my heirs.
Ping pong balls were the best bit.
I liked the Captain’s book reading segment.
Mr Moose and Bunny Rabbit were always a favorite.
I outgrew the show by age 6 and started watching the 3 Stooges and cartoons before school.
Looking back at the YouTube clips. I’m amazed at the simple puppetry and props. It worked and many generations of kids loved the show.
