# Kid's TV when you were a kid. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366 "2015-08-30T02:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/21 "2015-08-30T17:55:54Z")
Other than the standard national stuff, here in S. Florida we had Popeye’s Playhouse, hosted by Chuck Zinc. I don’t remember most of the stuff from it, but I have some recollection of him reading Sunday comics on the air. His Wikipedia entry doesn’t mention that part though, so I might be confusing him with a different local show. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/22 "2015-08-30T18:00:15Z")
Romper Room Sheriff John Captain Kangaroo and whatever soaps my grandmother would watch while my parents were at work. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/23 "2015-08-30T18:33:20Z")
I was in the perfect age bracket for Sesame Street. Premiered when I was a year or so old. The original Bozo’s Circus. Reruns of the original Mickey Mouse Club and Howdy Doody. > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Chicago area, vintage 1970s. > I remember Dirty Dragon, but the name of the host & the show escape me. > The Electric Company Hi there! 1970s far southern Chicago suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/24 "2015-08-30T18:36:12Z")
**Zoom** was great. I could never do that arm twisting swinging thing they taught, though. (When I saw the trailer for **The Flash** this season that said “Zoom is coming”, I thought, is he coming from 02134?) That was **Zoom** ’s zip code. My favorite part of **Joya’s Fun School** was when the artist would draw a picture while telling a story, and when he finished the story, the picture was done and illustrated the story. Also really liked **The Magic Garden**. My favorite part was the story box. I had a common name too, but I don’t think I ever heard it on **Romper Room**. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/25 "2015-08-30T19:21:40Z")
One thing I fondly recall from my childhood in the late '80s and early '90s in San Diego was the mascots on the afternoon cartoon blocks on the local stations. They’d appear in bumps during commercial breaks or between shows, to promote whatever was coming up next, or do sweepstakes announcements. KUSI had Shotgun Tom Kelly, a middle-aged guy in a tux and fedora hat, who I got to have my picture taken with at the Del Mar Fair one year when I was 7 or 8 or so and I thought it was the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. (Sadly, that photograph has long since been lost.) XETV had Uncle Murph, a guy with a clown nose, a straw hat, and a Hawaiian shirt who wasn’t quite as charismatic, but was still funny. I think there may have been others, but I can’t remember them well enough to say. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/26 "2015-08-30T20:07:43Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Mine was Miss France’s and Ding-Dong School, and since I had a pretty common name, I did get to hear it. > > Otherwise, it was cartoons, Garfield Goose, and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie. There wasn’t a lot because no one had yet decided to cater to children that much. It kept us occupied while Mom made dinner (if she hadn’t told us to go outside) and on Saturday mornings. OMG! I hated Miss France’s and Ding-Dong School ! I had to let my younger sister watch the damn stupid show . I like the show with the nasty frog always making the guy do stupid things and cartoons . I really liked all the cowboys shows too. Do you remeber the show called "Big Brother’? I heard he once was calling the kids brats not know he was on the air already. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/27 "2015-08-30T20:27:51Z")
Brakeman Bill and Crazy Donkey Wanda Wanda J.P. Patches ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/28 "2015-08-31T03:54:21Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He was the father of Peter Boyle from Young Frankenstein, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc. I didn’t know that. I sort of remember him as Uncle Pete, but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/29 "2015-08-31T03:57:28Z")
Romper Room when I was preschool. Electric Company in elementary school. Capt Kangaroo occasionally. But it was always my least favorite show. School house rock videos were fun and I learned a lot from them. One of the best educational tools ever broadcast. imho They taught kids a lot in those catchy song videos. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/30 "2015-08-31T03:59:44Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > OMG! I hated Miss France’s and Ding-Dong School ! I had to let my younger sister watch the damn stupid show . I like the show with the nasty frog always making the guy do stupid things and cartoons . I really liked all the cowboys shows too. Do you remeber the show called "Big Brother’? I heard he once was calling the kids brats not know he was on the air already. I don’t remember Big Brother, but in reading the thread I remembered The Cisco Kid Howdy Doody Captain Kangaroo Sky King Bozo Superman Rocky and Bullwinkle The Lone Ranger And, of course, Lassie with Jeff. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/31 "2015-08-31T04:11:25Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Chicago area, vintage 1970s. > I remember Dirty Dragon, but the name of the host & the show escape me. It was “[The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_BJ_and_Dirty_Dragon_Show)”, and it was one of my favorite shows (we lived in Chicago until '75, when we moved to Green Bay). BJ was a guy named Bill Jackson. The other Chicago-based kids’ shows from that era were mostly on WGN: - [The Ray Rayner Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Rayner) (home of Cuddly Dudley, Chelveston the Duck, Warner Brothers cartoons, and truly inept arts-and-crafts projects) - [Garfield Goose and Friends](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_Goose_and_Friends) (home of Clutch Cargo!) - [Bozo’s Circus (the Chicago version)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bozo_the_Clown#Chicago_TV) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/32 "2015-08-31T04:26:19Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I didn’t know that. I sort of remember him as Uncle Pete, but I’m not sure. [Uncle Pete](http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/boyle2.html) I never got to see him. We didn’t move to the area until 1969. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/33 "2015-08-31T06:20:36Z")
Way back in the '50s: Kookla, Fran & Ollie Howdy Doody The original Mickey Mouse Club\* (I was a little too old for Romper Room.) One year, for Halloween, I wore an “official” Clarabel the Clown (from Howdy Doody) costume. It rained, and I had the costume’s texture imprinted all over me. For the rest of the school year, my nickname was Clarabel. \*Decades later, I got to perform with Cubby O’Brien, who became a professional drummer. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/34 "2015-08-31T13:28:22Z")
**Ding Dong School Romper Room Wonderama** (with Sonny Fox, long before that upstart McAllister) \*\*Sandy’s Hour \*\* and **Just for Fun** with Sandy Becker **Captain Kangaroo** **Terry Toon Circus** with Claude Kershner and Clowny (Not Super Circus or those other variations) Officer Joe Bolton running Three Stooges and old movie serials **The Chuck McCann Show** **Crusader Rabbit The Adventures of Hercules Mighty Mouse** Lots of off-brand cartoons **Spunky and Tadpole** **Ruff and Reddy** , that Hannah-Barbera TV cartoon _before_ Huckleberry Hound et al. **Clutch Cargo** and **Space Angel** , those weird “cartoons” with the live-action mouths superimposed on still pictures (“Synchro-Vox”) **Commander Bleep** – a cartoon with an alien commander as the hero! His sidekicks were Screech (a puppet) and Scratch (a Caveman) **Diver Dan!** Early on Saturday mornings, I caught the Test Pattern, followed by Sermonette (hopelessly melancholy sermon delivered in a sober voice while images of waves breaking on shore filled the TV screen), followed by **The Modern Farmer** – a collection of US DEpartment of Agriculture educational films on things like the use of Sorghum Silage, the use of regular testing of soil, crops, and animals, and the use of Rotary Conveyors for mechanizing feed operations. After half an hour of this, you were definitely ready for Crusader Rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/35 "2015-08-31T15:06:26Z")
Early 1970s. Bozo the Clown Captain Kangaroo Sesame Street I was aware of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, but rarely watched it. Syndicated re-runs of shows from the 1950s: The Mickey Mouse Club Kukla, Fran, and Ollie The Lone Ranger Superman Saturday mornings, it was Sid & Marty Kroft. I never heard of the Bugaloos, but I watched just about every other show they did. Lots of Filmation shows. Tarzan The Lone Ranger Zorro Flash Gordon The Sentinels Lots of Hanna-Barberra sci-fi and fantasy, many of them re-runs from the 1960s: Johnny Quest The Herculoids Space Ghost Scooby-Doo I watched just about all of the DC Comics shows, starting with “The Superman/Aquaman Adventure Hour” through various incarnations of the Super Friends. When _Superman: the Move_ came out, I thought Christopher Reeve looked wrong for the role. (No doubt there were Kirk Alyn fans who said the same thing about George Reeves.) I watched a lot of live-action shows: The Kids from C.A.P.E.R. The Monster Squad The Ghost-Busters (the one with Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch, and Bob Burns in a gorilla suit) The Red Hand Gang The Shazam/Isis Hour Ark II The Lost Saucer and Far Out Space Nuts Space Academy and Jason of Star Command ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/36 "2015-08-31T15:11:36Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I always felt bad for half of the people who hosted The Polka Dot Door. The show had a series of different hosts. One of them always happened to leave the room just before Polkaroo arrived and return just after Polkaroo left, so they’d never get to meet him. I took my concerns to my parents, who explained that the absent host was wearing the Polkaroo costume. I know eh. I figured it out myself when I was little though: “Waiiit a minute…it’s the dude in the Polkaroo suit.” Late 70’s - Early 80’s: Romper Room Sesame Street Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood Captain Kangaroo The Friendly Giant Mr. Dressup Banana Splits The Flintstones (at lunch time) The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show (sometimes I had to ask my dad to explain a joke) The Great Space Coaster (similar to The Muppets - anybody else remember this?) The Muppet Show The Smurfs Strawberry Shortcake Care Bears ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/37 "2015-08-31T15:28:01Z")
I had academic parents who refused to have a television in the house, as they felt it was deleterious to children. Therefore, my exposure to kids tv was sporadic (overnights at friends houses or staying with the grandparents). I do remember Miss Frances and the Ding Dong School which I thought was silly and Romper Room which got the same rating. I liked Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans, but was petrified of the Banana Man - had to leave the room when he came on. I loved cartoons - Rocky and Bullwinkle was my favorite, but I also liked anything with Bugs Bunny or Yogi Bear. ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/38 "2015-08-31T19:12:48Z")
I grew up with Nick Jr.'s Face who was the host of the block of preschool shows before the big kids stuff came on. I remember watching **Gullah Gullah Island** and **Little Bear** , but not much else. When I was around 7, **Blue’s Clues** came out and I loved it even though I thought I was too old for Nick Jr. At that age I loved dogs, everything blue (I still do), and Blue was a girl like me, so it was nice to watch. I didn’t like **Arthur** or **Sesame Street** , but I did watch **Mr. Rogers** , **Magic School Bus** , and anything with the Kratts. I don’t consider **Rugrats** a little kid show since it’s an original Nicktoon, but I loved it growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/39 "2015-08-31T20:36:26Z")
Paul Tripp’s Birthday House. I still remember all the kids singing to the boom microphone every day, “Hi, Mike! Hi, Mike! I like to say hi, Mike! Hi, Mike! Hi, Mike! I like you very much!” ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366/40 "2015-08-31T20:47:27Z")
Canadian kids TV shows back in the day were awesome. Readalong Today’s Special KidsBeat (news show geared towards kids) Hilarious House of Frightenstein That show about Simon and his chalk drawings Uncle Bobby You Can’t Do That on Television (“Duuhh I heard that.”) Rocket Robin Hood Hercules Fraggle Rock Eureka! (learning physics, etc.) Tales of the Wizard of Oz [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kids-tv-when-you-were-a-kid/729366.md?page=3)