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Captain Kangaroo

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Captain Kangaroo
Created byBob Claver
StarringBob Keeshan
Hugh Brannum
Opening theme"Puffin' Billy (The Captain Kangaroo Theme)" [1]
Country of origin United States
Production
Running time60 minutes / 30 minutes
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseOctober 3, 1955 –
December 8, 1984

Captain Kangaroo was a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS from 1955 until 1984. After a year of absence, in 1986 it moved to Public television when the American Program Service (now American Public Television, Boston) distributed the program with some newly produced segments which were integrated into reruns of past episodes, and finally ended in 1993. The show was conceived and the title character played by Bob Keeshan, who based the show on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children." Keeshan was the original Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show when it aired on NBC.

It had a very loose structure, built around life in the "Treasure House" (later renamed "The Captain's Place"), where the Captain (whose name came from the big pockets in his coat) would tell stories, meet guests and indulge in silly stunts with regular characters, both humans and puppets. The show was live for its first four years, and was in black-and-white until 1967. In 1983, CBS shortened the hour-long show to a half-hour and moved it to an earlier time-slot. It was cancelled by CBS at the end of 1984.

In the TV season of 1997–1998, an All New Captain Kangaroo was attempted by Saban. The show starred John McDonough as the Captain. Keeshan was invited to appear as "The Admiral", but after seeing sample episodes declined to appear or have any association with it. The show inspired a spinoff, Mister Moose's Fun Time.

Cast

Other actors in the show included:

Hugh 'Lumpy' Brannum

Hugh Brannum played the Captain's main sidekick Mr. Green Jeans and other less-frequently seen characters, such as the New Old Folk Singer, who played a double bass (or "bass fiddle") as if it were a guitar, Mr. Bainter, the Painter, Percy, and Uncle Backwards.

Cosmo 'Gus' Allegretti

Cosmo Allegretti created and performed several of the show's best-known puppet characters, including Bunny Rabbit, who always tricked the Captain into giving him carrots, and Mr. Moose, whose riddles and knock-knock jokes invariably ended with hundreds of ping-pong balls cascading from above and hitting the Captain on the head. Allegretti was also the actor portraying the Dennis the Apprentice, Miss Frog (the telephone operator), Mr. Whispers, Dancing Bear,Grandfather Clock and Uncle Ralph characters.

The Banana Man

Sam Levine played an unusual, mostly mute character known as the Banana Man, who produced huge bunches of bananas from within his coat. He would also magically pull watermelons from his pockets. (Levine replaced the original performer, A. Robins, who died in 1950.[1] Although he was mute, he would continually hum in a falsetto voice, and when finding several bananas at once in his pocket, would exclaim "Wow!", again in a falsetto voice.

Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby was a regular on the show from 1980–1984, when he did Picture Pages educational segments (as had the Captain himself, from 1978-1980).

Debbie Weems

From 1973 until 1978, Debbie Weems (1951–1978) was a regular on Captain Kangaroo. She played many roles, including Debbie the newspaper reporter, and was also an active puppeteer who did the voice for Baby Duck. Weems also sang on many episodes and recorded an album of songs from Captain Kangaroo.

James Wall ("Mr. Baxter")

Jimmy Wall (credited also as "Larry Wall") was a regular on the show from 1968 until 1978. Playing kindly, African-American "Mr. Baxter", he added a sense of calm to the show when all others around him may have been caught up in the silliness. He also starred with the Captain and Mr. Greenjeans in a serialized production entitled "The Missing Paint Mystery" (shown on the program from December, 1969 until 1977; with the exception of 1976) in which the trio travels to Curaçao (a Caribbean island) to confront the playfully evil villain, Garumph (played by Cosmo Allegretti). Wall also worked as a stage manager for CBS on Captain Kangaroo and other CBS broadcasts, including 60 Minutes. Now age 90, Wall continues to work as a CBS stage manager, and on September 1, 2008 was honored for working on his 41st year of the "US Open" tennis tournament. Sportscasters Dick Enberg and John McEnroe commented that Wall still has a strong backhand tennis shot.[2]

Carolyn Mignini

Carolyn Mignini played herself and all the women's roles on Captain Kangaroo from 1981 until the program went off the air in 1993.

Kevin Clash

Kevin Clash was discovered as a puppeteer on a local Baltimore television program and began appearing regularly on Captain Kangaroo from 1980 through 1984. He was the puppeteer for the puppet character Artie (a voice he later used on Sesame Street as Elmo) in puppet segments featuring Ralph and Artie. He also appeared as himself and as an actor in many of the costume sketches on the program.

John Burstein

John Burstein joined the show in 1980 as Slim Goodbody, a man wearing a bodystocking which showed the internal organs of the human body painted on it in their appropriate locations.

Bill McCutcheon

Bill McCutcheon joined the show after the cancellation of Mr. Mayor. In the former show he played Dudley D. Dudley the substitute statue in Mr. Mayor's town square and then made guest appearances on Captain Kangaroo.

Cartoons

A cartoon starring a funnel-capped shape-shifting boy named Tom Terrific was part of the show in the 1950s and 1960s. Tom had a sidekick named Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and a nemesis, Crabby Appleton. Other cartoons included Lariat Sam, which was developed by veteran game show announcer Gene Wood, then a show staffer (who also sang the cartoon's theme song).

The Canadian-British cartoon "Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings", appeared in the 1970s, featuring a child with magic chalk who could create all sorts of short-lived creations in short adventures (the original version featured a British narrator, but Keeshan's voice was dubbed onto the cartoons for their US airing.)

The UK-produced cartoon Ludwig about a magical egg-shaped robot was also included about that time. The cartoon's musical score was selections from the works of Beethoven.

Also appearing in the 1970s was The Most Important Person, a short series of five-minute segments on the importance of life. These segments would later be incorporated into most syndication prints of The Underdog Show.

There was also a cartoon series called "The Toothbrush Family". Based on an extended family of hygiene utensils as the name suggests, they would embark on adventures based in the bathroom, like water skiing in the tub, or rescuing friends caught in the drain. Episodes were just a couple of minutes each.

A silent cartoon in the 1970s named "Crystal Tipps" featured the adventures of a young girl. Later reruns were narrated by the voice of Mr. Moose.

Another UK favorite, "The Wombles" were also featured.

Re-runs of the CB Bears and Undercover Elephant as well as Motormouse and Autocat (of the Cattanooga Cats) were shown in the 80's run.

Special guests

Among the special guests who made periodic appearances were ventriloquist Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, Mister Rogers (Fred Rogers) appeared in a 1975 episode, where he and the Captain try to restore an old gramophone. Comediennes Joan Rivers, Imogene Coca, Phyllis Diller, Charlotte Rae, Ruth Buzzi, and Minnie Pearl made guest appearances, as did opera star Roberta Peters, talk show host Phil Donahue (in 1978), his wife actress Marlo Thomas, actor and folk singer Theodore Bikel, game show host Bill Cullen, singers Pearl Bailey (several appearances), Dolly Parton, and John Denver and Television performers Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, Lorne Greene, Bonnie Franklin, Andy Griffith, The Smothers Brothers, Rita Moreno, Arte Johnson, Fannie Flagg, Gale Gordon, Lucie Arnaz, Ken Berry, Mike Farrell, Dick Shawn, and John Ritter as well as these Broadway actors: Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Jack Gilford, Paul Sorvino, Hal Linden, Mary Kay Place, Walter Slezak, and Carol Channing, plus there were several appearances by Alan Arkin and one when his son Adam Arkin played Alan's father..

"Good Morning Captain!"

Beginning in the mid-1970s and continuing through the decade, the show would open with several different people wishing the Captain 'good morning'. Many of the openings featured non-celebrities, but also featured stars from hit TV shows, most of which broadcast over CBS. The montage of 'good mornings' would always end with the Captain himself returning the greeting before the opening credits ran.

Among the celebrity greeters:

Regular features

Other regular features included The Magic Drawing Board and the Captain's "Reading Stories" sessions, which introduced kids to stories such as Curious George,Make Way for Ducklings, and Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel,. The Sweet Pickles books were featured.

Songs included,Little Mary Make Believe,Guess Who I Am,Little Black Frog, There's a Hole In the Bottom of the Sea, Erie Canal, Horse in Striped Pajamas, The Littlest Snowman and many many more. On the first show of every month the Captain would have a birthday cake for all of the children with birthdays that month.

Keeshan also had a recurring role as "The Town Clown", a pantomime piece that took place in and around the exposed wagon home of a tramp-like circus clown. Like the character of Clarabelle that he played on Howdy Doody, the Town Clown never spoke.

Favorites on the show were Grandfather Clock, (voiced by Mr Greenjeans [Lumpy]).

Theme song

The original theme song to Captain Kangaroo (titled Puffin' Billy") was used from 1955–1974. It was an instrumental, written by Edward G. White. The track was from a British stock music production library known as the Chappell Recorded Music Library which was sold through a New York agency called Emil Ascher. The tune's original title referred to a British steam locomotive. This tune was used on other programs on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, two years before Captain Kangaroo, it served as the wrap-up music for an episode of the radio program Rocky Fortune called "Murder Among the Statues". In its native United Kingdom, it became famous as the theme to the weekly BBC radio program Children's Favourites from 1952 to 1966, and is still widely recognised by the post-war generation. It was later used in the Enid Blyton parody Five Go Mad in Dorset and in a number of British TV adverts. The "Puffin' Billy" theme played as the opening of each episode, with the music continuing until the Captain hung his large ring of keys on a nail (which seemed to act as a switch to turn off the music). If the Captain's keys ever slipped off the nail, the music would begin playing again.

In 1957, lyricist Mary Rogers penned lyrics to the tune, creating a newly titled Captain Kangaroo song.

In 1974, a new theme song was composed for Captain Kangaroo, written by composer Robert L. Brush. As the new theme used similar melodic elements from the original theme, Edward G. White's name was added to the song credits.

Much later, around the 1980s, Schoolhouse Rock mainstay Lynn Ahrens (who composed and performed a few CK songs herself), composed a new theme, entitled Here Comes Captain Kangaroo.

Schedule history

While Captain Kangaroo was still in planning stages, CBS executives had the idea of hiring Al Lewis, a very popular kids' show host in Cincinnati (ABC was running Lewis' show at that time), to host their show, but Lewis' managers refused to release him from his contract. Lewis' local kids show went off the air in Cincinnati a year after Captain Kangaroo left CBS.)

For the first three months, Captain Kangaroo was only seen on weekday mornings. Thereafter, until 1969, the successful Captain was also seen on Saturday mornings. One exception was the 1964 to 1965 season, which saw the broadcast replaced on Saturdays by a Keeshan vehicle called Mr. Mayor. After 1969 and until 1982 it was seen on weekdays only again. Except for pre-emption for news coverage, notably the three-day continuous coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and a few shows that were 45 minutes, the show aired a full 60 minutes on weekday mornings until 1981. It was broadcast in color from September 11, 1967 onward.

The audience of children could never compete in the ratings with such entertainment/news shows as The Today Show, although it won Emmy Awards three times as Outstanding Children's entertainment series in 1978–1979, 1982-1983 and 1983–1984. But in the fall season of 1981, to make more room for CBS Morning News, the Captain was moved to an earlier time slot of 7 a.m. and cut to 30 minutes, sporting a new title Wake Up with the Captain. In the fall of 1982, it was moved Saturday mornings to 7 a.m. (6 a.m. Central, Mountain, and Pacific). A rerun from recent years was offered to CBS affiliates to run Sunday morning in place of the cartoon reruns offered before. Most CBS affiliates only cleared Saturday mornings after that. Still a third of the CBS affiliates no longer ran Captain Kangaroo at all after 1982. It was finally canceled altogether at the end of 1984 due to lack of clearances from affiliates.

Just over a year later, Captain Kangaroo ran in reruns on PBS television stations from 1986–1993, with funding from PBS stations, School Zone Publishing Company and from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. American Public Television, then known as the "Interregional Program Service", distributed the show, along with Britder Associates (Bob Keeshan's production company), and the Riehl Company, owned by former WPBT-TV station manager Dale Riehl.

The show was on the air for 29 years, making it one of the longest-running network children's program series. Sesame Street, insulated from the Nielsen Ratings wars, holds the record for 38 years (as of Fall 2007) and still counting. Several of the original Sesame Street writers and producers were hired from the Captain Kangaroo staff to help produce and direct the Sesame Street program when it went on the air in 1969.

The original director of the program was Peter Birch who helmed the program for its first 25 years. Producer Jim Hirschfeld took over as director following Birch's heart attack in 1980 and continued directing as well as producing throughout the rest of the history of the show which finally went off the air in 1993.

Urban legend

Rock musician Frank Zappa wrote a composition named "Mr. Green Genes" on his album Uncle Meat and a sequel, "Son of Mr. Green Genes" on his album Hot Rats. This led to the urban legend that Zappa was the son of Hugh Brannum, the actor who played the character Mr. Green Jeans on Captain Kangaroo.

Many popular songs make reference to Captain Kangaroo, including the Statler Brothers' 1965 hit song "Flowers on the Wall" (later covered by Eric Heatherly); the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "The Brady Bunch"; the Bloodhound Gang's "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe"; and the VeggieTales song, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything".

In the first season Get Smart episode, "KAOS in Control", a reference to Captain Kangaroo is the clue by which Maxwell Smart discovers that a CONTROL scientist is in fact an enemy agent.

A Sunday Shoe strip has Skyler admiring somebody on TV: "He looks great for his age", "He's a great communicator", etc. The reader is led to believe, and his Uncle Cosmo believes, he was referring to President Ronald Reagan, but in the last panel Skyler reveals he has been referring to Captain Kangaroo. The strip was actually published in Keeshan's autobiography, "Good Morning Captain", in 1996.

In the Scrubs episode "My Advice to You", Dr. Cox states that he doesn't want to hear anything from Dr. Kelso unless it's "Oh god, I'm dying... but this isn't right, this is Hell. Hitler, Mussolini... Captain Kangaroo, that's weird."

In the Arrested Development episode "Good Grief", in the 'on the next ...' section, Buster 'finds out about the death of Captain Kangaroo', and destroys the family living room.

Television appearances on network shows by Captain Kangaroo:

The cast of Captain Kangaroo also hosted the CBS coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for several years in the 1960s.

References

  1. ^ Classic TV Shows - Captain Kangaroo, Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog
  2. ^ CBS "US Open" broadcast, September 1, 2008
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