Howdy Doody

Howdy Doody was a children's television program (with a decidedly frontier/western theme, although other themes also colored the show) that aired on NBC from 1947 through 1960. It was a pioneer in children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. more...

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It was also a pioneer in early color production as NBC used the show in part to sell color television sets in the 1950s.

Characters

Howdy Doody himself was a freckle-faced boy marionette, and was originally voiced by Bob Smith. Other puppet characters included Heidi Doody (Howdy's sister), Mr. Bluster, Dilly Dally, Princess Summerfall Winterspring, and the curious Flub-a-Dub (a combination of eight animals).

The show's host was Bob Smith (1917-1998), who was dubbed "Buffalo Bob" early in the show's run. Smith wore cowboy garb, and the name of the puppet "star" was derived from the western U.S. expression "howdy do," a familiar form of the greeting "How Do You Do?" The name was the source of some childish crude humor, as "doody" was also a familiar child's euphemism for defecation.

There also were several human characters, most notably the mute Clarabell the Clown, who communicated by honking horns on his belt and squirting seltzer, and Chief Thunderthud, head of the Ooragnak tribe of Native Americans, who originated the cry "Kowabonga!". Princess Summerfall Winterspring, originally a puppet, was later played by the actress Judy Tyler. The characters inhabited the fictional town of "Doodyville".

Clarabell was first played by Bob Keeshan, who continued in that role until 1952. Keeshan later became Captain Kangaroo. At the end of the final episode, Clarabell (then played by Lew Anderson) broke his series-long silence to say with a sad expression, "Goodbye, kids". Lew Anderson followed Bobby Nicholson, who later played Doodyville's J. Cornelius Cobb to Anderson’s Clarabell.

Popularity

The show was extremely popular and is a fond memory for many baby boomers. Originally an hour on Saturdays, the show moved to Monday through Friday, 5:30-6:00 pm EST in 1948. In 1956, it returned to Saturday in a morning timeslot. Beginning in 1954, the NBC test pattern featured a picture of Howdy.

Live audience participation

A distinctive feature was the peanut gallery, on-stage bleachers seating about 40 kids. Each show began with Bob asking, "Say kids, what time is it?" and the kids yelling in unison, "It's Howdy Doody Time!". It was thus one of the first shows to make audience participation a major part.

Show changes in later years

In 1954, a then unknown Canadian actor named William Shatner (who would later play Captain Kirk in Star Trek) joined the American cast as "Ranger Bill." Also in 1954, Canadian and Cuban spin-off shows were licensed using local casts and duplicate puppets.

Read more at Wikipedia.org