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Topic: "Captain Kangaroo", Bob Keeshan has died.
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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays
Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 01-23-2004 01:06 PM
Bob Keeshan, star of the kids TV show "Captain Kangaroo", died today at age 76. He also played Clarabell the Clown on the "Howdy Doody" show for six years.
From Fox NEWS:
quote:
Keeshan died of a long illness, his family said in a statement.
Keeshan's "Captain Kangaroo" premiered on CBS in 1955 and ran for 30 years before moving to public television for six more. It was wildly popular among children and won six Emmy Awards, three Gabriels and three Peabody Awards.
The format was simple: Each day, Captain Kangaroo, with his sugar-bowl haircut and uniform coat, would wander through his Treasure House, chatting with his good friend Mr. Green Jeans, played by Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum.
He would visit with puppet animals, like Bunny Rabbit, who was scolded for eating too many carrots, and Mr. Moose, who loved to tell knock-knock jokes.
But the show revolved about the grandfatherly Captain Kangaroo, whose name was inspired by the kangaroo pouch-like pockets of the coat Keeshan wore.
"I was impressed with the potential positive relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, so I chose an elderly character," Keeshan said.
Keeshan, born in Lynbrook, N.Y., became a page at NBC while he was in high school. He joined the Marine Corps in 1945.
His first television appearance came in 1948, when he played the voiceless, horn-honking Clarabell the Clown on the "Howdy Doody Show," a role he created and played for five years.
Later he played Corny the Clown, the host of a noontime cartoon program in New York City.
"Captain Kangaroo" debuted on Oct. 3, 1955, and Keeshan remained in that role until 1993.
Keeshan, who moved to Vermont in 1990, remained active as a children's advocate, writing books, lecturing and lobbying on behalf of children's issues.
He was critical of today's TV programs for children, saying they were too full of violence. And he spoke wherever he went about the importance of good parenting.
"Parents are the ultimate role models for children," he said. "Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent."
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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 01-23-2004 04:00 PM
Like many others, I grew up in the late fifties watching the Captain. Many years later when I began working at CBS, that was the first show I was assigned to. How strange and bizarre it was to walk onto Stage 45 and see Gradfather Clock, Mister Moose, Dancing Bear and Bunny Rabbit, all the characters I had grown up with, up close and personal. The Captain himself was a nice guy, but he could be quite a taskmaster. . .he definitely knew how he wanted things on his show. I was only on the show a short time before being reassigned, and on my last day the stagehands let me up in the catwalk to dump the ping-pong balls. Cool!
Sad to see the guy go, he was a true icon and a mandarin of children's TV. Sadder to see how few people working here today even remember the man or the show. Gettin' old!
[ 01-23-2004, 05:12 PM: Message edited by: Mark Ogden ]
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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 01-24-2004 04:12 AM
Tim:
There wasn't a fixed amount of ping-pong balls (unless 'a shitload' is a fixed amount), but there were several large boxes. Every so often they would have to top the boxes off to replace the ones that couldn't be found. What happened is that there were so many balls it became too time consuming to pick them up and get them up into the grid again, especially if the scene had to be reshot, so they cut back on the amount. I know that for years after the show folded, every once in awhile you would still find some in the corners of the stage. The guy who was in charge of dumping them was Lenny Mancini, who is now lighting director of Sunday Morning and The NFL Today.
My personal hero, though, is the guy who played Mister Baxter the school teacher. That was Jimmy Wall, who is still working here as stage manager of 60 Minutes. He just turned 86 a few weeks back and is still in terrific shape. A truer gentleman you cannot hope to meet.
[ 01-24-2004, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: Mark Ogden ]
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