Howdy Doody
Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell and E. Roger Muir. It was broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States from December 27, 1947, until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer of children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it pioneered color production in 1956 and NBC used the show to promote color television sets in the late 1950s.
Story
created Howdy Doody during his days as a radio announcer on WNBC. At that time, Howdy Doody was only a voice Smith performed on the radio. When Smith made an appearance on NBC's television program Puppet Playhouse on December 27, 1947, the reception for the character was great enough to begin a demand for a visual character for television. Frank Paris, a puppeteer whose puppets appeared on the program, was asked to create a Howdy Doody puppet.Smith, the show's host, was dubbed "Buffalo Bob" early in the show's run. At first the set was supposed to be a circus tent, but it soon was changed to a western town. Smith wore cowboy garb, as did the puppet. The name of the puppet star was derived from the expression "howdy doody" / "howdy do," a commonplace corruption of the phrase "How do you do?" used in the western United States and in Britain as well. Smith, who had gotten his start as a singing radio personality in Buffalo, frequently used music in the program. Cast members Lew Anderson and Robert "Nick" Nicholson both were experienced jazz musicians.
As both the character and TV program grew in popularity, demand for Howdy Doody related merchandise began to surface. By 1948, toymakers and department stores had been approached with requests for Howdy Doody dolls and similar items. The Macy's department store chain contacted Frank Paris to ask about rights for a Howdy Doody doll. However, while Paris had created the puppet, Smith owned the rights to the character. An argument ensued between the two men, Paris claiming he felt he was being cheated out of any financial benefits. After one such disagreement, Paris took the puppet and angrily left the NBC studios about four hours before the show was to air live -- leaving the program with no "star." It was not the first time this had happened.
With Paris's past disappearances, impromptu excuses regarding the whereabouts of Howdy Doody had hastily been concocted. This time, an elaborate explanation was offered — that Howdy was busy with elections on the campaign trail. NBC hurriedly constructed a map of the United States that allowed viewers, with the help of Smith, learn where Howdy was on the road. The explanation continued that, while on the campaign trail, Howdy decided to improve his appearance with some plastic surgery. This made it possible for the network to hire Disney animator Mel Shaw and his business partner Bob Allen to design and Velma Wayne Dawson to build and operate a visual character more handsome and appealing than Paris's original, which Smith had called "the ugliest puppet imaginable." Because Paris did not provide the character's voice, Howdy's remained the same after his appearance changed. The puppet remembered as the "original" Howdy Doody replaced Paris's original.
Howdy Doody
Howdy Doody himself was a freckle-faced boy marionette with 48 freckles, one for each state of the union as it was at the time of his creation, and originally was voiced by Smith. The Howdy Doody show's various marionettes were created and built by puppeteers Dawson, Scott Brinker, and Rufus Rose throughout the show's run.The redheaded Howdy marionette on the original show was operated with 11 strings: two heads, one mouth, one eye, two shoulders, one back, two hands and two knees. Three strings were added when the show returned — two elbows and one nose. The original marionette now resides at the Detroit Institute of Arts. There were duplicate Howdy Doody puppets, designed to be used expressly for off-the-air purposes, although surviving kinescope recordings clearly show that these duplicate puppets occasionally were used on the air. "Double Doody" the Howdy stand-in, now is in the entertainment collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Photo Doody is the near-stringless marionette used in personal appearances, photos, parades, and in the famed NBC test pattern. He was sold by in 1997 for more than $113,000 to a private art collector, TJ Fisher.
Characters
Puppet characters
Besides Howdy Doody, other major characters in this show included:- Heidi Doody – Introduced as a stranger who saved Buffalo Bob's life in Africa, she was adopted as Howdy's sister.
- Phineas T. Bluster – Resident skinflint, mayor of Doodyville, and nemesis of Howdy; one of the Bluster triplets.
- Petey Bluster – Phineas's nephew.
- Don José Bluster – The South American Bluster brother.
- Thaddeus Bluster – Another Bluster brother.
- Hector Hamhock Bluster – The British Bluster brother.
- Princess Summerfall Winterspring –- Originally played by actress Judy Tyler, who afterwards appeared opposite Elvis Presley in the 1957 film Jailhouse Rock. After she was killed in a car accident on July 3, 1957, the character was portrayed by a marionette.
- Dilly Dally – Howdy's naive boyhood friend.
- Inspector John J. Fadoozle – "America's No. 1 private eye" was revealed as the mysterious "Mr. X" who used the pseudonym to run against Howdy for the office of President of All the Boys and Girls of America. Children could vote by using ballots attached to the wrappers of loaves of Wonder Bread, a major sponsor of the show.
- Chief Thunderthud and Chief Featherman – Two of several Native American characters used to emphasize the show's western theme.
- J. Cornelius Cobb – The shopkeeper, who had a strong dislike for clowns.
- Sandra the Witch
- Capt. Windy Scuttlebut
- Flub-a-Dub – A hybrid of eight animals. He had a duck's bill, a cat's whiskers, a spaniel's ears, a giraffe's neck, a dachshund's body, a seal's flippers, a pig's tail, and an elephant's memory.
Animal puppets
- Hyde and Zeke – Twin bears.
- Mambo – An African elephant.
- Tizzy – A dinosaur.
- Paddle – A gnu.
- Tommy Turtle – A slow-talking turtle who is not very bright.
Human characters
- Clarabell – The mute clown who communicated in a variety of ways -- by mime, by honking horns on his belt, and by squirting seltzer. Originally played by Bob Keeshan, who went on to create the children's TV character Captain Kangaroo, he later was played by Robert "Nick" Nicholson and finally by Lew Anderson. Clarabell did not talk because the actor would have to be paid scale, and it was a low-budget show.
- J. Cornelius Cobb
- Sir Archibald -- played by Dayton Allen, a comic actor – An explorer.
- Chief Thunderthud – Head of the Ooragnak tribe of American Indians. Edward Kean originated Thunderthud's greeting "Kowabonga!" -- a nonsense word that eventually became part of the California surfer culture lexicon.
- Oil Well Willie – A bearded oil exploration driller who always came up dry.
- Princess Summerfall Winterspring – As a teenager, Tyler began her career with this supporting role, which she played from 1950 to 1956. The opportunity led to Tyler breaking out to starring roles on Broadway and eventually Hollywood, where she notably co-starred with Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock before her death in an auto accident.
- Gus Gasbags – A man who made animal balloons.
The Howdy show's non-televised rehearsals were renowned for including considerable double-entendre dialogue between the cast members and the puppet characters. Corny Cobb was played by "Nick" Nicholson in 1952, by puppeteer Rufus Rose in 1953 and 1954 while Nicholson assumed the role of Clarabell, and again by Nicholson from early 1955 until the end of the show.
Clarabell was first played by Bob Keeshan. He continued in that role until December 1952 when he, Allen, puppeteer Rhoda Mann, and LeCornec left the show over a salary dispute. The role of Clarabell then was taken by Nicholson, who played it for about 22 months. In January 1955, the role was turned over to Anderson who kept it until the series ended and for all subsequent revivals and specials, while Nicholson took on the role of J. Cornelius "Corny" Cobb. Each of the cast members also played other roles as required.
At the end of the final episode, telecast on September 24, 1960, Clarabell broke his series-long silence to say the final words of the final broadcast: "Goodbye, kids."