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Captain Kangaroo was the
longest-running network children’s show of all time.
The show
premiered on October 3, 1955 with a nautical theme. The setting was
the Treasure House. The Captain wore a cap and jacket with oversized
pockets. He entertained home viewers from his Treasure House with
stories and lessons in morality. Other lessons were provided by Mr.
Green Jeans, a farmer who brought animals to the show and taught
kids about their habits.
Originally broadcast live and in black and white on a
daily basis, Captain Kangaroo added a sixth day (Saturday) in
1956, lost the sixth day and went to videotape in 1959, and was
broadcast in color by the end of the 1960's. Other than that, very
little changed on the show. The formula held up for over three
decades.
A
Saturday morning version of 'Captain Kangaroo' with a different
Treasure House set (it supposedly took place in the basement of the
Treasure House) ran from 1956 until 1968, with a year off in 1964-65
when Bob Keeshan starred as 'Mr. Mayor'.
Bob Keeshan, who played Captain
Kangaroo, got his start on children's television playing Clarabell
the Clown on Howdy Doody from 1948-52.
The cast included: Hugh "Lumpy"
Brannan as Mr. Green Jeans, the farmer/inventor/animal demonstrator
who doubled as Mr. Bainter the Painter and the Professor; Gus
"Cosmo" Allegretti as Dennis the Apprentice and various puppet
characters, notably Mr. Moose and Bunny Rabbit. The seventies
provided more diversity (ethnically) with cast members James Wall as
Mr. Baxter and Debbie Weems as Debbie.
The show featured several other regulars, including
the mischievous Mr. Moose, bespectacled Mr. Bunny Rabbit, sleepy
Grandfather Clock (who spoke in rhymes), curious Miss Frog, quiet
Mr. Whispers and Dennis, the bumbling handyman. But perhaps none was
more memorable (or surreal) than the clown they called the Banana
Man. Clad in a very large coat, the Banana Man entered the set, and
the act began. He pulled everything out of his coat, from
watermelons to his trademarked bananas, all the while speaking only
one word: an extended "wooooww" in a silly voice. By the end of his
bit, the Banana Man had turned his pockets' contents into a train,
with bananas in every car.
In addition to the live-action and puppet segments,
Captain Kangaroo broadcast several Terrytoons animated
shorts, including Tom Terrific, the adventures of a boy who
could turn himself into anything, and his partner Mighty Manfred the
Wonder Dog.
Tom Terrific was a cartoon
segment
created
specifically for the Captain Kangaroo Show that aired from the
Fifties through the Sixties.
In
the stories, Tom had the ability to change into any shape he could
imagine in order to save his loveable (and lazy) dog Mighty Manfred
from the clutches of the villainous Crabby Appleton and other do-badders
in three five-minute segments that made up each story arc.
Another regular feature on the show was
a torrent of
falling ping-pong balls brought on when Mr. Moose asks the Captain a
knock-knock joke (the dropping of balls comes along with the
punchline - usually "ping pong balls").
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