"Grandpa's
Place"
(Courtesy
of Tim Hollis)
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In
a May 2001 interview, Lee Reynolds stated that he drew
the
"Grandpa's Place" title slide (above) based on a house
in Alexandria
where he was living at the time.
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Aired
on WTTG-TV 5
Monday
through Friday
Afternoons,
at various times
From
Spring 1957 to January 1960:
(Spring
until Winter 1957)
3:30
to 4:00PM |
(Early
1958)
4:30
to 5:00PM |
(Fall
1958 to 1/1/60)
3:30
to 4:00PM |
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Lee
Reynolds
In the
1963 AFTRA Directory
(Donated
by Skip McCloskey)
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Host:
Lee
Reynolds as "Grandpa".
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Broadcast
live from the WTTG-TV studios in the Raleigh Hotel
with
sketches, puppets, animal alphabets and other bits.
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The
cartoons featured on the program were the irresistible "Looney Tunes";
broadcast in glorious black and white. Although originally produced by
Warner Brothers' studios before the 1950s, these shorts had been sold-off
by "The WB" and carried the copyright of "Guild Films".
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The
show took the slot of "Pete's
Place" when Pete Jamerson suddenly switched stations to WMAL-TV
7. Lee Reynolds, who had produced
"Pete's
Place", became the new show's talent as "Grandpa".
-.
-.
Reynolds
previously directed "Milt Grant's Record Hop", "Miss
Cindy Lou's Melody Ranch" and "The
Billy Johnson Show" on Channel 5. He subsequently hosted "Cap'n
Tugg" on Weekdays from 1958 until 1966
and
"Captain Lee & Mates" on Saturday Mornings from 1964 to 1966.
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(Provided
By Tim Hollis)
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According
to Tim
Hollis (author of "Hi
There, Boys and Girls! - America's Local Children'sTV Programs"),
Grandpa promoted a character called "Jingle Dingle". The Wonder Book (above)
dates from that period, when Jingle (who sparked a pile of retail toy items)
was being franchised as a weather character to stations willing to pay
for the puppet.
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In a
sound bite at Kidshow
Klips, provided by Tim
Hollis,
Grandpa
plugs a toy ham radio set prize, and says
"You
might even be able to contact Jingle Dingle in the weather center."
-.
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Hear
a "Grandpa's Place" Show Opening at Kidshow
Klips.
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The
show's theme music was Percy Faith's arrangement and performance of "Bluebell",
which was identified and donated to this web site by Bill Halvorsen. (Hear
the complete tune at Kidshow
Klips).
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One
of Grandpa's most notable sponsors was "Flav-R Straws".
Skip
McCloskey remembers: "Flav-R Straws had a
piece of cardboard inside that was coated with a flavor. (I only remember
chocolate & strawberry.) As you sipped milk thru the straw, it would
give you that flavored taste. It wasn't soon after that you learned how
to 'backwash' and force the color back into the glass and turn the white
milk into a muddy mess. The only thing worse was disecting the straw and
either licking the cardboard for the flavor or (if you took the straw apart
while it was still wet) taking the cardboard out and letting the color
(artificial, I'm sure) drip all over your mom's tablecloth. Something that
surely would get you sent to your room for the rest of the afternoon."
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Hear
Grandpa's "Flav-R Straws" Commercial at Kidshow
Klips.
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Lee
Reynolds, both as "Grandpa" and "Cap'n Tugg", got great publicity mileage
from on-air appearances at Glen Echo Amusement Park.
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Grandpa
and Fans on "The Comet Jr." at Glen Echo
(Donated
by Jack Maier)
THANKS
TO RICHARD COOK FOR CORRECTING THE LOCATION!
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These
"action photos" of Grandpa appeared in the TV documentary
"Glen
Echo On The Potomac" by Kevin Wyrauch, (courtesy:Jack Maier).
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Grandpa
and Friends Take a Spin at Glen Echo
(Donated
by Jack Maier)
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In
1977, Trisha Katson spoke to Lee Reynolds for her article "Whatever Happened
To Those Kiddie Show Hosts?". She wrote that Reynolds based the Grandpa
character, with van dyke beard and white hair, on his own grandfather.
Reynolds said that Grandpa's Place ended (about a year after Cap'n
Tugg premiered) because of a kid's commercial shortage.
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In a
message to Gary Helton (webmaster of Baltimore's CrabCityKidsTV.Com),
Lee
Reynolds wrote:
"I
was doing 'Grandpa's Place' at the time WTTG purchased the Popeye cartoon
package. They held auditions, looking for a personality to act as
host for a program featuring these cartoons. I was encouraged by
friends
at the
station to create a suitable character, preferably a sailor. It had
to be
radically different in appearance from the Grandpa makeup.
Tugg
and all the characters, plus the sets, were all my creation."
"The
show ended when I joined a geology professor and a crew of students from
American University on a 'round-the-world' cruise to explore volcanos.
This left the void which was filled by the new programs. Money was
not a factor. Nothing could have been cheaper than the budget for
my shows. (Incidentally, the expedition failed when our 72-foot ketch
was damaged in a storm in the Red Sea in 1966.)"
"Unfortunately,
I don't think children's programming
as it
existed in those days will ever come back. ..."
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Following
his world voyage, Lee Reynolds returned to DC where
he worked
at WETA-TV 26 for twenty-three
years before retiring.
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A
3/14/93 article titled "Alma Mateys" by Buzz McClain
in the
"Washington Post Magazine" (found on the "J Street" page,
under
the caption, "living legends") told of these facts;
(1993
Washington Post Photo)
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Lee
Reynolds, born in 1926, retired in 1991 from WETA-26
after
23 years as announcer, director and writer.
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As
of 1993, Reynolds had two sons, four grandkids.
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Reynolds
had actually lived on a 45-foot yawl
at the
Washington Sailing Marina during the time
he portrayed
Cap'n Tugg on TV
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In
1966, Reynolds set on a two-year sailing expedition to explore volcanos.
His boat sank during a storm
in the
Red Sea part-way through the journey.
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As
of 1993, Reynolds was flying a red Cessna 150
out
of Manassas several times a week, and stated
"I
learned to fly before I could sail".
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Lee
Reynolds, Early 1990s
(Donated
by Jack Maier)
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In
1994, Lee Reynolds received the "Silver Circle"; established by The National
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to recognize individuals who
have devoted a quarter-century or more to the broadcasting industry and
who have also made a significant contribution to the D.C. community.
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?>
This kinescope of Billy Johnson's WTTG show features two appearances by special guest Lee
Reynolds of Grandpa's
Place.
The show is available to buy on DVD from Ira Gallen's tvdays.com web site. |
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Sources:
Photos/sounds from Tim
Hollis, (author of "Hi There, Boys and Girls! - America's Local Children's
TV Programs").Theme song & info from Bill Halvorsen. Other
photos: from "Glen Echo On The Potomac" by Kevin Wyrauch; from Jack Maier,
Skip McCloskey (1963 AFTRA Directory), and Richard
Cook of The Glen Echoes.
Other data from Mr. Lee Reynolds and from "Whatever Happened To Those Kiddie
Show Hosts?"; Trisha Katson, 1977, George Mason University's Phoebe Magazine,
(provided by John Ahmad & Jack Maier). "Alma Mateys" by Buzz McClain;
"Washington Post Magazine" 3/14/93, (on the "J Street" page, under
the caption, "living legends") and provided by Jack Maier. Airtimes obtained
from listings in the Washington Post & Star papers.
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