I used to love Romper Room as a child.  I always wanted to be on the show.  I once remember making up a story about going to see Bozo the Clown on Romper Room.  Seeing your website brought back fond memories of childhood. 

I also remember some stilts the children used to walk on, they looked like upside down sand pails with ropes attached.  I always want a set of those things.  Hey do they still make them?

CC 

Thank you so much for the wonderful site.  It certainly is fun.

Did Ranger Hal change the name of Oswald Rabbit after JFK was assassinated?  As I recall, the name "Oswald" was very unpleasant to hear for many years, and the show changed it to "Ozzie."

My brother claims the following really happened on Pick Temple:  There was a segment of the show in which kids shot at balloons on a wall, while someone behind the wall popped them with a pin.  (I trust I am not giving any secrets away here.)  One kid fired and fired but the pin popper was AWOL -- no pops.  When Pick tried to console him, the boy replied, "I swear I got that mother*****!"

But I don't believe it.

BD

I think you will enjoy this story. It was 1950. I was 8 years old and one of the luckiest kids ever due to the fact that my family had one of the few TV sets in our D.C. apartment building. Basically I got to "host" the Pick Temple show on many days for visiting friends or have it to myself on others. Let me tell you that I was a big Pick Temple fan with high hopes of going on the show.

Those hopes were dashed, however, when my mother told me that only White kids were allowed on the show. Not wanting to accept this fact of the times I bugged her to write the station anyway. She followed up by sending a letter along with a required photograph. Days later she was informed that the show was not able to accommodate "colored" kids. The sponsor-Giant Food Stores- offered consolation in the form of coupons for free Hiedi bakery products. 

My mom was not a radical, but she was never one to suffer injury to her kids lightly. She wrote Mr. Temple a letter explaining the dissapointment of his biggest fan and her dismay over the gap between his songs about justice and fairness and the policies of his show. Mr. Temple promptly responded with a letter telling her that he did not agree with those policies and that as far as he was concerned I would come on the show. A few weeks went by and then the letter came informing me of the date for my appearance. 

I went on the show and it was wonderful. There was one important difference though. Instead of sharing this moment with the usual 24 other kids I wednt on all by myself. I would hear my parents say later that a big "fight" took place between Pick Temple and the station executives over the issue of my coming on. The compromise was that I did come on the show without integrating it. 

From the perspective of an 8 year old this made it all more wonderful. I had the whole show to myself and I became an instant celebrity in my school and, on occassion, when people was notice me in doctor's offices, barber shops etc. About 4 years later Mr. Temple's efforts to integrate the show were successful. He not only invited me back, but he also included my two younger sisters.

It was not quite the same. I had become a bit of a "senior citizen" for a Giant Ranger and I was now sharing the event with about 50 kids which included my two-yuck-sisters. 

I tell this story often in conjunction with workshops and presentations that I give to audiences around the country on cultural diversity, and conflict resolution. The point that I enjoy making is how one man acting out of committment to his values took a stand that helped change a society. In my life I have seen much less accomplished by a "cast of thousands" spending millions on litigation. Simply put, Pick Temple modeled the potential of the nation that he sang about 

This summer I will embark on a three month motorcycle trip throughout the USA. As I travel I will write my reflections on the changes which have taken place in this land of my birth. Changes which have made it possible for me to take a trip that my dad would have never considered and which I may have not risked 35 years ago. I hope to include Pick Temple in my writings through conversations with friends, associates and family members who can give me a personal sense of this man who had a powerful impact on my life.

Would you be able to assist me in making connections so that I can contact some of these individuals as I travel across the country?  Arizona is definitely on my list. I would also appreciate any information that I can get on sources of additional information about this man whom I understand may have converted his sur-name from Templovitch to Temple.

Thank you .
Ben Alexander

Kap answers: If you can assist Mr. Alexander in making connections, write to kaptainkidshow@yahoo.com and your message will be forwarded to him.

Thanks for this great site! I was looking for Pick Temple and discoved a gambit of lost memories. Cap'n Tugg, an afternoon favorite. Willard Scott as Bozo, Creature Feature on Friday night, The Joy Boys, and Countdown Carnival. Having grown up in the DC area it's great to find a site such as this. Does anyone remember Louis Allen or Steve Gilmartin? Best of all, Thanks Bob Dalton for all the info you supplied me (so far ) in my life. 

Respectfully , Dennis

At 57 years, parts of my childhood are occasionaly glimpsed through the fog.  E.g., I was really gratified to find your website recalling Hoppity Skippity on WTTG. 

I watched as a child in Falls Church, VA, probably in the mid-50s.  My Dad was at the Pentagon in some capacity.  I have tried to persuade current friends that such a show existed. "Wemember kids, I'm a weal wive wabbit." The only ad I recall clearly was for Glen Echo, an amusement park... in Maryland. ...

Can you or any of your correspondents tell me if it was on Hoppity Skippity that a regular bit consisted of a character (maybe Hoppity himself) creeping up to a wishing-well type set piece, reciting what I later learned was a bastardization of Gilbert & Sullivan-  Pirates of Penzance - "With cat-like tread, upon our wway we steal, no sound at all . . ."  Some creature emerged from the well, to cheers from whatever the local equivalent of the "peanut gallery."

Ross Elliott

Hi! You have a great site.

People thought I was losing it when I insisted there was a kid-show called "Captain Tugboat" that I used to watch as a child. I started a search for it and could not come up with the show and the only thing that I found was a show called "Captain Chesapeake." I knew that didn't seem right and the character did not bring back any memories. 

Doing more research and not using the search for "Captain Tugboat" I finally found the show ... "Cap'n Tugg." Back when we had black and white tv and the reception wasn't that good I still remember that bearded salty sailor on late afternoon tv. He had a segment where he would read kid's letters, so I wrote one ... and as a kid was disappointed when it didn't get read. I'm finally glad that I can say I'm not crazy for thinking that I watched this show.

David Brechbiel

I was born at DC General Hospital in 1955, moved to Maryland and attended Albert Einstein High School. Back in the 70's ... I used to walk to Wheaton Plaza every day and pass through Fairlanes Bowling Alley, S.S. Kresge's and Peoples Drug, the Hobby Shop (not "Red's Hobby Shop" which was on the corner of University Blvd. and Georgia Ave.), near the escalators...

If you were a kid like me growing up in the middle of the 1950 - 1960's "Space Race" era, you had the pleasure of watching a great selection of space cartoons being broadcast on "the air" (of course not cable - yet!).  I remember each morning, shows showing space cartoons.  Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Space Patrol, Fireball XL-5, Ultra Man, Rocket Man, Commander Cody... and THE SPACE EXPLORERS were everywhere.

A new website www.TheSpaceExplorers.com has emerged out of the clear blue which has images of that old series!  Does anyone else remember it ??? (Take a look.  Tell your friends... Request a comeback by writing to webmaster@thespaceexplorers.com ) 

All but forgotten, I suspect other "baby-boomers" have had trouble correctly identifying the series, because as fascinating and educational as it was, it hasn't been seen since about 1963!  This is the one with the old Polaris-style rocketship that rolled out and launched horizontally on rails.  It had a blinking light on the front and a huge clear glass cockpit area where you could see fantastic views of outer-space approaching!  The four main characters were: "Commander Perry", the astronaut who blasted off and reportedly crashed on the planet Mars, his young son "Jimmy" who stowed away in a crate loaded on "Professor Nordheim's" rescue rocket- ship the Polaris-II, and "Smitty" the Navigator who were all trying to find him.

Chuck Scholtz 

Great site!  I discovered it quite by accident while looking for "Pick  Temple".  ... I was on Pick Temple's show twice, in 1957 or 1958; I  would have been 5 at the time.  I still remember being horribly embarrassed  when my cowboy hat fell off my head and behind the bleachers where I was sitting!

Your site made me think of other Washington TV shows I enjoyed when I was a kid.  I was having trouble remembering the names, but thanks to your site I have now remembered "Pete's Pals".  It was the reference to the Can Can being the theme that clued me in.  But there is no reference to my favorite character, General Red Tape, who worked at the Octagon. 

Does anyone remember him?

Alan Straus

A grest site , It bought back a lot of memories . What about the Milt Grant Show ?  and Captain Video ?

Pete 

Kap sez: We are (slowly, I must admit) working on a future page for Milt Grant. However, we will not be covering Captain Video as that show was a network production by DuMont outside of DC.

I was a bit too old for Hoppity. But I won a school talent show in about 1955 (M.C'd by Jackson Weaver) with my ventriloquist act. The prize was an appearance on the afternoon Art Lamb TV talk show on WTTG. His show was followed by Hoppity Skippity and both shows were in the same studio at the Raleigh Hotel. (I remember meeting Pete Jamerson, a newscaster, in the men's room.)

As the Lamb show was winding down, they set up the Hoppity set, which consisted of a big artificial log for Hoppity to sit on in front of a rear projection screen with a forest scene projected on it.

My dad and I were amused to see Hoppity in full costume sitting on the log smoking a cigarette waiting for his show to begin. When the Lamb show was over and the commercial starting running, Hoppity tossed the butt on the floor and stomped it out with a big furry paw. He went from a deadpan to an instant big smiling greeting to his audience. My dad could hardly keep from cracking up.

Al Stevens
http://www.alstevens.com

I am Sharen Campbell Dowdy, the daughter of Joe Campbell, otherwise known as "Cowboy Joe".  We just lost our dad on November 10, 2003, but not before he was able to complete, and see, his autobiography in print; "On The Edge of Greatness (But No Cigar)" by J. Pendleton Campbell.

My brothers and I are currently archiving what surviving recordings we have from the shows that had Longhorn, Shorthorn and Penelope on them.  I would so love to exchange information with you.  I am looking for any of the kids who used to watch his show, any pictures from WRC-TV, specifically are there any pictures of Longhorn and Shorthorn anywhere? 

I cannot tell you how overjoyed I am to find your website and see my father's smiling face on it.  He was truly a remarkable man who had a remarkable life and I'm so glad others remember him as well. 

Sharen Dowdy 

Kap responds: Watch for an upcoming web page for "Joe's Ranch", "Cowboy Joe", and "Circle 4 Ranch" featuring the documntation provided by Sharen and her brothers.

Hi!  A friend e-mailed your address to me in a panic telling me I had to check out this site.  Thanks for your time and hard work putting this tribute page together, I love it.  I'm a DC native, born in late 50s, and the images pull at the heartstrings in a major way.

I have a question.  In the back of my mind I remember a kid show host named Baby Daphne.  She dressed up like a witch and had a boutique and the currency for trade was bubble gum cards.  She looked like a very out-there Stockard Channing.  Wiggy stuff but wildly entertaining.

I wonder if you have any info. on her.  As I recall the show came on in the mornings on weekdays.

Perri Pagonis

Kap answers: Baby Daphne's show aired on Channel-5, but it originated from Los Angeles, not DC. Learn more by clicking on:
 http://www.tvparty.com/lostladaphne.html

I recall a show entitled "Bill Wells Tells" - Bill Wells told stories and used a large pad of white paper to draw illustrations - he even gave drawing lessons.  The first time I heard about the "Pirates of Penzance" was on his show.  Do you have any information? ...

I also recall that Bill Wells played some sort of a "Phantom"-type character... don't remember the character's name (I saw him at a personal appearance at the Hecht Company store in Silver Spring).  I also vaguely remember that Bill Wells got into some sort of legal trouble... again, it just a faded memory.

You have a great site - you haven't missed anyone. ... Inspector Dick Mansfield came to my school (Brightwood) in the mid-50's.  I also recall a school visit by Pick Temple. 

Tom Reardon
Sierra Vista, AZ
(Born in DC in 1946)

Kap comments: Watch in 2004 for a web page on Bill Wells, on The Black Phantom (who actually was played by Guy Aylward, not Bill Wells), and on Dick Mansfield. 

I can't believe I found this site...  Thanks for wonderful childhood memories. 

I was on the Ranger Hal show when I was 4 or 5 in 1965 or 1966... are the old shows available? I am a native Washingtonian. My mom took me to the show, which I was ecstatic about attending, with a bag of carrots for the rabbit puppet, who I loved! ...

I am 42, soon to be 43 and was born and raised in DC; believe it or not, I was falling asleep the other night and thought of Ranger Hal!  I think it's because I have a little boy who's 3 and a baby girl who's 8 months, so my mind is on things about and for children.  Anyway, I just plugged in "Ranger Hal" on the Internet...it was so cool to see pics and all!  I was also a very extroverted child and the opportunity to go to the show almost sent me over the moon, esp about meeting the rabbit...somehow or other I think my parents had friends who knew the director or producer of Capt K and Ranger H.

Carolyn Comeau 

I cannot recall who would substitute for Bill Johnson as host for the 3 Stooges show. (Kap notes: It may have been Paul Hallett.) 

I believe I found your website searching for "Mack and Myer", but I cannot remember. 

How about "Woodrow and Willoughby????" 

I am 46 and was a big fan of Countdown Carnival and Captain Tugg.  I sent in a drawing and received a thank-you letter from Bill Gormly from 1963 which I may still have in my possession.  Excuse my rambling, but I have so many memories.  I understand there is a new Astro Boy cartoon.  Bill Johnson is warning the kids not to try the Stooges tricks at home -- that these were professional comics.

I love old-time Baltimore TV also.  Thanks for the memories!

Gary J. Mccormack

I just found this website.  My, my, it's been a long time since I remember Pick Temple.  Is there anyway you can tell me, what show I appeared on when I was on his show?  I was between 5 - 7 yrs old, my name at the time was Judith Feldmann.  Wow, this is taking me back some years.  I love this site!

Judy

Mickey Deams and Joey Faye were the performers who played in the "Mack & Myer For Hire" TV comedies, patterned after the films of Laurel & Hardy, (although Mr. Faye wore a derby hat, a jacket, white shirt and a flowing tieable bowtie that were similar to Lou Costello's). The two hapless handimen tried to successfully complete their assigned tasks, but their ineptitude and dealings with obnoxious adult authority figures made it impossible for "Mack & Myer" to succeed!

Aside from being one of the performers on the series, Mr. Deams was also one of the show's writers. He was aided in the creation and development of the skits by Stan Laurel himself. Mr. Laurel would call and/or write to Mr. Deams and make suggestions in how the scripts should be created and performed before the cameras. 

The series was produced by veteran TV producer and director Sandy Howard. Back in the early 1950s, Mr. Howard was the guiding genius behind NYC's pioneering kids TV wrap-around show "The Merry Mailman" which starred Ray Heatherton in the title role and Milt Moss as his head puppeteer and comedy assistant. Chic Darrow was "The Topsey Turvey Auctioneer" as his second comedy assistant.

The other guiding genius on "Mack & Myer For Hire" was comedy filmmaker Eddie Sutherland. Mr. Sutherland worked with Laurel & Hardy on their film "The Flying Deuces" at RKO Radio Pictures in 1939 and with Abbott & Costello on "One Night In The Tropics" at Universal Pictures in 1940. 

Following cancellation of "M&MFH", Mr. Deams went on to perform on other tv shows, in the movies and in plays and musicials, before retiring around the 1980s.

Mr. Faye continued to perform on TV, in the theater and in the movies. His real name was Joey Pallidino. He had been a performer and creator of classic comedy skits in burlesque. His most famous burlesque comedy skit is "Flooge Street" or the "Susquehanna Hat Co." skit that Abbott & Costello performed on their TV show and in the film "In Society". He retired to The Actor's Home in Engle wood, NJ (Yes! Lou..There really is an Actor's Home In Englewood, NJ) around the 1990s. He died in 1998.  ...

Kevin S. Butler

My older brother Bob sent me this link, and I clicked on Pick Temple first thing.

Heck, I had my Ranger card until I was like 36... I think I lost it in my divorce.

I was one of the lucky few that got to ride the horse, which I now remember was named Piccolo.  I must have been really young, because about the only things I remember about being on the show are (1) the ride downtown on the streetcar; (2) riding the horse and leaning to look directly into the camera; and (3) shooting at the snake. 

The rest is but shadows.

Tom Steinberg

I sent in a Rat Fink model to Countdown Carnival especially for the host... I put "BG" on the front instead of the usual "RF"... after a couple of weeks, Bill Gormly started the show with a close up of my Rat Fink... I'll never forget my five minutes of fame... do you think he could return it to me now? (just kidding)

My brother Tom  got to ride on Pick Temple's horse during that show and I didn't... so I have some issues with that... if you happen to be able to contact Mr. Gormly... it would be nice to see if he remembers... I sent a lot of money into the Carnivals for MD at the time... we had a carnival almost every year for about four years... one thing sticks in my mind... we sold some Beatles dolls that were donated for about 50 cents a piece... if I would have saved them... now I could collect about $10,000.

Really... your site brought back some memories... including probably one of the most loved personalities of all time from here... Willard Scott... nothing has ever been said badly about him... I still hate Bryant Gumbel for that and hope some day Willard Scott will kick his ass... I never watch anything that Bryant Gumbel has anything to do with.

Bob Steinberg

For a lot of years, I have been asking the question "What was the name of Pick Temple's horse?" It has stumped every one that I know. As a native Washingtonian, I remember most of the details that I grew up with, but this one escapes me. I have even rode the trails in Rock Creek Park where the parting shots were filmed, but still don't know the answer to that!!! I first heard this question in the mid '70s when I was working in Silver Spring MD.

W. Fleming

Kap explains: I posed your question to Pick Temple's son, Park, and here's his answer:
 
"Wonder of wonders - I know the name.  His registered name - he was a thoroughbred - was Van Philip, and he was known as Phil.

How did I know?  I am going through my family's photos and sorting out scenery from the real pictures.  I found Dad's annotation of a few pictures of Phil being groomed for the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1960, including a picture of Dave Swetnam, who was Phil's owner."

Wow! What a trip down memory lane! 

Thanks for your efforts in putting this wonderful site together. Really brought back a ton of memories. I grew up in Virginia and watched these shows daily!

By chance, do you remember "Super-Car" -- the show with puppets/marionettes? Would love to find some info about that series.

Many thanks
Ric Emrich

I grew up in Montgomery County and attended the public schools. I still remember watching Time for Science, at Hillandale Elementary School in Silver Spring - it was quite a novelty to watch something on TV (we weren't the TV generation yet), I'm sure we enjoyed it. I believe the theme music was Trumpet Voluntary by Purcell, or something very much like it. That music showed up in a lot of weddings in the Washington area in the 70's, and I think that's why - we couldn't get it out of our heads. 

I remember the TV being wheeled into our class, on a regular basis.  I’m sure we all groaned on a regular basis too.  But I also remember it as being quite exciting – classes on TV.  Up until then we only had films and filmstrips, some pretty bad, some good Disney ones (The Living Desert comes to mind), so TV was quite a step up. Time for Science wasn’t quite up to Mr. Wizard, but it was good, none the less. 

I saw the obituary in the washingtonpost.com on January 10th for Elizabeth Campbell, who founded WETA, and they mentioned Time for Science as the first program, so I did a web search and found your site. 

Barbara Johnson
Glen Arm, MD