You don't know how long I have tried to find the history on the Billy Johnson show.  I've asked people of my age and no one remembers it.  But I do.  Thought I was going crazy.  I watched Billy Johnson every day and as a kid (I was about 11), I had a very big crush on him.  The three things I remembered most about him was the theme song, 'Up a Lazy River', the guitar, and the plaid shirt.  Thanks for the information.

Jean Manders,
Indian Head, Maryland

First (?) Children's TV Show  On November 6, 1931, the experimental mechanical TV station operated by Charles Francis Jenkins (W3XK) showed a puppet show hosted by Bernard Paul. (Source: Saturday Morning TV by Gary H. Grossman).  Jenkins had a studio at 1519 Conn. Avenue NW (DuPont Circle) in Washington, DC.  That station later moved to Wheaton, MD.

Albert McGilvray
Winchester, VA 

Cartoons on the Claire and Co Co show included Hector Heathcoat, a Revolutionary War character. He had a pet dog, I think, along on many of his adventures. (Maybe it was a pet turkey?)

JRB

When I visited DC relatives on summer holiday around the Beltway back in 1961, I had the awesome experience of watching Pick Temple's Giant Ranch. It was interesting for me to compare a children's program in an area like DC to one in my home of New York. Thanks for your website.

Julia Williams

Once a year when I was very small my mother would haul me into Hecht's at Prince Georges Plaza to buy an Easter hat. The salesclerk there told my mother that she was Cousin Cupcake's mother. I have no idea if the woman was really Bob Porter's mother, but at the time, I was very impressed! ...

Your website brought back a lot of memories--I can see the hat  department near the escalator in my mind right now...

Passed the link on to a couple of friends who grew up in the DC area and are still here and they got a kick out of your site as well.

Cheers!
Dusty Jones

Picked up your site via Count Gore DeVol. What memories they bring back. I was on Cindy Lou's Melody Ranch and Pirate Bill. I really remember Pirate Bill because during each show he would show how to draw something. The one I did was a horse and he held it up because while everyone else did their horse faceing right I did mine faceing left. I do not remember the year this was, but I am 60 now. I have bookmarked this site so I can come back and enjoy the memories.

Peg Richardson
Lusby, Md. 

This is in response to your Forgotten DC TV Kids Shows query on your website....

I was a kid in Bethesda, MD, in the fifties and was in the audience of a WMAL-TV kids show called, as I recall it, "Bill Wells Tells"  (search the net on this name and you'll find at least one other boomer who remembers this name)... I don't recall the title "Pirate Bill," but Bill was indeed a buccaneer or seafaring dude of some sort... The show ran cartoons or short adventure flicks between studio segments. Bill interacted with the kids in the audience, including me. He was given kids' names before the segments, and when he talked with them on the air, he introduced them by name. I remember him mispronouncing my name, and I loudly corrected him on camera...

One thing about the show was very disillusioning to a little kid... "Bill Wells Tells" opened with a shot of a grand pirate ship rolling in storm-tossed seas... We kids in the studio were shocked to see that vessel close up: of course, it was a very small model sailing ship, rocking in a little bowl... 

Would love to hear more about the show and the inimitable Bill Wells...

BOB LEBLING
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Love the site! What a walk down memory lane.  I was sad to see the post on Miss Connie.  I wasn’t able to find out if it was true however I did check the Social Security Death Index and Constance Bohlin born 24 Jan 1932, died Dec 1972.  Such a loss to the DC Community.

Debra Nickens
Manassas, VA

I would love to get streaming audio of the Ranger Hal theme.  It keeps running in my head.  Is it out there somewhere?

J Galgano

In the early 1980's, I had the pleasure of working with Bill Gormly when he was a news anchor at Mutual Radio Networks.  At the time. I was News Supervisor and we had quite an assortment of, shall we say, "eccentrics." 

In spite of the environment, Bill was the consumate professional.  Although it was "radio," Bill was always sharp in his appearance.  He was quiet and stayed in the background of the Newsroom din;  but, he could be counted on to occasional display his dry, sharp wit.

jack dabney
assignments editor
voice of america

I remember when I was about six years old we went to see Hoppity Skippity at the Kay Cee Drugs in Kent Village shopping Center in Landover, Maryland (c.1953).  I was thrilled when he pulled one of my braids.  I also remember when he had a magician on his show who asked him to remove his gloves for a magic trick and he said "I can't do that!"  I was happy that he didn't because he didn't want to dissappoint the kids who believed that he was a "real live rabbit!" 

Carol Marsh

I thoroughly enjoy the website.  I have a like-new set of Wilkins and Wontkins that I ordered when I was 12.  I wouldn't part with them - but I am curious about their value.  Any idea?

Don
Arlington, VA

Your article on Ranger Hal was very truthful and almost complete. I worked with Hal for many years doing outside appeareances on weekends and holidays. I was working in the area doing shows as a ventriloquist.

Hal asked if I could make his puppets talk since he couldn't always use the tape to produce the voices. This started a long and friendly relationship. It also started me on a new venue as a new character "MIKE THE CLOWN". It was a great time and we battled  continually about who did they come to see the personality or the talent. I ended up doing the Ronald McDonald bit after Willard moved on.

Mike Mehalic

I grew up in the DC (born 1957) Area (Connecticut Park Elementary, E Brooke Lee Jr. High, Springbrook High) and was a devoted follower of Captain Tugg, Captain Lee, and Uncle Artie on Channel 20.

Much to my delight, Mark Cohen writes of an episode of Uncle Artie where two kids told what was, in those days, a dirty joke!

I too saw that episode. It was actually two kids who seemed a little older than the others. The Batman jokes were in vogue. These two boys had real wise-ass attitudes. When asked their names, they were saying things like “John Johnson,” William Williamson,” “Robert Robertson,” stuff like that. My mom was watching and said those kids are going to get in trouble… you could see Uncle Artie was getting ticked. Finally, they tell the joke. Artie shakes his head.. I remember his quote.. “We don’t tell jokes like that on Uncle Artie.”

Cut to commercial… when they come back, both kids were GONE! But it was ME who got cuffed in the back of the head! My Mom actually nailed ME in the head with a “That’s what you’ll get if YOU EVER ACT LIKE THAT ON A SHOW!”

Ranger Hal, as I recall, used to run film shorts that I can remember. One was about the Railroad, one about the Civil War. Anybody out there remember these? 

Paul Shugrue sent in a reminiscence about Dick Mansfield, an older guy with white hair and a police uniform, I think I saw him at Connecticut Park Elementary School in 1962- 63, first grade? I seem to recall him talking about kids actually “becoming an astronaut”… his way of saying you did something unsafe, got killed and went to heaven… HAHAHA!!!

I remember having to sing this stupid song about “keeping your eye on the ball.. you can get another ball, but you never can get a new leg.” ...

Glenn Powell