.
|
"Willard
Scott"
|
.
From
The 1963 AFTRA Directory.
(Donated
by Skip McCloskey)
|
Willard
Scott, born March 7th, 1934,
was
raised in Alexandria, Virginia.
On 9/16/50,
at the age of only 16,
(and
while attending high school),
he began
working as "Weekend Page"
at the
National Broadcasting Co.
(NBC)
in downtown Washington DC
while
holding two part-time DJ jobs;
"High
School Hit Parade" (WOL-1450AM)
and "Dancing Party" (WCFM-99.5FM).
He still
appears on NBC-TV
more
than a-half-century later!
Click
to read his online biography
|
. |
| . |
"Barn
Party"
.
Aired
on WNBW-TV 4,
Broadcast
Live, in B&W
Saturdays,
One-Hour
Program
Various
Airtimes
1/23/54
- 12/18/54
|
(Bob
Porter's Collection, Courtesy:Tim
Hollis)
|
First
Host: Betsy Stelck;
w/ girl
dummy "Cindy Lou",
and
a boy dummy.
Not shown;
her live
female
cocker spaniel,
"Little
Bit".
|
.
|
|
Hear
Willard Talk About "Barn Party" at Kidshow Klips
|
.
1954
TV Guide magazine... donated by Ralph Bull
|
In
"Whatever Happened To Those Kiddie Show Hosts?", Willard Scott told Trisha
Katson that Barn Party marked his kid show debut.
In
"The Joy of Living", he stated:
"My
first chance to do kiddie shows professionally came before I was in the
Navy, on a Saturday TV show called Barn Party. I was 'Farmer Willard'
and I played opposite
a very
refined lady named Betsy Stelck, who had a fairyland
aura
about her..."
|
In
June of 1954, the top brass at Channel-4 shifted the station's Saturday
sign-on time from 9:45am
to 1:30pm...
perhaps to coincide
with
Summer vacationtime.
Barn
Party survived the shake-up,
moving
to a 4:30pm start, but the
fate
of hostess Betsy Stelck
or Willard
Scott is not clear.
(Were
they also on vacation?)
This
Washington Post ad
from
Saturday, June 12, 1954
identifies
Mike Hunnicutt
(of
the "Mike Hunnicutt Show"
for
kids on weekdays) as the
host
at the new airtime.
|
 |
. |
|
Read
"WNBW-TV's 'Barn Party' Newest Child TV Show Clicks"
|
Sources:
Top Betsy Stelck photo from Bob "Cousin
Cupcake" Porter's collection, donated by Tim
Hollis, (author
of "Hi There, Boys and Girls! - America's Local Children's TV Programs")
"Whatever
Happened To Those Kiddie Show Hosts?" by Trisha Katson, (Summer 1977; George
Mason University's "Phoebe" publication; donated by John Ahmad & Jack
Maier),
Willard
Scott's 1982 autobiography, "The Joy of Living".
Ad from
a 1954 TV Guide magazine... donated by Ralph Bull.
Sound
klip excerpt from an interview by Sean Hall; heard on an edition of WTOP
RADIO's "Issues".
"Bozo"
TM & © 2004 Larry Harmon Pictures Corp. All Rights Reserved
|
. |
| . |
"Afternoon"
 |
Aired
(Live)
from
WRC-TV 4
Mondays-Fridays,
Various
Afternoon
Airtimes.
3/7/55
to 5/1956
|
| Willard
Scott was co-host with Mac McGarry (from debut until late Spring '55) on
a weekday variety and news show with one or more hosts, singers, a jazz
quartet, and Jim Henson's Muppets.
The cast
and show length was often revamped in hopes of better ratings, but Inga
and the Muppets stayed
on-board
until the very end. As of 11/7/55, the
show
would be called "Afternoon with Inga".
|
| Willard's
1982 autobiography, "The Joy of Living", tells of his early days in television,
interacting with " ... an innovative bunch
of puppets created by a guy named Jim
Henson. They were called the Muppets. ... I worked with a bald- headed
Muppet with a big nose, named Sam,
sort of the way Fran Allison worked on Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
Then there was the frog named Kermit. I used to do a commercial for a local
peanut butter called Schindlers. He'd open his mouth, I'd give him a big
spoonful, and he'd go 'ahh'". |
|
Read
An 1955 Article About Afternoon, "The Straight Man Totes The Load"
|
Sources:
Willard Scott's 1982 autobiography, "The Joy of Living".
Ad from
The
Washington Post and Times Herald, page 39, Tuesday, May 31, 1955.
Article
from The Washington Post and Times Herald, TV-Radio Week, page J3
Sunday, May 15, 1955
Muppet
images courtesy of The Jim Henson Legacy & the Henson Family, TM
& ©2003 The Jim Henson Company
All
Muppets, photos, and likenesses ©2003 The Jim Henson Company.
Muppet,
Muppets, characters & elements TM The Jim Henson Company.
|
|
| . |
"Bozo
the Clown"
Photo
By Reni Photos, Courtesy: Jack Maier
(from
"America
Is My Neighborhood")
|
From
August 1959 to August 1962,
Willard
Scott portrayed
"Bozo,
the World's
Most
Famous Clown."
for
DC area audiences.
|
Click
For Details at the
"Bozo
the Clown" Pages
Click
on BACK Button
To Return
Here.
|
."Bozo"
TM & © 2004 Larry Harmon Pictures Corp. All Rights Reserved
|
| . |
"Mickey
Mouse Club"
Aired
on WRC-TV 4
(Film
w/Live Drop-ins)
Mondays
through Fridays
5:00
to 5:30PM,
Fall
1962 to 1964
|
|
Host:
Willard
Scott
as "Uncle
Willard"
|
Scott
filled the time between segments of the re-packaged 1950s Disney "Mickey
Mouse Club" reruns. In "The Joy of Living" he writes:
"I
wore mouse ears and a blazer, and my job was to simply
open
and close the show and do commercials."
|
. |
| . |
"Ronald
McDonald"
Willard
Scott created the
"Ronald
McDonald" character
for
two businessmen who had the
DC area
McDonald's Drive-in
Restaurant
franchise;
John
Gibson and Oscar Goldstein,
(doing
business at the time as
"Gee
Gee Distributing").
The
McDonald's Corporation
eventually
hired
a different
actor
for
the national commercials.
|
From
"Parade Magazine" Courtesy: Jack Maier.
|
.The
McDonald's trademark used herein is owned by the McDonald's Corporation
and its affiliates.
|
McDonald's
website acknowledges Willard as the first Ronald McDonald.
|
|
Hear
Sounds of Willard as "Ronald McDonald" at Kidshow
Klips
|
The
caption to the above color photo (from Parade Magazine) stated that
Willard
played Ronald from 1963 to 1966, and that "Scott
says Ronald
evolved
from Bozo, whom Scott played on a Washington TV show."
|
Willard
Scott, right, (as Ronald McDonald)
visits
Captain
20 (John Kallimonis) c. 1969
(Photo
Donated By Dick Dyszel)
|
Skip
McCloskey
remembers;
"Willard
wanted
to keep
the
Bozo
thing going
although
WRC
dropped
the contract
with
Larry Harmon.
Willard
took
the
Bozo costume
and
made
a few
changes
to it.
The
result
was
Ronald."
|
|
|
Hear
Willard's "Ronald McDonald" TV Commercials at TheJoyBoys.Com
|
. |
| . |
"The
Ronald Show"
Aired
on WRC-TV 4 (Pre-taped)
Broadcast
"In Living Color"
Saturdays,
8:30
to 9:00AM
3/4/66
to 9/10/66
|
|
 |
The
show was promoted by Bonnie Aikman's
D.C.
Studios column in the 3/13/1966
Sunday
StarTV Magazine:
"FOR
MOPPETS: WRC-4's Bozo the Clown - Willard Scott - has added another outlet
to his humorous creative talents. He's the emcee on WRC-4's new children's
program, 'The Ronald Show'. The series has a studio audience of
some 30 youngsters each week who participate in games, dramatic skits and
chats with Ronald (a clown-type character)."
Also
featured was "B'Wana Don in Jungle-La"
about
a safari leader (played by Don Hunt)
and
his trouble-prone chimp.
|
|
In
a 1977 interview with Trisha Katson for
"Whatever
Happened To Those Kiddie Show
Hosts?", Willard Scott called the show - "One
of those
magnificent
rare treasures ... featuring
dramatizations
and dance contests."
|
|
.The
McDonald's trademark used herein is owned by the McDonald's Corporation
and its affiliates.
Sources:"Whatever
Happened To Those Kiddie Show Hosts?" by Trisha Katson, (Summer 1977; George
Mason University's "Phoebe" publication; donated by John Ahmad & Jack
Maier),
Bonnie
Aikman, D.C. Studios in the 3/13/66 & 9/11/66 Sunday StarTV
Magazine, Courtesy:Jack Maier. Advertisement from the 7/9/1966 TV
Guide Magazine, donated by John Bevilacqua.
|
. |
| . |
"Commander
Retro".
(Photo
courtesy of Jack Maier)
|
From
9/17/66 to 2/24/68, Willard
starred
as "Commander Retro"
in what
will be his last kid show
as a
WRC-TV Staff Announcer.
|
Click
For Details at the
"Commander
Retro" Page
Click
on BACK Button To Return Here.
|
. |
| . |
Other
Willard Facts
.
In
the Fall of 1951, (his freshman year at college), Willard met Ed Walker
at American University's campus radio station; WAMU.
.
The
duo were hired by WOL-AM Radio
to do a weekend comedy show titled "Going AWOL" for $25 a week.
.
When
Willard was hired as a WRC Staff Announcer
in 1953, the team moved their act to 980AM
where (except for Willard's tour in the USN),
the
zany "Joy Boys" were on-the-air
until 1972.
.
Bob
Bybee's "The Joy Boys" Web Site
|
(Photo
Courtesy: Howard Allen,
from
the Sun Gazette paper, 6/22/00)
Donated
by
Jack Maier
|
. |
.
From
the 1963 AFTRA Directory
(Donated
by Skip McCloskey)
|
(WRC-AM
Photo By Ernie Newhouse)
|
When
WRC-AM rolled-out a new
"Great
98" rock music format
in October of 1972,
The
Joy Boys moved their act out
to Brookville
Road in Silver Spring
and
broadcast from WWDC-AM
1260
until the Summer of '74.
|
. |
.
Before
he ever did
a weather
forecast
on TV,
Willard
presented
regular
weather
reports
on WRC-AM
radio
from
1956 to '72.
He also
hosted a
15-minute
music
radio
program called
"The
Compact Show"
on WRC-AM
for many
years,
which aired
just
before the
"Joy
Boys" show.
|
From
the 1963 AFTRA Directory
(Donated
by Skip McCloskey)
|
. |
| .
. |
.
On
the TV side,
from
1968 through
the
entire decade
of the
1970s,
Willard
Scott
was
the popular
News-4
Weekday
Weatherman.
He also
found
time
to sell fresh
eggs
from his
rural
Virginia
farm
to fellow
Channel
4/NBC
staffers
at
"4001
Neb. Avenue."
|
Photo
by Craig Herndon,
Washington
Post December 1979
|
. |
.
 |
From
"Capital Comment"
Washingtonian,
Magazine, March '77,
"TV
Scenes: Topless Weatherman":
"Willard
Scott was at the desk,
ready
to do the weather, and
Bill
Sternoff was introducing him,
when
Willard got up and left,
leaving
Sternoff and NewsCenter
in momentary
panic.
A newsclip
and commercial were
hastily
thrown in, and WRC people
wondered
if it was a walkout.
Willard
returned moments later.
He’d
forgotten his hairpiece."
|
. |
-
In
March 1980, Willard found national fame as the new Weatherman for NBC's
"Today" show, broadcasting from NYC.
(He
switched places with former Today Show meteorologist Bob Ryan, who is still
the WRC-TV 4
Chief
Meteorologist after
twenty
plus years.)
|
 |
.
|
.
 |
Willard's
best-selling autobiography "The Joy of Living" was published in 1982 (and
in paperback in 1983).
|
. |
.
In
addition to his weekday
morning
Today Show gig,
from
1987 until 1989,
he played
"Peter Poole"
on "The
Hogan Family" weekly
NBC-TV
situation comedy.
|
Then,
in 1992, he also hosted
"The
New Original Amateur Hour"
for
cable's Family Channel network.
|
. |
..
Willard
also wrote
the
non-fiction book
"America
Is My Neighborhood"
(with
Daniel Paisner),
as well
as two
Stanley
Waters
mystery
books
(with
Bill Crider),
"Murder
Under Blue Skies",
and
"Murder in the Mist".
|
 |
|
|
.- |
.
 |
While
juggling his
other
duties,
Willard
also found
time
to host
"The
Old Farmer's
Video
Almanac"
(with
Jonathan Winters);
to edit
"Willard Scott's
All-American
Cookbook";
and
to recall a few of
"Willard
Scott's
Down
Home Stories".
|
|
|
.- |
..
Mary
and Willard Scott at
the
2000 Delaplane (Va.) Strawberry Festival
(Photo
by Madelyn Marzani, Sun Gazette paper,
6/22/00.
Donated by Jack Maier)
|
According
to Scott McCaffrey's 6/22/00 article -- "TV's Willard
Scott
Loves the Local Living"--
in the
Sun
Gazette newspaper,
Willard
is still going strong.
He says,
"Life couldn't be better -
I work
just about as much as I want. I do a lot of speeches,
a lot
of commercials.
As long
as my health holds out, I wouldn't want to retire."
|
.
Mary
Dwyer Scott, Willard's wife of forty-three years,
died
from cancer in October 2002.
|
| Mary Dwyer Scott, born in
Washington DC on December 27, 1935, died at Sibley Hospital on the morning
of October 28, 2002 after battling cancer. She is survived by her husband
of 43 years, Willard Scott and daughters Mary P. Scott of Brownsburg VA
and Sally S. Swiatek of Savannah GA, son in law Joseph Swiatek and two
grandchildren, John Willard Swiatek and Sally Marie Swiatek.
Mrs. Scott was extremely active
as a volunteer and served on many different community committees including
past Chair of the Delaplane Strawberry Festival, the Boards of Notre Dame
Academy and Oatlands, and a docent at Mount Vernon. She was a volunteer
for the D.C. Society for Crippled Children and a supporter of numerous
animal advocacy groups.
The Scotts met in 1958 while
both worked at WRC, the NBC station in Washington, D.C.. Mrs. Scott was
a beloved member of the New York Book Group. She loved to travel, going
to many places around the world with both friends and with the Today Show.
She was part of a group of friends who called themselves the "Geese" for
over 35 years. These friends formed a mutual support group for each other
as they went through life. She was also a long time member of the Middleburg
Tennis Club.
Contributions may be made to
Breast Cancer Research, or to Winchester Medical Center, Winchester VA,
or to Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington, DC. Cards of condolence may
be sent to Willard Scott in care of NBC, 4001 Nebraska Avenue NW, Washington
DC 20016.
|
|
|
. |
.
|
Do
you remember?
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Cast Characters
Who
Played Those Characters
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|
|
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|
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|
..
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Kaptain
Kidshow
Saluting
Vintage TV Kid Shows
Produced
In Washington, DC
|
Page
Revised: 1/3/08
.
.
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.
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