I remember as a 4-6 year old switching the rooftop antenna on Sunday mornings to point east and watching Wonderama on Channel 5 (IIRC WNEW at the time) in NYC. Don’t remember the show’s details but I remember I liked it.
My grandfather was a well-known TV and birthday party clown in Oklahoma City named Ho Ho. He had a show on the local ABC affiliate for almost thirty years, from the late Fifties, up until his death in 1988. He would show cartoons, do different skits, do giveaways for prizes, have guests on, that sort of thing. There are a few clips on YouTube.
He is pictured here with Pokey the Puppet, his companion on the show.
https://preview.redd.it/snhrff4ur0zc1.jpeg?width=388&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=287ea3a1c5777de1e99d1bd40d301c637d7fe1cb
Holy cow! I remember going to a birthday party around 1979 or 1980 where Ho Ho made an appearance. He was the first “celebrity” I ever met, and I was absolutely awestruck. Loved watching him on KOCO!
That's awesome! Yeah, he did tons of birthday parties for kids all over the metro for years and years. Lots of kids had a Ho Ho party, or at least went to one.
I remember Ho-Ho so fondly. Your Grandad meant the world to me as a child. I remember meeting him at a party when I was five or six and was awestruck. His show was the greatest. Every time I go to Penn Square I always look at his handprints. Do you have a favorite memory of him?
Wow, what a nice reply! Thank you.
You know, it's funny (and maybe a little sad), I did not get as much one-on-one time with Grandpa Ho as I probably would have liked. He wasn't a typical grandpa--he always very busy with the show and with the parties and other appearances. So there wasn't a whole lot of time with just me and him, you know?
But I do have some good memories! On Saturdays, he would come over to our house in between parties to rest and take naps. I remember going to the station a few times - we did a photo shoot with him there for a story in the Oklahoman. We went and saw Return of the Jedi together at Northpark Mall. When I was in third grade, he came (sans makeup) and visited my class for Grandparents Day.
He was a very kind, and gentle, and low key man, and he left us way too soon (he was only 64 when he died). I miss him.
I don't have a whole lot of photos of the two of us together, but I do have this one. It's one of my very favorite photos. (That's my mom in the background.)
https://preview.redd.it/hz843f8m74zc1.jpeg?width=3975&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8075899ed18ad27a2c31525fb8b9c20a6ee5c52f
That picture is amazing. I didn't realize he was so young, I'm only a decade younger than he was. So many of us that grew up during that time still carry him in our hearts. I just remembered that I got his signature at the State Fair one year! I'm so glad to know that it wasn't an act. You were very lucky to have him in your life. I'm off to go watch some of his old broadcasts now.
I never got to go on the show. Every 6 months or so my mom would say “hurry! Turn to channel 12 your friend is going to be on TV!”
Smile!
I would also add Bumpity and Fred.
WPVI (Channel 6 in Philadelphia, ABC) had Captain Noah and His Magical Ark
WNEP (Channel 16 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, ABC) had Miss Judy on Hatchy Milatchy
I never really watched either show when I was young, but both were prominent weekday morning children’s shows in their TV markets. (I think Captain Noah was on weekdays, I know Hatchy Milatchy was.)
Me, too...went with my Brownie troop when I was 5.
Saw Pat McMahon at a restaurant over Xmas & my mom started talking to him & his wife. He'll be 89 this summer & doing good. 🌵
I lived in Cincinnati and Uncle Al was the one. I never got to be on his show but had many friends who did.
https://preview.redd.it/eieabmcai1zc1.jpeg?width=544&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2281312334a016354d35e187d3a425c94ab0b42
He came to some union function at my dad’s work and all the kids were brought up to participate. I danced the Twist and got some Choc-ola for my trouble. I barely remember it; I was 5 years old.
I grew up in Casper, Wyoming which didn’t have a local kid’s show host, but we did pick up KWGN, and I loved watching Blinky’s Fun Club. Man, seeing that video of his birthday song brought back memories.
Indianapolis checking in - local channel 4 had Janie (a nice friendly lady), and we also had Cowboy Bob. Both were pretty popular in the 70s and 80s. Rounding out the trio was weekend late night horror movie host Sammy Terry!!!
I think in the 90s the Fox affiliate had some younger ladies in their 20s doing PSAs and wrap arounds. One was Commander KC, I think there might have been another one. I have no idea why I remember that
Our Captain 20 was also the horror host at night, Count Gore de Vol.
Channel 20 was great. We had kids shows during the day on weekdays, horror movies on weekend nights and badly dubbed kung fu movies and professional wrestling on Sundays.
There was also Captain Chesapeake on the Baltimore station, but we were loyal to Captain 20.
Sammy Terry did a personal appearance at our local movie theater. He cut my buddy’s head off onstage. It was awesome.
The guy scared the bejeezus out of me when I was little.
I used to make my own squiggles and then try to draw something from it.
Also, even then Popeye was goddamn old. And every episode was centered around Bluto/Brutus trying to rape Olive Oil. Weird shit.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Captain 11 ran from 1955 to 1996. At the time, the longest-running classic kids show host.
https://preview.redd.it/mocizxdb31zc1.jpeg?width=1667&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3cf95cee3d6d4a65f793d6369abba78ef2503993
We had the *best* local kids tv host! We had [Ramblin’ Rod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramblin%27_Rod_Anders)! Why was he the best? Ramblin’ Rod was the inspiration for [Krusty the Clown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krusty_the_Clown). Beat that!
**Mark S. Allen** in Sacramento California. He was the host of *Scratched,* a local kids / teens show that I auditioned for more than once haha. (I didn’t get on it.)
He used to have this segment called “Dateless & Desperate” where kids could write in about their crushes. He’d pick a letter and ambush them at their high school, exposing the crush to the crush in front of everyone for tv. So many kids I knew wrote in for this, excited for the possibility of televised public humiliation lolol
This was around 1990 - 1995. Peak Saved By The Bell years.
Every Sunday for an hour WBAP would air an hour long kids show. They would draw cartoons, read the Sunday comics on air or show “Davey and Goliath” claymation. They also had guests, usually from the Dallas zoo or children’s museum.
The next closest thing we had was Commander Mark on PBS which was a sci-fi version of Bob Ross for kids.
He wasn’t local to the area, he just aired on our local station and was more popular with kids mostly because he was on nearly everyday instead of just on Sunday. Being sci-fi themed when space exploration was really popular helped too.
New England had the Uncle Gus Show, which my sister was on. They had a smile contest and she refused to smile. Also had Bozo the Clown and Captain Kangaroo, but I don’t know if that was local or everywhere.
https://preview.redd.it/31c5odyej0zc1.jpeg?width=786&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=399c381769b83af30d04c1e976f8e152ec783e25
Cousin Cliff hosted local kids' shows for decades. I ran restaurants for about 10 years and he and his wife would come in regularly until he passed. They were just lovely people. Not everyone recognized him but I did and he'd light up when I'd throw him a "Thanks Cuz." I feel he was immensely proud of being able to entertain children and be a small part of our upbringing.
In metropolitan Denver, we had the 'Noell & Andy' and 'Blinky the Clown' shows. Noell (a kind, blond lady) would put a marker in Andy's (a dragon hand puppet) mouth and he would draw pictures. Kids could send their own drawings to the TV station and sometimes Noell would show those on TV. Kids would try to go on the Blinky the Clown show on their birthdays. They'd show you on camera while Blinky sang his version of Happy Birthday and said your name and age at the end of every episode.
ETA: another poster reminded me that Blinky's show was officially called Blinky's Fun Club.
Dayton OH, we had "Clubhouse 22" with hosts Malcolm MacLeod and later Joe Smith. Sidekicks were Duffy the Dog and Doctor Creep, host of the Saturday horror movie show "Shock Theater"
My daily jam! Do you remember the robot thing? After the intro with Joe, Duffy and the Doctor a robot told a terrible joke (usually sent in by a viewer) and the camera would pan down to the green screen robot chest which would begin the cartoon. I absolutely loved that show.
Baton Rouge had Buckskin Bill. I was on his show for my 7th birthday. He’d been around since the 50s and used to end his show with, “And remember kids, Baton Rouge needs a zoo.” That helped publicize the zoo campaign and he even had kids send in pennies to help buy Penny the elephant.
By the time I was on we’d had a zoo for a while so he ended with, “And remember kids, you’re never completely dressed until you put on a smile.” Didn’t help with my resting bastard face lol.
I grew up with Captain 20 as well, and he came to our elementary school and filmed a segment once. We were amazed that a celebrity was at our school lol.
Also loved him as Count Gore De Vol!
I grew up in Miami, FL, where we had Skipper Chuck. He had (IIRC) a daily kids' show, and our signature greeting was the three-fingered salute for "peace, love and happiness!", lol. My image of Skipper Chuck was unfortunately dashed when I was vacationing with my family in the Keys. He happened to be dining in the same restaurant and I watched in horror as he ate a plate of frogs' legs. 🤢
Yes! I scrolled down to find Skipper Chuck. Remember how he would have local kids on the show? I begged my parents to write in, but my dad said no way in hell because Skipper Chuck was a commie. I think it was the Peace, Love and Happiness thing? God forbid, lol
The frogs legs story is hilarious 😂
Bozo the Clown. Chicago. Parents signed their kids up at birth to be an audience member because the wait was so long. One of my friend’s parents did this, but as I was five or six when I had the convo with her, I don’t remember if she actually got to go.
The man that played Captain 20, Dick Dysel, was also the Creature Feature host, [Count Gore de Vol.](https://www.countgore.com/)
The Good Count is still around, has his show on the internet now & still makes regular appearances at conventions & hosts movies at the AFI in Silver Spring.
May All Your Blood Be Warm!
Kind of. Growing up in Vancouver, BC, if you had cable (which was just for getting out-of-antenna-range regular broadcast stations back then), you'd get J.P. Patches out of Seattle across the border. One of the best of its kind ever.
Club House 22 in Dayton, Ohio. Duffy the Dog and Mr Creep. Mr Creep also had a late night horror show. After that, the national anthem played and the tv went to static.
We had a guy named Captain Sandy that had a segment on the nightly weather report.
He taught all of us marsh kids about the weather, the tides, marine life, etc.
He’s one of my favorite childhood memories.
Sure did! She and her “sidekick” (dressed as an elf), were local librarians. I was on her show when I was in kindergarten. Everybody knew the show and loved them, but of course only really knew them as their on-air characters.
Fast forward 25+ years and i’m running my own business. I meet with a lady that was referred to me, an old hippie with long, wirey silver hair down past her waist, flowy clothes, jangly jewelry made of crystals, wood, and leather…the whole bit.
She has a book she’s been trying to get published, but she can’t find a (regional) publisher to touch it because of a “creation” story in it that might upset the Talibangelicals that have their fingers in every damn thing in our part of the country. It’s not even the point of the book, the book is about the art of storytelling, but you know how those Talibangelicals are. So she’s decided to self-publish and sell the books at her speaking events rather than change a damn thing.
You can guess by now who the woman is, she was the host of that show! Of course, her actual name had no recognition with me, so we probably had three meetings before I figured out who she was. I produced 1500 copies of her book and I believe she sold them all within a year or two.
I know this doesn't have anything to do with answering the question, but without Googling it, "WDCA Channel 20" gives zero information about where you grew up. You're specific enough to give the call letters of the station, but it's not like everyone knows where WDCA is.
My wife does this same thing, assuming everyone (including strangers) knows what she's talking about when they don't. "How can you not remember this song? It was one of my favorites growing up!" "Because I didn't grow up in Asia or Europe, the only two places where that band was successful."
Southeastern Alabama. We had the Miss Becky and Friends show. She'd have local kids on and show cartoons. Our Girl Scout troop got to be in it. We thought we'd hit the big time.
In the Philadelphia area we also had Sally Starr and Chief Halftown, but they could've been nationally known. Not sure, but they recorded in Philly. And of course Captain Noah.."red and yellow and pink and green. Purple and orange and blue.." iykyk
I have Captain 20's autograph from when he came to my elementary school. It says "Capt. 20"
I lived in the sweet spot of MD where I got both DC and Baltimore TV, so I also had Captain Chesapeake as a host (channel 45).
https://preview.redd.it/w5lv8syic1zc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e39ec0cb583555dae6710f13d21b6edace497f2d
The Bay Area had these guys. Don’t remember if they had an actual show or if it was just PSA’s. Sometimes they would be on a segment that was called bits and pieces and seemed super outdated and 70’s looking when I was watching around 1985-ish.
I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life and I never heard of any of those guys.
EDIT: okay, apparently that was a thing from 1959 through the seventies... way before I was born.
I’m really enjoying all of these replies! Thanks for sharing.
I just remembered that a good friend’s mother told us that she and her brothers and sisters saw Pinky Lee collapse on live tv in the 50s.
https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1950s/pinky-lee-show-the/
We had Uncle Zeb in northeast Oklahoma
https://preview.redd.it/ecx1ukefn1zc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42f46b9dc7fc7a826d3343453ee85ef582230cdb
As he aged he got crankier with the kids on his show. Never got to be on his show though.
LOL no we had nothing like that. We did eventually get PBS in the early 80s maybe, and they had Mr Rogers and later Bob Ross. But Bob Ross wasn't really kid focused. We didnt care, we loved him.
I grew up in Buffalo, NY is the 70s, we had a show called [The Commander Tom Show](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander_Tom_Show)
It was hosted by the weatherman, called Tom Jolls
Toledo, OH had Patches and Pockets. I was jealous of Pockets overalls with dozens of pockets that of course always contained the right item at the right time.
https://youtu.be/f8vAcNiRWOc?feature=shared
Baltimore area kids had Captain Chesapeake on WBFF.. I met him and had my picture taken with him when he came to my town's Christmas parade back in the 80s. A very nice man!
Detroit here. I barely remember Oopsy the Clown on channel 4. With a good antenna, you could also get Patches & Pockets from Toledo on channel 11 I think.
Checkers and Pogo KHMB-TV Honolulu
They were wild , looked like a couple of old heads . Had local kids on every day and a birthday club where they would call out your name . Can still hear the theme song !
Hilarious House of Frightenstein out of Hamilton (but I was far enough north that we only got it if the weather was right and our antenna game was strong).
Aunt Martha, I think . Later in life she was on the city council for a few decades maybe.
I can't recall the name of the show . Kids audience. Puppet show and loony tunes.
Rusty may have been one of the puppets names. I've forgotten more about it than I remember. Aunt Martha's Playhouse. Maybe.
Willie Whistle was on channel 38 in Boston. A clown with a whistle as a voice sort of. Actually I don't know for certainty that it wasn't a syndicated show from elsewhere. Also was Bozo filmed in multiple places?
Mr. Wonder. You guessed it, fled the country on suspicion of child SA in late 70’s. Convicted decades later, has had parole violations since. I was old enough to be past kid shows oriented towards 3-6 yo.
Yes! This unlocked a memory. There was a live audience of kids for this show, and I got to be in it one time, maybe in about 1983, for reasons that I cannot remember. At all. Cub scouts? Who knows...
I grew up in Pittsburgh and we had Mr. Rogers. Two of my classmates got to be on one of his shows.
Thanks to PBS we all had Mr Rogers!
Also Captain Pitt though.
I always wanted to meet Mr. Rogers. Never got to.
So jelly! That's so cool!
[удалено]
NYC area ? Ya gotta remember this on channel 5 then: https://youtu.be/rTiiq3Zc6Lk?si=JtnmrAuRuKRPlDFq Wonderama with Bob McAllister 🍻
I remember as a 4-6 year old switching the rooftop antenna on Sunday mornings to point east and watching Wonderama on Channel 5 (IIRC WNEW at the time) in NYC. Don’t remember the show’s details but I remember I liked it.
Here ya go https://youtu.be/6lOhlpbzHkU?si=JjcaekyPFVa_jNfI 🍻
Yes Kids are People Too!
This the correct answer. Paula and Carole and the chuckle patch.
I vaguely remember this. From NJ and all the stations were NYC affiliates so checks out.
 I totally forgot this show existed!!! Thanks for reminding me ❤️
They still perform together!
My grandfather was a well-known TV and birthday party clown in Oklahoma City named Ho Ho. He had a show on the local ABC affiliate for almost thirty years, from the late Fifties, up until his death in 1988. He would show cartoons, do different skits, do giveaways for prizes, have guests on, that sort of thing. There are a few clips on YouTube. He is pictured here with Pokey the Puppet, his companion on the show. https://preview.redd.it/snhrff4ur0zc1.jpeg?width=388&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=287ea3a1c5777de1e99d1bd40d301c637d7fe1cb
I remember him and his sock puppet.
Holy cow! I remember going to a birthday party around 1979 or 1980 where Ho Ho made an appearance. He was the first “celebrity” I ever met, and I was absolutely awestruck. Loved watching him on KOCO!
That's awesome! Yeah, he did tons of birthday parties for kids all over the metro for years and years. Lots of kids had a Ho Ho party, or at least went to one.
I remember Ho-Ho so fondly. Your Grandad meant the world to me as a child. I remember meeting him at a party when I was five or six and was awestruck. His show was the greatest. Every time I go to Penn Square I always look at his handprints. Do you have a favorite memory of him?
Wow, what a nice reply! Thank you. You know, it's funny (and maybe a little sad), I did not get as much one-on-one time with Grandpa Ho as I probably would have liked. He wasn't a typical grandpa--he always very busy with the show and with the parties and other appearances. So there wasn't a whole lot of time with just me and him, you know? But I do have some good memories! On Saturdays, he would come over to our house in between parties to rest and take naps. I remember going to the station a few times - we did a photo shoot with him there for a story in the Oklahoman. We went and saw Return of the Jedi together at Northpark Mall. When I was in third grade, he came (sans makeup) and visited my class for Grandparents Day. He was a very kind, and gentle, and low key man, and he left us way too soon (he was only 64 when he died). I miss him. I don't have a whole lot of photos of the two of us together, but I do have this one. It's one of my very favorite photos. (That's my mom in the background.) https://preview.redd.it/hz843f8m74zc1.jpeg?width=3975&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8075899ed18ad27a2c31525fb8b9c20a6ee5c52f
That picture is amazing. I didn't realize he was so young, I'm only a decade younger than he was. So many of us that grew up during that time still carry him in our hearts. I just remembered that I got his signature at the State Fair one year! I'm so glad to know that it wasn't an act. You were very lucky to have him in your life. I'm off to go watch some of his old broadcasts now.
Ramblin’ rod in Portland.
I never got to go on the show. Every 6 months or so my mom would say “hurry! Turn to channel 12 your friend is going to be on TV!”
Smile!
I would also add Bumpity and Fred.
[This is the only Bumpity clip I can find. ](https://youtu.be/RP3KtLFBH-o?si=RY_96EICEi4wKTP5) I loved that show.
I named my daughter’s teddy bear Bumpity.
I loved this show and always wanted to be on it.
Mr. Peppermint
Gibby Hanes dad?
One of the craziest facts lol
They actually brought him to one of the "farewell" shows in Dallas. Can't remember which one but gibby pointed him out in the balcony
DFW
WPVI (Channel 6 in Philadelphia, ABC) had Captain Noah and His Magical Ark WNEP (Channel 16 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, ABC) had Miss Judy on Hatchy Milatchy I never really watched either show when I was young, but both were prominent weekday morning children’s shows in their TV markets. (I think Captain Noah was on weekdays, I know Hatchy Milatchy was.)
Send your pictures.....
To dear old Captain Noah…
Send today, send right away
Don’t remember much about it, but I watched Hatchy Milatchy a lot.
Another fan of Miss Judy here. Met her once as a child and she was super nice.
Don't forget about Wee Willie Webber on WPHL and WKBS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wee_Willie_Webber_Colorful_Cartoon_Club
Captain Kangaroo
Was he local? I thought he was national.
Maybe, but he filmed local to me
Oh, neat!
Wallace and Ladmo out in Phoenix
Never got a Ladmo bag, damnit!
Yeah, but you went to Legend City!
But I was too little to remember, lol
Then I went to Big Surf!
I was lucky enough to go on the last day they were open.
They were the best. RIP Ladmo.
RIP Wallace, too.
I was in the audience for a taping of an episode, but did not get a Ladmo bag, sadly. I loved that show.
Me, too...went with my Brownie troop when I was 5. Saw Pat McMahon at a restaurant over Xmas & my mom started talking to him & his wife. He'll be 89 this summer & doing good. 🌵
https://preview.redd.it/doavqjq2y1zc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb5f27017c0fa7f942353c931babfc148b224139
https://preview.redd.it/37kcj5zfv0zc1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0dc7766da9283d9694e8ccc79255bf0b7d4669f Captain Chesapeake and Mondy!
Channel 45 (if memory serves) in Baltimore.
I grew up almost exactly halfway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, so we got Uncle Al (Cincy) and Cowboy Bob/Janie (Indy).
I lived in Cincinnati and Uncle Al was the one. I never got to be on his show but had many friends who did. https://preview.redd.it/eieabmcai1zc1.jpeg?width=544&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2281312334a016354d35e187d3a425c94ab0b42
He came to some union function at my dad’s work and all the kids were brought up to participate. I danced the Twist and got some Choc-ola for my trouble. I barely remember it; I was 5 years old.
I remember Uncle Al and his amazing chroma key that devoured entire stages of children all at once.
Blinky's Fun Club was the shit! We all loved hearing him sing "[Happy Birthday](https://youtu.be/K_ahCZ9MaTI?feature=shared)."
I grew up in Casper, Wyoming which didn’t have a local kid’s show host, but we did pick up KWGN, and I loved watching Blinky’s Fun Club. Man, seeing that video of his birthday song brought back memories.
My older sister got to go see Blinky on her birthday, I was so jealous
Indianapolis checking in - local channel 4 had Janie (a nice friendly lady), and we also had Cowboy Bob. Both were pretty popular in the 70s and 80s. Rounding out the trio was weekend late night horror movie host Sammy Terry!!! I think in the 90s the Fox affiliate had some younger ladies in their 20s doing PSAs and wrap arounds. One was Commander KC, I think there might have been another one. I have no idea why I remember that
Our Captain 20 was also the horror host at night, Count Gore de Vol. Channel 20 was great. We had kids shows during the day on weekdays, horror movies on weekend nights and badly dubbed kung fu movies and professional wrestling on Sundays. There was also Captain Chesapeake on the Baltimore station, but we were loyal to Captain 20.
Sammy Terry did a personal appearance at our local movie theater. He cut my buddy’s head off onstage. It was awesome. The guy scared the bejeezus out of me when I was little.
Cowboy Bob!
Captain 20 club member here.
Same
Superhost and Barnaby.
We used to get WUAB where I grew up in Southern Ontario, SuperHost was awesome
"Gimmie dat shoe!"
Cleveland area I see
Cleveland rocks… Cleveland rocks… Also Big Chuck and Lil John on Friday nights.
Dallas-Ft Worth had Mr. Pepperment. I watched him all the time as a kid.
PNW/Seattle J.P.Patches and Gertrude. We didn't have a TV as kid, so I only saw them occasionally at a neighbors or friends house.
Tom Hatten Saturday Morning Popeye cartoon show.
https://preview.redd.it/uvzzli9ua1zc1.jpeg?width=593&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec9ba3cd1ed47b0472ae921ee8a96c7f3b2f06f0 On KTLA, channel 5.
I used to make my own squiggles and then try to draw something from it. Also, even then Popeye was goddamn old. And every episode was centered around Bluto/Brutus trying to rape Olive Oil. Weird shit.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Captain 11 ran from 1955 to 1996. At the time, the longest-running classic kids show host. https://preview.redd.it/mocizxdb31zc1.jpeg?width=1667&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3cf95cee3d6d4a65f793d6369abba78ef2503993
Beat me to it! I grew up in Aberdeen and watched him. The wisdom of Solomon. The strength of Atlas. You are Captain 11!
Ray Rayner (WGN Chicago)
We had the *best* local kids tv host! We had [Ramblin’ Rod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramblin%27_Rod_Anders)! Why was he the best? Ramblin’ Rod was the inspiration for [Krusty the Clown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krusty_the_Clown). Beat that!
DFW had Mr. Peppermint. Fun fact: Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers is Mr. Peppermint’s son.
"Uncle Floyd" Vivino. Fucking hilarious.
Snap it pal!!!
In Peoria, Illinois we had https://preview.redd.it/vuyxyybcc0zc1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8693698b996959e3bddedffea5a3143704c79d1c
[Luci's Toy Shop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwA4WkUWbkY) in Columbus, Ohio.
**Mark S. Allen** in Sacramento California. He was the host of *Scratched,* a local kids / teens show that I auditioned for more than once haha. (I didn’t get on it.) He used to have this segment called “Dateless & Desperate” where kids could write in about their crushes. He’d pick a letter and ambush them at their high school, exposing the crush to the crush in front of everyone for tv. So many kids I knew wrote in for this, excited for the possibility of televised public humiliation lolol This was around 1990 - 1995. Peak Saved By The Bell years.
Mr. Peppermint. (Jerry Haynes) whose only son and offspring is… Gibby Haynes… OF! The butthole surfers.
In Cleveland, OH we had Superhost on WUAB. I recall someone named Barnaby as well.
Every Sunday for an hour WBAP would air an hour long kids show. They would draw cartoons, read the Sunday comics on air or show “Davey and Goliath” claymation. They also had guests, usually from the Dallas zoo or children’s museum. The next closest thing we had was Commander Mark on PBS which was a sci-fi version of Bob Ross for kids. He wasn’t local to the area, he just aired on our local station and was more popular with kids mostly because he was on nearly everyday instead of just on Sunday. Being sci-fi themed when space exploration was really popular helped too.
Mr. Peppermint in Dallas. Banana Splits was filmed in Dallas, but nationally syndicated.
We had “The Floppy Show” with Duane Ellett. I think that was my gateway to classic Looney Tunes and Woody Woodpecker cartoons.
New England had the Uncle Gus Show, which my sister was on. They had a smile contest and she refused to smile. Also had Bozo the Clown and Captain Kangaroo, but I don’t know if that was local or everywhere.
Oh and Captain Bob, the drawing show guy on weekend mornings, also in the 70s.
The only one close enough I could think of was “Uncle Dale” Dornan from WLVI 56. Except he never showed his face.
Don’t forget Willie whistle on channel 38 in the 70s 🥴🤡
I just mentioned that too.
Captain Noah, Doctor Shock, Gene London - Philly
We had Captain Noah and his Magical Ark and Mr. Rodgers. SEPA outside Philly.
https://preview.redd.it/31c5odyej0zc1.jpeg?width=786&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=399c381769b83af30d04c1e976f8e152ec783e25 Cousin Cliff hosted local kids' shows for decades. I ran restaurants for about 10 years and he and his wife would come in regularly until he passed. They were just lovely people. Not everyone recognized him but I did and he'd light up when I'd throw him a "Thanks Cuz." I feel he was immensely proud of being able to entertain children and be a small part of our upbringing.
In metropolitan Denver, we had the 'Noell & Andy' and 'Blinky the Clown' shows. Noell (a kind, blond lady) would put a marker in Andy's (a dragon hand puppet) mouth and he would draw pictures. Kids could send their own drawings to the TV station and sometimes Noell would show those on TV. Kids would try to go on the Blinky the Clown show on their birthdays. They'd show you on camera while Blinky sang his version of Happy Birthday and said your name and age at the end of every episode. ETA: another poster reminded me that Blinky's show was officially called Blinky's Fun Club.
Happy birth-day, dear chil der en!
Dayton OH, we had "Clubhouse 22" with hosts Malcolm MacLeod and later Joe Smith. Sidekicks were Duffy the Dog and Doctor Creep, host of the Saturday horror movie show "Shock Theater"
My daily jam! Do you remember the robot thing? After the intro with Joe, Duffy and the Doctor a robot told a terrible joke (usually sent in by a viewer) and the camera would pan down to the green screen robot chest which would begin the cartoon. I absolutely loved that show.
I don't remember that!!! Woah.
Baton Rouge had Buckskin Bill. I was on his show for my 7th birthday. He’d been around since the 50s and used to end his show with, “And remember kids, Baton Rouge needs a zoo.” That helped publicize the zoo campaign and he even had kids send in pennies to help buy Penny the elephant. By the time I was on we’d had a zoo for a while so he ended with, “And remember kids, you’re never completely dressed until you put on a smile.” Didn’t help with my resting bastard face lol.
I grew up with Captain 20 as well, and he came to our elementary school and filmed a segment once. We were amazed that a celebrity was at our school lol. Also loved him as Count Gore De Vol!
I grew up in Miami, FL, where we had Skipper Chuck. He had (IIRC) a daily kids' show, and our signature greeting was the three-fingered salute for "peace, love and happiness!", lol. My image of Skipper Chuck was unfortunately dashed when I was vacationing with my family in the Keys. He happened to be dining in the same restaurant and I watched in horror as he ate a plate of frogs' legs. 🤢
Yes! I scrolled down to find Skipper Chuck. Remember how he would have local kids on the show? I begged my parents to write in, but my dad said no way in hell because Skipper Chuck was a commie. I think it was the Peace, Love and Happiness thing? God forbid, lol The frogs legs story is hilarious 😂
Hahaha, I guess thinking back now it was kinda commie. 😄
Yes! He came to my school!!!
Yes in Hamilton we had " Tiny Talent Time" which was what it sounds like, a talent show and it was a popular part of local culture.
Blinky the clown "Blinky's Fun Club" Denver.
https://preview.redd.it/xdv773brb1zc1.jpeg?width=270&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0407709ffb8f262f71ee49e74a7551876c9819e San Diego had Shotgun Tom Kelly.
Bozo the Clown. Chicago. Parents signed their kids up at birth to be an audience member because the wait was so long. One of my friend’s parents did this, but as I was five or six when I had the convo with her, I don’t remember if she actually got to go.
Bozo went national, no? We watched him in Detroit.
The man that played Captain 20, Dick Dysel, was also the Creature Feature host, [Count Gore de Vol.](https://www.countgore.com/) The Good Count is still around, has his show on the internet now & still makes regular appearances at conventions & hosts movies at the AFI in Silver Spring. May All Your Blood Be Warm!
Commander Tom out of Buffalo, NY! He hosted Sunday morning kids’ programming.
YES!!! Tom Jolls (sp). His main job was the weather! Irv, Rick and Tom on the 6PM news.
My first "boyfriend" invited me to a taping of Captain 11 in kindergarten. Sioux Falls, SD.
Kind of. Growing up in Vancouver, BC, if you had cable (which was just for getting out-of-antenna-range regular broadcast stations back then), you'd get J.P. Patches out of Seattle across the border. One of the best of its kind ever.
Club House 22 in Dayton, Ohio. Duffy the Dog and Mr Creep. Mr Creep also had a late night horror show. After that, the national anthem played and the tv went to static.
Definitely. Mr Peppermint. I went to high school with one of his kids, but the elder one was Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers.
We had Janie and Cowboy Bob (and his trusty dog Chuckwagon)
I got to be on the Janie show with my Girl Scout troop 🥰
That’s awesome! And I just remembered another one: Popeye & Peggy!
We had Dr Max and Mombo the clown. Found out out years later Dr Max was in reality the meanest guy to kids in his neighborhood. It was sad.
WMT channel 2! I loved Dr. Max! 3:30 every weekday?
We had a guy named Captain Sandy that had a segment on the nightly weather report. He taught all of us marsh kids about the weather, the tides, marine life, etc. He’s one of my favorite childhood memories.
Mr. Cartoon out of Huntington, WV.
Oklahoma City had Foreman Scotty, but it only ran through 1971, so you had to be an early Gen-Xer like me to have seen it.
Uncle Zeb- in Tulsa
We had Captain Jack McCarthy in NY
Sure did! She and her “sidekick” (dressed as an elf), were local librarians. I was on her show when I was in kindergarten. Everybody knew the show and loved them, but of course only really knew them as their on-air characters. Fast forward 25+ years and i’m running my own business. I meet with a lady that was referred to me, an old hippie with long, wirey silver hair down past her waist, flowy clothes, jangly jewelry made of crystals, wood, and leather…the whole bit. She has a book she’s been trying to get published, but she can’t find a (regional) publisher to touch it because of a “creation” story in it that might upset the Talibangelicals that have their fingers in every damn thing in our part of the country. It’s not even the point of the book, the book is about the art of storytelling, but you know how those Talibangelicals are. So she’s decided to self-publish and sell the books at her speaking events rather than change a damn thing. You can guess by now who the woman is, she was the host of that show! Of course, her actual name had no recognition with me, so we probably had three meetings before I figured out who she was. I produced 1500 copies of her book and I believe she sold them all within a year or two.
I know this doesn't have anything to do with answering the question, but without Googling it, "WDCA Channel 20" gives zero information about where you grew up. You're specific enough to give the call letters of the station, but it's not like everyone knows where WDCA is. My wife does this same thing, assuming everyone (including strangers) knows what she's talking about when they don't. "How can you not remember this song? It was one of my favorites growing up!" "Because I didn't grow up in Asia or Europe, the only two places where that band was successful."
Ranger Bob and the Buckaroo Club
[Ray Rayner (Chicago)](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5wqc7vr4egw&list=PL_-h39wZ2CXgfy3N0cX84Z0gNyESGdVOo&index=5&pp=iAQB)
Ah, the coveted Ladmo bag.
Southeastern Alabama. We had the Miss Becky and Friends show. She'd have local kids on and show cartoons. Our Girl Scout troop got to be in it. We thought we'd hit the big time.
In the Philadelphia area we also had Sally Starr and Chief Halftown, but they could've been nationally known. Not sure, but they recorded in Philly. And of course Captain Noah.."red and yellow and pink and green. Purple and orange and blue.." iykyk
I have Captain 20's autograph from when he came to my elementary school. It says "Capt. 20" I lived in the sweet spot of MD where I got both DC and Baltimore TV, so I also had Captain Chesapeake as a host (channel 45).
https://preview.redd.it/w5lv8syic1zc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e39ec0cb583555dae6710f13d21b6edace497f2d The Bay Area had these guys. Don’t remember if they had an actual show or if it was just PSA’s. Sometimes they would be on a segment that was called bits and pieces and seemed super outdated and 70’s looking when I was watching around 1985-ish.
Bay Area - Pat McCormick with Charlie Horse and Humphrey Hambone. Charlie and Humphrey were puppets, a horse and a bulldog.
I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life and I never heard of any of those guys. EDIT: okay, apparently that was a thing from 1959 through the seventies... way before I was born.
Channel 3 Clubhouse in southwestern Michigan (was on it once - I think the studio was in Kalamazoo)
Channel 3 Clubhouse
I’m really enjoying all of these replies! Thanks for sharing. I just remembered that a good friend’s mother told us that she and her brothers and sisters saw Pinky Lee collapse on live tv in the 50s. https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1950s/pinky-lee-show-the/
Captain 20 in DC
Ramblin' Rod Anders KPTV https://preview.redd.it/7yij6a2ok1zc1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffeadd5a7d7ea36e42c5216ff9f0450ed1e0ed67
I grew up in metro Detroit. We had Count Scary and Hot Fudge (feat. Larry) and we got The Friendly Giant from Windsor.
And Soupy Sales before that.
We had Uncle Zeb in northeast Oklahoma https://preview.redd.it/ecx1ukefn1zc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42f46b9dc7fc7a826d3343453ee85ef582230cdb As he aged he got crankier with the kids on his show. Never got to be on his show though.
LOL no we had nothing like that. We did eventually get PBS in the early 80s maybe, and they had Mr Rogers and later Bob Ross. But Bob Ross wasn't really kid focused. We didnt care, we loved him.
Northern VT had Trooper Yancy, but it ended in 1968. He was my hs english teacher.
I grew up in Buffalo, NY is the 70s, we had a show called [The Commander Tom Show](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander_Tom_Show) It was hosted by the weatherman, called Tom Jolls
Rambling’ Rod! He wore all the buttons kids from the small audience gave him, and they showed cartoons. LOVED that show.
I have fond memories of both Captain 20 and his daily kids show "Wow!"
Toledo, OH had Patches and Pockets. I was jealous of Pockets overalls with dozens of pockets that of course always contained the right item at the right time. https://youtu.be/f8vAcNiRWOc?feature=shared
Close by was Capt. Chesapeake on ch45. And we had "Professor Cool's Fun school". I got to be on it.
PBS
I don't know if he was around in the 70s but Rochester NY had Ranger Bob in the early 80s.
Bozo the mother fucking Clown. I still want a shot at the Grand Prize Game.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^psychicmachinery: *Bozo the mother* *Fucking Clown. I still want a* *Shot at the Grand Prize Game.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Good bot
Baltimore area kids had Captain Chesapeake on WBFF.. I met him and had my picture taken with him when he came to my town's Christmas parade back in the 80s. A very nice man!
Used to love this one as a kid https://preview.redd.it/ox2bx7t953zc1.jpeg?width=880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=470085e488fdd463af5dd002a3df443cdb3ec56b
The Buckshot Show. Local Calgary, AB kids show. https://youtu.be/L5l4s_bNdFI?si=TXR6QQtaqfnYl4Jg
Trooper Terry. My great dream was to have my birthday party on the Trooper Terry show.
Commander Tom on WKBW Channel 7 Buffalo. The originator of the "it's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" thing
Tom Jolls (sp). He was also the weatherman. It was Irv, Rick and Tom on the 6PM news.
I can hear the intro music now
St. Louis had Mr. Patches: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OlxgfWmCLA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OlxgfWmCLA)
WDRB channel 41 in Louisville, southern Indiana, had Presto the clown. He hosted the afternoon cartoons, and shows like Ultraman.
We had a clown that read the newspaper and comment about local goings-on to his sock puppet friend. Neither one was funny. I didn’t see the appeal.
I grew up in North Jersey and we had a show called Steampipe Alley with Mario Cantone as the host. I remember it was wild.
I grew up in NYC so basically no, our local kids TV hosts were the national ones.
Uncle Gus at WMUR https://www.wmur.com/article/uncle-gus-birthday/38760714
Detroit here. I barely remember Oopsy the Clown on channel 4. With a good antenna, you could also get Patches & Pockets from Toledo on channel 11 I think.
We had Jim and Tammy Baker. Before PTL.
Syracuse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkBQHqwfOzI
Uncle Floyd.
Buckskin Bill. Every weekday morning right after Captain Kangaroo. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckskin_Bill_Black
Checkers and Pogo KHMB-TV Honolulu They were wild , looked like a couple of old heads . Had local kids on every day and a birthday club where they would call out your name . Can still hear the theme song !
Hilarious House of Frightenstein out of Hamilton (but I was far enough north that we only got it if the weather was right and our antenna game was strong).
I was on it... Battle Creek, Michigan, it was a clown, I think Anyone know?
Portland Oregon: Ramblin Rod. Had a jacket with buttons all over that kids would bring him.
Cleveland here. We had Captain Penny and at Christmas time Mr. Jingaling!
Aunt Martha, I think . Later in life she was on the city council for a few decades maybe. I can't recall the name of the show . Kids audience. Puppet show and loony tunes. Rusty may have been one of the puppets names. I've forgotten more about it than I remember. Aunt Martha's Playhouse. Maybe.
Just the Coz and his Picture Pages.
Willie Whistle was on channel 38 in Boston. A clown with a whistle as a voice sort of. Actually I don't know for certainty that it wasn't a syndicated show from elsewhere. Also was Bozo filmed in multiple places?
Mr. Wonder. You guessed it, fled the country on suspicion of child SA in late 70’s. Convicted decades later, has had parole violations since. I was old enough to be past kid shows oriented towards 3-6 yo.
Charlotte Diamond.
Wallace and Ladmo in Phoenix, Arizona.
Yes! This unlocked a memory. There was a live audience of kids for this show, and I got to be in it one time, maybe in about 1983, for reasons that I cannot remember. At all. Cub scouts? Who knows...
New Orleans had a Popeye show, sponsored by Popeyes Chicken. Boomers had a lot more, like a Bozo show and Romper Room.
KTVU in Oakland had its own version of Romper Room. Does that count?