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1950's Saturday Morning ShowsHiya Kids - A '50s Saturday Morning

Shout! Factory has put together a wonderful compendium of seminal Saturday morning TV shows from the 1950s that is a jam packed treat any boomer will enjoy, it's time travel in a box.

The way the collection is arranged is to give you the feel of a 1950's Saturday morning lineup, with the shows meant for younger kids coming first on each disc. Most of this material is from before my time in front of the tube - but not by much.

Oddly, disc one opens with the most intelligent show of the bunch, Kukla, Fran & Ollie. In this episode, the Kuklapolitan Players delve into class structure in the USA, if you can believe it, responding to an article in a then current issue of Life magazine. This would have been way over the heads of preschoolers but episodes of Kukla, Fran & Ollie are rare and this one is a sparkling gem. I'm dreaming of a comprehensive Kukla, Fran & Ollie DVD release some day in the future.

Probably the most famous show of the bunch, Howdy Doody is followed by a very early episode of Lassie, a primetime show that turned up briefly on Saturdays.

Annie Oakley in 'Annie and the Bicycle Riders' with Gail Davis is pure western fun and comic strip hero Flash Gordon from 1954 rounds out the first disc with low tech, small budget excitement.

Highlights on disc two include Ding Dong School, one of network TV's very first educational programs for the wee ones. What a stark contrast with today's kiddie fare, Miss Frances teaches with a gentle and kind nature. No wonder she was an early TV icon. I don't think this show actually aired on Saturdays but it is a logical addition.

Time For Beany is a marvelously imaginative show, this is the puppet version that preceded the cartoon series with the sea sick sea serpent and his friends looking for a giant white gorilla on a mysterious island.

The Paul Winchell Show is a genuinely funny rarity with Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff in a musical Christmas themed program. This is actually a primetime show that aired before NBC moved the program to Saturday mornings and comes complete with commercials.

Shot on location, The Roy Rogers Show was big time kid's entertainment in the 1950s that popped up in reruns on Saturday mornings in the early-1960s; here Roy and Trigger are kidnapped as Dale Evans, Bullet and Pat Brady ride to the rescue.

The intelligent but low budgeted syndicated series Captain Z-RO from 1954 offers up an amusing look into the future from a fifties' perspective. The picture quality is appalling but it looks like you're watching with rabbit ears reception, appropriate since that's how most kids experienced TV in the 1950s.

On disc three you'll find preschooler favorite The Rootie Kazootie Club and Winky Dink & You, the very first interactive video game, will thrill those who grew up with this unique program. Just remember not to draw on your TV screen. (This episode is the one you'll find sampled on TVparty.)

Super Circus with Claude Kirshner and the lovely Mary Hartline is another fondly remembered series as is Andy's Gang with Froggy the Gremlin ("Plunk your Magic Twanger, Froggy!"), a show that contains one of the weirdest stories with an unmistakably homoerotic undertone ("Get to your horse quickly or feel my lance pierce your throat!").

The Cisco Kid was TV's first color series and the picture quality here is only fair. It's followed by one of my favorites, Sky King, in an episode found on other DVD sets. Watching Sky King with his niece Penny patrolling the skies in the Songbird is one of my first TV memories and the show holds up very well, simple and charming.

Disc 4 opens with 2 fifteen minute episodes of Bomono's The Magic Clown another rarity from around 1950 that aired in some markets on Saturday mornings.

Kids and Company and Juvenile Jury are followed by The Pinky Lee Show, a manic musical journey with one of the most beloved and talented kid show hosts of all time. In this highly entertaining episode, Pinky becomes a detective while Sheena, Queen of the Jungle tries to overt a tribal war in the final installment in the DVD collection.

Some of these episodes have turned up on dollar store DVDs but they generally look a heck of a lot better in this collection. The picture and sound quality throughout is quite nice, especially considering the source material on some of these shows is less than desirable.

A true bargain at around $28.00 if you order online now.


Product Description:
Some dreamed of a chance to be in the Peanut Gallery of Howdy Doody. Some begged their parents for a dog just like Lassie. Many wore cowboy hats to watch The Roy Rogers Show. In the 1950s, television was new and thrilling. Looking back, these shows had a significant impact on the children of the first television generation and helped to shape the medium as it increasingly became a part of our culture.

Hiya Kids!! A '50s Saturday Morning is a collection of the best kids' shows from the infancy of the genre. 4-DVD Box Set including 21 classic shows: Kukla, Fran And Ollie, Howdy Doody, Flash Gordon, Lassie, Annie Oakley, Ding Dong School, Time For Beany, The Paul Winchell Show, The Roy Rogers Show, Captain Z-RO, The Rootie Kazootie Club, Winky Dink And You, Super Circus, Andy s Gang, The Cisco Kid, Sky King, The Magic Clown, Kids And Company, Juvenile Jury, The Pinky Lee Show & Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle.

# Actors: Hiya Kids
# Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
# Language: English
# Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
# Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
# Number of discs: 4
# Studio: Shout! Factory
# DVD Release Date: May 6, 2008
# Run Time: 570 minutes


Leslie Evans responds to my Hiya Kids review: "I want to say 'Thank you' to your reviewer, the only one who seems to know what he's talking about with this set. I'm a big Kukla, Fran and Ollie fan, and, like any KFO fan, know that their show was NOT all kid fair, despite the presence of the Kuklapolitans (one does not call them 'puppets'). The producers of the set seem to over look this, and so put it in the first slot of the first DVD, supposed programming for the youngest children. Had they bothered to do some research, they would know that Kukla, Fran and Ollie ran during 'prime time' for much of its initial ten year run. Even when they were shoved into a Sunday afternoon slot by NBC, they continued to make very sophisticated shows. Your review was the only one out of many that remembered the real KFO, and didn't just go by what the promotional material said. Kudos for that, and double kudos for requesting a comprehensive KFO DVD!"

 

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Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav

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Dana Carvey Show

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Family Guy

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Four Family Movies

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Gene Simmons Family Jewels

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George of the Jungle (2008 version)

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Gilligan's Island

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Glee Season 1

Godzilla movies

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Here's Lucy

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Heroes

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Highlander

Highlander: The Source

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Hogan's Heroes

Hotel

Holiday on Ice

Home Improvement

Home Improvement 8

Home Movies

Honeymooners (Color)

Honeymooners Specials

Hootenanny

Hot In Cleveland

How I Met Your Mother

The Hunger

 

I Heart Jonas

I Love Lucy

I Love New York

I'm Dickens He's Fenster

Important Things with Demetri Martin

Indiana Jones - The Adventure Collection

The Invaders

The Invisibles

Ironside

The IT Crowd

The IT Crowd Season 2

The IT Crowd Season 3

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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Christmas

It's Garry Shandling's Show

 

J.A.G

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Jeff Foxworthy Show

Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special

The Jewish Americans

Joey Bishop Show

Johnny Carson Show

Johnny Cash Show

John Oliver: Terrifying Times

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

Jonas Brothers: Rockin' the House

Josie and the Pussycats

Judge Roy Bean

Justice League: New Frontier

 

Katt Williams American Hustle: The Movie

Kenny vs Spenny

Kitchen Confidential

Kojak

Kukla, Fran & Ollie

Kung Fu

Kyle XY

Kyle XY - Season 2

 

Land of the Lost

Larry Sanders Show

Last Days of Left Eye

Last Detective

Last of the Mohicans

Laverne & Shirley

Leave it to Beaver

Leave it to Beaver: The Complete Series

Legion of Super Heroes

Leverage

Lewis Black's Root of All Evil

Lidsville

Lie To Me

Life After People

Life On Mars (American)

Life On Mars (American) 2

Life On Mars (British)

Lincoln Heights

L'il Bush

Little Britain

The Littles

Long Way Down

Looney Tunes

The Loop

Lost Season 4

Lost Season 5

Lost Season 6

Lost Season 4

Love American Style

Lucille Ball Specials

Lucy Calls The President

Lucy's Really Lost Moments

Lucy Show

Lucy Show Season One

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Mail Order Bride

Make Room for Daddy 5

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Manswers

Marcus Welby, M.D.

Mary Tyler Moore Show

Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5

Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 5 (Another view)

Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 6

Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 7

Masters of Science Fiction

Maude

Maverick

McHale's Navy

Melrose Place

Men Behaving Badly

Miami Vice

Mickey's Adventures in Wonderland

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Mickey's Magical Christmas

The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16 Ton Megaset

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Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed: Season 2

Milton the Monster Show

Mission Impossible

Mission: Magic

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Moonlighting

Motown The DVD

The Mothers-In-Law

Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami

The Munsters

The Muppet Show

Murphy Brown

My Name Is Earl

My Name Is Earl - Season 4

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 15

Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Vol. 16

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My Three Sons: Season 2

 

New Adventures of Mighty Mouse

New Adventures of Old Christine

New World Order

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Night Gallery

No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

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Northern Exposure

Nowhere Man

Numb3rs

 

Oblivious

The O.C.

October Road

The Odd Couple

The Office

The Office Season 5

The Office

Omnibus: King Lear

One Man Show

Oswald's Ghost

Outer Limits

Outer Limits: Complete Series

Ozzie & Harriet

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Paper Chase

Parker Lewis Can't Lose

Parker Lewis Can't Lose: Season 2

Passport to Adventure

Patty Duke Show

Paul Lynde Halloween Special

Pawn Stars

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Peanuts Christmas Special

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Perry Mason

The Persuaders

The People Speak

Petticoat Junction

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Pioneers of Television

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Popeye the Sailor

Popeye - 1941-1943

Pride & Prejudice

Primal Fear

Prince Valiant

Prison Break

Prison Break: Final Break

The Prisoner

The Prisoner: American Version

Private Practice

Pulling

Psychic Kids

Quantum Leap

Quincy, ME

 

Racket Squad

Real Ghostbusters

Red Green Show

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Reno 911: Season 6

Rescue Me

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Rhoda Season 2

The Riches

Rise of Monty Python: The Other British Invasion

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Robert Klein HBO Specials

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock of Love

Rocky & Bullwinkle

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Room 222: Season 2

Roots: The Next Generations

Ron White

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Route 66

Russell Brand

 

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Sanctuary

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Secrets of Isis

Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy

Secret Life of the American Teenager

Sgt. Bilko: Season One

Shari Lewis Christmas

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Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends

Sheriff of Cochise

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Shotgun Slade

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The Simpsons: Season 20

Sledge Hammer

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Smallville: Season 9

Small Wonder

Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

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Sonny & Cher

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South Park Season 12 on Blu-Ray

South Park Season 13

South Park: The Cult of Cartman

Space Ghost

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Spectacular Spiderman Vol. 8

Speed Racer

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Spin City: Season 3

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Stargate Universe

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Swingtown

 

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thirtysomething

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This American Life: Season 2

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Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases

Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases 4

Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary

Tony Orlando & Dawn

Transformers Animated

Transformers: Cybertron

Tripping The Rift: The Movie

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TV Funhouse

TV Sets: Action Packed

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Two and a Half Men Season 6

 

The Unit

Upright Citizens Brigade

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Ugly Betty Season 2

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Up In Smoke

U.S. Marshall

 

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Victor Borge Show

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What's New Scooby Doo

When We Left Earth

Wild Wild West

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The Wire - Season 5

The Whitest Kids U Know

Wizard of Oz

WKRP in Cincinnati

World Poker Tour

WWII in HD

 

X-Files Revelations

X-Men Animated 1

X-Men Animated 2

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Zorro: Season 2


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Classic TV Shows of the 1960s & 1970s


DISC 1:
Episode from Kukla, Fran And Ollie 1948 - 1957
Kukla, Fran And Ollie debuted as a local Chicago show entitled Junior Jamboree and was renamed in 1948 when the installation of a coaxial cable linking the East Coast to the Midwest expanded its broadcast range. Established radio star Fran Allison played herself on the show as the perfect counterbalance to the antics of the puppets, and her uncanny ability to ad-lib allowed the show to run completely unscripted and unrehearsed.
Kukla, Fran And Ollie featured the creations of Burr Tillstrom, considered one of the greats in puppet history. He voiced and performed all of the puppet characters on the show and is credited with creating the puppeteering technique of watching the action on a small monitor while performing the characters, a practice still in use today.
Episode from Howdy Doody 1947 - 1960
Howdy Doody evolved from The Triple B Ranch, a radio program that featured the voice of "Buffalo" Bob Smith as himself and a character named Elmer who opened the show by saying "Howdy Doody." When Howdy Doody premiered on television it was an hour-long series that aired on Saturdays, but in 1948 it became the first network children's show to run five days a week, and eventually was broadcast in color in 1955. "Buffalo" Bob Smith created and hosted the show, as well as providing the voice of Howdy Doody.
For the show's final episode, Clarabelle the Clown--who never uttered a word throughout the program run--finally spoke the series' very last two words, saying, "Goodbye, kids."
Episode from Lassie 1954 - 1974
Originally created in 1938 by Eric Knight for a short story published in the Saturday Evening Post, Lassie became an immediate sensation that spawned a full-length novel, a feature film starring an 11-year-old named Elizabeth Taylor, a radio show and, in 1954, the Lassie television series.
The series--which ran for an amazing 20 years and won two of six Emmy Awards for which it was nominated--originally starred 13-year-old film veteran Tommy Rettig as Jeff Miller, Lassie's faithful owner and best friend for 110 episodes.
Episode from Annie Oakley 1954 - 1957
The real Annie Oakley, on whom this character was loosely based, was a sharpshooter with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in the late 1800s. As a television series, Annie Oakley hit the entertainment bull's-eye every week for three years in the mid-1950s.
Having appeared in dozens of both big- and small-screen Westerns, including 14 features with Gene Autry, Gail Davis was a natural to play the title role in the television series. In fact, Autry's own Flying `A' Productions coproduced Annie Oakley's syndicated 81-episode run.
Episode from Flash Gordon 1954
Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon comic strip, which debuted in 1934, has been translated into radio serials, animated television series, numerous feature films, comic books and novels over the past 50 years. This incarnation--filmed in Germany less than a decade after the end of World War II--was the first, and only, live-action television series up until 2007 and starred chiseled Steve Holland as Flash Gordon, operative of the Galaxy Bureau of Investigation.
DISC 2:
Episode from Ding Dong School 1952 - 1959
Dr. Frances R. Horwich, known simply to audiences as Miss Frances, took a leave of absence from her position as chairman of the education department at Chicago's Roosevelt College to host Ding Dong School, which became monumental in paving the way for preschool television.
Originally filmed in Chicago, and later in New York, Ding Dong School was so popular that after just six weeks it was picked up by NBC and was soon seen by millions of children throughout the United States.
Episode from Time For Beany 1949 - 1954
While viewers may be more familiar with Bob Clampett's Beany And Cecil in their cartoon incarnations, the public was first introduced to the silly, seasick serpent and his beanie-topped companion when they premiered as puppets, voiced by the talented Daws Butler and Stan Freberg. Though the series began as a local show in Los Angeles in 1949, by the following year Time For Beany had gone national and continued with much success through 1954.
One of the most famous fans of Time For Beany was none other than Albert Einstein.
Episode from The Paul Winchell Show 1956 - 1960
In 1956 self-taught ventriloquist Paul Winchell starred in Circus Time, only one of his many television series. After a year Circus Time was revamped and renamed The Paul Winchell Show, a moniker it retained until the show ended in 1960.
Giving voice to his own Jerry Mahoney puppet, Gargamel on The Smurfs and Tigger of Disney's Winnie The Pooh animated films, Paul Winchell brought heart to the characters he created. A true renaissance man, Winchell was also an inventor who held 30 patents, including one for an early model of an artificial heart he built in 1963. He also studied and practiced acupuncture and hypnosis and wrote widely on theology.
Episode from The Roy Rogers Show 1951 - 1957
The "King of Cowboys," Roy Rogers was no stranger to America by the time he starred in The Roy Rogers Show, having already appeared in over a hundred movies by 1951.
In 1947 Rogers married Dale Evans, who became the "Queen of the West." Together they were one of America's most beloved couples. Along with many honors, they have the distinction of being the only married couple to serve as Grand Marshals of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade.
You can't think of The Roy Rogers Show, which ran from 1951 to 1957, without remembering "his golden palomino" Trigger and Bullet "the wonder dog." Visitors to the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Missouri, can actually see a taxidermist-prepared Trigger, stuffed and mounted, rearing up on his back legs, as one of the museum's most popular exhibits.
Episode from Captain Z-RO 1951 - 1956
Captain Z-RO came to us from a remote, uncharted region of a planet called Earth. When Captain Z-RO debuted in 1951, it was a 15-minute local show from San Francisco. In 1954, however, the show became syndicated and went national, switching to a 30-minute format and continuing with original episodes until 1956. It stayed on in reruns through 1960.
Captain Z-RO received much praise for its outstanding educational value, including honorable mention at the Twentieth American Exhibition of Educational Radio-Television Programs in 1956.
Roy Steffens, who also created and wrote the show, portrayed the title role of Captain Z-RO.
DISC 3:
Episode from The Rootie Kazootie Club 1950 - 1954
Created by Steve Carlin, who at the time was in charge of RCA's children's phonograph records, The Rootie Kazootie Club met over the airwaves from 1950 to 1954 with "Big Todd" Russell, Mr. Deetle Doodle and, of course, Rootie Kazootie!
"Big Todd" Russell wasn't just comfortable with the juvenile members of The Rootie Kazootie Club. He also hosted quiz shows on radio such as Double Or Nothing and Strike It Rich and is perhaps best remembered as the creator and producer of The $64,000 Question.
Rootie Kazootie was extremely popular and led to a series of Rootie Kazootie Golden Books.
Episode from Winky Dink And You 1953 - 1957
Get out your Winky Dink kit, because it's time for Winky Dink And You--a show you didn't just watch . . . you actually got to play! Winky Dink And You was the first interactive television show, allowing children the opportunity to be a part of the show by placing a clear "magic window" on the television and drawing on it with crayons.
Jack Barry, who already had a successful run with Juvenile Jury, hosted the show. Barry later went on to emcee the 1970s game show Joker's Wild, but is perhaps most famous as the host and coproducer of the wildly popular Twenty-One, which created a great scandal by providing answers to contestants, nearly ruining Barry's career and prompting Congress to develop new laws that prohibited the fixing of quiz shows.
Winky Dink And You ran from 1953 to 1957, and if Winky Dink sounds a bit familiar, it's because the voice was provided by Mae Questel--best known as the voice of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop.
Episode from Super Circus 1949 - 1955
From 1949 to 1955, the small screen was transformed into the big top during Super Circus featuring Ringmaster (and former radio announcer) Claude Kirchner.
Ringmaster Kirchner, clowns Cliffy, Nicky and Scampy, and the various circus acts thrilled the kids. But it was bandleader Mary Hartline who became the real attraction.
Mary Hartline had a certain appeal, and suddenly fathers were happy to watch television alongside their kids. Hartline wasn't just popular with the dads, however. Kids adored her, which led to an abundance of merchandise such as Mary Hartline dolls, paper figures, apparel and books--even comic books titled Super Circus Featuring Mary Hartline.
Episode from Andy's Gang 1955 - 1960
"Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!" Andy's Gang was an immensly popular variety show for kids starring Andy Devine ("Cookie" in over 400 Roy Rogers Westerns, and "Jingles" in The Adventures Of Wild Bill Hickock). Along with Froggy the Gremlin, Midnight the Cat, Squeaky the Mouse and some other oddball regulars, there were skits, book-readings and weekly serials such as Little Fox (included in this episode) and Rhama Of The Jungle.
The show, the format, even Froggy the Gremlin all derived from Ed McConnell, who had been a children's radio host since the 1920s, and his 1943 program Smilin' Ed McConnell And The Buster Brown Shoe Gang. In 1950 Smilin' Ed brought the show to television under the title Smilin' Ed's Gang. When Ed died unexpectedly in 1955, Andy Devine took his place, and the show became Andy's Gang.
Episode from The Cisco Kid 1950 - 1956
"Here's adventure! Here's romance! Here's O. Henry's famous Robin Hood of the Old West--The Cisco Kid!" While each episode of The Cisco Kid began with those words, very little about the television Cisco Kid harkened back to O. Henry's version.
In his 1907 book of short stories, The Heart Of The West, O. Henry introduced the Cisco Kid in "The Caballero's Way." The character was not Hispanic, he had no sidekick and, according to O. Henry, the Cisco Kid " . . . killed for the love of it--because he was quick-tempered--to avoid arrest--for his own amusement--any reason that came to his mind would suffice."
There were numerous films about the Cisco Kid as early as 1914 and even a radio series, but in the 1945 film The Cisco Kid Returns, Duncan Renaldo was introduced to audiences in the title role. He continued to make Cisco Kid films and was paired with Leo Carrillo as Pancho in his last five features.
In 1950 Renaldo and Carrillo reprised their roles for the Cisco Kid television series, ending each episode with the exclamations: "Oh, Pancho!" "Oh, Cisco!"
Episode from Sky King 1951 - 1959
"Out of the clear blue of the Western sky comes Sky King," a '50s television series about an Arizona rancher and pilot who stumbles upon danger in every episode and then saves the day. Kirby Grant, who played as Schuyler "Sky" King, had appeared in dozens of films and was an accomplished aviator, which contributed to the believability of the show. The plane Sky flew was the Songbird and his ranch was called The Flying Crown.
Gloria Winters played Sky's niece, Penny. Winters was a well-rounded actress who appeared in many films and onstage. In 1964 her book Penny's Guide To Teen-age Charm And Popularity was published as an etiquette guide for teenage girls.
DISC 4:
2 Episodes from The Magic Clown 1949 - 1954
The Magic Clown was definitely sponsored by Bonamo's Turkish Taffy. The live and at-home audience sang the Bonamo's theme song, they said the magic word ("Bonamo"), and if they wanted the magic face kit, they could send in 20 cents . . . plus a wrapper from Bonamo's Turkish Taffy (which everyone in the studio seemed to be chewing). The Magic Clown might even make Turkish Taffy appear as part of his magic tricks.
The two ostensibly Turkish men making taffy on the wrapper of Bonamo's Turkish Taffy wore fezzes, so everyone on the program donned the headgear as well: from the Magic Clown--portrayed by several actors throughout the program's run--the audience, and even the puppet, Laffy (rhymes with "taffy"). Ironically, in 1925, the fez was banned in Turkey and to this day is not usually worn.
In 1971 internationally renowned magician James Randi revived the series as The Magic Clown, but while the clowns may have changed, Bonamo's Turkish Taffy certainly did not.
Episode from Kids And Company 1951 - 1952
Originating in New York, this 1950s American Idol of the moppet world showcased kids with various abilities, but if you didn't have a great talent it was no matter. If you rescued a kid from quicksand or from the jaws of an alligator, there was a good chance you'd get your few minutes of fame on Kids And Company as well.
Kids And Company was hosted by Johnny Olson, who went on to become the announcer for successful game shows such as Match Game, To Tell The Truth and What's My Line? and, in 1972, went on to popularize one of the greatest catchphrases in game show history: The Price Is Right's "Come on down!"
Episode from Juvenile Jury 1947 - 1954
Before Joker's Wild, and even before Winky Dink And You, Jack Barry hosted Juvenile Jury. Beginning on radio, the jury made their first televised deliberation in 1947 and continued offering their unpredictable verdicts until 1954.
A panel of five children between the ages of three and 12 appeared on the program every week to make pronouncements on dilemmas posed by viewers and audience members. Questions ranged from simple matters of opinion to advice on everyday problems of interest to children, with Barry skillfully managing to keep the participants at ease. Aside from the obvious entertainment value of the cast's candid responses, Juvenile Jury is also notable as the first commercially sponsored network television series (in this case, by General Foods).
Juvenile Jury was revived twice, in the 1970s (with Jack Barry returning) and again for a short time in 1983 with host Nipsey Russell.
Episode from The Pinky Lee Show 1954 - 1956
Pinky Lee was doing a show with Vivian Blaine called Those Two when producer Lawrence White found himself in need of a new host for a children's show after The Gabby Hayes Show was dropped. White's son begged him to hire Pinky Lee, and thus Lee was able to add "children's show host" to his résumé.
The fast pace of The Pinky Lee Show, which aired from 1954 to 1956, was quite ahead of its time, more comparable with the shows of today. A former burlesque performer, Pinky Lee brought a squeaky clean version of burlesque to his children's show.
Although the show ran until 1956, an illness caused Lee's absence from 1955 until the end of the show's run.
Episode from Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle 1955 - 1956
Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle first swung onto television screens in 1955, but Sheena's history jumps back to 1937 where the character was introduced in Wags, a British tabloid magazine. The following year Sheena appeared in Jumbo Comics, and that's when her popularity started to grow. She appeared in each issue and was even spun off into her own comic book, making her the first female to be a title character, three months ahead of DC's Wonder Woman.
Former model Irish McCalla played Sheena, despite never having done any acting before she was asked to audition for the part while pregnant with her second child.

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