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GREAT
IDEAS:
PR4 & PR5 Pages for ads - CHEAP!
Get
The Gift for Granny on DVD now, it sells for $25 plus $5 shipping
and handling. Order
here. Someone
wrote that Gigglesnort Hotel was a spinoff of B.J. and Dirty
Dragon. That's true, and B.J. and Dirty Dragon was the second
show for B.J. (aka Bill Jackson) who did a show called Clown Alley.
Bill Jackson was
quite an artist, who incorporated his talent into both shows with his
drawing contest. He would draw a caricature of some cartoon character.
Kids would have to call in to guess who he was drawing. The prize would
be the drawing itself.
- Matt Anthony
I don't know what
possessed me to search for this show on the internet. But after finding
this site I am glad I did.
I remember Giglesnort
Hotel, believe it or not, as a lonely 20-year-old wife with a brand
new baby and an absent/abusive husband. When the kid wasn't screaming
and the old man wasn't screaming, there was always the Gigglesnort gang
to cheer me up. Not much more than a kid myself, I absolutely adored
this show; kind of gave me a few things to smile about between the lonliness
and misery.
As the years have
gone by, I have often wondered what happened to that show I loved so
much. I was broken hearted when it was no longer on the air. I would
watch it every morning. Then I just never heard about it again until
I found this site. I remember so much of it like I watched it just yesterday.
I remember a poem by Maynard the crow that went something like this:
Hogs Dirty Dragon had
a girlfriend named Lila LaHotcha...remember? She would come in from
out of town from her famous glamourous movie-star life to visit him
once in awhile.
Remember the show
where Weird's cousin came in to visit and he was green? Maybe that was
his name..I don't remember..but Dirty decided he didn't like green puppets
and started the...GGG.."Green's Gotta Go" club. He had a bunch of of
the hotel residents down in the basement wearing pointy white hats and
capes...then BJ came in and they did some kind of "Laugh-In" psychedelic
dance segment to show all colors and kinds are good.
Blob was officially
called the "Hotel Statuary". W.C. Cornfield, the House Detective, Dirty
Dragon, Weird the Bellhop, Maynard and Myrtle the crows, Pearl and Fenster,
Wally and of course Old Captain G himself snorting away in a blissful
state of senility on the roof somewhere. And BJ saluting and reporting
"ship's morale" to him to let him know how everyone was doing, and warning
everyone not to call the place a hotel because Captain G thinks it is
a ship. What a hoot!
Why, tell me why
is this show not being aired somehow, somewhere. In my opinion it was
one of the best kids' shows ever. Right up there with Ernest and Pee
Wee, but that's another can of worms.
What ever happened
to Bill Jackson? I wrote him once to tell him how much I loved the show,
and he sent me a nice photo of him with some of the hotel's residents.
He autographed it and everything. Is he still around somewhere? I would
like to think he was still doing something.
- Michele / Dallas
I enjoyed Michele
from Dallas's rendition of "Hogs," the poem recited by Maynard Thumptwanger.
I think her memory is flawless. That poem was the end scene from a episode
called "Rejection," where the residents of the hotel learn to live with
life's little kicks in the pants.
I remember that
episode vividly because I was one of the puppeteers on that show (the
other, besides Bill of course, was Michael Lans...he's the one who's
working Maynard in the scene). I was in my early 20's, a longtime fan
of Bill Jackson's work, and scared to death!
By the way, the
answer to one of Jon Meyer's questions (what show came between Cartoon
Town and Gigglesnort) is "The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show," which aired
on weekday mornings on WGN-TV. It only ran for a year but was almost
identical to the Cartoon Town format (I worked as Bill's production
assistant during this time).
It's been great
reading everyone's memories!
Do you remember
the old lady who would give out recipies? My sister copied her "Pipperoo
Pie" recipe, although she never made it.
A couple of years
ago, I read an article in the Chicago Tribune that included an interview
with Bill Jackson. I believe he was back in Chicago to commemorate the
opening of the Broadcast Museum. After Cartoon Town and Gigglesnort
Hotel, Jackson did some theatre and retired somewhere out in California.
He's now in his 60s, and shocked that people still remember him and
his work. I've lived in Chicago my entire life and never realized that
the Cartoon Town and Garfield Goose puppets are on display.
Robert from Chicago
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Please Help! This
has been driving me nuts. Do you remember a show (probably from the
1970's) called Gigglesnort Hotel? I have asked several people
at work and no one can recall the show.
Thanks for your
help.
No, John, you're
not crazy. Gigglesnort Hotel used to come on early Sunday mornings
in Chicago - a nice bit of a relief from all of the Catholic mass shows.
The hotel was run by old man Gigglesnort. He thought that it was a Ship,
he even had a steering wheel, one of those ship gear shifter things,
and a foghorn in his penthouse suite.
Eg: The Blob of
Clay didn't "talk" - it continually whimpered in agony and terror as
the other characters molded, manipulated and taunted it... All except
for the lone human, who would sculpt, re-face and attempt commiseration
with his fellow prisoner in Gigglesnort Hell. Then along would come
the Dragon, who would eat some coal, let fly a litany of insults, and
then spew huge amounts of smoke from his nostrils. I used to hide in
the corner when it was on TV. It's one of those things that the media
establishment has tried to wipe from the collective memory, kind of
like Rankin & Bass's "The Year Without A Santa Claus" (also fairly Satanic)
- but it was real.
- Alan Hines
I would never miss
an episode because I enjoyed it, but I realize now as an adult (and
I read similar opinions in your web page) that there may have been an
evil side to it. Perhaps this was not the intention, but there is definately
something not right. Being young when the show aired, I could not analyze
it, but I can now.
I
remember a somber atmosphere to it, with poor lighting in most scenes
to suggest some innocent horror. The lemon joke kid's smile was that
of the devil himself, I will never forget his face or the way he talked.
I also remember when BJ would go upstairs to see Gigglesnort himself,
and the hallway was very dark by the door. There was also a sense of
lonliness about the show. The puppet's faces, perhaps comical to children,
seem grotesque to me now. And I can't count how many nightmares I had
throughout the years about the episode with the aliens from outerspace,
that monster with the turtle-neck sweater, lurking about under the passages
of the Hotel. Dirty Dragon seemed
evil too. Blob's hollow and bellowing voice sent chills down my spine.
I think they would have killed someone if the show and the censors allowed
it. I don't mean to be rough on the show, but I can't help what I feel.
I hope you post this so that others may analyze and conclude for themselves.
- Ron Flores
- Rachel Sprovtsoff
The dragon's name
was Dirty Dragon and he provided all of the heat for the hotel. The
only human on the show was BJ, Bill Jackson. He was the creator of the
show also. Genius if you ask me!! There was an OLD couple, Fester &
Pearl, who lived in the hotel and they (from what I remember) were very
kinky.
In one of the episodes
we watched last year, they were playing Cowboy & Indian, using their
recycling Rockers as horses and tying each other up. There was a crow..he
was from the south, his name was Maynard. He was the handy man in the
hotel. There was WC, and he looked and acted like W.C. Fields. And then
there was Wierd. He was, as the name implies, wierd. There was Blob,
he was made of clay and everyone used to form him into different object.
Never talked, just moaned and mummled. There was a purpose to the show,
always a lesson to be learned, Fire Safety, Responsibility - blah blah
blah.
- Clare Allsebrook
2) BJ was Bill Jackson.
He was the Mayor of Cartoon Town.
3) Cartoon Town's
set actually was "modernized" with the buildings having a streamlined
look.
4) The show always
opened with BJ sitting, with his feet up on his desk, with his derby
perched upon on of his feet. When the show started, he'd kick the derby
in the air, and try to get it to land on his head. On the rare occasion
that it did, a celebration commenced.
5) Wally and Weird
were kinda like Ernie and Bert--only weirder.
6) There was a Suggestion
Box on BJ's desk, which would say things much like Senor Wence's hand
would say. "S'allright?" "S'allright."
7) Dirty Dragon
was the Post Master. You had to make sure that you didn't anger Dirty
Dragon, because if you did, he would scream, "FIIIEEEEE !!!!," and blast
fire and smoke out of his nose all-Godzilla-like, and burn up the mail.
He was the precursor to the modern day disgruntled Postal Worker.
8) BJ and Dirty
Dragon were great proponents of the Muscular Distrophy Association,
and encouraged Chicagoland children to have backyard carnivals with
the proceeds going to MDA.
- Jon Meyers
But
you know I don't recall ever being frightened by this show, so maybe
this says something about my inner workings... and maybe I should take
it up with a trained professional. But look at it this way: there are
apparently at LEAST 15 or 20 people who watched this show as kids and
yet managed to grow up literate. That's... something.
- Tess/Victoria
BC (grew up in Chicago) I
am so glad that someone turned me on to this website. I happen to know
that all of St. Leo Grammar School in Chicago watched afternoon shows:
Felix the Cat, Prince Planet, Magilla Gorilla, Speed Racer and yes,
B.J. and DIRTY DRAGON on WFLD and WSNS, channels 32 and 44.
The show
would later be named GIGGLESNORT HOTEL after moving to ABC, channel
7, it was one of my all time favorites! My sister and I would never
miss a show. I am 32 yrs old now and still remember most of the characters
and plot lines that were discussed in the letters on the website. And
yes, I too had a mad crush on Bill Jackson! Boy, he could draw a mean
caricature... He is a fantastic cartoonist and the genius behind a truly
imaginative show.
I can even
go a little further and name a character named "Dr. Doompuss" who's
villainy did a progressive show crossover. He was nasty! I couldn't
wait for the next plot filled storyline starring that guy! Of course,
I have very dark humor (I attended Catholic School), so no one could
ever accuse me of being overly-sensitive. Highly unusual for a girl
:) The more terrifying, the more I loved it! My husband doesn't remember
the shows very fondly; he says that if he now closed his eyes he could
almost smell Dirty Dragon's smoke. He's a sensitive fellow; but not
as bad as the guy who swears "Gigglesnort" was a euphemism for "devil
worship"! What show were you watching, dude?
Before
moving, I saw him give an interview on the morning show "Fox Thing In
The Morning". He said that the reason why he left was because of TV
station politics and his growing dissolution with the entire show biz
scene. That's a shame. He brought such joy to children by helping to
expand their imagination. I tell ya, Bill Jackson put the giggle in
"GIGGLESNORT"! I miss him terribly, and I sure do wish he was back in
the programming control saddle because if he were, me and my kid would
be watching his show today!
Still luv
ya Bill, Pebbles Nickson
Thanks
much for including me in your memories. For those of you who would like
to bring back the fun, may I suggest dirtydragon.com.
The dragon lives. So do I for that matter.
- Bill
Jackson
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The original 1970s Dark Shadows movies Gas Prices and the Presidential Elections Walter Murphy's 1970s Bingo & Horse Racing TV Shows of the Sixties
|
Here's
a real holiday treat - remember the great Chicago (and syndicated) kiddie
show Gigglesnort Hotel? BJ and the Dragon? Now you
can own the classic holiday special A Gift For Granny. From
the press release: It's a snow-blowing Christmas Eve, and Sonny,
a little boy, battles the notorious Hunker Boys and crafty pawnbroker
Craven Moore in a search for the perfect gift for his grandmother. DVD
- 25 minutes.
Bill
Jackson's 
My
co-workers and my wife think I am crazy. I want to prove them wrong
by finding another person who remembers this show. It was not a great
show, if fact it was a very strange show. I don't remember a whole lot
about it, but I do remember one of the characters was a big blob of
clay that talked.
There
was only one human on the show, most of the time he would tell stories
by drawing pictures a la "Win Lose or Draw". I forget his name, but
he mostly interacted with the Dragon who worked in the boiler room.
Both characters' names escape me though. It had a pretty long run from
the late 70's into the early 80's. The Dragon even had an evil twin,
and some pretty interesting plot twists. The puppetry was inspired,
or maybe I have too many good memories about it. 
1)
BJ and Dirty Dragon was on Channel 32 (WFLD-TV) during various timeslots.
It was usually on weekdays after school. It was called "Cartoon Town"
for a while, later "The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show."
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