I have his album "Kids Are People Too", which features many of the old tunes like "Has Anybody Here Got an Aardvark", "Exercise", "Good News" and many of the instrumentals played during the long "putting on a clown face" or other activity times.

The show also had cartoons to break up the fun and screaming, but it was the 'Snake Cans' that really got ya. Every kid who watched wanted to pick a can and win all of the toys - it was the equivalent of a huge lottery drawing.

Later, after Bob was no longer on the show, it was re-formatted and hosted by kids. They had news segments from the field as well as studio stuff. I remember once sending in a piece of news about me and coming to school on Monday and having everyone say they heard my name on 'Wonderama'.

Lastly, my friend's grandmother always promised to get us tickets to be in the audience - I'm still waiting!

- Ira Goldwyn

I remember Wonderama keenly because I not only watched it every Sunday but appeared as an audience member 3 times (My sister, cousin and I were on it in the late 60s)! What a fix!

My Aunt was good friends with Bob McAllister so it was only natural that after enough whining I was able to score my first-time-ever appearance(s) on television.

The first two times, my sis and I got zilch (if you discount the stomach ache from consuming candy and RC Cola all day). So my aunt let into Bob M. The next time I was on, I not only got to play the "Snake Charmer" in the Snake Cans game, but awarded a Deluxe Spirograph to my sister (I came away with a fire engine, and assorted toys that, piled up, were taller that I was).

I'll never forget the first time we participated in the Aardvark Song--where the kids were asked to bring and show-off unusual items from home: I brought in a large leather-bound book from the 1800s (unusual enough to have all the kids ask to check it out) and my little sister brought an oversized wooden salad fork and spoon. I was embarrassed by my sister's conception of "cool", but it made Bob McAllister hysterical with laughter.

- Jonathan Tessler

I remember Kids Are People Too was hosted by Bob McAllister in the mid to late 70's before the format was changed and it was hosted later by Michael Young in the early Eighties.

All I can remember was that Bob was a lively host who got all the kids singing and dancing in the audience. I can remember a particular song having to do with exercising and the kids in the audience would do something that looked like calisthenics and sing along with Bob. I know it sounds weird but it looked like a lot of fun on TV at the time.

On this same show they would also have kids participate in physical games where they would win great prizes like bicycles, talking viewmasters, and all of those popular games and toys of the 70's. Later on Bob would host a segment which was like a dance show with and for kids. I'm not sure if this was the same show or a different one all together but I know they were back to back. They would play the hits of the day and later on they would highlight a particular song where some character dressed up as a bandit would run in from outside the studio and present Bob with a 45 record and he would announce what it was, they would play it, and the kids would get to dancing. Of course they also had contests where kids would dance for more prizes which I think were bikes. My sister seems to be the only other person who remembers this version of the show.

- Felipe Echerri

- Ileana G

An even better story from New Jersey dates back to when I was about 8 (1972). My parents got us tickets to see "Wonderama" at the Paramount theater in Asbury Park (now actually making a comeback after years of neglect). I don't know if they were as stupid as my younger brother and I were or if they were just going along with the game, but we all seemed to think we were going to be on TV Instead, it was just a scaled down version on the Paramount's hard cement floor with kids packed into a few old bleachers. I recall being very disappointed not seeing any cameras. I also don't remember old Bob being very friendly. We still watched the show religiously, though, and I told all my friends that I was on Wonderama. Don't tell my wife I wasn't.

-Marc Natanagara

Early in the interview segment Jean is heard saying "I know what THAT kid's thinking." To which Bob replies "Easy Jean. We're a children's show" An audio version of Shep's segment from this episode is available from MAX SCHMID'S Jean Shepherd catalogue.

- Pete Delaney

McAllister actually put out an album called 'Kids Are People Too' (his big signature line), and did album signings around New York in the early 70's. One of those signings occurred at Mays' Department Store near Lake Success, NY. He was appearing promptly at 10a.m. in the morning and the kids were lined up outside the store. When the doors opened, there was a stampede to the table where Mr. McAllister was. The line went around the store and outside, but I waited patiently until finally I talked to Mr. McAllister and got my autographed copy.

I went on 'Wonderama' about three times and here's some information regarding tapings. The show was staged at WNEW/Metromedia television studios at 205 East 67th Street in New York, just a few blocks down from the old Jim Henson shop. Overall Wonderama tapings were pretty long. You arrived mid week at 9 A.M., and the taping would take about eight to sometimes ten hours.

They didn't supply lunch, only snacks. During each break, McAllister would step away from the kids (my guess that a few got on his nerves) and smoke like a chimney. I remember once or twice he snapped at some kid who was being annoying. Other than doing his bit for the camera, he never seemed to be interested in the kids at all. Maybe it might have been the pressure of an eight-hour long taping.

The big 'Wonderama' basement where they did all the dancing, was in fact, just the other side of the same studio set. All they did was aim the cameras in the other direction and pulled out those four dancing platforms and turned on the color lighting.

At the end of the show, many kids ended up going home with just a bag of junk like Silly Putty, Lender's Bagels, Good Humor Ice Cream, Krause's Hot Dogs, and some other crud. Very few won the toys. But as a kid I ate it all up cause it was a thrill, and the memories are still good. At the end of the show, they would set up for the 'Ten O' Clock News' (which was done live in the same studio) and they brought you down from the fifth floor by elevator. The parents must have had the worst part - sitting in a small room for the whole day watching it all on the monitor.

Oh yeah, a few other facts - 'Wonderama' was only shown on Metromedia stations, and at the time (correct me if I'm wrong) there were only three, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

When Wonderama finally left the air (1977), McAllister did a national show on ABC called 'Kids Are People Too'! He exited the show after a few months because of creative differences (he was replaced by a younger man). A few years ago I saw an ad on television selling a 'Magic Tricks by Bob McAllister' kit. And he looked much the same as I remembered.

I Just heard about Bob McAllister's' death of lung cancer on the radio (July 21, 1998). McAllister lived his final years in New York City.

A funny story was relayed in a 1997 interview with Rocky Allen of WPLJ in New York. McAllister recalled that Maria Von Trapp of the Trapp family (Sound Of Music) and Richard Rodgers (Rodgers and Hammerstein) were both guests on Wonderama when the elderly Von Trapp eagerly asked the kids how old they thought she was. One kid screamed out ninety three! Rodgers leaned in to McAllister and said, "Serves the old bag right," to McAllisters' delight.

- Brian Mitchell

I won tickets to Wonderama in 1976 through raising money for Ronald McDonald's charity fund. I was 13 years old, and although a bit older than most of the kids in the audience, I was a total "TV Geek," and relished being on TV. I really don't know where all these people get their cynical memories of Wonderama from, maybe they were just spoiled brats, who grew up into sad yuppies, but I digress. Wonderama was an important show for kids, because it made implicit the idea that "kids were people too." This was a bold statement to make. And by incorporating corney kid songs with world famous guests, Bob was the Merv Griffin of our generation.

The show I was on had HR Puffenstuf and Bert Parks (the hockey player). Puffenstuf danced around and Parks slammed hockey pucks into a garbage lid about 40 feet away. I was on a segment called "Bobs Bamboozlers," and I still have the magic trick that he handed me after the routine. I remember convincing the kid who won the grand prize of Pong, to trade me for my game of Headache I had won. Unfortunately his parents intervened and the deal was dust. Wackadoo Wackadoo Wackadoo!

- thanks, DNA

Working on
Wonderama

I just read your Bob McAllister/Wonderama info. I worked on Wonderama from 1974-78, and was in fact Bob's assistant.

Your info is OK. But... there are some major errors that need to be corrected for the record. Now, I am VP of a record label in NY, and will, as I get the time, pass those corrections on to you.

I am a little bothered by the incorrect info about the 8 hour tape days at WNEW in NY. At each break, I would go out, take the mic from Bob, and speak to the kids in the audience to keep them entertained. TV is not easy to make, and it takes time and patience. For a number of years, we fed the kids. But the hot lights and excitement caused upset stomachs, so we stopped, and just gave them snacks. You know, if one kid threw up, it would cause a chain reaction. Not good.

The taping didn't start until 1:00pm. I don't know where the person who wrote in came up with 9:00am, but we weren't even allowed to have parents or kids lineup until after 'Midday Live' went off the air at noon. Also, the parents who didn't have to stay were kept in a spacious room on the third floor (Kluge Hall), with easy chairs and a couple of big monitors and soft drinks. We tried to make those who did stay comfortable. Very often, I would go down with other staff members, and allow those parents to come to the fifth floor and peek into the studio and/or control room. Against the rules, but nice to do.

Bob didn't smoke like a chimney. He smoked on occasion, and did quit long before he died. Brian Mitchell sounds like a man who's miffed he didn't win Snake Cans. In fact, there was a 7 year wait for tickets, and he should consider himself luck for having been on 3 times. Bob never "snapped" at a kid. He truly loved kids. Not just hype, but really did. And the bag of junk the kids got when they left were souvenirs. Not gold nuggets. The memories of being there is what counted. The kids were treated well. Very well. They left with a smile on their face.

Bob - who owned the right to the name "Kids Are People Too" (written by Bob and Artie Kaplan) was replaced on that ABC show by Michael Young, but retained the ownership of the name.

Richard Rodgers actually said "That serves the old bitch right."

The correct name of his video is "Bob McAllister's Amazing Magic", changed from Bob McAllister's Blockbuster Magic.

Bob's dog Ralph was a Hungarian Poolie - not Poodle - trained by Lew Burke who lives in Carmel, NY - a frequent guest on Wonderama with his dog Buddy.

There were 7 Metromedia stations - NY/Bost/Cinn/Minn/LA/KC/DC.

The Disco City song changed every week. It was selected by associate producer Jan Bridge.

Wonderama was originally hosted by Sandy Becker, then Sonny Fox

Message to Marc Natanagara - Sorry you were disappointed by the hard floors. Surely not as hard as your head.

Additionally, I worked with Bob on all of the "Live" weekend shows he did around the country - the non-televised charity events. 90% of them were for charity - mostly Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation and Training). I negotiated the deals, and worked with him at the shows along with Jan Bridge.

Bob would make a small fee - barely enough to cover his expenses. We would supply the entire show - all of the props, toys, games, etc. All of the money above and beyond his fee would go to the charity, including a large percentage of the money from the sale of the merchandise - bagel necklaces, pins, albums, etc. We did many, many each year - almost every Saturday and Sunday in NJ, MD, DC, VA, etc. On the very rare occurrence that the turnout was light, Bob would return ALL of the money to the charity - and forego his fee. How many in the entertainment industry can make that claim?

Bob and I (and Ralph the Poolie) drove from NY to LA the first week of July, 1976 - arriving in LA on July 4, 1976. We had worked out a deal with ORT to stage 8 shows in the Los Angeles area over a 2 week period. We were in places like Van Nuys, Tarzana, Culver City, etc. A few years later, I moved to L.A. and lived there for 15 years (in the Woodland Hills area) and everytime I drove by one of those High Schools where we performed, it brought back great memories of a fun and successful fund raising trip. We drove in Bob's big yellow/gold Dodge van, packed with toys and props, and while we were there car customizer George Barris painted the outside of the van to read "Kids Are People Too". It was quite a sight. Driving home to New York, you would not believe how many people around the country recognized Bob, and made contact with us on the CB radio. His CB Handle (name) was "Wonderama Man".

The only real disappointment on the coast was a show we did in San Diego. We never realized in San Diego very few folks ever heard of Wonderama. Although there was a nice sized crowd, Bob returned his fee for that show to add to the ORT's take.

After I moved to LA in 1978, and Bob was no longer hosting Kids Are People Too, he came to stay with me for a couple of weeks in the early 1980's, and did a week's worth of shows at The Magic Castle for packed houses every night. It was great to be there, and great to work again with Bob in front of the likes of Cary Grant, David Niven, and a who's who of the entertainment industry - all loving the show he did. He geared to live Wonderama and magic show to adults, and everyone had a ball. Castle owner Milt Larson was thrilled.

More random Wonderama notes:

Around 1975, Monty Hall flew Bob out to LA to host one episode of Let's Make A Deal - not to replace Monty, but to serve as an audition for a new game show Monty was producing called "Carnival". A few months later, Bob was back in LA to host the "Carnival" pilot, which was terrific, but like most pilots not picked up. Bob was disappointed as he felt this could have been his first real network job.

Producers of Wonderama over the years included - Art Stark - former producer of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, David Brenner (yep, the same one), Artie Forrest - who I believe just concluded directing Rosie O'Donnell, and directs Leeza, Dennis Marks - who last I heard was working for Marvel, Norman Blumenthal - former creator and producer of the original Concentration. Chet Lishawa was the director of Wonderama and the Channel 5 Ten O'Clock News, and is now a director for the Fox News Network.

Associate Producers included Jan Bridge - major force for Wonderama being on the cutting edge of the music business in the seventies - Jan Now works for Sony Music, Gary Hunt - now a partner of Hunt-Jaffe Productions in LA, Other staffers included Anna DeSimone - where are you Anna?, and Neme Schlesinger - where are you now, Neme?

Other Wonderama guests included - Marcel Marceau, Neil Sedaka, Edward Villella, Roberta Peters, Jacques Cousteau, Leroy Neiman, Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson, dancer Ann Reinking (was on the same show as The Jacksons), ABBA, Bay City Rollers, Dick Clark (Anna & I appeared on that show in "The 25,000 Peanut Pyramid", Rodney Dangerfield, Charlie Strauss and the cast of the Original Annie, Mark Wilson, Harry Blackstone, David Copperfield, Dick Van Dyke, and literally a hundred more.

That's it for now, Don Spielvogel

I was always a major Wonderama fan as a kid, so I wrote a letter to Arthur Forrest the show's director when I was 12 years old to ask if I can come down to the control room to watch the taping. He said yes, and this became my routine every 6 months or so.

My father would take me to the studio by subway, then come back and pick me up, some 6 hours later. I always wanted to be a cameraman on Wonderama but the show went off the air when I was 21 and never made it.

I did, however, become a cameraman at ABC, and worked with Bob on 'Kids Are People Too'. We talked about the days I came down to Metromedia to see the show, both as an audience member and observer in the control. That show really help me make up my mind about being a cameraman.

I'm 43 now, and still talk to Arthur and his son Paul. I've won 2 Emmy's for my camera work and also became a director on a daytime soap at ABC. I have Arthur Forrest, Bob McAllister, and Wonderama to thank for my 23 year career at ABC. Shortly before his death I had talked to Bob about doing a kids show again. That show will never be produced...

- Howie Zeidman

I really enjoyed the section on the Bob McAllister Wonderama Show. My most fun memory of this show is two fold: Asst. Producer Jan Bridge did the music for the show and used a song by a Cleveland, Ohio band named Circus for six weeks in a row. It didn't help sell the song (Stop, Wait & Listen), but it sure put me in good with the band. Ironically, the show never played in Cleveland.

Bridge was a buddy of mine and I recall helping him move from one apartment to another. For this deed, he gave each of his helping a friends a "thank you gift", records, rock & roll stuff, etc.. Me, I got 50 Burger King coupons...the kind they gave out on the show. Those 1974 BK coupons got you a Whopper (which DID really take two hands to hold), a big order or fries and a big Coke.

It took three years to eat through those coupons. Twenty-five years later it still kills me to pay for Burger King food!!

Thanks for some great memories!
- Pete Kanze/WARY Radio

Great section on Wonderama. I was at a taping in the early 70s, and I do remember a few things about it...

1. I was picked for a game where we had to throw beach balls on to blankets held by kids who then passed it on to another couple of kids holding blankets, etc. until it got to the end of the line. Whatever team got the most balls to the end after 2 minutes won. I was the beachball thrower at the front of the line for our team. Our team actually won (and we only cheated once!!) and I remember getting a couple of prizes -- a weird Frisbee with a cone for a handle in the middle (never saw one like that again), and a game that consisted of a plastic tube with black and white marbles. I won some other stuff, but I can't remember them.

2. I was also picked (during rehearsal) for the Good News song. When I found out that it was a rehearsal (they told us later) I was a little disappointed since I thought I was going to be on TV! Well, luckily, I was anyway.

3. Bob seemed very nice, but during the breaks he didn't mingle with the kids. He was either getting into costume (Finkelheimer was one of the bits that day) , talking with cameramen and producers, or just taking a much needed rest. He did kid around with me when he was explaining the rules to the beachball game during a break.

4. I remember during one of the breaks we were served ice cream and soda. Some old crabby guy (I guess it was a maintenance guy) came to the set and said something like "I swear, if anyone of you kids drop anything on the floor, I'm gonna make you eat it." The kids were pretty scared at that point since he looked pretty serious. With perfect timing, as soon as he finished saying that, some kid in the front row dropped his full soda can and started to panic. That guy blew a fuse!!

5. Since I was about 7 or so and had no concept of time, it seemed to me that the taping went on for hours, but I had a great time and didn't want it to end.

All in all a good day! I forgot the year that the particular episode was broadcast I think it was 1972, but it was on Mother's Day. I wish I could get a copy of it.

- John S.

WONDERAMA became the show that it was because of Bob McAllister and his excellent talents, whenever I think about the show, it's Bob who comes to mind first and foremost.

My brothers and I were on the show in May of 1970 and at that age it was really a big thrill. The majority of what was said about the experience people had while being on the WONDERAMA set is accurate. When I was there in 1970, then too, Bob was snapping at people off camera. This doesn't imply that he hated kids, just that he seemed to be under the stress of deadlines etc.

The taping may not have started at 9:00 in the morning, but actually started at 12:30 pm and continued until 6:45pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. This is per a 1970 letter sent to my mother from WNEW's June S. Hamilton, who worked in the ticket department at the time. Either way it's still quite a bit of time taping for a kid.

The prizes were simple and the whole set for that matter was cheap, period. But it was a very original show which was hosted by a very talented man. He really knew how to entertain children, which may explain why he had such a great number of viewers. His job there must have been very demanding on him, but he never showed it, not on camera anyway. Regardless of whether or not his career was as successful as some of his guests were, Bob left a great memory with many people and in the long run that's what really matters.

- David Ferreira

Hi, I'm Susan, Bob McAllister's oldest daughter.

I have enjoyed reminiscing at your website, my dad was the first one to show it to me. He got a kick out of it also. Dad enjoyed much fame in his career, particularly in the 70's. The story of his rise to that period is fabulous, he got his start in what I would call the "old school" of television. He took many risks that paid off and eventually landed him "Wonderama".

What was even more telling of his sterling character, however, was the grace with which he accepted the decline of his fame in the last few years. What may not be common knowledge is that Dad was a true magician at heart, and managed quite well for himself through personal appearances and teaching magic both at Stuyvesant and at magician conferences. He was an innovator in this field, inventing whole new concepts in magic. He had these big, thick fingers that didn't look like they would be adept at sleight of hand (which was his specialty), they would fumble through a trick (or so you thought) and something amazing would bound to life. The following is a quote (from "The Merry Heart" from Viking Press) we found in his address book...my sister Robin read it at his funeral:

WHAT IS MAGIC? "Is it not the production of effects for which there appear to be no causes? Behind all magic there is an explanation, but it is unwise to seek it too vigorously; there are lots of things in life which are more enjoyable when they are not completely understood. A good piece of magic is a work of art and should be respected as such; it is a flower, not an alarm clock, and if you pull it to pieces to find out what makes it work you have destroyed it and your own pleasure."

The other day my wife and I were sitting around trying to think of all the old TV show songs we could possibly remember, when all of a sudden the Fingleheimer Stomp popped into my head. I couldn't remember who did it, or the exact spelling of the song, but it has stuck with me for 30 years.