Whatever happened to Bozo the Clown, to Aunt Norma, to Solomon
C. Whiskers, those television celebrities who hammed it up between
cartoons and contests during local kids' shows?
In "Hi There, Boys and Girls America's Local Children's TV
Programs," Tim Hollis tracks down the story of every known local
children's TV show from markets across the United States.
There have been many books about children's television on the
networks, and such shows as "Captain Kangaroo," "Howdy Doody," and
"Sesame Street" are legends in broadcasting.
However, the local branch of children's programming has received
much less attention. For every performer on the scale of a Captain
Kangaroo or a Buffalo Bob, there were five or six local
personalities who were just as beloved by their viewers--and
sometimes even more so--since these local stars could be counted on
for appearances at stores, children's hospitals, and shopping
centers, where kids could meet them face-to-face.
Anyone over the age of thirty who grew up with a TV set will
remember at least one or two of these productions. Whether it was
hosted by a cowboy character, a clown such as the one on the
many-franchised Bozo shows, a policeman, a sea captain who showed
Popeye cartoons, or one of the gentle and lovely ladies who
presided over "Romper Room," these hometown stars were some of the
Baby Boomers' first friends. Although children loved them, these
hard-working performers garnered less respect from the rest of the
TV industry.
"Hi There, Boys and Girls " includes a capsule history of this
programming from the earliest days of radio to the early 1970s,
when a combination of social changes and broadcast regulations sent
most of the hosts into retirement.
Walt Disney once observed that while there is very little adult
in a child, there is a lot of child in every adult. This book will
bring back a flood of long-submerged memories for anyone who was a
child during this golden era.
Tim Hollis lives in Birmingham, Alabama. His previous books
include "Dixie Before Disney: 100 Years of Roadside Fun"
(University Press of Mississippi) and "Cousin Cliff: 40 Magical
Years in Television."