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Growing Up With Television
I hope you enjoy this page - a
chronicle of growing
up with television. My dad worked for RCA, and we had a
television
for as long as I can remember. Below are some of my TV memories -
I'll be adding to them as time and memory permits. |
Memorable TV Moments
| Sgt.
Preston doing a tracheotomy on someone who had diptheria in an
episode called "Bad Medicine."
I actually found a copy of this on video! |
Our Gal Sal and Wee Willie Webber
introducing us to the miracle of videotape. |
| Lassie
having brain surgery on the kitchen table on Christmas Eve, with
children
singing Christmas carols outside. (The
Christmas Story, Dec. 21, 1958) |
Rod Brown of the
Rocket Rangers visiting the sun where the natives
were dancing around with their spears and headdresses. |
| Ramar
of the Jungle using mystical powers he learned from Gurú
to cure Howard Ogden. |
Penguins
visiting Jack Benny
on one of his farewell specials. |
| Seeing Tiny
Tim for the first time on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
I tortured people at the Ledge (the old Rutgers student center)
by playing TipToe Thru the Tulips on the juke box every time
I was there. I still have the album. |
Speaking
of tulips, there was Paul
Lynde reciting his poem
about a talking tulip on the Perry Como Show. |
Kids' TV Hosts
| Uncle
Pete Boyle - Lunch was always a treat with Uncle Pete, who drew
pictures for us. |
Buckskin
Billy - My brother and I couldn't stand him when we
first saw him, but he grew on us! |
| Pinky
Lee - I can still see him singing and dancing in his checkered
suit. |
Gene and Joan Crane
- They used to shrink and sit in giant chairs. |
| Wee
Willie Webber - One of the nicest TV hosts I can remember. |
Chief Halftown
- The Chief visited our junior
high school once for an assembly. |
| Smilin'
Ed - Before it was "Andy's Gang," it
was Smilin' Ed's. With Froggy
Gremlin, Buster Browne, and Tige, and Ghanga the Jungle Boy. |
Soupy Sales - I got to watch
"Lunch with Soupy Sales" on my neighbor Mr. Reese's projection
TV back in the '50s. |
| Alan Scott
and Mr.
Rivets - We played with them in Alan Scott's basement.
But,
you can see a video
of them outside! |
Sally Starr - She will always
be "Our Gal" from Popeye Theater. |
| Uncle Johnny
Coon - Am I
the only person who remembers him???? Uncle Johnny always made us
move 6 feet back from the TV before we were allowed to watch him. |
|
Horror TV Hosts
| Roland
(aka Zacherley) - It
was
on Shock Theater that I first saw "Frankenstein." |
Stella
- I watched Stella in the 1980s - even let my son stay up
to see her on "Saturday Night Dead." |
| Dr.
Shock - I hate to admit that I didn't like Dr. Shock at
first.
I still missed Roland. But Shocky Doc had a way of growing on
you,
and I quickly became a fan. |
Count Frightenstein
- OK, I watched The
Hilarious House of Frightenstein in the 1970s. Actually,
my favorite characters were the Librarian and
Vincent
Price. |
Favorite Cowboys
| Roy
Rogers - He will always be the "King of the Cowboys." |
Gene Autry - Not a Christmas
goes by that I refuse to come downstairs until I hear him
singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." |
Hopalong Cassidy
- The man in black with white hair and an infectious laugh. He
always saved the day.
|
The Cisco Kid - I remember
when Duncan Rinaldo broke his neck filming a Cisco Kid episode. |
Mounties
Science Fiction
| Captain Video
- He showed us cartoons and made us want our Ovaltine.
I was angry when "they" said he was a Communist and took him
off the air. It wasn't fair! |
Space Patrol - Before there
was Buzz Lightyear, there was Buzz Corry and his crew fighting
the evil prince from Planet X. |
|
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
- I so wanted to be a space cadet, just like Tom.
I was shattered when he was replaced on Saturday mornings
by Fury.
Recently I was saddened to hear that Frankie Thomas (Tom)
died in May 2006.
|
Rod Brown of
the Rocket Rangers - Starring Cliff Robertson.
It was a fun show, even though I knew that you couldn't live
on the sun. |
| The Star Lost
- When Star Trek went off, we were in desparate times and
would watch even something this awful. |
| Space 1999 - Another show for those
of us thirsting for science fiction. Not quite as bad
as The Star Lost. Every week we saw the moon explode
and watched to see if Barbara Bain would show any emotion. |
| UFO - Another awful show, but I loved
it! The opening music was great. Straker's bleached
hair and the required purple hair on Moonbase were a hoot.
And I had a terrible crush on Col. Foster. |
| Commando
Cody - Who could resist the Sky Marshall of the Universe,
who could fly with his personal rocket pack. |
Science
Fiction Theater - A true classic, with our host, Truman
Bradley. If the SciFi Channel runs it again, watch for
the episode about LSD. |
| Star Trek, of course. The sequels
are OK, but nothing will compare to the original. And
I cast my vote for Kirk as the best captain. |
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Other Flying Heroes
Puppets
Animals
School Rooms
The Circus
Hearings
Updated October
23, 2004
kelta@keltaskavern.com
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