List of local children's television series (United States)
Summary
The following is a list of local children's television shows in the United States. These were locally produced commercial television programs intended for the child audience with unique hosts and themes. This type of programming began in the late 1940s and continued into the late 1970s; some shows continued into the 1990s. Author Tim Hollis documented about 1,400 local children's shows in a 2002 book, Hi There, Boys and Girls![1][2]
The television programs typically aired in the weekday mornings before school or afternoons after school, as well as on weekends (to a lesser degree). There were different formats. Almost all shows had a colorful host who assumed a persona, such as a cowboy/cowgirl, captain/skipper/commodore/admiral, jungle explorer, astronaut, king, princess, clown, sheriff/deputy/trooper, cop, firefighter, hobo/tramp, railroad engineer, magician, "cousin", "grandfather" or "uncle", whose role was not only to be the "DJ" for syndicated material (typically cartoons, although Westerns were more popular earlier on) but also to entertain, often with a live televisionstudio audience of kids, during breaks.
WMFJ: Here's How, (1962-1963) (with Virginia Atter and a clown known as Clark Winchester). They visited manufacturers each week to see how things are made.
WFTS-TV: David D TV (1994-2000, Saturday mornings[6])
WTVT: Romper Room ("Miss Colleen"; Weekdays 9:00-9:30am from October 1955 until January 1959)
WFLA: Romper Room ("Miss Kay", "Miss June", "Miss Alice") (Kay's version aired at 9:00–9:30am each weekday from January 19, 1959 until Spring 1961. June's WFLA version aired at 10:00-10:30am each weekday from March 31, 1975 until May 30, 1980, and Alice's version aired 10:00-10:30am each weekday from October 1980 until February 1982).
WAGA: Dooley and Co. (George Ellis as fictional hobo "Bestoink Dooley", weekdays 4:00–4:30 pm; Ellis appeared in the same role hosting local telecasts of horror film classics, Fridays 11:30 pm)
WAGA: Mr. Pix (Dave Michaels, Saturdays 8:00–9:00am)
WCIU-TV: Hey Colonel Frank (circa 1969-1970, 4pm weekdays, between stock market and foreign language programming)
WLS-TV: INK: Interesting News for Kids (circa 1972, with Fahey Flynn and Joanie Sandler, aka "Susie Streetnoise", along with a cast of various puppets)
KTAL-TV/KSLA-TV: Sesame Street (In 1970, a local advocacy group was formed to fundraise to help cover the cost of bringing the program to television in the region due to the market not having an NET/PBS station. The show was moved to KSLA in February 1972 and remained on KSLA until August 1978)
WGBH-TV: ZOOM (While the program was shown on PBS stations in the US and Canada, most of its primary audience was made up of children in the Metro Boston region.)
Springfieldedit
WHYN: The Admiral and Swabby (with Gary Garrison, Norm Goyer)
WCBI-TV: Funtime With Uncle Bunky (with Robert "Uncle Bunky" Williams), weekday afternoons,[20] 1958-76[21]
Missouriedit
Columbia/Jefferson City/Sedaliaedit
KRCG-TV/KMOS-TV/KOMU-TV: Sesame Street (Due to the lack of a PBS station in Mid-Missouri, CBS stations KRCG and KMOS began premiering PBS's Sesame Street on January 4, 1971 as a weekday morning program [9:00-10:00 AM] after a spokesman for a local group replied that KRCG was confident enough for the Citizens of Sesame Street Fund could raise money that it had notified CBS of the preemption replacement of two programs. Both stations dropped Sesame Street during the first week of March 1977 due to the station's revenue losses, and the former Sesame Street slot was replaced with The New Price Is Right that originally aired in the afternoon hours. This led to major consequences on a new station for the program in the market. In April 1977, Columbia's ABC station KCBJ immediately seek funds for Sesame Street to return in Mid-Missouri planning on airing it on weekday evenings rather than weekday mornings, but failed days after announcement due to the Missouri Department of Education reported no funds in its budget available. Then NBC station KOMU came along to seek funds as well, as the staff at KOMU paid an additional $1,825 from its general operating budget to run the program. The staff at KOMU promised to only air the show briefly in its lineup due to concerns over the same reason why KRCG pulled Sesame Street off its lineup. KOMU immediately aired Sesame Street at the same slot as KRCG/KMOS as a replacement of both Sanford & Son and Hollywood Squares for a brief time from June 20, 1977 until August 31, 1977).
KODE: Sesame Street (For more than a decade, KODE aired Sesame Street on weekday mornings from the early 1970s until 1986 when Springfield's KOZK launched its sister-station KOZJ. This was all due to the lack of a PBS station in the Joplin market, although Springfield received full-time PBS programming when KOZK launched in 1975).
Kansas Cityedit
KMBC-TV: Torey and Friends (hosted by Torey Southwick)
WDAF-TV: Western Roundup (hosted by Uncle Frito Frank)
KYTV: Sesame Street (Sesame Street aired on KYTV beginning in November 1969 due to the lack of an NET/PBS station in the Ozarks. The show originally aired at 4:00 PM but moved to 9:00 AM several months later until the launch of KOZK in 1975).
KXTX: The Good Time Gang (1977-78) (with Frank Kurtz and Daryl Kurtz; the clubhouse setting and a sign reading the show's title was also demonstrated during KXTX's Cartoon Clubhouse in the 1980s)
KTSM-TV: Sesame Street (While this program was shown on NET/PBS stations in the US, the show was aired on KTSM-TV from 1969, due to El Paso not having have a NET/PBS affiliated station until 1978 when KCOS went on the air. KTSM-TV also picked up Mister Rogers' Neighborhood due to the same reason.)
Houston/Galvestonedit
Cadet Don (with Al Eisenmann)
Happy Hollow (with Mary Jane Vandiver)
Kiddie Troopers (with Don Mahoney and Jeanna Clare)
WLUK-TV: Sesame Street (Despite the show airing on NET/PBS in much of the US, WLUK aired Sesame Street from 1969 until the launch of WPNE-TV in 1972 due to the Green Bay area not having a PBS station).
WAOW/WAEO: Sesame Street (Despite being shown on NET/PBS stations in the US, the show was aired on WAOW from 1969 until 1972 and on WAEO from 1974 until 1976, due to most of northern Wisconsin not having a NET/PBS affiliated station with the exceptions of Duluth-Superior (due to the area having its own NET/PBS station) and Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls (due to cable systems and over-the-air antennas can easily receive KTCA in the area) until the launch of WHRM-TV in 1976).
^Hollis, Tim (November 2001). Hi There Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-396-5
^NPR episode "A History of Local Children's TV Programs", aired May 22, 2002
^Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 27. ISBN 1-57806-396-5.
^"SERENDIPITY: LEARNING FUN FOR THE YOUNG". Los Angeles Times. 1972-07-16. p. 535. Retrieved 2017-04-02. Serendipity, KNBC's Emmy-winning children's series, is offering new shows for the summer (Sundays at 9 a.m. on Channel 4), and this means more televised field trips for the youngsters. Host Rudi Medina takes the children to places like the Music Center, Marine-land, horse ranches, aviaries and aboard the Queen Mary (below). Educational-fun is the primary mission.
^Spata, Christopher (August 25, 2016) "Throwback Thursday: Local millennials remember Tampa's 'David D TV'" Tampa Bay Times
^"Marshal J WMT KPIX KGO Kids Show Host Jay Alexander". Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160106022354/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/bozo. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^. 2011-02-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20110201103550/http://captainerniesshowboat.com/. Archived from the original on 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2012-11-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110929204139/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/kenwagner. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^"Cowboy Whitey and the Circle 5 Ranch WOC TV 5/6 Davenport, Iowa". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
^"Ken Wagner and Pee Wee Comic CutUps WOC Davenport, Iowa". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160115040729/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/grandpahappy. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^"Gene King - Dr. Igor and Jungle Jay - Wqad Tv 8 Moline, Illinois, Kzaz Tv 11, Tucson, Arizona, KWGN Tv 2, Denver Colorado". Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
^"Romper Room WOC TV 6". Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
^"Robert 'Uncle Bunky' Williams: A Local Living Legent Reflects on His Storied Career". The Packet. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
^Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 161. ISBN 1-57806-396-5.
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060017/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/ringading. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^"Station Information - WKBN - 27 First News - Local News - Youngstown, Warren, Columbiana, Ohio - Sharon, Pennsylvania". WKBN. Archived from the original on 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2012-11-27.