"Buffalo" Bob Smith ~
It's Howdy Doody Time!
Today, November 27, is the birthday of "Buffalo" Bob Smith who was born in 1917, in Buffalo, New York as Robert Emil Schmidt. Who was "Buffalo" Bob? He was the side kick of Howdy Doody! Who was Howdy Doody? He was a puppet on a children's television program entitled the Howdy Doody Show which ran from 1947 until 1960!
date & photographer inknown
How
do I know about "Buffalo" Bob and Howdy Doody? In my teens my two
brothers, Steve and John were 10 and 9 years younger than I and I had to
baby sit them while my dad and mom worked. I would plop them down in
front of the TV (although the show was broadcast in color we only had a black and white TV) to keep them quiet and under
control but I had to more or less stay with them so they didn't get into
trouble. That meant I had to watch the shows they watched. Needless to
say, as a teenager, I hated each and every show.
vinyl LP front cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®
So,
even though I intensely hated It's Howdy Doody Time!, every single detail of it was
irrevocably and forever burned in my mind! I'd think to myself, if I heard the theme song (links below) one more time, I'd go insane! Ugh! Perhaps posting this article will purge them from it!
It
was one of the first children's programs to make it big on television, it
was a mix of comedy, music and audience participation. There were
several characters that appeared from time to time. Clarabell the Clown, a mime who used a bicycle horn,
was a regular played by Bob Keeshan, who went on to create the children's TV character Captain Kangaroo. The role was taken over by jazz musician Lew Anderson who closed the last episode of the show (links below).
date & photographer unknown
date & photographer unknown
The American-Indian character was played by San Rafael "native", Bill LeCornec who portrayed Chief Thundercloud (not to be confused with the Lone Ranger actor who portrayed Tonto). Thundercloud was Head of the Ooragnak (kangaroo spelled backward) tribe of American-Indians and the originator of the nonsense word "Cowabunga" (the ONE thing about the show I liked) which was
picked up a decade later by surfer dudes who probably watched Howdy Doody when they were kids. Thirty years after them, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles latched on to the word. Language can be strange but fun.
date & photographer unknown
There were puppet characters other than Howdy Doody as well. Phineas T. Bluster was a stingy old man who was always
pontificating about something and his last name said it all.
Phineas T. Bluster
date & photographer unknown
Princess Summerfall Winterspring was portrayed by Judy Tyler who would go on to perform in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream, based on the John Steinbeck short novel, Sweet Thursday, and appeared in the 1957 film Jailhouse Rock with Elvis Presley.
One
puppet I thought was cool (the term was beginning to happen) was Sandra
the Witch. There was something exotic and enticing about her; perhaps
it was just my brand new hormones running amuck.
Some of the Gang
There would be various guests that appeared on the show from time to time. Ron Howard (of Happy Days fame and later a film producer) was a guest in a 1975 special.
"Buffalo" Bob Smith & Ron Howard - 1975
photographer unknown
Spike Jones was another guest
Buffalo Bob Smith created Howdy Doody during his days as a radio announcer on WNBC.
At that time, Howdy Doody was only a voice Smith performed on the
radio. When Smith made an appearance on NBC's television program Puppet Playhouse
on December 27, 1947, the reception for the character was great enough
to begin a demand for a visual character for television. Frank Paris, a
puppeteer whose puppets appeared on the program, was asked to create a
Howdy Doody puppet.
Bob Smith, the show's host, was dubbed "Buffalo Bob" early in the show's
run (a reference both to the historical American frontier character Buffalo Bill and Smith's hometown of Buffalo, N.Y.). At first the set was supposed to be a circus tent, but soon was changed to a western town. Smith wore cowboy
garb, as did the puppet. The name of the puppet "star" was derived from
the American expression "howdy doody"/"howdy do," a commonplace
corruption of the phrase "How do you do?" used in the western United
States.
The major feature of the Howdy Doody show was the Peanut Gallery,
onstage bleachers that sat about forty or fifty children.
date & photographer unknown
Each show began with
Buffalo Bob asking, "Say kids, what time is it?" and the kids yelling in
unison, "It's Howdy Doody Time!" Then the kids sang the show's theme
song (set to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay"):
- It's Howdy Doody time,
- It's Howdy Doody time,
- Bob Smith and Howdy, too,
- Say "Howdy do" to you.
- Let's give a rousing cheer
- ’Cause Howdy Doody's here.
- It's time to start the show
- So kids, let's go!
The popularity of Howdy Doody and its Peanut Gallery led executives at United Features Syndicate to use the name Peanuts for syndication of the Charles M. Schulz Li'l Folks comic strip, reportedly to the lifelong chagrin of Schulz.
In June and July of 1954, "Buffalo" Bob Smith and Howdy Doody appeared on the cover of TV Guide Magazine.
TV Guide cover - 1954
Well,
writing about Howdy Doody didn't purge it from my mind but it did
generate some nostalgia for those days I spent with my brothers when
they were little kids in the fifties!
The Howdy Doody show was in hour segments and for the last episode, Clarabell the Clown surprised everyone at the very end (link below)!
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - It's Howdy Doody Time - 7:14
A2 - Howdy Doody's Do's And Don'ts - 6:32
A2 - Howdy Doody's Do's And Don'ts - 6:32
Side 2:
B - Howdy Doody's Magic Juke Box - 13:31
Credits:
Remastered By – John Woram, Mike Posner
Notes:
Stereo effect reprocessed from Monophonic.
Printed in U.S.A.
MADE IN U.S.A.
Dynaflex lightweight record
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Label, Side A): APRS-5283
Matrix / Runout (Label, Side B): APRS-5284
Matrix / Runout (Runout, Side A): APRS-5283-3S H
Matrix / Runout (Runout, Side B): APRS-5284-3S H
Rights Society: ASCAP
Howdy Doody And Buffalo Bob Smith* With The Howdy Doody Cast – It's Howdy Doody Time!
Label: RCA – LSP-4546(e), RCA Victor – 5/LSP4546
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genre: Non-Music, Pop
Style: Radioplay, Comedy
Label: RCA – LSP-4546(e), RCA Victor – 5/LSP4546
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genre: Non-Music, Pop
Style: Radioplay, Comedy
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
The Day ~ It’s ‘Howdy Doody’ Time again
CNY News ~ Calarabell's big surprise!
Television Academy ~ "Buffalo" Bob Smith & Howdy Doody (interview)
TV News ~ Howdy Doody Remains Forever Young
The Vintage News ~ Howdy Doody: Most celebrated children’s show in TV history
Wide Open Country ~ Howdy Doody Was Must-See TV for '50s Kids
YouTube links:
April Fools Day on the Howdy Doody Show (April 1, 1952) (29:13)
Howdy Doody Show: Full Last Episode (September 24, 1960) (59 mins.)
Howdy Doody - Remember When - "Buffalo" Bob Smith (interview)
Howdy Doody's Magic Jukebox (13 mins., 35 secs.)
Its Howdy Doody time!!! (29 mins., 44 secs.)
What time is it?
It's Howdy Doody Time!
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