#CAPTAIN KANGAROO BIRTHDAY SONG TV#

Myth #1: Bob Keeshan fought next to actor Lee Marvin in the military during WWII at Iwo Jima. Brannum stuck his bleeding hand into his pocket and never broke character for the remainder of the episode. The shows were performed before a live audience and during one taping, a lion cub bit Brannum’s finger and drew blood. Green Jeans was an enhancement of Brannum’s real personality. McGregor, Percy, Uncle Backwards, and Mr. Green Jeans, he played the roles of the Professor, Greeno the Clown, the New Old Folk Singer, Mr. From 1955 until 1984, Brannum not only was Mr. Sometimes he would bring various zoo animals to visit. Green Jeans was a friendly neighbor-handyman who helped the Captain at the Treasure House. His character was loosely based on stories about a boy named “Little Orley” that Lumpy told with the Fred Waring orchestra on the radio and on recordings. Lumpy’s real name was Hugh Brannum, but the world knows him as Mr. Bob had described his character as based on “the warm relationship between grandparents and children.” He went on to be Captain Kangaroo for almost three decades. CBS premiered the show on October 3, 1955, the same day Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club began on ABC. Here are over 20 facts about the beloved Captain Kangaroo program that most people don’t know: That same year he began an additional role playing the grandfather type character of Tinker for preschoolers in Tinker’s Workshop. It was in this work that Bob and long-time friend Jack Miller developed the concept of Captain Kangaroo.

#CAPTAIN KANGAROO BIRTHDAY SONG TV#

In 1952 he returned to TV in a speaking role as Corny the Clown in Time For Fun at WABC-TV where Lumpy was playing. It just so happened that Lumpy began hosting his on New York WABC-TV local TV series, Uncle Lumpy’s Cabin in 1951.īy the following year, Bob left Howdy Doody as Clarabell over a salary dispute. This group had a regular radio show when Bob first became acquainted with Lumpy. Later Lumpy joined the Four Squires and afterwards moved on as a musician for Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians. One horn for “yes.” Two honks meant “no.”īob met a fellow Marine known as “Lumpy,” a musician who had played in the Marine band during the war. On January 3, 1948, Bob was promoted to the role of Clarabell the Clown, a silent prankster who communicated by honking horns connected to a waist belt. He was paid so little that the show’s host Buffalo Bob Smith would give Bob $6 after every show. On the GI Bill, Bob attended Fordham University and Hillsdale College just about the time television network programs began airing.īob soon found a job with NBC Studios working as a page doing odd jobs for Howdy Doody, a pioneer children’s show which premiered in 1947. He had not yet been sent to an overseas assignment when it was announced that Japan had surrendered. In 1945, because of World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Green Jeans the father of musician Frank Zappa?Ĭaptain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan, a native of Lynbrook, New York, graduated early from Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York. He also hung out with Bunny Rabbit and the Dancing Bear.Ĭaptain Kangaroo’s place with his cast of characters was a nice place to visit as a kid.Did Captain Kangaroo fight at Iwo Jima with actor Lee Marvin? Moose could be a slight smart aleck so I did like him. Simon had a magic blackboard and anything he drew became real. One one of my favorite sections was the cartoon “Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings” that would appear on some shows. The Painter was played by Gus “Cosmo” Allegretti who also handled the puppets and Dancing Bear. He also portrayed the Professor, Greeno the Clown, the New Old Folk Singer, and Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum) would have different animals at times to show. Moose was setting the Captain up for the ritual ping-pong drop on the Captain’s head that never got old. Green Jeans, Bunny Rabbit, Dancing Bear, and Mr. Keeshan was Captain Kangaroo and every morning I would look forward to seeing The Captain, Mr. The show spanned many generations of kids during that time. In 1955 CBS offered Keeshan his own children’s show, which became Captain Kangaroo. Captain Kangaroo ran from 1955 to 1984. Bob Keeshan played Clarabell on the Howdy Doody Show.

Captain kangaroo birthday song