Talk:Howdy Doody

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Toy Story, y'all?[edit]

Wasn't the Howdy Doody Show the inspiration for Toy Story? If so, I think this factoid would well be worth a small mention in the article. --15:04, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

Look up anything you can about Howdy Doody he might be from along time ago but he is still is awesome i hope you look this up

Thank You
Ciera

I think it's fair to say that, had there been no Howdy Doody, there would likely have been no Woody. But... to see Howdy Doody as a significant inspiration, or to suggest that Woody's Roundup is a parody of Howdy Doody, is really stretching things. Woody's Roundup was a strictly puppet show (with no live actors), and Woody (who is an adult) resembles Howdy (who is a child) only in that both wear cowboy garb. And Woody is modeled after Tom Hanks.

I wold urge the writer to rethink this, and possibly remove (or at least modify) the Toy Story reference.

WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 22:29, 22 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Guest appearances[edit]

Didn't Clarabell and "Bufallo" Bob once appear in "Happy Days"? I remember an episode where the plot revolved around the opportunity for publishing a picture of Clarabell without his makeup. Luis Dantas 17:53, 21 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It was Season 2, Episode 17, broadcast on February 18, 1975. It was when the show was still into 50s nostalgia. And I remember seeing at as a kid. Dgabbard (talk) 17:04, 30 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Inquisitive Editor[edit]

I removed this from the article, but thought I'd be nice and post it here to help out Gentle18:

A question was this show ever filmed in LA. I remember being there but I don't rember going to NY. e-mail gentle18adina@hotmail.com My name was Harriet Giler DOB 2-16-47 Question was the dowdy doody show ever filmed in LA, I believe I was in the peanut gallery. Harriet Giler with my brother Mike Giler. DOB 4-29-43 and 3-16-47 email gentle18adina@hotmail.com thanks

Sorry Harriet, I don't see anything about the show ever being filmed at any location other than New York. Hoof Hearted 20:49, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, Howdy Doody was broadcast live, at least until it moved back to Saturday morning in 1956, and at that point, it was videotaped. It was only filmed by kinescopes (filmed from a monitor screen) in order to provide the show to stations away from the network connections of the time or to allow broadcast later than the live time on the West Coast.

However, it is true that the Howdy Doody Show was originated from LA during January 1954. It is said that this was an attempt by NBC to get the show to move to Hollywood permanently. But the show's star and creator, Buffalo Bob Smith didn't want to move the show from New York. Source: Say Kida! What Time Is It? by Stephen Davis, Little Brown & Company, 1987. — Preceding unsigned comment added by GrouchoRoss (talk • contribs) 04:27, 25 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Puppet Playhouse[edit]

Wasn't the origional name of the show Puppet Playhouse? How should that be added and used with the TV infobox? Vexrm 16:29, 27 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I LOVE HOWDY DOODY!!!

Jericho (TV series) cancellation and is-was dispute[edit]

In light of the dispute on the Jericho article talk page about whether it "is" or "was" a show, I have edited the tenses (some of them) regarding Howdy Doody. 68.36.214.143 16:52, 24 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Howdy Doody Restaurant?[edit]

Yeah, I remember Howdy Doody's burger joint. There was one we used to go to in Warwick, R.I. We used to go there as a family because they had 18 cent hamburgers. That was mid to late 60's. We also used to frequent Burger Chef. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.21.194.65 (talk) 00:53, 12 October 2015 (UTC) I haven't been able to find any evidence online that it ever existed, but when I was young (in the late 1960s, say) my grandmother used to take me to a fast food burger place called Howdy Doody's. Store decor featured images of the puppet and other characters from the show. I remember getting a plastic hand puppet of Howdy Doody there, one of those "plastic mitten"-type disposable puppets. Good shakes, too, if my memory serves after all those years.[reply]

The restaurant was on Route 1/VFW Parkway in or near Dedham, Massachusetts - close to West Roxbury. I'm sure it was part of a chain. Later that store became a McDonalds. But even that has been gone for fifteen or twenty years.

Does anyone else remember the Howdy Doody restaurants? PMaranci 13:56, 22 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There was a drive-in restaurant (possibly more than one) called "Howdy Beefburger." I have no idea whether it was actually connected with anyone connected with the Howdy Doody Show, but I seem to remember Buffalo Bob on a radio commercial for it at some point. --GrouchoRoss (talk) 04:30, 25 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The Howdy Burger chain was all over New England. It was owned by Dunkin' Donuts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.195.251.173 (talk) 00:13, 21 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I can attest to the Howdy Beefburger's existence, simply because it was where one of my first jobs was. That was roughly 1966, in Quincy, MA...being 71 years old now, the experience is kind of vague now; but I do remember working there for a short while. I also remember reading later that the chain was accused of using horse meat, but I can't swear to what happened there. I also worked for a short time at 'Mickey D's' in the same time frame; but that's another story. In any case, Howdy Beefburgers did exst for a time. I can't say why they ultimately went out of business however---Michael B.--- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.218.173.235 (talk) 02:00, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Image[edit]

It's an article about Howdy doody, so they show an image of Clarabell. C'mon Wiki. Get smart.72.73.221.13 16:08, 24 September 2007 (UTC)Lestrade[reply]

There used to be a Howdy Doody restaurant in four corners Woburn Mass (now Mcdonalds) My father used to bring me there when I was a kid in the late 70's — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.115.121.150 (talk) 19:18, 29 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

AirODoodle[edit]

Howdy had an all-purpose vehicle called the AirODoodle that deserves a mention. It was part steam locomotive, part car and part boat -- and also had wings and a helicopter rotor. There's an image on this site: http://www.tvacres.com/images/airodoodle.jpg --NameThatWorks 22:23, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A video is available at [1]. It is actually the audio of a phonograph record, accompanied by a series of still shots, not all of which have to do with Howdy Doody. At about 0:58, there is a picture of Howdy riding on the Air O Doodle. Notice the front end of an automobile in front of the locomotive. Josh-Levin@ieee.org (talk) 04:05, 28 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I believe that’s actually spelled “Aerodoodle.” And don’t forget to mention how the Flub-a-Dub learned to talk—by swallowing a can of alphabet soup.

Dodiad (talk) 23:42, 5 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No, it is spelled "Air-O-Doodle" or "Air O Doodle" Josh-Levin@ieee.org (talk) 04:05, 28 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Might also mention Flub-a-Dub’s favorite food:
I love those meatballs, meatballs, meatballs and spaghetti
I’m always ready
To eat spaghetti

Dodiad (talk) 19:42, 17 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

original puppets[edit]

I'm not adding this to the article because I don't have a print reference yet, but Velma Dawson did not create the original puppets. Here are several articles describing what happened in the first year of the show: [2] [3] [4]


Basically, they started out in 1947 using puppets built by Frank Paris. When the show turned out to be a hit, Paris demanded a better deal on licensing proceeds and sued the producers - either in 1948 or 1949, the online sources are inconsistent. The suit was settled, Paris and his puppets left the show, and they gave Howdy a radical makeover - which was written into the script, since the change was pretty noticeable. (I think the terms of the settlement required that Paris not only refrain from performing with the original Howdy, but destroy it.) So it's true, as the article says, that Dawson created the puppets until the end of the show - just not from the start. ←Hob 18:34, 16 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

From personal memory I can say with certainty that Frank Paris' original puppet had spiky white hair, not unlike Andy Warhol, and no freckles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.72.179.190 (talk) 05:39, 25 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Paris actually walked out, taking his puppets with him. On the show that afternoon, they had Howdy out in Oregon campaigning for President of the Kids, then he decided to have plastic surgery to improve his appearance to attract votes from the girls. So they used a random puppet with face bandaged for awhile until Valma Dawson's puppet was ready. Then in June 1948, they unveiled the new Howdy, putting the bandages on his face and then removing them on the show. They ordered a duplicate puppet from Valma Dawson, but it didn't look quite enough like Howdy. They used it once on the show as Howdy's twin brother, Double Doody, but then Scott Brinker of their staff reworked it into Inspector Fedoozle. Brinker then built another Howdy double, which is believed to be the puppet on display at the Smithsonian. After that, new puppets were built by Brinker and, later by Rufus and Margo Rose. --GrouchoRoss (talk) 04:38, 25 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

We have cleaned and digitized these episodes....[edit]

Who is the "we" in the sentence beginning "We have cleaned and digitized these episodes for the delight of today's children...."? Is this a new Wikipedia project, or was this entire sentence (paragraph) transplanted verbatim from someone's press release? Charles dye (talk) 17:35, 24 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

From personal memory I can say with certainty that Frank Paris' original puppet had spiky white hair, not unlike Andy Warhol, and no freckles. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.72.179.190 (talk) 05:36, 25 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Clarabelle[edit]

Is there a less terrifying picture of Clarabelle we could use? This one looks like it should be in a Stephen King movie... 67.54.179.114 (talk) 15:33, 6 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There is no "e" on the end of Clarabell. "Clarabelle" is a female name, but Clarabell is male. --GrouchoRoss (talk) 04:40, 25 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Even without the "e," "Clarabell" is hardly a masculine name. Giving him that name was of course a joke. (It probably killed the use of the name for women in any spelling, at least temporarily.) Kostaki mou (talk) 21:18, 3 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The IMDB lists two people named Nicholson as being on the show: "Nick" Nicholson (Earl Alexander Nicholson) and Bobby Nicholson. They list Bobby as Clarabell. How might one go about verifying the identity of the Clarabell between Keeshan and Anderson? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.203.221.30 (talk) 03:20, 9 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Comic books[edit]

I am pretty sure that I read Howdydoody comic books in South Africa as a child some fifty years ago. Does anyone else know about these?

Dell published a Howdy comic starting in 1950. The ones you read were probably licensed reprints or even imported copies of the American editions. The article should probably add a reference to the extensive merchandising that occurred, which includes the comics, toys and clothing. Dgabbard (talk) 22:45, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I added a small section on merchandising and included mention of the comics. Dgabbard (talk) 17:30, 30 November 2009 (UTC))[reply]

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Moon Rising reference--does it belong?[edit]

I gather this is some sort of documentary alleging various conspiracies regarding the space program. How well documented are the photos mentioned? Does it really belong in an article on the character? I don't see it as signifying any cultural significance Dgabbard (talk) 22:33, 14 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I removed the section as too esoteric.Dgabbard (talk) 17:59, 30 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"Lost" Howdy Cartoon[edit]

UPA was hired to do a cartoon with Howdy but evidently Bob Smith didn't like the result and it only recieved limited release and was probably destroyed per this article. This deserves mention, so I included it in the merchandise section I added. Dgabbard (talk) 16:59, 30 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]


Audio drops off because of incompetent boom operator[edit]

A long time ago (likely sometime in the 90's, probably in the early to mid) I recall someone on TV describing how for one Howdy Doody episode the audio drops off every time Howdy 'speaks' and it was because an incompetent boom operator kept moving the microphone over to Howdy to record his lines. ...um....yeah. Anyway, it might be something more appropriate for the IMDB listing (which is surprisingly slim on useful info), but if someone has more info about this, should the article include a mention? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.254.86.114 (talk) 00:58, 10 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

La Hora de Jaudi Dudi and other Spanish variants[edit]

A series of Billboard writeups are my main source for the rise and (very rapid) fall of La Hora de Jaudi Dudi, at least the one that ran in 1953. That's a good start, but there has to be more to it than that. A quick glance over several comic book sites shows Jaudi Dudi comic books were still being published in Mexico at the end of the decade. As for Cuban TV's Chiriltin, all I could scrape up was a name. Our freckle-faced boy really had legs, but obviously further research into this part of his career needs to be done. --Enwilson (talk) 12:38, 29 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Photo request for original Howdy Doody[edit]

This is a free use photo from an old magazine--Howdy is on the right of the photo. We hope (talk) 21:55, 8 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Another Bluster brother?[edit]

The article mentions Phineas T. Bluster’s brother, Hector Hamhock Bluster. But I seem to remember another brother named Phileas P. Bluster, also a cousin called Donald T. Rump.

Dodiad (talk) 19:46, 17 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Merger proposal[edit]

I propose that Photo Doody (Howdy) be merged into Howdy Doody. Much of the content in the Photo Doody article overlaps that of Howdy, and the rest can easily fit into a paragraph-length section in Howdy. 2600:1008:B028:25B0:5980:1AD4:B2A9:E1B9 (talk) 19:05, 27 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

  • Oppose, the photo doody puppet is notable (see page refs) and is a complete enough page to stand alone. Randy Kryn (talk) 14:07, 4 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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"played by actress Judy Tyler, who had appeared opposite Elvis Presley in the 1957 film Jailhouse Rock."[edit]

She played Princess SummerFallWinterSpring long before she appeared in Jailhouse Rock. (She played the role between 1950 and 1953, as the article on Ms. Tyler will confirm.) Kostaki mou (talk) 21:11, 24 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody in 1972[edit]

No, that's not a picture of Howdy Doody. It's a cheap ventriloquist figure that the Buff was hawking at the time. What the hell is wrong with you people? 71.162.113.226 (talk) 22:06, 10 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Iconic song at the end of the show[edit]

I may be wrong about this.... I remember a short'n'sweet song that went: "It's time, to say, Goodbye goodbye until next Saturday, When we'll all be with you again."

Was this from Howdy Doody? Googling it came up with nothing.

Hello[edit]

Hello 110.149.188.57 (talk) 05:25, 17 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Shatner in America[edit]

You say William Shatner played Ranger Bob on the Canadian version. But the source you use, his 2008 autobiography, clearly states that Howdy Doody was his American TV debut. Could he be remembering wrong? It's possible, but in the meantime, this source still says America, not Canada for Ranger Bob. 74.104.189.176 (talk) 22:12, 22 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Would you mind explaining who said it's the Canadian version? Sundayclose (talk) 01:17, 28 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]


In a later interview, Shatner himself was asked about that, and couldn't remember being on Howdy Doody. He said if he was, it was in Toronto, the Canadian version. And 'they" say that his autobiography is riddled with mistakes and inconsistancies. So it is a consensus opinion among those who care about such things that he was on the Canadian version. Still, a mistake in print is a joy forever. 74.104.189.176 (talk) 14:51, 11 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural impact[edit]

I think it's worth mentioning that the phrase "Hey Kids, what time is it?" was sampled numerous times (e.g. Hithouse "Jack To The Sound Of The Underground"). 89.183.230.227 (talk) 18:35, 3 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Princess Summerfall Winterspring[edit]

I’m old enough to have watched the show during its original run. I recall an episode where it was stated that her birthday was February 29, so she only had a birthday every four years. But I can’t find a reference that this was presented in any episode. It would have been between 1955 and 1960. Assistance in finding a transcript, or other reliable source, would be appreciated. Edison (talk),

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