October 25, 2023 • 19 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, on October 3, 1955, a television program debuted that would eventually produce nearly nine thousand shows over a span of nearly 40 years. Here’s the History Guy with the story of Captain Kangaroo. Here’s the History Guy with the story.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American Stories. Our next story
comes to us from a man who's simply known as
the History Guy. His videos are watched by hundreds of
thousands of people of all ages on YouTube. The History
Guy is also a regular contributor for us here in
our American Stories. On October third, nineteen fifty five, a
(00:31):
television program debuted that would eventually produce nearly nine thousand
shows over a span of almost forty years. Here's the
History Guy with the story of Captain Kangaroo.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
If you want to know how history can be forgotten,
just look at popular culture, where a song, or a
movie or a television program can become incredibly popular and
important to one generation and then unrecognized by the next.
The first week in October represents the anniversary of the
first rag of a television show that for many of
you will bring back a flood of memories, but for others,
(01:10):
well leave you completely be fuddled. But I was one
of millions of children whose childhood weekdays almost are We
started with.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
The words good morning.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Captain. Robert James Keishan was born June seventeenth, nineteen twenty seven,
on Long Island, the son of an Irish immigrant who
was an executive with a grocery company. In his nineteen
ninety six autobiography, he describes an idyllic childhood growing up
in the New York City suburb of Forest Hills. His life, howver,
changed dramatically when his mother died suddenly when he was
(01:40):
just fifteen.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Such a loss could pull.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
A young man off the rails, but he credited the
school guidance counselor named Gertrude Farley for demanding that he
find his way once again. He graduated in nineteen forty
five and enlisted in the service in the last year
of the Second World War, and this has led to
one of the most enduring myths about Bob Keisham. There's
a popularly shared web story that says that actor Lee
(02:05):
Marvin said during an episode of The Tonight Show that
his life was saved during the Battle of Ewigema by
Bob Keishan. It's a very persistent story. I came upon
it several times while doing research for this episode, despite
the fact that it is entirely untrue. But it does
have a kernel of truth, and that is that both
(02:25):
Bob Keishan and Lee Marvin were Marines. Marvin, three years
older than Kishan, served with the fourth Marine Division and
participated in the assaults on Inowetic in Saipan, where he
was wounded, but not a day with Jima Keishan enlisted
in the Marine Corps Reserve in the summer of nineteen
forty five and was trending for the invasion of the
Home Islands when the atomic weapons brought An into the war,
(02:45):
and he never saw combat. He did, however, pick credit
to his brief service. In his autobiography entitled Good Morning,
Captain Fifty Wonderful Years with Bob Keishen TV's Captain Kangaroo,
he said, Paris Island is not a place of fond memory,
but it is a place of positive memories. I would
never trade my Marine Corps experience for anything. The training,
the character building are second to none. To this day,
(03:08):
I call upon that training and it has never failed me.
Kishan had worked part time as a page at NBC
Radio and returned to the job after the war. While
attending college at night and at NBC, he got a
start in early television on the iconic show Howdy Duty.
The parenting website hub Pages explains that Kishan was a
bottom Rung assistant to Buffalo Bob on The Howdy Duty Show,
(03:30):
originally puppet Playhouse, entertaining the peanut gallery and keeping them orderly.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
This would lead to an iconic role.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
As some pages continues, he became Clara Belle the Clown
when a network exec told him to create a clown
costumes so it would not accidentally appear on screen in
street clothes. He didn't speak on screen because she would
have had have been paid more to do so. Keishan
and much of the cast were laid off in nineteen
fifty two, possibly in a dispute over pay. While some
references suggest that he and Buffalo Bob Smith didn't get along,
(03:58):
Keishan didn't mention it when comment announce Smith in a
nineteen eighty seven history of The Howdy Duty Show. Bob
Smith is my father in the business. I give him
one hundred percent credit for my success, because I would
not be here today if I hadn't learned all the
technical aspects of the medium from him. I put what
he taught me to work on Captain Kangaroo and we
ran for thirty years. Three different actors played Claire Bell
(04:22):
the Clown over the run of the Howdy Duty Show.
But Bob Keiashan's was by far the most recognized of those,
and in nineteen ninety he was inducted into the Clown
Hall of Fame. And if his entry in the show
business was somewhat unorthodox, it is perhaps even more surprising
that he remained in show business after leaving The Howdy
Duty Show. The website Famous Clowns notes that many of
(04:42):
his colleagues thought that this was the end of Bob
Keishan's foray into television. After all, he couldn't sing or
play an instrument. He was untrained and really not qualified
as an entertainer. But stay he did again, playing a
clown on a noontime children's program broadcast in New York City.
I Am DB's. Sitting on a park bench with a
cocker Spaniel by his side, Horny the clown gently talked
(05:05):
to the kids between cartoons. The show ran from nineteen
fifty three to nineteen fifty five. It was in nineteen
fifty four, however, that Keishan had another opportunity as well.
You want to do a weekday children's show? The website
TV Party explains that he got the chance to do
so the programming director at Channel seven Adrian Rodi and
told him, you've been asking the station for a year
(05:26):
to try and do a weekday morning kids TV show. Well,
you've got your chance. Have the pilot ready by Monday morning. Thus,
Keishan and director Jack Miller developed the show over a
single weekend. It was called Tinker's Workshop. By Monday. TV
Party explains, Tinker's Workshop was open for business. The show,
set in a workshop in a Swiss village, was only
(05:48):
shown locally in New York City, but in that city
it started beating NBC's Today's Show and CBS's Morning Show
in the ratings, and that through the attention of network
executives had been struggling to find success with a warning
children's show. The website school Days explains the heads of
CBSTV had auditioned a few kids TV show concepts with
former jazz band vocalist at one time Miami Florida Kids
(06:11):
TV mc merv Griffin, folk singer musician, songwriter and storyteller
Frank Luther, and comedy performer and singer Jerry Kallana. None
of their series pilots worked out. Keishan based his new
character on the relationship between children and their grandparents a
relationship to Keishan says he export originally with the Tinker character,
calling Tinker the father Captain Kangaroo. The Kangaroo park came
(06:36):
from the oversized pockets on the lower part of his
bright red coat that were so large that resembled a
pouch on a kangaroo, and those pockets became so iconic
that the lower pockets on the United States Air Force
dress uniform became affectionately known as Captain Kangaroo pockets. Well.
Some authors have suggested that the captain part was because
(06:57):
the character was originally supposed to be the captain of
the tour guides of the Treasure House. Keishan simply calls
it an alliterative promotion. Keishan's new show first aired October third,
nineteen fifty five. That same day, another children's classic, The
Mickey Mouse Club, debut on rival network ABC. CBS marketed
Kishan's new creation to parents. Good News for Parents and
(07:19):
for children. Starting tomorrow at eight, CBS Television presents the
Gentlest Children Show on the air. As the Kindly Captain
Kangaroo recreates the private wonderlet of childhood and his treasure
House it is a live and in drawling hour long program.
Instantorian Tomes, the announcer said, Boys and Girls, CBS Television
presents Captain Kangaroo and his Treasure House. The music started,
(07:44):
the doors to the house opened, and an elderly man
jingling a ring of keys made his way to the
large desk and hung the keys on a nail. Wearing
a trademark bowl haircut wig and sideburns. HubPages says of
the character, Captain Kangaroo attempted to re establish a role
for grand pairs and in the lives of children. For
those kids that had no grandparents, he became the Sea
Captain Grandfather, a little like Captain January in an old
(08:07):
Shirley Temple film. Mister Keishan used to say that as
he aged, he just needed increasingly less makeup than on
his first show as the Captain. Kishan said of the character,
Captain Kangaroo treats children as intelligent human beings and never
talks down to them. He is not afraid to ask
them to think, and he believes that they have good taste.
Blogger Pamela Blame recalled her experience in a two thousand
(08:29):
and four post. It was Captain Kangaroo who unlocked the
treasure house door, and we would come running to watch
when we heard the theme song begin on our television debts.
Just a small children wait to see the surprise Daddy
had for us in his pockets when he comes home.
In the same way we waited expectantly to see what
the grandfatherly Captain Kangaroo would extract from his oversized marsupial
jacket that he wore.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
And you've been listening to the story of Captain Kangaroo
as told by the history guy, and we get to
know the man behind the name, and that is Robert James.
SAME's Kishan who grew up idyllically in Farrest Tills, New
York and that's in Queens and actually like just a
big suburban town just minutes from downtown New York City
(09:11):
and all those skyscrapers. But then came a dramatic turn.
He lost his mom at the age of eighteen, and
one person, more than an other, turned it all around
for him. And that was his guidance counselor in high school.
And for all of you guidance counselor's teachers, anyone out
there who's mentored kids and been there when they needed
(09:33):
them the most. Thank you to all of you. You
just heard it from the History Guy that one guidance
counsel changed a life, and then came the Marine Corps,
which changed his life and shaped his character.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And then that job is a page a page at
NBC more of the story of Captain Kangaroo. Here on
our American stories.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
And we continue with our American stories and the story
of Captain Kangaroo as told by the History Guy.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Let's pick up where we last left off.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
He brought out such outlandish things as large mirrors, bunches
of bananas, and even music stands. We all held our
breath apprehensively as he absentmindedly laid a bunch of carrots
on the counter, because the greedy bunny rabbit was known
to snatch any carrots away in a split second, and
we were never disappointed. The show also often featured important
(10:40):
performers of the day.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Captain Captain, guess who just call who? Well, you'll never guess.
I'll tell you. Dolly Parton just called, and she's on
her way to the Captain's place.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Dolly Parton called, she's coming over. Hey is a that's terrific. Hey,
how about that, missus.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Nakishan argues, because children would recognize them, nor that he
was marketing the show to adults. Rather, he wrote, our
famous guests from so many fields were invited for one reason.
It is my belief that children deserve the best performance possible,
and these artists were supreme in performing their art. Simple
as that.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Before you leave, you've got to favor us with a song. Well,
that'd be nice, But I didn't bring a guitar. That's
a little detail.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I got a whole bunch of musical instruments here, Doll.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
There you go, Doll, the Captain's place.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I'll tell you what I'll put this song, Dolly, I
wonder could you if you sing a song?
Speaker 3 (11:33):
How about singing us a song that you wrote yourself?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
You know, Dolly Parton composes the most beautiful music.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
And I'd love to hear a song of your own. Okay,
I'd love to do one, and I'd like to do
a special one. This is a true story about a
little puppy dog that I had when I was a
little girl, A story that happened to you. Yep, about
my own puppy dog. And I'll dedicate this to you
and for you, Okay, it's called Crackerjack.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Ready.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
I took him home until he couldn't even and I
took him to my room and go to blanket home.
And after that, beside my bed is wearing always sleep.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And each night in my prayers I prayed, the Lord
is s.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Crackodle.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
The best friend that I ever had was cracker Jack,
but he was more dead.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Blame it companion. He was love and understanding. That was Crackle.
The best friend that I ever had was cracker Jack.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
But he was more than dead.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Why everything your kid could walk, I head in crack walk.
That's really beautiful, huh.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
The show originally carried a grueling schedule since the show
was live and had to be performed twice at eight
a mem Eastern and then the second time at eight
am Central. There was just a forty second gap in
between the two shows to reset and start again. It
wasn't until nineteen fifty nine that videotape allowed them to
tape the first show to play it back for the
Midwest audience. The show was unique. For example, Keishan didn't
(13:16):
use a live audience like How The Duty Is. Kishan
saw the medium of television as a way to create
a direct connection to children. I believe that television was
too intimate to allow us studio audience to interrupt my
relationship with the child at home. Kishan had strong feelings
about the show environment, limiting ads, not allowing the characters
to advertise for products. CBS promised the show twenty minutes
(13:37):
of animation daily from its Terry Tunes studio, purchased by
CBS in nineteen fifty five, but Kishan felt that the
show's offered displayed too much violence. While acceptable to theatrical
audiences of another era, he wrote, they were unsuitable, in
our opinion, for our audience, so of young people. CBS
was very understanding and agreed to allow us to produce
entirely new animation at Terry Tunes. When Captain Kangaroo first appeared,
(14:01):
there was a lot of criticism who said that children
needed television that made them face the harsh realities of life.
Keishan's response was, that's what everybody else is doing. The
Green Valley News notes television was a relatively new addition
to most American homes. It had never been a generation
of kids exposed to home video entertainment before, so the
series was designed to give kids a gentle alternative to
(14:22):
the frenetic nature most children shows of the day, of
which Howdy Duty was considered to be one of the
worst offenders of pages opined four abused children. Captain Kangaroo
was the only spot in the day besides school time,
in which these kids could receive a kind work. The
Allentown Morning Call writes, from that house came a trove
(14:42):
of timeless messages. Children are precious and deserving of our respect.
That quality children's television is important, That reading is essential,
That time is the most valuable thing parents can give
to their children. Kishan noted that we read more than
five thousand books on the show them multiple times. The
show would eventually be seen by more than two hundred
(15:04):
million children, parents, and grandparents. It ran for nearly thirty
years on CBS and then another six years on PBS.
It was, in its time, the longest running children's television
show in history. He won six Emmy Awards and three
Peabody Awards. He was inducted into the Cloud Hall of
Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
(15:25):
The American Medical Association awarded him a Distinguished Service Award,
and he received a National Education Award. He earned a
Kennedy Center Honor in nineteen eighty seven. But the show's
real legacies and the millions of children who like me
started our work days with the words good morning, Captain, hello,
and how do you do. Writing in his blog Thoughts
(15:48):
on Success, music and media musician Steve Brian gives a
powerful testimony to the meaning of the show for me,
Captain Kangaroo was more than just a television host. When
my third grade teacher asked everyone in class to write
an essay about their fathers, I sat in my seat
for a few minutes and finally began to cry. Missus Miller,
an excellent educator, quietly ushered me into the hall to
(16:10):
determine the cause of my tears. My father died when
I was two years old.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
I told her, I.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Don't remember anything about him. I have nothing to write about.
You can have the best essay in class. She said,
if you could pick anybody in the whole world to
be your father, who would you choose? On't you decide
who that person is, write your report about him. I
didn't hesitate. I looked right at her, and I said,
Captain Kangaroo. After the show's run, Bob Keishen remained a
(16:40):
tireless advocate for many children's causes, and testified before Congress
about the effects of violence on television. He said that
he and his good friend Fred Rogers would often commiserate
or for what they both thought was the sorry state
of children's programming, odd for a television icon. He would
usually give advice to parents to not let TV babysit
their children, and he famously said, one of the big
(17:00):
secrets to finding time is not to watch television. Bob
Keishan passed away in two thousand and four, beloved by
millions but already unrecognized to new generations of children, but
his legacy remains famous. Chicago broadcaster John Calloway said in
the Daily Press, Ultimately he was about decency and dignity
(17:21):
in the midst of all that silliness. I'll hope he'll
represent something to future programmers of children's television. The children
have changed, but what has not changed is their needs.
And it is always good to remember the advice that
he signed off with for nearly nine thousand episodes over
nearly forty years. Whatever you do, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to
the History Guy. And you can go to his YouTube channel,
the History Guy's YouTube channel and see all of the.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Work he does.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
It's watched by hundreds of thousands of people of all ages.
And by the way, you can catch all of his
work at our americanstories dot com. Just put in the
History Guy. It's dozens of pieces. And what a story
he told. What an insight by the way, to have
no live audience, because he understood the audience that direct
connection was that camera and the kid and his parents
(18:25):
sitting at home, and he didn't want any interference.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
And this is a huge insight.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Perhaps as big as what we learned from the Charles
Schultz piece we did in which there was no laugh
track in the Charlie Browns Christmas. He didn't want it,
he didn't need it. And my goodness, what a great choice.
Charles Schultz made a groundbit breaking choice.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
By the way.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
There was lots of criticism, of course, about the fact
that kids needed TV that represented the harsh realities of life,
to which of course keptain Kangaroo. And we're talking about
Robert James Keishan. His response and Fred Rogers was the
kids have more than enough of that. And the way
he signed off, each and every day, whatever you.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Do, have a good day.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
And by the way, we need to hear that every
day given the harsh realities of life. The story of
Robert James Keishan aka Captain Kangaroo, Kennedy Center Award winner,
Emmy Award winner and child advocate.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American Stories. Our next story
comes to us from a man who's simply known as
the History Guy. His videos are watched by hundreds of
thousands of people of all ages on YouTube. The History
Guy is also a regular contributor for us here in
our American Stories. On October third, nineteen fifty five, a
(00:31):
television program debuted that would eventually produce nearly nine thousand
shows over a span of almost forty years. Here's the
History Guy with the story of Captain Kangaroo.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
If you want to know how history can be forgotten,
just look at popular culture, where a song, or a
movie or a television program can become incredibly popular and
important to one generation and then unrecognized by the next.
The first week in October represents the anniversary of the
first rag of a television show that for many of
you will bring back a flood of memories, but for others,
(01:10):
well leave you completely be fuddled. But I was one
of millions of children whose childhood weekdays almost are We
started with.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
The words good morning.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Captain. Robert James Keishan was born June seventeenth, nineteen twenty seven,
on Long Island, the son of an Irish immigrant who
was an executive with a grocery company. In his nineteen
ninety six autobiography, he describes an idyllic childhood growing up
in the New York City suburb of Forest Hills. His life, howver,
changed dramatically when his mother died suddenly when he was
(01:40):
just fifteen.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Such a loss could pull.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
A young man off the rails, but he credited the
school guidance counselor named Gertrude Farley for demanding that he
find his way once again. He graduated in nineteen forty
five and enlisted in the service in the last year
of the Second World War, and this has led to
one of the most enduring myths about Bob Keisham. There's
a popularly shared web story that says that actor Lee
(02:05):
Marvin said during an episode of The Tonight Show that
his life was saved during the Battle of Ewigema by
Bob Keishan. It's a very persistent story. I came upon
it several times while doing research for this episode, despite
the fact that it is entirely untrue. But it does
have a kernel of truth, and that is that both
(02:25):
Bob Keishan and Lee Marvin were Marines. Marvin, three years
older than Kishan, served with the fourth Marine Division and
participated in the assaults on Inowetic in Saipan, where he
was wounded, but not a day with Jima Keishan enlisted
in the Marine Corps Reserve in the summer of nineteen
forty five and was trending for the invasion of the
Home Islands when the atomic weapons brought An into the war,
(02:45):
and he never saw combat. He did, however, pick credit
to his brief service. In his autobiography entitled Good Morning,
Captain Fifty Wonderful Years with Bob Keishen TV's Captain Kangaroo,
he said, Paris Island is not a place of fond memory,
but it is a place of positive memories. I would
never trade my Marine Corps experience for anything. The training,
the character building are second to none. To this day,
(03:08):
I call upon that training and it has never failed me.
Kishan had worked part time as a page at NBC
Radio and returned to the job after the war. While
attending college at night and at NBC, he got a
start in early television on the iconic show Howdy Duty.
The parenting website hub Pages explains that Kishan was a
bottom Rung assistant to Buffalo Bob on The Howdy Duty Show,
(03:30):
originally puppet Playhouse, entertaining the peanut gallery and keeping them orderly.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
This would lead to an iconic role.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
As some pages continues, he became Clara Belle the Clown
when a network exec told him to create a clown
costumes so it would not accidentally appear on screen in
street clothes. He didn't speak on screen because she would
have had have been paid more to do so. Keishan
and much of the cast were laid off in nineteen
fifty two, possibly in a dispute over pay. While some
references suggest that he and Buffalo Bob Smith didn't get along,
(03:58):
Keishan didn't mention it when comment announce Smith in a
nineteen eighty seven history of The Howdy Duty Show. Bob
Smith is my father in the business. I give him
one hundred percent credit for my success, because I would
not be here today if I hadn't learned all the
technical aspects of the medium from him. I put what
he taught me to work on Captain Kangaroo and we
ran for thirty years. Three different actors played Claire Bell
(04:22):
the Clown over the run of the Howdy Duty Show.
But Bob Keiashan's was by far the most recognized of those,
and in nineteen ninety he was inducted into the Clown
Hall of Fame. And if his entry in the show
business was somewhat unorthodox, it is perhaps even more surprising
that he remained in show business after leaving The Howdy
Duty Show. The website Famous Clowns notes that many of
(04:42):
his colleagues thought that this was the end of Bob
Keishan's foray into television. After all, he couldn't sing or
play an instrument. He was untrained and really not qualified
as an entertainer. But stay he did again, playing a
clown on a noontime children's program broadcast in New York City.
I Am DB's. Sitting on a park bench with a
cocker Spaniel by his side, Horny the clown gently talked
(05:05):
to the kids between cartoons. The show ran from nineteen
fifty three to nineteen fifty five. It was in nineteen
fifty four, however, that Keishan had another opportunity as well.
You want to do a weekday children's show? The website
TV Party explains that he got the chance to do
so the programming director at Channel seven Adrian Rodi and
told him, you've been asking the station for a year
(05:26):
to try and do a weekday morning kids TV show. Well,
you've got your chance. Have the pilot ready by Monday morning. Thus,
Keishan and director Jack Miller developed the show over a
single weekend. It was called Tinker's Workshop. By Monday. TV
Party explains, Tinker's Workshop was open for business. The show,
set in a workshop in a Swiss village, was only
(05:48):
shown locally in New York City, but in that city
it started beating NBC's Today's Show and CBS's Morning Show
in the ratings, and that through the attention of network
executives had been struggling to find success with a warning
children's show. The website school Days explains the heads of
CBSTV had auditioned a few kids TV show concepts with
former jazz band vocalist at one time Miami Florida Kids
(06:11):
TV mc merv Griffin, folk singer musician, songwriter and storyteller
Frank Luther, and comedy performer and singer Jerry Kallana. None
of their series pilots worked out. Keishan based his new
character on the relationship between children and their grandparents a
relationship to Keishan says he export originally with the Tinker character,
calling Tinker the father Captain Kangaroo. The Kangaroo park came
(06:36):
from the oversized pockets on the lower part of his
bright red coat that were so large that resembled a
pouch on a kangaroo, and those pockets became so iconic
that the lower pockets on the United States Air Force
dress uniform became affectionately known as Captain Kangaroo pockets. Well.
Some authors have suggested that the captain part was because
(06:57):
the character was originally supposed to be the captain of
the tour guides of the Treasure House. Keishan simply calls
it an alliterative promotion. Keishan's new show first aired October third,
nineteen fifty five. That same day, another children's classic, The
Mickey Mouse Club, debut on rival network ABC. CBS marketed
Kishan's new creation to parents. Good News for Parents and
(07:19):
for children. Starting tomorrow at eight, CBS Television presents the
Gentlest Children Show on the air. As the Kindly Captain
Kangaroo recreates the private wonderlet of childhood and his treasure
House it is a live and in drawling hour long program.
Instantorian Tomes, the announcer said, Boys and Girls, CBS Television
presents Captain Kangaroo and his Treasure House. The music started,
(07:44):
the doors to the house opened, and an elderly man
jingling a ring of keys made his way to the
large desk and hung the keys on a nail. Wearing
a trademark bowl haircut wig and sideburns. HubPages says of
the character, Captain Kangaroo attempted to re establish a role
for grand pairs and in the lives of children. For
those kids that had no grandparents, he became the Sea
Captain Grandfather, a little like Captain January in an old
(08:07):
Shirley Temple film. Mister Keishan used to say that as
he aged, he just needed increasingly less makeup than on
his first show as the Captain. Kishan said of the character,
Captain Kangaroo treats children as intelligent human beings and never
talks down to them. He is not afraid to ask
them to think, and he believes that they have good taste.
Blogger Pamela Blame recalled her experience in a two thousand
(08:29):
and four post. It was Captain Kangaroo who unlocked the
treasure house door, and we would come running to watch
when we heard the theme song begin on our television debts.
Just a small children wait to see the surprise Daddy
had for us in his pockets when he comes home.
In the same way we waited expectantly to see what
the grandfatherly Captain Kangaroo would extract from his oversized marsupial
jacket that he wore.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
And you've been listening to the story of Captain Kangaroo
as told by the history guy, and we get to
know the man behind the name, and that is Robert James.
SAME's Kishan who grew up idyllically in Farrest Tills, New
York and that's in Queens and actually like just a
big suburban town just minutes from downtown New York City
(09:11):
and all those skyscrapers. But then came a dramatic turn.
He lost his mom at the age of eighteen, and
one person, more than an other, turned it all around
for him. And that was his guidance counselor in high school.
And for all of you guidance counselor's teachers, anyone out
there who's mentored kids and been there when they needed
(09:33):
them the most. Thank you to all of you. You
just heard it from the History Guy that one guidance
counsel changed a life, and then came the Marine Corps,
which changed his life and shaped his character.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And then that job is a page a page at
NBC more of the story of Captain Kangaroo. Here on
our American stories.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
And we continue with our American stories and the story
of Captain Kangaroo as told by the History Guy.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Let's pick up where we last left off.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
He brought out such outlandish things as large mirrors, bunches
of bananas, and even music stands. We all held our
breath apprehensively as he absentmindedly laid a bunch of carrots
on the counter, because the greedy bunny rabbit was known
to snatch any carrots away in a split second, and
we were never disappointed. The show also often featured important
(10:40):
performers of the day.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Captain Captain, guess who just call who? Well, you'll never guess.
I'll tell you. Dolly Parton just called, and she's on
her way to the Captain's place.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Dolly Parton called, she's coming over. Hey is a that's terrific. Hey,
how about that, missus.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Nakishan argues, because children would recognize them, nor that he
was marketing the show to adults. Rather, he wrote, our
famous guests from so many fields were invited for one reason.
It is my belief that children deserve the best performance possible,
and these artists were supreme in performing their art. Simple
as that.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Before you leave, you've got to favor us with a song. Well,
that'd be nice, But I didn't bring a guitar. That's
a little detail.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I got a whole bunch of musical instruments here, Doll.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
There you go, Doll, the Captain's place.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
I'll tell you what I'll put this song, Dolly, I
wonder could you if you sing a song?
Speaker 3 (11:33):
How about singing us a song that you wrote yourself?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
You know, Dolly Parton composes the most beautiful music.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
And I'd love to hear a song of your own. Okay,
I'd love to do one, and I'd like to do
a special one. This is a true story about a
little puppy dog that I had when I was a
little girl, A story that happened to you. Yep, about
my own puppy dog. And I'll dedicate this to you
and for you, Okay, it's called Crackerjack.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Ready.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
I took him home until he couldn't even and I
took him to my room and go to blanket home.
And after that, beside my bed is wearing always sleep.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And each night in my prayers I prayed, the Lord
is s.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Crackodle.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
The best friend that I ever had was cracker Jack,
but he was more dead.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Blame it companion. He was love and understanding. That was Crackle.
The best friend that I ever had was cracker Jack.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
But he was more than dead.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Why everything your kid could walk, I head in crack walk.
That's really beautiful, huh.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
The show originally carried a grueling schedule since the show
was live and had to be performed twice at eight
a mem Eastern and then the second time at eight
am Central. There was just a forty second gap in
between the two shows to reset and start again. It
wasn't until nineteen fifty nine that videotape allowed them to
tape the first show to play it back for the
Midwest audience. The show was unique. For example, Keishan didn't
(13:16):
use a live audience like How The Duty Is. Kishan
saw the medium of television as a way to create
a direct connection to children. I believe that television was
too intimate to allow us studio audience to interrupt my
relationship with the child at home. Kishan had strong feelings
about the show environment, limiting ads, not allowing the characters
to advertise for products. CBS promised the show twenty minutes
(13:37):
of animation daily from its Terry Tunes studio, purchased by
CBS in nineteen fifty five, but Kishan felt that the
show's offered displayed too much violence. While acceptable to theatrical
audiences of another era, he wrote, they were unsuitable, in
our opinion, for our audience, so of young people. CBS
was very understanding and agreed to allow us to produce
entirely new animation at Terry Tunes. When Captain Kangaroo first appeared,
(14:01):
there was a lot of criticism who said that children
needed television that made them face the harsh realities of life.
Keishan's response was, that's what everybody else is doing. The
Green Valley News notes television was a relatively new addition
to most American homes. It had never been a generation
of kids exposed to home video entertainment before, so the
series was designed to give kids a gentle alternative to
(14:22):
the frenetic nature most children shows of the day, of
which Howdy Duty was considered to be one of the
worst offenders of pages opined four abused children. Captain Kangaroo
was the only spot in the day besides school time,
in which these kids could receive a kind work. The
Allentown Morning Call writes, from that house came a trove
(14:42):
of timeless messages. Children are precious and deserving of our respect.
That quality children's television is important, That reading is essential,
That time is the most valuable thing parents can give
to their children. Kishan noted that we read more than
five thousand books on the show them multiple times. The
show would eventually be seen by more than two hundred
(15:04):
million children, parents, and grandparents. It ran for nearly thirty
years on CBS and then another six years on PBS.
It was, in its time, the longest running children's television
show in history. He won six Emmy Awards and three
Peabody Awards. He was inducted into the Cloud Hall of
Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
(15:25):
The American Medical Association awarded him a Distinguished Service Award,
and he received a National Education Award. He earned a
Kennedy Center Honor in nineteen eighty seven. But the show's
real legacies and the millions of children who like me
started our work days with the words good morning, Captain, hello,
and how do you do. Writing in his blog Thoughts
(15:48):
on Success, music and media musician Steve Brian gives a
powerful testimony to the meaning of the show for me,
Captain Kangaroo was more than just a television host. When
my third grade teacher asked everyone in class to write
an essay about their fathers, I sat in my seat
for a few minutes and finally began to cry. Missus Miller,
an excellent educator, quietly ushered me into the hall to
(16:10):
determine the cause of my tears. My father died when
I was two years old.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
I told her, I.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Don't remember anything about him. I have nothing to write about.
You can have the best essay in class. She said,
if you could pick anybody in the whole world to
be your father, who would you choose? On't you decide
who that person is, write your report about him. I
didn't hesitate. I looked right at her, and I said,
Captain Kangaroo. After the show's run, Bob Keishen remained a
(16:40):
tireless advocate for many children's causes, and testified before Congress
about the effects of violence on television. He said that
he and his good friend Fred Rogers would often commiserate
or for what they both thought was the sorry state
of children's programming, odd for a television icon. He would
usually give advice to parents to not let TV babysit
their children, and he famously said, one of the big
(17:00):
secrets to finding time is not to watch television. Bob
Keishan passed away in two thousand and four, beloved by
millions but already unrecognized to new generations of children, but
his legacy remains famous. Chicago broadcaster John Calloway said in
the Daily Press, Ultimately he was about decency and dignity
(17:21):
in the midst of all that silliness. I'll hope he'll
represent something to future programmers of children's television. The children
have changed, but what has not changed is their needs.
And it is always good to remember the advice that
he signed off with for nearly nine thousand episodes over
nearly forty years. Whatever you do, have a great day.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to
the History Guy. And you can go to his YouTube channel,
the History Guy's YouTube channel and see all of the.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Work he does.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
It's watched by hundreds of thousands of people of all ages.
And by the way, you can catch all of his
work at our americanstories dot com. Just put in the
History Guy. It's dozens of pieces. And what a story
he told. What an insight by the way, to have
no live audience, because he understood the audience that direct
connection was that camera and the kid and his parents
(18:25):
sitting at home, and he didn't want any interference.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
And this is a huge insight.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Perhaps as big as what we learned from the Charles
Schultz piece we did in which there was no laugh
track in the Charlie Browns Christmas. He didn't want it,
he didn't need it. And my goodness, what a great choice.
Charles Schultz made a groundbit breaking choice.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
By the way.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
There was lots of criticism, of course, about the fact
that kids needed TV that represented the harsh realities of life,
to which of course keptain Kangaroo. And we're talking about
Robert James Keishan. His response and Fred Rogers was the
kids have more than enough of that. And the way
he signed off, each and every day, whatever you.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Do, have a good day.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
And by the way, we need to hear that every
day given the harsh realities of life. The story of
Robert James Keishan aka Captain Kangaroo, Kennedy Center Award winner,
Emmy Award winner and child advocate.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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