The Howdy Doody Show ran from 1947 until 1960 with incredible success. And even today, people remember the red-haired marionette puppet as a pioneer of children’s programming.

Aside from the puppet, most people remember Bill Smith as the star of the show. And in fact, it was Smith who created the character before he voiced him for almost a decade.

Bill Smith created the show when he was a radio announcer for WNBC. On December 27, 1947, Bill took his presentation to the Puppet Playhouse on NBC and received such phenomenal feedback that they decided to go ahead with a show just for Howdy Doody and create a physical puppet for it!

The puppet was made by Frank Paris, and although Bill called it “the ugliest puppet imaginable,” people loved to watch the show!

The backdrop was initially planned to be a circus tent; however, the producers, Victor F Campbell and E. Roger Muir, decided to go with a western scene instead.

CONTINUE READING…
Author: awestories24.com