Remember When…: It’s Howdy Doody time!

“Say kids, what time is it?”

Those were the simple but memorable words Buffalo Bob Smith asked the 40 or so kids in the peanut gallery that opened each and every “Howdy Doody” show that ran from December 1947 to December 1960.

Buffalo Bob would enthusiastically open each show with this line, and then all at once all 40 kids would yell, “It’s Howdy Doody time!”

A diehard Howdy fan, I remember being captivated by the whole cast of characters on NBC’s first and most popular children’s television shows.

The “Howdy Doody Show” was the first network show to air five days a week and was the first to air more than 1,000 continuous episodes. With participation of the kids in the peanut gallery the program was one of television’s first to make audience participation a part of the show.

There was the mute, horn-honking, seltzer-spraying Clarabell the Clown played by Bob Keeshan, until he left in 1960 to become Captain Kangaroo. Princess Summerfall Winterspring, played by actress Judy Tyler, was another live character and then there was the cast of memorable marionettes—Howdy Doody, Phineas T. Bluster, Dilly Dally and Flub-a-Dub, created from eight different animals.

Buffalo Bob treated the marionettes as if they were real, and as a result, so did kids of the era.

A pioneer in children’s programming, Bob Smith along with Howdy Doody, became icons of the 1950s. The program’s popularity helped propel the introduction of color television as the show was the first to be broadcast in color.

Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody sported Western outfits giving the show a bit of a frontier theme. Howdy’s outfit was marked by his red and blue plaid shirt and neckerchief; Buffalo Bob was always dressed in an outfit with leather-like fringes.

A friendly freckle-faced marionette that was operated by 11 strings (two head, one mouth, one eyes, two shoulders, one back, two hands and two knees) is what today’s Baby Boomers remember about the Howdy Doody Show and the early days of black and white television.

In New York City, the program aired from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. on NBC and that was my solitary time with our new 12-inch, RCA black and white television set.

Recognizing the potential for merchandising, when the show’s sponsors, which included Ovaltine and Kelloggs, started offering premium items for 25 cents and a box top or jar label I was in heaven.

I sent away for everything offered, and thus began my collection of Howdy Doody memorabilia that I still display today.

There’s a ventriloquist-type Howdy doll dressed in red and blue, an authentic red Ovaltine mug that says, “Be keen, be keen, drink chocolate-flavored Ovaltine,” a Howdy hand puppet, a reproduction lunchbox, a cover of TV Guide showing Howdy and Buffalo Bob and a photograph of the duo signed by Buffalo Bob.

I remember vividly when I was nine years old and heard that Howdy, Buffalo Bob and the cast of characters would appear in person at Macy’s at Herald Square in New York. Nothing could be more exciting in any kid’s life I thought.

I coerced my very pregnant mother, who was in her ninth month, to take me uptown to Macy’s. We made the trek by train from Brooklyn to 34th Street and were stunned by the mob of kids and parents lining the block from Broadway, down 34th Street to Seventh Avenue.

After standing in line for about half an hour and seeing the crowd ahead of us, my mother said the fatal words: she didn’t think she could stand any longer and thought she was going to give birth right there.

I threw such a tantrum that one of the police officers keeping the crowd in line took us to the front of the line.

Amazingly, we got to be in the first group to go up to Macy’s toy department to see Howdy, Buffalo Bob, Clarabell and the other characters in person.

Howdy Doody was smaller in person than I imagined, but I remember Bob Smith being especially handsome and as warm in person as he was on the show.

When my husband and I moved to Green Valley in January 2006, I carefully packed my collectibles for the moving van but my Howdy Doody doll got special care; I packed and personally carried him on the plane with me.

It’s easy to remember this special joy of childhood because my Howdy collectibles still have a place of prominence in my home.

They’re displayed with other nostalgic play things—Little Lulu, Nancy and Tubby, a set of jacks, a pink Spalding high-bounce ball and other toys that gave me simple pleasures.

When the “Howdy Doody Show” ended in 1960, Clarabell the Clown, who had never spoken, did something special on that final episode; he spoke for the first time in 13 years. The show ended its 15-year reign with Clarabell simply saying, “Goodbye kids.”

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net