By Wyatt Newman
Entertaining they were, the three kid-popular television shows.
Whenever I see a rerun clip I wonder why, but that's the difference of being a kid or an adult. The three shows, Howdy Doody, Mickey Mouse Club and American Bandstand were for us kids when being a kid wasn't so complicated as today's kids face.
I can't imagine a puppet show with silly adult characters like Buffalo Bob, Clarabell the Clown, Chief Thunderthud and Princess Summerfall Winterspring being popular with today's more sophisticated young ones. Kids today would hoot at a puppet with strings. The Muppets are acceptable, being enjoyed even by adults, but Howdy Doody and its cast reflected the innocence and basic simplistic newness of television. Shows like The Muppets bring generations together, but whose parents would ever have watched Howdy Doody, Mickey Mouse Club or American Bandstand?
Buffalo Bob with his "Hey, kids, what time is it?" opening comments seemed like an adult who could relate to kids, even though looking back it seemed silly for an adult to be dressed like some Buffalo Bill Cody inspired character...sort of like a strange uncle. Clarabell with his incessant horn-tooting was irritating, not silly-classy like Harpo Marx and his horn. I could have done without him. He added little to the show. Thunderthud and Princess were too corny to be considered Indians. The peanut gallery looked like a bunch of kids who enjoyed the show, so maybe that's why I felt a part of the audience as it had a truly live performance feeling. It was fast-paced.
The draw for all three of the kid shows was kids watching kids. Without the peanut gallery, Howdy Doody wouldn't have drawn us in. Now, on the Mickey Mouse Club, there were kids who were fascinating to watch...cute, handsome, whatever physical aspects they had to attract both sexes. Remember the cute Cubby and Karen, the little ones? Big
Bobby was corny but a good dancer, if one liked dancing, but the kid was talented enough to dance his way onto the Lawrence Welk Show. For us guys, was there anyone of us who didn't fall for Annette Funicello? What a dish! Tim Considine, who was the character "Spin," in the "Spin and Marty" serial was the teen boy role model...cool and good looking he was. He did convincingly well as the older brother in "My Three
Sons" later, and last I know appeared as the soldier who got slapped for having battle fatigue in "Patton."
Yes, Jimmy looked silly in his tee shirt and Mousekateer lid, and his silent sidekick, Roy, looked even sillier, but they kept the show moving. A half hour seemed too short. Highly entertaining it was, and the daily themes, like "Talent Round-up" were almost good enough to look forward to.
Then there was American Bandstand, hosted by the non-aging Dick Clark, later to appear only on New Year's Eve countdowns. Watching Bandstand was like going to one of the Rogers dances in the cafeteria...watching other people dance as we stood on the sidelines. Why we would enjoy watching some Philadelphia kids dance is an interesting question. The guest performers were never that good lip-syncing t their own songs, but it was entertaining to see what the singers looked like who sang songs we enjoyed. The Philly kids just didn't look like us, though. It was hard to believe we could be dancing in the studio with them, unlike the comfort we would have had being among the Peanut Gallery.
Corny, unsophisticated, silly, overly-contrived...I suppose when looking back. But have you ever watched kid shows today? Way too grown up. Some of the kids even look a bit too coy, the girls like little Lolitas, and the attitude of "being with it" is almost shameful.
Today's kid shows confirm my attitude that I'm happy I was born when I was. They might not have been always the good old days but better days for kid TV they certainly were. But I'll pass on the reruns.
- Wyatt