Biography bob keeshan
Television producer and host Robert James Keeshan was born in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York. As a young man he served in the US Marine Corps Reserve. Starting as a page at the National Broadcasting Company, Keeshan later began his on-air career as the original "Clarabell, the Clown" for the NBC The Howdy Doody Show () (aka "The Howdy Doody Show"). He was then the first host/performer of WJZ/WABC TV Ch. 7 NYC's "Time For Fun" / "The Johnny Jellybean Show". Keeshan emceed the show as "Corny The Clown" weekdays at noon from Monday, September 21st, , to Friday, July 29th, He co-created, co-produced and hosted "Tinker's Workshop" with Jack Miller on WJZ/WABC TV Ch. 7 in New York City weekday mornings from Monday, November 15, to Friday, September 9, The show continued without Robert until Friday August 22, The later hosts of the show were Henry Burbig, Gene London & Dom DeLuise.
When asked to put together a show for children, he leaped at the chance. On Monday, October 3rd, , Captain Kangaroo () began its near year run on CBS, until it was moved to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the s. There was a lot of fun in the "Treasure House", with Bunny Rabbit swindling carrots before lunch from The Captain or Mister Moose finding yet another way to get the Captain to stand still long enough to drop dozens of ping-pong balls down on the ever-unsuspecting Captain's head. Dennis (Cosmo Allegretti) asking so many questions that Mister Bainter would almost always lose his cool. All the while during this, Captain Kangaroo taught us values and gave those with busy or absent fathers a gentle and caring male role model to learn good behavior and manners from. A love of reading was encouraged and the animals that Mister Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum) showed allowed children who had never seen a particular animal to experience it though his fascination with it. During its run in , Keeshan also
Bob Keeshan
Children's television personality & host (–)
Bob Keeshan | |
|---|---|
Keeshan in | |
| Born | Robert James Keeshan ()June 27, Lynbrook, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, () (aged&#;76) Windsor, Vermont, U.S. |
| Alma&#;mater | Fordham University |
| Occupation(s) | Television host, producer, actor |
| Years&#;active | – |
| Spouse | Anne Laurie &#; &#; (m.&#;; died&#;)&#; |
| Children | 3 |
Robert James Keeshan (June 27, &#; January 23, ) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which ran from to , the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day. He also played the original Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program.
Early life
Bob Keeshan was born to Irish parents in Lynbrook, New York. After an early graduation in from Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York, during World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but was still in the United States when Japan surrendered. He attended Fordham University on the GI Bill. He received his bachelor's degree in education in
An urban legend claims that actor Lee Marvin said on The Tonight Show that he had fought alongside Keeshan at the Battle of Iwo Jima in Over time, this legend has been published verbatim. Other legends had compounded on it, such that Keeshan was a trained killer, that he was awarded the Navy Cross, that he was a tough sergeant who saved the lives of dozens of men and women in the war, and that he destroyed a German tank in action in North Africa (an apparent confusion with a similarly named British soldier). However, Marvin never made the statement (he never served in Iwo Jima, but was wounded during the Battle of Saip Bob Keeshan Keeshan at BOK Tower in April Robert James Keeshan Lynbrook, New York Robert James "Bob" Keeshan (June 27, &#; January 23, ) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which ran from to , the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day. Keeshan also played the original Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program. Keeshan was born in Lynbrook, New York. After an early graduation from Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York, in , during World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but was still in the United States when Japan surrendered. He attended Fordham University on the GI Bill and a few years at Hillsdale College. Network television programs began shortly after the end of the war. Howdy Doody, an early show which premiered in on NBC, was one of the first. Debuting on January 3, , Keeshan played Clarabell the Clown, a silent Auguste clown who communicated by honking several horns attached to a belt around his waist. One horn meant "yes"; two meant "no". Clarabell often sprayed Buffalo Bob Smith with a seltzer bottle and played practical jokes. Keeshan gave up the role in , and was replaced. By September 21, , Keeshan was back on the air on WABC-TV (New York City), in a new children’s show, Time for Fun. He played Corny the Clown, and this time he spoke. Later that same year, in addition to Time for Fun, Keeshan began Tinker's Workshop, a program aimed at preschoolers, with him playing the grandfather-like Tinker. Developing ideas from Tinker's Workshop, Keeshan an {"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$","priceAmount","currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"38","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"96","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"wSNfQ0%2FXKmI1fbeoyZSTrWFMSbHGWRxIN0r9jmayDq0xNjXE9enJwxZ4xp%2BqWSpsO%2FKk%2B03qhu6nDJWeTXN3Xz%2FJUJjog3sc9W3dKN4WlPcrB5etbRDRlYGp4h9TRKZbX3bRH7ul54JdewA5TTfH%2BNkd6lBvOTUlPcsfjxx4zH%2Fy9YwCEdA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$","priceAmount","currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"14","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"wSNfQ0%2FXKmI1fbeoyZSTrWFMSbHGWRxIr7o%2BurSc3yTI0W%2F6uzWw0yomzP8MYBB9YbsPWpH3IW%2FaexmlodHb6SLAoEMPOWr4TDmF%2FuNW15vTs8dtwsLww9Bqm%2FFcURgo6yeK4IthPrweDwHRfLsb5WMBhXCBS5X1tiGldC26BhEGeQ7wvGVaVYMoAJx%2BPSXy","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}Personal details Born
()June 27, Died January 23, () (aged&#;76)
Windsor, VermontAlma mater Fordham University Youth, education, military[]
Pioneering children's television[]