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Bob Keeshan -- passed away at 76.

Myriads

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Bob Keeshan -- passed away at 76.

Bob Keeshan passed away at 76.


Know as Captain Kangaroo to many, and as Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody to many more.

The Treasure house will be sadly empty now.

Myriads
 
I'll always think of the Captain when I hold a ping pong ball.

The Sean Man

:happyfloa
 
For those too young to remember.....

<center>
captain-kangaroo.jpg
</center>



(CNN) -- Television's Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan, died Friday morning in Vermont, a family friend told CNN. He was 76.

He died after a long illness, his family told The Associated Press.

"Captain Kangaroo," a children's show, featured the walrus-mustached, bowl-haircut Keeshan entertaining youngsters with his gentle, whimsical humor. Among the show's other characters were the puppets Bunny Rabbit and Mr. Moose, as well as Dancing Bear and the laconic Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum).

The show ran on CBS from 1955 to 1985, and then moved to public television for six more years. The show won six Emmys and three Peabody Awards.

The format was simplicity itself: Keeshan would wander through the Treasure House, wearing his distinctive big-pocketed coat, and talk with Brannum and the puppets. He'd meet with guests, tell stories, and generally entertain.

Shows were frequently interrupted with silliness, such as hundreds of ping-pong balls dropping from the ceiling or Mr. Moose's knock-knock jokes.

But the mainstay was the grandfatherly Keeshan.

"I was impressed with the potential positive relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, so I chose an elderly character," Keeshan said, according to the AP.

In a statement issued by his son Michael, Keeshan's family said: "Our father, grandfather and friend was as passionate for his family as he was for America's children. He was largely a private man living an often public life as an advocate for all that our nation's children deserve."

"Captain Kangaroo" aired in the early mornings on CBS until 1985, when the network canceled the show to expand its morning news program.

Keeshan was named Broadcaster of the Year in 1979 by the International Radio and Television Society and was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998. He also spent five years as the silent Clarabell the Clown on "The Howdy Doody Show."

Keeshan was closely involved with health and child-care issues, serving on several boards and working to provide child care to the children of large corporations.

When Fred Rogers, the gentle host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," died last year, Keeshan recalled how they often spoke about the state of children's programming, according to the AP.

"I don't think it's any secret that Fred and I were not very happy with the way children's television had gone," Keeshan said.

Born in 1927 in suburban Long Island, the future Captain Kangaroo grew up in Forest Hills, New York, and was an NBC page for his last year of high school during World War II. He joined the Marines after graduation.

He returned to his page job after his discharge from the Marines, and attended Fordham University.

Keeshan is survived by three children and six grandchildren.


I feel soooo old......

:cry1:
 
Icing on my cake this week.

In the way only a child can love a character, I so loved the Captain.

Joby🙁
 
Well said, TSM...

The Sean Man said:
I'll always think of the Captain when I hold a ping pong ball.

The Sean Man

:happyfloa



Having grown up in a household that was...volatile, the Captain Kangaroo show was a safe haven for a frightened child's mind...and ping-pong balls don't hurt when dropped on someone. :sadcry:
 
I can't think of any remaining examples of a simple straightforward children's show like these anymore. Seems like it's all sound and fury nowdays.
 
Good point. And less decent parenting going on to screen them from it, too...

Fairfeather said:
I can't think of any remaining examples of a simple straightforward children's show like these anymore. Seems like it's all sound and fury nowdays.

Yes, and he and Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) were very outspoken about the turn chidren's programming has taken, too.

Farewell to old friends.
 
Other then Sesame Street and a few choice others the good children's programming is slim pickings.

I loved Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers and Bozo the Clown show, all shows I grew up with....

So long Captain
 
I was always an early riser, all my life...
I'd wake up 6AM, as a pre-schooler, and the first thing I'd do was turn on the TV. I'd switch to Channel 5 (nowadays the FUX network), and watch the old Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse cartoons. Those who remember would recall that each ten minute cartoon would start with this heavy thumping of a slap bass rhythm on a guitar. Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom. One morning, I had the TV loud enough to wake up every cow on the east coast. My father came out of the bedroom with this look on his face like someone had dropped an atomic bomb. I remember his tantrum to this very day...
At 6:30, you'd get two or three 'Little Rascals', which I loved even before I could talk. I watched the same ones over and over, they never tired of showing them...and even today I never tire of viewing them...
At 7, I'd switch to Channel 2, the CBS affiliate in New York, in those days not concerned with news programs that garnered embarrassingly low ratings, and the Captain would come on. What I recall was Bob Keeshan's sunny countenance and his gentle nature. I never forgot the smile...and through the mists I also remember the educational value of the show. Never a day went by without a child learning something, about Mother Nature, stuff like that.
Bob Keeshan was a crusader for less violence and more intelligence on TV. Very sad, the reality, for the one, you have to settle for PAX, for the other you have to get a satellite dish or move to Britain.
 
I remembered Captain Kangaroo for the ping-pong balls they used to drop on him...and for Mr. Moose.
The Captain was a great role model for kids....sorry to hear of his passing.

And yes, Knox, I remember Courageous Cat. That was one of the coolest theme songs ever for a cartoon.
That, and the theme to "Top Cat".


Drew
 
Tuning in to the Captain first thing in the morning before school was such an enjoyable, comfortable way to start the day for a child. It just gave you a feeling that the day was going to be okay. For a young child, you can't ask for too much more.

Now, if shows for kids today had HALF the class Captain Kangaroo did....:bowing:
 
Oh, wow, Drew...'Top Cat'. Hanna-Barbera literally ruled the airwaves in those days...just how many shows did they make back in the '60s anyway? Boggles the mind! And, yes, I do remember the theme song.
More CK: Mr. Green Jeans. When I was four, the handyman at my grandmother's bungalow colony up in the Catskills looked so much like him that I thought he WAS Mr. Green Jeans, and I even called him that. He didn't know if I was dissin' him or what. Someone had to explain to him what I was talking about.
Drew, I'm still a big Rocky and Bullwinkle fan, and I want to strangle all the Cablevision people for not carrying Boomerang...
 
Here's an incredible story I got recently from my ex... I had no idea!

>
> Remembering Captain Kangaroo:
>
> Some people have been a bit offended that the actor,
> Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside 3 and 4 star generals at Arlington National Cemetery. His marker gives his name, rank (PVT) and service (USMC). Nothing else.
>
> Here's a guy who was only a famous movie star who
> served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys?
>
> Well, following is the amazing answer:
>
> I always liked Lee Marvin, but did not know the
> extent of his Corps experiences. In a time when many Hollywood stars
> served their country in the armed
> forces often in rear echelon posts where they were
> carefully protected, only to be
> trotted out to perform for the cameras in war bond
> promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero. He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima. There is only one higher Naval award... the Medal of Honor. If that is a surprising comment on the true
> character of the man, he credits his sergeant with
> an even greater show of bravery.
>
> Dialog from The Tonight Show interview with Johnny
> Carson: His guest was Lee Marvin.
>
> Johnny said, "Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are
> unaware that you were a
> Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima...and that
> during the course of
> that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely
> wounded."
>
> "Yeah, yeah... I got shot square in the butt and
> they gave me the Cross for
> securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi...
> bad thing about getting shot
> up on a mountain is guys gettin' shot hauling you
> down; but Johnny, at Iwo I
> served under the bravest man I ever knew. We both
> got the cross the same day,
> but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap
> in comparison.
>
> That brave man actually stood up on Red beach and
> directed his troops to move
> forward and get the hell off the beach. Bullets
> flying by and mortar rounds
> landing everywhere and he stood there as the main
> target of gun fire so that
> he could get his men to safety. He did this on more
> than one occasion because
> his men's safety was more important than his own
> life.
>
> That Sergeant and I have been lifelong friends. When
> they brought me off
> Suribachi we passed the Sergeant and he lit a smoke
> and passed it to me, lying on
> my belly on the litter and said, "Where'd they get
> you, Lee?'
>
> "Well Bob, if you make it home before me, tell Mom
> to sell the outhouse!"
>
> Johnny, I'm not lying. Sergeant Keeshan was the
> bravest man I ever knew. The
> Sergeant's name is Bob Keeshan. You and the world
> know him as Captain Kangaroo."
>
> On another note, there was this wimpy little man
> (who just passed away) on
> PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of
> those you would least suspect of
> being anything but what he now portrays to our youth.
>
> Mr. Rogers was a US Navy Seal, combat proven in
> Vietnam with over twenty-five
> confirmed kills to his name. He wore a long sleeve
> sweater on his show to
> cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. A
> master in small arms and
> hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a
> heartbeat. After the war Mr.
> Rogers became an ordained P minister and therefore a
> pacifist. Vowing to never
> harm another human and also dedicating the rest of
> his life to trying to help
> lead children on the right path in life. He hid the
> tattoos and his past life
> away and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm.
>
> America's real heroes don't flaunt what they did,
> they quietly go about their
> day to day lives, doing what they do best. They
> earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy.
>
> Look around and see if you can find one of those
> heroes in your
> midst. Often, they are the ones you'd least suspect,
> but would most like to
> have on your side if anything ever happened.
>
> Take the time to thank anyone that's fought for your
> freedom. With encouragement, they could be the next Captain
> Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers.
>








😱 WOW! :wow:
 
Crap... and ya know, I was thinking as I posted it...

...SOMEBODY'S gonna rain on this parade and call it an urban legend. Why the hell do people do crap like this? Distribute bogus stories? That's such chickenshit! Almost as bad as spammers and virus makers. Dammit. :sowrong:
 
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