Voting Station

The Howdy Doody Show

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TV Series

The Resume

    (December 27, 1947-September 24, 1960)
    Aired on NBC
    Bob Smith as Buffalo Bob and the voice of Howdy Doody
    Bob Keeshan (1948-53), Bobby Nicholson (1953-54) or Lew Anderson (1954-60) as Clarabelle the Clown
    Judy Tyler as Princess Summerfall Winterspring
    Bill Lecornec as Chief Thunderthud
    Premise: Children's entertainment featuring marionettes

Why The Howdy Doody Show might be annoying:

    The first Howdy Doody had to be retired when Buffalo Bob got into a dispute with puppet maker Frank Paris.
    Bob Keeshan was fired as Clarabelle over a salary dispute.
    Since Buffalo Bob was not a ventriloquist, his dialogue as Howdy Doody was pre-recorded and played back during the show by a technician, eliminating any possibility for improvisation.
    The show caused a mini-'War of the Worlds'-style panic when Smith announced a space ship had landed in Virginia, reading the story as if it had come off the United Press wire (1949).
    Plugs for sponsors, such as Colgate toothpaste and Three Musketeers candy bars, were worked into songs and skits in the show.
    The 'It's Howdy Doody Time' theme was sung to the tune of the off-color 'Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay.'

Why The Howdy Doody Show might not be annoying:

    It was the first NBC show to air in color.
    The NBC test pattern incorporated a picture of Howdy Doody (1954).
    It was one of the first shows with audience participation (by the 'Peanut Gallery') as a major component.
    Buffalo Bob noted that Howdy and his fellow marionettes 'gave the impression that they could cut their strings, saunter off the stage, and do as they pleased.'
    It became an international hit, with Canadian and Cuban versions created using duplicate puppets and local talent as hosts.
    When Howdy Doody ran for president of the kids of America, the show received 60,000 requests for campaign buttons, equal to a third of the homes with TV sets at the time (1948).
    The final episode in which Clarabelle speaks his first words ('Goodbye, kids') was chosen as one of television's 100 most memorable moments by both TV Guide (1997) and TV Land (2004).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 13 Votes: 30.77% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 22 Votes: 9.09% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 20 Votes: 35.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 21 Votes: 47.62% Annoying