List of local children's television series (United States)

The following is a list of local children's television shows in the United States. These were locally produced commercial television programs intended for the child audience with unique hosts and themes. This type of programming began in the late 1940s and continued into the late 1970s; some shows continued into the 1990s. Author Tim Hollis documented about 1,400 local children's shows in a 2002 book, Hi There, Boys and Girls![1][2]

The television programs typically aired in the weekday mornings before school or afternoons after school, as well as on weekends (to a lesser degree). There were different formats. Almost all shows had a colorful host who assumed a persona, such as a cowboy/cowgirl, captain/skipper/commodore/admiral, jungle explorer, astronaut, king, princess, clown, sheriff/deputy/trooper, cop, firefighter, hobo/tramp, railroad engineer, magician, "cousin", "grandfather" or "uncle", whose role was not only to be the "DJ" for syndicated material (typically cartoons, although Westerns were more popular earlier on) but also to entertain, often with a live television studio audience of kids, during breaks.

Early program fare included cartoon favorites, such as Koko the Clown, Daffy Duck, Crusader Rabbit, Dick Tracy, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Mighty Mouse, Porky Pig, Deputy Dawg, Hergé's Adventures of Tintin, Mel-O-Toons, Woody Woodpecker, The Funny Company, Mr. Magoo, Space Angel and Clutch Cargo, as well as movie shorts, such as Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang/The Little Rascals and The Three Stooges, as well as animated versions of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and The Three Stooges, and live action shorts, such as Diver Dan. Some included educational segments like the portraits of wildlife in Nature's Window.

Television broadcast markets edit

Alabama edit

Anniston edit

Birmingham edit

Dothan edit

Florence edit

Huntsville/Decatur edit

Mobile edit

Montgomery edit

Alaska edit

Anchorage edit

Fairbanks edit

Arizona edit

Phoenix edit

Tucson edit

Yuma edit

Arkansas edit

El Dorado/Monroe edit

Fort Smith edit

Little Rock edit

California edit

Bakersfield edit

Fresno edit

  • KMPH: Uncle Woody Show (with Woody Bryant)
  • KAIL: Leebo The Clown (with Leland Harris)
  • KFSN: Fun Time (with Al Radka)
  • KMJ: Miss Pat's Playroom

Glendale edit

Los Angeles edit

Oakland edit

Sacramento/Stockton edit

San Diego edit

San Francisco edit

San Jose edit

Visalia edit

  • KMPH-TV: Uncle Woody (with Woody Bryant)

Colorado edit

Colorado Springs edit

Denver edit

Connecticut edit

Hartford edit

New Haven edit

Delaware edit

(see Pennsylvania, Maryland, and District of Columbia markets)

District of Columbia edit

Washington edit

Florida edit

Fort Myers edit

Jacksonville edit

  • WMFJ: Here's How, (1962-1963) (with Virginia Atter and a clown known as Clark Winchester). They visited manufacturers each week to see how things are made.
  • WFGA: Romper Room
  • WFGA: Bozo and Skipper Ed Show, (1961–1966) Saturday mornings. [clarification needed]
  • WFGA: Popeye & Pals with Skipper Ed, weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings. [clarification needed]

Miami edit

Orlando edit

St. Petersburg edit

Tallahassee edit

Tampa edit

  • WFTS-TV: David D TV (1994-2000, Saturday mornings[6])
  • WTVT: Romper Room ("Miss Colleen"; Weekdays 9:00-9:30am from October 1955 until January 1959)
  • WFLA: Romper Room ("Miss Kay", "Miss June", "Miss Alice") (Kay's version aired at 9:00–9:30am each weekday from January 19, 1959 until Spring 1961. June's WFLA version aired at 10:00-10:30am each weekday from March 31, 1975 until May 30, 1980, and Alice's version aired 10:00-10:30am each weekday from October 1980 until February 1982).

West Palm Beach edit

Georgia edit

Atlanta edit

Augusta edit

  • WATU: Bozo the Clown (weekdays 4:30–5:30 pm, 1970)
  • WJBF: Trooper Terry (weekdays 5-5:30pm; later years 4:30-5pm; featured weatherman Terry Sams; 1960s-70s)
  • WRDW-TV: "Hippity Hop" (weekdays 5:30-5:45; featuring William "Bill" Tennent; 1954-1957)

Columbus edit

Macon edit

Savannah edit

  • WJCL (TV): Bozo the Clown (weekdays 4:30–5:30 pm)
  • WTOC-TV: Happy Dan (weekdays 4-4:30 pm; originally Happy Dan & The Little Rascals, later Happy Dan & Popeye)
  • WTOC-TV: Romper Room (weekdays 9-9:30 am)

Thomasville edit

Hawaii edit

Honolulu edit

KHON (Channel 2):

KGU/KITV/KHVH (now KITV) (Channel 4):

KGMB (Channel 9):

KTRG (now KHNL) (Channel 13):

Idaho edit

Boise edit

Illinois edit

Chicago edit

Peoria edit

Quad Cities edit

(see Quad Cities, Iowa market)

Quincy edit

Rockford edit

Harrisburg edit

Indiana edit

Evansville edit

Fort Wayne edit

Indianapolis edit

South Bend edit

Terre Haute edit

  • WTHI-TV: Captain Jack (hosted by "Captain Jack" Haines) (1978–1982)

Iowa edit

Cedar Rapids/Waterloo edit

Davenport edit

(see Quad Cities market)

Des Moines/Ames edit

Mason City/Fort Dodge edit

Quad Cities edit

Sioux City edit

Kansas edit

Wichita edit

Kentucky edit

Bowling Green edit

Lexington edit

Louisville edit

Paducah edit

Louisiana edit

Baton Rouge edit

Monroe edit

New Orleans edit

Shreveport edit

Maine edit

Bangor edit

Portland edit

Maryland edit

Baltimore edit

Massachusetts edit

Boston edit

Springfield edit

Worcester edit

Michigan edit

Detroit edit

Detroit Area edit

Flint edit

Grand Rapids edit

Kalamazoo edit

  • WWMT-TV/WKZO-TV: Channel 3 Clubhouse (with Beanie Brown and Uncle Fred)

Lansing edit

  • WJIM-TV: Ranger Jim (with John Kelly then known as Jack Kelin,who then went on to host Kelly and Company with Marilyn Turner

Minnesota edit

Austin edit

Duluth edit

Minneapolis/St. Paul edit

Rochester edit

Mississippi edit

Columbus edit

Missouri edit

Columbia/Jefferson City/Sedalia edit

  • KRCG-TV/KMOS-TV/KOMU-TV: Sesame Street (Due to the lack of a PBS station in Mid-Missouri, CBS stations KRCG and KMOS began premiering PBS's Sesame Street on January 4, 1971 as a weekday morning program [9:00-10:00 AM] after a spokesman for a local group replied that KRCG was confident enough for the Citizens of Sesame Street Fund could raise money that it had notified CBS of the preemption replacement of two programs. Both stations dropped Sesame Street during the first week of March 1977 due to the station's revenue losses, and the former Sesame Street slot was replaced with The New Price Is Right that originally aired in the afternoon hours. This led to major consequences on a new station for the program in the market. In April 1977, Columbia's ABC station KCBJ immediately seek funds for Sesame Street to return in Mid-Missouri planning on airing it on weekday evenings rather than weekday mornings, but failed days after announcement due to the Missouri Department of Education reported no funds in its budget available. Then NBC station KOMU came along to seek funds as well, as the staff at KOMU paid an additional $1,825 from its general operating budget to run the program. The staff at KOMU promised to only air the show briefly in its lineup due to concerns over the same reason why KRCG pulled Sesame Street off its lineup. KOMU immediately aired Sesame Street at the same slot as KRCG/KMOS as a replacement of both Sanford & Son and Hollywood Squares for a brief time from June 20, 1977 until August 31, 1977).

Hannibal edit

Joplin edit

  • KODE: Romper Room ("Miss Judy")
  • KODE: Sesame Street (For more than a decade, KODE aired Sesame Street on weekday mornings from the early 1970s until 1986 when Springfield's KOZK launched its sister-station KOZJ. This was all due to the lack of a PBS station in the Joplin market, although Springfield received full-time PBS programming when KOZK launched in 1975).

Kansas City edit

St. Louis edit

Springfield edit

Montana edit

Billings edit

Butte edit

Nebraska edit

Lincoln edit

Scottsbluff edit

KSTF: The Wilmer Worm Show (with June Beaman)

Nevada edit

Reno

` KAME Space Station 21 { Ricky Price & Jo Anne Buchanan)

Las Vegas edit

New Hampshire edit

Manchester edit

New Jersey edit

(see New York and Pennsylvania markets)

New Mexico edit

Albuquerque edit

New York edit

Albany/Schenectady edit

Binghamton edit

Buffalo edit

Elmira/Ithaca edit

New York edit

Plattsburgh edit

Rochester edit

Syracuse/Auburn edit

Utica/Rome edit

Watertown edit

North Carolina edit

Asheville edit

Charlotte edit

Greenville/New Bern edit

Raleigh/Durham edit

Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem edit

North Dakota edit

Bismarck edit

Fargo edit

Ohio edit

Akron edit

Canton edit

Cincinnati edit

Cleveland edit

Columbus edit

Dayton edit

Lima edit

WIMA-TV:

Springfield edit

Steubenville edit

  • Creegan and Crow

Toledo edit

Youngstown edit

Oklahoma edit

Oklahoma City edit

Tulsa edit

Oregon edit

Eugene edit

Portland edit

Pennsylvania edit

Erie edit

Harrisburg/Lancaster edit

Johnstown/Altoona edit

Philadelphia edit

Pittsburgh edit

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre edit

Rhode Island edit

Providence edit

South Carolina edit

Charleston edit

Columbia edit

Florence/Myrtle Beach edit

Greenville/Spartanburg edit

South Dakota edit

Rapid City edit

Sioux Falls edit

Tennessee edit

Chattanooga edit

Jackson edit

Knoxville edit

Memphis edit

Nashville edit

Texas edit

Abilene edit

Amarillo edit

Austin edit

Beaumont/Port Arthur edit

Corpus Christi edit

Dallas/Fort Worth edit

El Paso edit

Houston/Galveston edit

Lubbock edit

Odessa/Midland edit

San Antonio edit

Howdy Doody 1951 Chester Howard Little Rascals 1951 Chester Howard Roy Rogers 1951. Chester Howard Gene Autry. 1951. Chester Howard

Utah edit

Salt Lake City edit

Vermont edit

Burlington edit

Virginia edit

Norfolk/Portsmouth edit

Richmond edit

Roanoke/Lynchburg edit

Cactus Joe

Washington, D.C. edit

Washington edit

Bellingham edit

Everett edit

  • Channel 3/Everett Cablevision: Jaycee Clown Show (with Crash the Clown (Nik Boldrini) and Captain Fuzz (Richard Boldrin) (1971–72))

Seattle/Tacoma edit

Spokane edit

Yakima edit

West Virginia edit

Charleston/Huntington edit

Parkersburg edit

Wheeling edit

Wisconsin edit

Eau Claire edit

Green Bay edit

Madison edit

Milwaukee edit

Wausau edit

  • WSAU-TV: Romper Room ("Miss Maureen", "Miss Elizabeth")
  • WAOW/WAEO: Sesame Street (Despite being shown on NET/PBS stations in the US, the show was aired on WAOW from 1969 until 1972 and on WAEO from 1974 until 1976, due to most of northern Wisconsin not having a NET/PBS affiliated station with the exceptions of Duluth-Superior (due to the area having its own NET/PBS station) and Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls (due to cable systems and over-the-air antennas can easily receive KTCA in the area) until the launch of WHRM-TV in 1976).

Wyoming edit

Casper edit

Cheyenne edit

Guam edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Hollis, Tim (November 2001). Hi There Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-396-5
  2. ^ NPR episode "A History of Local Children's TV Programs", aired May 22, 2002
  3. ^ Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 27. ISBN 1-57806-396-5.
  4. ^ "SERENDIPITY: LEARNING FUN FOR THE YOUNG". Los Angeles Times. 1972-07-16. p. 535. Retrieved 2017-04-02. Serendipity, KNBC's Emmy-winning children's series, is offering new shows for the summer (Sundays at 9 a.m. on Channel 4), and this means more televised field trips for the youngsters. Host Rudi Medina takes the children to places like the Music Center, Marine-land, horse ranches, aviaries and aboard the Queen Mary (below). Educational-fun is the primary mission.
  5. ^ http://www.big13.com/Other%20Hosts/capt_mac_1.htm
  6. ^ Spata, Christopher (August 25, 2016) "Throwback Thursday: Local millennials remember Tampa's 'David D TV'" Tampa Bay Times
  7. ^ "Marshal J WMT KPIX KGO Kids Show Host Jay Alexander". Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160106022354/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/bozo. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ [1] Archived January 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ . 2011-02-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20110201103550/http://captainerniesshowboat.com/. Archived from the original on 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2012-11-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110929204139/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/kenwagner. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ "Cowboy Whitey and the Circle 5 Ranch WOC TV 5/6 Davenport, Iowa". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  13. ^ [2] Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Ken Wagner and Pee Wee Comic CutUps WOC Davenport, Iowa". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  15. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160115040729/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/grandpahappy. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ "Gene King - Dr. Igor and Jungle Jay - Wqad Tv 8 Moline, Illinois, Kzaz Tv 11, Tucson, Arizona, KWGN Tv 2, Denver Colorado". Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  17. ^ "Romper Room WOC TV 6". Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  18. ^ "The Major Mudd Show". IMDb.
  19. ^ "Willie Whistle". IMDb.
  20. ^ "Robert 'Uncle Bunky' Williams: A Local Living Legent Reflects on His Storied Career". The Packet. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  21. ^ Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 161. ISBN 1-57806-396-5.
  22. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150923060017/http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/ringading. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ "Stm Club". Syracusenostalgia.com. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  24. ^ "Station Information - WKBN - 27 First News - Local News - Youngstown, Warren, Columbiana, Ohio - Sharon, Pennsylvania". WKBN. Archived from the original on 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  25. ^ "TribToday.com - News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information". Tribune Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  26. ^ "Portland Radio Message Board: The Original KLIQ". Pdxradio.net. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  27. ^ "The Addie Bobkins Show". Kptv.home.comcast.net. Archived from the original on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  28. ^ Apichella, Michael (2010-06-20). "Behind the gates of 'Hatchy Milatchy' - News". Standard Speaker. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  29. ^ Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 260. ISBN 1-57806-396-5.
  30. ^ Hollis, Tim (2001). Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 264. ISBN 1-57806-396-5.
  31. ^ "Amarillo philanthropist Allen Shifrin dies at 85".

External links edit