In the early years of U.S. television, virtually every local station had a locally produced program aimed at children. For the most part, they had several things in common: they were broadcast live, operated on a shoestring budget, had a central character (often a clown), included puppets and a live studio audience made up of local children. Shows such as Bozo the Clown (1959) and The Wallace and Ladmo Show (1954) made celebrities of Chuck McCann, Pat McMahon and Willard Scott. By the 1960s, Jim Henson had his own take on puppets, which he called Muppets, which became nationally known with the advent of Sesame Street (1969). One major innovation was to franchise a childrens show for local production. Perhaps the most successful program of this type was Romper Room (1953) which at its peak was being produced in over 100 locations.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:42:06 +0000
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