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Behind-the-Scenes Stories of the
Golden Age
of Chicago Children’s Television as
Told by the People Who Lived It
At one time every station in Chicago—a maximum of
five, until 1964—produced or aired some programming
for children. From the late 1940s through the early 1970s,
local television stations created a golden age of children’s
television unique in American broadcasting. Though the shows
often operated under strict budgetary constraints, these
programs were rich in imagination, inventiveness, and devoted
fans. The mere mention of their names brings smiles to the
faces of Midwestern baby boomers everywhere: Kukla,
Fran, & Ollie,
Super Circus, Garfield Goose, Bozo’s
Circus, Mulqueen’s Kiddie-A-Go-Go,
BJ & Dirty Dragon, Ray Rayner and Friends, and a host
of others. In 1972 the FCC changed the regulations governing
the relationship between sponsors and local programming,
effectively bringing to a close this chapter of television
history.
What Chicago kids’ show had American
Bandstand host Dick
Clark dancing on T.V. for the first time ever? Did one really
have to wait months and, more often, years to get tickets
for Bozo’s Circus? Which very popular and successful
host never wanted to do a children’s T.V. show? Who really
made the puppet Garfield Goose (you may not have known it
was
a mystery)? Remember the “talent” that bit the
head off a parakeet on live TV and the shocked emcee’s reaction?
What sent television executives into a quandary when Kiddie-A-Go-Go went
on the air? Which show was almost forced off the air because
a giant soft drink company opposed a so-called rival’s
use of the word sip? Now, discover the back stories and details
of this special era from the people who created, lived, and
enjoyed it—producers, on-air personalities, and fans.
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