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Wonderama
''Wonderama'' is a children's television program that originally appeared on the Metromedia-owned stations from 1955 to 1977. The show was revived from 1980 to 1987, and again in 2016. Hosts *Al Hodge (as Captain Video 1955–1956) *Jon Gnagy (mid–late 1950s) *Sandy Becker (1955–56) *Chuck McCann (1955–56) *Pat Meikle (co-hosting 1955–1956) *Herb Sheldon (1956–1958) *Bill Britten (co-host in 1958; later known as New York's Bozo the Clown) *Doris Faye (co-host in 1958) *Sonny Fox (1959–1967) *Bob McAllister (1967–1977) *various teenagers (1980–1987) *David Osmond (2017–present) Original series ''Wonderama'' aired on its originating station, WNEW-TV in New York City, as well as in five other markets in which Metromedia owned television stations: WTTG in Washington D.C., KMBC-TV in Kansas City, KTTV in Los Angeles, WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, and WTCN-TV in Minneapolis – Saint Paul. The show was three hours long for most of its run on Sunday mornings. The show was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wonderama
''Wonderama'' is a children's television program that originally appeared on the Metromedia-owned stations from 1955 to 1977. The show was revived from 1980 to 1987, and again in 2016. Hosts *Al Hodge (as Captain Video 1955–1956) *Jon Gnagy (mid–late 1950s) *Sandy Becker (1955–56) *Chuck McCann (1955–56) *Pat Meikle (co-hosting 1955–1956) *Herb Sheldon (1956–1958) *Bill Britten (co-host in 1958; later known as New York's Bozo the Clown) *Doris Faye (co-host in 1958) *Sonny Fox (1959–1967) *Bob McAllister (1967–1977) *various teenagers (1980–1987) *David Osmond (2017–present) Original series ''Wonderama'' aired on its originating station, WNEW-TV in New York City, as well as in five other markets in which Metromedia owned television stations: WTTG in Washington D.C., KMBC-TV in Kansas City, KTTV in Los Angeles, WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, and WTCN-TV in Minneapolis – Saint Paul. The show was three hours long for most of its run on Sunday mornings. The show was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob McAllister
Robert C. "Bob" McAllister (June 2, 1935 – July 21, 1998) was an American television personality, magician, and children's entertainer and a host of ''Wonderama''. Early career Born in Philadelphia, Bob first made his name as a ventriloquist on NBC on the ''Today Show'' in the 1950s, while still in his teens. He appeared in 1953 on CBS on Ted Mack's ''Original Amateur Hour'' and was able to get his first regular television job hosting his own program on WTAR in Norfolk, Virginia. The "Bob and Chauncey Show" paired McAllister with a wise-cracking dummy ("Chauncey"). When that show ended, Bob became WTAR-TV's Bozo the Clown. This led to his being hired on at WJZ-TV Channel 13 in Baltimore, Maryland in 1963 on ''The Bob McAllister Show'', a half-hour program of comedy character and puppet sketches, magic acts, pantomime, cartoons, and sight gags intended to revive the absurd visual surrealism of Ernie Kovacs' television work. ''The Bob McAllister Show'' was a big success and l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonny Fox
Irwin "Sonny" Fox (June 17, 1925 – January 24, 2021) was an American television host and broadcaster who was the host of the children's television program, ''Wonderama''. Through his career, he had hosted other children's educational and entertainment shows including ''Let's Take a Trip,'' ''Just for Fun'' and ''On Your Mark,'' in addition to family shows including ''The $64,000 show''. Fox was also a producer of movies including ''And Baby Makes Six'', '' Mysterious Two'' and ''Brontë''. He served as the chairman of Populations Communication International, a non profit advocating for a change in attitudes toward family planning. Early life Irwin Fox was born on June 17, 1925, to a Jewish family in the Parkville section of Brooklyn, New York, to parents Gertrude (Goldberg) and Julius A. Fox. His father was in the textile business and his mother was a theater ticket broker. He attended James Madison High School in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. He joined the arm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herb Sheldon
Herb Sheldon (born Herbert Sussman in Brooklyn, New York, January 1913 - July 21, 1964) was an American television personality and entertainer. Television career Sheldon was originally slated to train for a career in textiles, but a scholarship at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and some work in the theater sidetracked his plans. He worked in some Broadway shows in small character parts. Eventually, he left the stage for a career as a radio broadcaster. Sheldon made his radio debut on WINS Radio as the host and interviewer and as a performer of a daily talk/variety show in 1941. The show became a hit with NYC's listeners and from there he went on to a long and successful career mc'ing several programs, including one with interviewer Maggie McNellis (''Sheldon And McNellis At The Latin Quarter''). Sheldon made his TV debut on WNBT-TV in New York City in 1946, with the first of several children's TV shows ''Kids Today'' on WNBT. From 1946 to 1956, he hosted such kid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WNYW
WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship WWOR-TV (channel 9). Both stations share studios at the Fox Television Center on East 67th Street in Manhattan's Lenox Hill neighborhood, while WNYW's transmitter is located at One World Trade Center. History DuMont origins (1944–1956) The station traces its history to 1938, when television set and equipment manufacturer Allen B. DuMont founded experimental station W2XVT in Passaic, New Jersey. That station's call sign was changed to W2XWV when it moved to Manhattan in 1940. On May 2, 1944, the station received its commercial license, the third in New York City. It began broadcasting on VHF channel 4 as WABD with its call sign made up of DuMont's initials. It was one of the few television stations that continued to broadcast during Wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Britten
William Cohen (1928 – February 4, 2020) was an American actor born in Philadelphia, to an opera actor and singer. As Bill Britten, he is best known for his portrayal of Bozo the Clown in the New York City market. College Education And Early Career Britten performed as a mimic and pantomimist for local parties in Philadelphia to finance his college education. He earned a degree in drama at Temple University. After serving in the U.S. Army, where he wrote, performed and produced shows for Special Services, he earned a Master's Degree in drama at the University of Washington in Seattle. He taught speech and drama at a Seattle high school, performed on local television, appeared as a clown for a local gas station franchise and trained with two puppet theaters funded by the University of Washington. Following his college education, Britten studied puppetry with Frank Paris, who created and was puppeteer for the original Howdy Doody marionette that appeared on ''Puppet Playho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (musical)
'' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' is a 1960 musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'', and her wealthy miner-husband. A musical film version, also titled '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'', with screenplay by Helen Deutsch, was released in 1964. Productions The original Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on November 3, 1960, and closed on February 10, 1962, after 532 performances and 1 preview. It was directed by Dore Schary and choreographed by Peter Gennaro. The opening cast included Tammy Grimes, Harve Presnell, and Jack Harrold. Grimes won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Grimes appeared in the US national tour in 1962, including Los Angeles and San Francisco in April and June 1962, respectively. Presnell reprised his stage role for the 1964 film, also titled '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandy Becker
George Sanford Becker (February 19, 1922 – April 9, 1996), who was known professionally as Sandy Becker, was an American television announcer, actor, and comedian who hosted several popular children's programs in New York City. The best known of these was ''The Sandy Becker Show'', which ran from 1955 to 1968 on WABD-TV and WNEW-TV, channel 5. Radio actor and announcer Sandy Becker was born and raised in New York City. He held local radio announcing jobs before first reaching public attention in 1947 on radio as the title character of the series ''Young Doctor Malone''. Originally a pre-med student at New York University in the 1930s, Becker played the character on the radio for a decade, after having been the show's announcer. Becker was invited to take the role to television in 1958, but declined, in order to pursue his own television projects. Children's TV host After ''Dr. Malone'', Becker started working for WABD (later WNEW) TV channel 5 in New York City and began h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metromedia
Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMont Television Network ceased operations and its owned-and-operated stations were spun off into a separate company. Metromedia sold its television stations to News Corporation in 1985 (which News Corp. then used to form the nucleus of Fox Television Stations), and spun off its radio stations into a separate company in 1986. Metromedia then acquired ownership stakes in various film studios, including controlling ownership in Orion. In 1997, Metromedia closed down and sold its media assets to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History Origins The company arose from the ashes of the DuMont Television Network, the world's first commercial television network. DuMont had been in economic trouble throughout its existence, and was seriously undermined when ABC a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Hodge
Albert E. Hodge (April 18, 1912 – March 19, 1979) was an American actor best known for playing space adventurer Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network from December 15, 1950, to April 1, 1955. He played the Green Hornet on radio from January 1936 until January 1943. Biography Hodge was born in Ravenna, Ohio. His parents operated a tailoring and dry-cleaning business. Hodge acted and took part in sports at Ravenna High School. Nicknamed "Abie", he was a track star, a drum major and manager of the band, sang bass in the boys glee club and was a cheerleader. Hodge graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1934, majoring in drama. After touring as an actor with the Casford Players, he was hired by WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Besides originating the role of Britt Reid, the Green Hornet, Hodge wrote and delivered daily editorials, announced at football games, wrote advertising copy, worked as a disc jockey, and produced radio dramas and documentaries, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Newport, Kentucky, United States, serving the Cincinnati metro as the market's Fox affiliate. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Cozi TV affiliate WBQC-LD (channel 25). WXIX-TV maintains studios at 19 Broadcast Plaza on Seventh Street in the Queensgate neighborhood just west of downtown Cincinnati, and its transmitter is located in the South Fairmount neighborhood on the city's northwest side. Though the construction permit for a fourth television station to serve Cincinnati—originally assigned channel 74—had been obtained by a Newport group in 1953, it took 15 years and two sales before the station was built on channel 19; its facilities have always been in Ohio. A successful independent station under U.S. Communications Corporation, Metromedia, and Malrite Communications Group before the creation of Fox in 1986, the station began producing a local newscast in 1993 and today airs local newscasts in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 2,256,884, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 64th in the United States. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, surpassed only by New Orleans and the older, established settlements of the United States eastern seaboard, as well as being the sixth-most populous city from 1840 until 1860. As a rivertown crossroads at the junction of the North, South, East, and West, Cincinnati developed with fewer immigrants and less influence from Europe than Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
