''Captain 11's Showboat'' was a locally produced children's program, based in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, airing on KPLR-TV, Channel 11 during the late-afternoon hours, starting in May 1959, and ending in August 1968. Captain 11, named after the channel, was portrayed by former Broadway actor and longtime St. Louis radio personality

Harry Fender Clarence "Harry" Fender (1896 – 1995) was an entertainer and detective who performed in Florenz Ziegfeld shows such as ''Kid Boots'' and later hosted the St. Louis children's television program '' Captain 11's Showboat''. Early career Born in S ...

. The Captain 11 character was reminiscent of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. JoJo the Cook, who was played by Joe Cusanelli, was Captain 11's sidekick. The show was 90 minutes long. The program was best known for airing ''

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

'' shorts to viewers in the St. Louis area. Moe Howard,

Joe DeRita Joseph Wardell (July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993), known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita. Early life DeRita wa ...

, and Larry Fine made appearances on the show.

References

1950s American children's television series 1960s American children's television series 1959 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings Local children's television programming in the United States Mass media in St. Louis Television in St. Louis Culture of St. Louis {{US-child-tv-prog-stub