''The Floppy Show'' is an American

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

starring Duane Ellett, broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

affiliate

WHO-TV WHO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines, and its transmitter is located in Al ...

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

from 1957 to 1987. Ellett created Floppy in early 1957 to help teach people how to take care of their pets on the TV show ''Pet Corner'', before moving on to their own show.

Overview

Duane Ellett entertained children with his puppet friend Floppy, a high-voiced

beagle The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, the ...

that enjoyed riddles and let kids beep his nose for luck. Ellett had carved Floppy himself from

balsa wood ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

, and brought him and his other puppet characters to life through self-taught

ventriloquism Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

. Duane Ellett and Floppy went on the air June 9, 1957. Prior to the show, Ellett had served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He had planned to become a lawyer when he started attending

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

, but a class in radio journalism led to a job with WHO radio in 1947. In the 1970s and 1980s, the half-hour show consisted of short sketches with Ellett's puppets, a segment in which children asked Floppy riddles, and the airing of vintage

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.

and

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

cartoons. Ellett also took Floppy on 200 personal appearances every year. On August 30, 1984,

canceled Ellett's afternoon show because of faltering ratings. Ellett and Floppy continued to appear on WHO's noon news and on weekend mornings. Ellett died in 1987. The riddle that children most often asked of Floppy on the show was, "Why did the man put the car in the oven?" And the answer almost always was, "Because he wanted a hot-rod." Floppy never got it right and he never tired of hearing it.

Specials and DVD release

Since the show's cancellation, WHO-TV has aired the ''Floppy Christmas Special'', produced in 1966 on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

. The special features the adventures of Floppy escaping the daily grind of his afternoon show. There are currently four DVDs released in the Duane and Floppy series.

Legacy

In 1994, a special display honoring Ellett and his puppet was exhibited at the Iowa Historical Building, where Floppy now resides. In 2013, it was announced that the Iowa State Historical Society was intending to put the puppet in storage. The display will be taken down on June 9, 2013. This date also happens to be Floppy's 56th "birthday". A Facebook group called "Save Floppy!" created an online petition to keep the original version of the Floppy area on public display. As of July, 2013 Museum spokesman Jeff Morgan was noncommittal about restoring the Floppy exhibit to public display, saying, "Right now the museum's just beginning to help determine what the exhibit rotations will be in the long term." The Iowa State Historical Society presented a retrospective "Duane and Floppy Film Festival" in 2009 and again in 2010. On August 6, 2013, it was announced that Floppy would be on display at the 2013 Iowa State Fair from August 8 to the 18th. As of 2015, Floppy now resides at the Ankeny Area Historical Society's museum.''Floppy Returns to Hometown of Ankeny'', WHO13
4/7/2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floppy Show 1957 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings 1950s American children's television series 1960s American children's comedy television series 1970s American children's comedy television series 1980s American children's comedy television series 1950s American sketch comedy television series 1960s American sketch comedy television series 1970s American sketch comedy television series 1980s American sketch comedy television series American television shows featuring puppetry Black-and-white American television shows Children's sketch comedy English-language television shows Local children's television programming in the United States Television shows filmed in Iowa

Overview

Specials and DVD release

Legacy

See also

References