Bill Jackson (television personality)

Bill Ray Jackson (September 15, 1935 – January 17, 2022) was an American television personality, cartoonist, and educator. He was best known for having hosted the children's programs ''The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show'' and ''Gigglesnort Hotel''.

Early life and career

Jackson was born in Unionville, Missouri. His father worked with a traveling carnival. He said he was very influenced by both comic strips and comic books, with ''Li'l Abner'' and Donald Duck being his favorites. Jackson graduated from the University of Missouri's school of journalism with a degree in television production in 1957, but did not get interested in puppetry until later.

His first broadcasting job was at KTVO in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he was a weatherman, copywriter and the station's art director. After a year at the station, Jackson joined the Army and was assigned to the Armed Forces Network in Hollywood. It was there that he created his first puppets.

His earliest appearance in children's television was in 1960 when he hosted a program in Fort Wayne, Indiana, called the ''Popeye and Little Rascals Club''; this was broadcast for two years. The show was such a success that he moved on to Indianapolis for another three years with the ''Mickey Mouse Club'' on WLWI (now WTHR), later renamed ''The Bill Jackson Show'', where he created his most enduring character, Dirty Dragon, based on a friend in Indianapolis. Jackson said "Cartoon Town" was based on the small town he grew up in and some of his puppet characters were based on some of his Unionville neighbors, and that the character "Weird" was based on a Chicago friend.

His work attracted the attention of WBBM-TV in Chicago, which gave him a program in 1965, known variously as ''Clown Alley'' (weekday version) or ''Here Comes Freckles'' (Sunday morning version). Unfortunately, in spite of wide critical praise, the show drew poor ratings, largely because it was broadcast early in the morning, and was cancelled after two seasons. Jackson played the title character, Freckles the Clown; although many of the puppet characters continued to appear on later series, Jackson usually played himself (or "B.J.", as his puppet co-stars called him) throughout the remainder of his career.

Chicago

Jackson's work did not go unnoticed, however, and he was hired by another Chicago station, the then-independent WFLD, which was looking for a show to go opposite WGN-TV's highly popular ''Garfield Goose and Friends''. Jackson, a gifted artist, comedian and puppeteer, responded in 1968 with a program initially called ''Cartoon Town'', but later renamed ''The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show''. It was here that Jackson, playing the mayor of the cartoon town, reached great heights with characters such as Dirty Dragon, "Weird" and "Wally Goodscout", "Mother Plumtree", the "Old Professor", and a town monument called "Blob" which was made of clay and could, with Jackson's help, assume any form. Jackson wrote and produced the show, performed all of the puppet characters' voices, and built and designed the sets and puppets. The show featured a variety of cartoons, including ''Underdog'', ''Popeye

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