''Bumpity'' was an American children's

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that aired locally in the

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area on the

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affiliate

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, from 1971 to 1985. Bumpity, a green "bump on a lawn" (though many viewers assumed he was a frog) with one pronounced tooth, along with his friend and side-kick, a red and purple striped worm (some children thought he was a snake) named Fred, hosted the show. Other friends included Digger Mole and Scotty MacThistle. Fred never said a word, but did make squeaks in what he termed "High Worm". An employee of the station named Bob Griggs, came up with an idea to design a puppet as an answer to a call from the

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(FCC) which had asked local station affiliates around the country to air family friendly and educational morning programming. Bob created the original characters with less than three dollars. The concept was approved and quickly became a hit with children and parents alike due to the program's easy, gentle nature. Among the most frequent guests to "Bumpity Park" were librarians from the

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, who would bring children's books to read to viewers. Bumpity also welcomed

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, clog dancers, and

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. In 2001, Crispin and Patrick Rosenkranz created a short documentary about Bumpity titled "Bumpity Returns." The video is available throug
their website
or can be borrowed from the

. The documentary includes interviews with Bob Griggs and others involved with the production of the program, and with Bumpity himself. The documentary also features clips from the show.

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0439485
Bumpity Returns Official Website
American television shows featuring puppetry Local children's television programming in the United States Culture of Portland, Oregon 1970s American children's television series 1980s American children's television series 1971 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings

See also

External links