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''Andy's Gang'' was a children's television program broadcast on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
from August 20, 1955, to December 31, 1960, hosted by the actor
Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature f ...
. It was the successor to the radio and television program ''
Smilin' Ed McConnell Smilin' Ed McConnell (born James McConnell; 1882 – July 23, 1954) was a radio personality, best known as the host of the children's radio and television series, ''Smilin' Ed's Gang'', closely identified with its sponsor, Buster Brown shoes ...
and His Buster Brown Gang'' (later shortened to '' Smilin' Ed's Gang''). Devine took over the television program when McConnell died suddenly of a heart attack in 1954. Devine inherited a number of characters from the earlier show and the sponsor, Buster Brown shoes.


Cast

The cast of the program included: *
Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature f ...
*Nino Marcel as Gunga Ram *
June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, The Adventures of Rocky a ...
as the voice of Midnight the Cat and Old Grandie the Witch *
Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
as the teacher *Lou Krugman as the Maharajah *
Jerry Maren Jerry Maren (born Gerard Marenghi; January 24, 1920 – May 24, 2018) was an American actor who played a Munchkin member of the Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film ''The Wizard of Oz.'' He became the last surviving adult Munchkin ...
as Buster Brown *
Alan Reed Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977) was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on ''The Flintstones'' and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, includin ...
as the poet *
Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...
as Pasta Fazooli and Rama *Bud Tollefson as the voice of Tige, the dog


Smilin' Ed McConnell

''Smilin' Ed McConnell and his Buster Brown Gang'' was one of the first children's TV shows filmed in Hollywood. In the original shows, McConnell started the program by greeting the audience—"Hiya, kids"—after which the audience sang a song for the sponsor, Buster Brown shoes: "I got shoes, you got shoes, everybody's got to have shoes, but there's only one kind of shoe for me—good old Buster Brown shoes!" Then Ed said, "Thank you buddies and sweethearts. Good old Buster Brown shoes are on the air out here in Hollywood for another good old Saturday hullabaloo." Produced on a small budget, the show was a success, bringing to life the Buster Brown advertising characters that had existed for decades and helping to sell millions of shoes. The show was initially filmed in front of a live audience, but as McConnell's health deteriorated, prefilmed children's reaction shots were intercut with the studio performance. Music and stories from "Smilin' Ed's Storybook" were regular features. The show also featured "Gunga, the East India Boy," a serial set in India. Led by the Maharajah, Gunga Ram and his pal Rama set out on adventures around the village of Bakore in filmed segments. A popular segment was the visit from the green
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
Froggy the Gremlin Froggy the Gremlin was a character created by Smilin' Ed McConnell and brought to radio in the 1940s and television in 1950s on the ''Smilin' Ed's Gang'' show, and later '' Andy's Gang'' TV show, hosted by actor Andy Devine after McConnell's deat ...
, who would appear in a puff of smoke ("Hiya, kids! Hiya, hiya, hiya!") when McConnell yelled the catchphrase "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!" The same phrase was later used by Andy Devine. Froggy was always interrupting the story and causing trouble. McConnell died of a heart attack in 1954. Andy Devine took over the show in 1955.


Andy Devine

After McConnell's death, the show was hosted by the rough-voiced, gentle giant
Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature f ...
, who had earlier appeared as Jingles on ''
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok'' is an American Western television series that ran for eight seasons from April 15, 1951, through September 24, 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from June 5, 1955, through 1 ...
'' with
Guy Madison Guy Madison (born Robert Ozell Moseley; January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series '' The Adventures of Wild Bill Hick ...
. Studio reaction shots were again intercut, and Devine did his segments without a live audience. This also allowed some limited special effects, such as when Froggy appeared or disappeared. The show began with Devine sitting in a big easy chair, reading from a book, ''Andy's Stories'', which were illustrated by film clips. Regular characters were Midnight the Cat, Squeeky the Mouse (portrayed by a hamster), and Grandie the Talking Piano. Midnight, a big black cat, would sometimes operate an organ grinder. Midnight would also sometimes say "Nice" in a falsetto meow when asked what she thought about something. In filmed segments, Gunga Ram was an Indian boy played by Nino Marcel. Gunga (Ghanga Rama during Smilin' Ed's tenure) and his friend Rama (Vito Scotti) helped out the Maharajah. The comic actor
Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
regularly appeared on the show and was often interrupted by Froggy or told to do what Froggy wanted. The enraged Gilbert would then chase Froggy until he disappeared. One surviving clip shows Vito Scotti trying to explain singing while Froggy keeps interrupting or making fun of him; eventually, Scotti tries to grab Froggy, but the gremlin suddenly disappears. Devine closed with, "Yes, sir, we're pals, and pals stick together. And now, gang, don't forget church or Sunday school."


Legacy

Some of the original filmed programs hosted by Devine have survived, including a few segments filmed in color near the end of the show's run in 1960. VHS and DVD home videos of the programs have been issued. Clips of the telecasts are available on several websites. The entire inventory, over a ton of filmed programs and presumably the broadcast rights, are the property of Hubbard Broadcasting, of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Buckner & Garcia Buckner & Garcia was an American musical duo consisting of Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia from Akron, Ohio. Their first recording was made in 1972, when they performed a novelty song called "Gotta Hear the Beat", which they recorded as Animal Ja ...
paid tribute to
Smilin' Ed McConnell Smilin' Ed McConnell (born James McConnell; 1882 – July 23, 1954) was a radio personality, best known as the host of the children's radio and television series, ''Smilin' Ed's Gang'', closely identified with its sponsor, Buster Brown shoes ...
and
Froggy the Gremlin Froggy the Gremlin was a character created by Smilin' Ed McConnell and brought to radio in the 1940s and television in 1950s on the ''Smilin' Ed's Gang'' show, and later '' Andy's Gang'' TV show, hosted by actor Andy Devine after McConnell's deat ...
in a 1982 novelty song, "Froggy's Lament," about the Konami arcade game
Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous ri ...
, from their album '' Pac-Man Fever'', with its lyrics "Hiya kids" and "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"


References

{{reflist


External links


Fifties Web: ''Andy's Gang''
1955 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1950s American children's television series 1960s American children's television series NBC original programming American television shows featuring puppetry