''Kids Are People Too'' is an American television series that ran on Sunday mornings from 1978 to 1982 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. The series was a variety/news magazine show oriented toward kids, with the intention of recognizing them as people. During its four-year run, the series was nominated for five

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s and won the 1978

for Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series. The series included celebrity interviews, cartoons, music, and other information that appealed to children.

History

Bob McAllister Robert C. "Bob" McAllister (June 2, 1935 – July 21, 1998) was an American television personality, magician, and children's entertainer and a host of ''Wonderama''. Early career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Bob first made ...

had hosted a popular

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based children's TV series, ''

Wonderama ''Wonderama'' is a children's television program that originally aired on the Metromedia-owned stations from 1955 to 1977. The show was revived from 1980 to 1987, and again in 2016. Hosts * Al Hodge (as Captain Video 1955–1956) * Jon Gna ...

'', for over a decade when the series was taken off the air in 1977. As the host, McAllister sang the closing theme song "Kids Are People Too". Shortly after that series was taken off the air, ABC offered him another series that tried to capitalize on ''Wonderamas more than 20 years of children's entertainment by using the song's title as the new series title. However, the show that he was hired to emcee on ABC was aimed at teens, not the younger children McAllister preferred, and this led to creative disputes with the producers and network executives over the portrayal of violence. In November 1978, McAllister was fired from ''Kids Are People Too'' and was replaced by

Michael Young Michael Young may refer to: Academics * Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington (1915–2002), British life peer, sociologist and social activist * Michael Young (educationalist), British educational theorist and sociologist * Michael K. Youn ...

and later by actor/singer Randy Hamilton (who, at the same time, was playing Rikki Dekker on the NBC soap opera ''

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

'') as the program's hosts. The series later returned as a weekly syndicated program during the 1986-87 season, with Michael Young back as host.

Format

The series was a variety/news magazine show for kids. Every week it would have a celebrity guest who the host would interview, occasionally a psychologist would speak about the challenges of growing up, and there would be comedy or musical routines. Each episode also included a segment called "Dear Alex and Annie" (with William Bingham as Alex and Donna Drake as Annie), answering viewers' questions on a wide range of personal and social topics that were relevant to kids (that segment would later be seen in a stand-alone interstitial segment during ABC's Saturday morning schedule). The series attracted guests such as

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

and

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

. Just like CBS's ''

Kids Say the Darndest Things ''Kids Say the Darndest Things'' is an American comedy series that was based on a feature segment of the same name on Art Linkletter's radio and television program, '' House Party''.Dunning, John. ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Rad ...

'', the show often produced unexpected results when the host would ask the audience questions. When

KISS A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

replaced drummer

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is an American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and an occasional vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established th ...

, they introduced their new drummer,

Eric Carr Paul Charles Caravello (July 12, 1950 – November 24, 1991), better known as Eric Carr, was an American musician. He was the drummer for the rock band Kiss from 1980 until his death in 1991. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer afte ...

, on a July 1980 episode of ''Kids Are People Too''.Kiss: ''Kissology Volume II 1978–1991''. DVD. 2007. Prior to the band's coming out on stage, the host asked an audience member, "Who's your favorite band member?" The youth responded, "Peter Criss. Er, um, I mean... Ace Frehley." ''Kids Are People Too'' was seen the first two seasons as 90 minute versions in most major city markets including

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and it also featured locally-produced cutaway segments by the ABC O&O stations in these markets.

References

External links

* {{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1980s 1970s American children's television series 1980s American children's television series 1970s American television news shows 1980s American television news shows 1970s American variety television series 1980s American variety television series 1978 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming