"what time is it boys & girls?"

only those of a certain age will appreciate this.

but a link to our childhood is gone. Dayton Allen died. he was the voice of both Phineas T. Bluster & Flub-a-Dub on t'v's "Howdy Doody Show." Howdy was a puppet. one of my great losses is that I no longer have the Howdy marionette I did as a boy. years ago my mother gave me a more recent Howdy doll which is on my bed beside his creative nephew PeeWee Herman.

the show began just after xmas of 1947. host Buffalo Bob Smith interactd with puppets such as Howdy & Mr. Bluster. other real characters were Clarabell the Clown (playd by Bob Keeshan before he became Captain Kangaroo) & Princess Summerfallwinterspring (Judy Tyler who went on to be Elvis' leading lady in "Jailhouse Rock").

children in the audience were in a section calld the peanut gallery. from time to time I come across someone of my generation who had actually been there.

one influence of the show was my love of silent cinema. there was a section of the program in which silent comedies were shown. altho my recollection is that they were screend at the wrong speed & generally made light of I'm sure that was my initial exposure to the art form.

thank you Dayton Allen for yr contribution to television history.