I don't know who had the first television in the neighborhood but everyone wd gather around it to watch Milton Berle. I suspect we got our first set around 1950. my favortite shows were "Howdy Dowdy" & "Captain Video."
the title role was playd by Al Hodge who grew up in Ravenna the town next to Kent where I spent most of my life. he had been radio's Green Hornet. after the popularity of the series he had trouble being cast in other kinds of roles. he became an alcoholic who died alone in a seedy Manhattan hotel. but when I was a kid he was a dashing hero.
Captain Video saved the world with the assistance of his rangers. one of them was Colt who was playd by Kenneth Nelson. he also was one of several actors to portray Henry Aldrich on tv. eventually Nelson enterd theatrical history by creating a pair of important roles -- The Boy in "The Fantasticks" & Michael in "Boys in the Band." he died of AIDS in 1993.
another theater great who appeard on the series was Ruth White. altho she did movies & Broadway White is best rememberd for appearing in plays of Beckett Pinter & van Itallie.
one of the sponsors of the show was Powerhouse candy bars. if you sent in a couple of candy wrappers with some dimes you cd get a Captain Video ring. that was the first piece of jewelry I ever wore. wish I still had it today.
Hodge as the Captain
2 comments:
My mother put me in front of the TV, and in our neighborhood, it was the first. My Dad got it for my Mom, (a big city gurl, preagnant with me). She ended up watching more TV than she might have wanted to at the time, but she loved it later for the baseball games.
The first show that I remember was about a death ray aimed at the Earth by Ming.
After that, there was Captain Kangaroo. I met him (Bob Keshan) a few years later at a shopping mall...
& I met Clarabelle from "Howdy Dowdy" the same way. however I don't know if that was when Keshan was playing the part. there were a number of Clarabelles over the years.
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