Little Rascals on DVD June Cleaver book

Little Rascals on DVD Car Battery Charger Book About Greensboro Classic Commercials on DVD Mr Peabody on DVD Looney Tunes Golden Ed
Bionic Woman on DVD

 

Little Rascals & Our Gang TV programs
- LITTLE RASCALS / OUR GANG PART THREE -
Our Gang / Little Rascals / Little Rascals on TV /
What Happened to the Our Gang Kids?
by
Billy Ingram & Kevin S. Butler

 

little rascals episodesLittle Rascals Shows
in New York City

On Monday evening, January 17, 1955, WPIX 11 became the first NYC based station to air The Our Gang / Little Rascals films on their own daily TV show for kids, The Clubhouse Gang.

Little Rascals Porky & BuckwheatThe Our Gang comedies were screened against the backdrop of a neighborhood clubhouse while school kids made up a major portion of the in-studio audience watching the shorts (including one up and coming comedic talent named Billy Crystal).

The show had everything, except someone to host; WPIX's programing director wisely decided on their MC by conducting a focus group test.

The programming director's son was celebrating a birthday in January of 1955, so he threw a birthday bash at the Channel 11 studios. Along with the games, gift giving, ice cream and cake, the PD screened The Little Rascals films at the party to test their popularity with the kids.

Afterwards, he asked the youngsters if they had a good time. The kids all responded with a resounding - "Yes!" Then, the PD asked them who would they like to be the host of The Clubhouse Gang Show.

little rascals tv show : Officer Joe Bolton11 out of 12 children at the birthday party screamed, "the Tasteweatherman!"

The programing director was shocked that they had chosen the WPIX meteorologist to host a kid's show but that's how Joe Bolton (who had been doing the weather reports and other types of TV shows for the station) became a legendary icon in the nation's number one broadcast market.

Originally the powers that be at Channel 11 asked Bolton to host the program as a funny tramp character. Bolton balked at the idea, claiming "that a tramp is an inappropriate character" for kids to look up to.

the little rascals picturesThe idea of a kid's TV host playing the tramp clown was a natural since many local and network affiliated stations already required their newscasters and local on-air talent to portray buffoons on various kid's series.

As an alternative, another executive suggested that Bolton host the show as a policeman. The idea stuck. Despite efforts from other WPIX execs to make Bolton's "Officer Joe" character a clownish version of a cop, Bolton decided early on that he would play the character straight.

On the Clubhouse Gang show, "Officer Joe" engaged his Clubhouse members (his studio audiences and viewers at home) in games, songs, stories, craftmaking, informational segments and interviews with guest performers sandwiched between the cinematic antics of the Rascals.

STORY CONTINUES AFTER THIS AD



little rascals photographyOne very special guest on Channel 11's Clubhouse Gang was former "Little Rascal" Jean Darling (seen left), then a successful stage, nightclub, radio & TV performer.

Ms. Darling, who made her appearance on Saturday evening May 14, 1955, entertained Officer Joe and the kids and chatted about her career as a member of the silent Our Gang comedies.

She also presented Bolton with his trademark a badge and cap with the number 11 prominently displayed on the front.

The short subjects proved popular all over the country but especially in New York City where The Little Rascals regularly beat nationwide phenomenon Howdy Doody in the ratings.

They were so popular that Channel 11 was forced to close the doors to the Clubhouse on Friday, September 13, 1957 when the TV rights to The Little Rascals film comedies were sold to a bigger outfit, WABC Channel 7.

the cast of the little rascalsWABC began airing the films on The Little Rascals Show twice a day, in the morning and evening.

Host/performer "Uncle Joe" Bova (who had just finished his stint as the second host of WABC's Time For Fun) entertained viewers with comedy skits, stories, song and dance numbers, craftmaking and interviews with guests between the films on weekday evenings from Monday, September 23, 1957 until Friday, September 9, 1960.

While Bova hosted Little Rascal films in the evenings, Chubby Jackson MC'd WABC's weekday morning edition of The Little Rascals Show in 1957.

Chubby Jackson : our gang little rascalsJackson had recently hosted his own Little Rascals program on WBKB TV-7 in Chicago where he once landed Spanky McFarland as a guest after he was voted the viewer's favorite Rascal. The series was honored with a TV Guide award around 1955 for the best local children's TV show in the Chicago, Ill. viewing area.

On the NYC show, Chubby Jackson performed jazz music numbers alongside a full pop music orchestra - provided by WABC's music contractor Mr. Frank Vanyone.

Director Roger Shope created and staged a kiddie talent showcase for the show called 'The Little Rascals Follies.' Gifted kids from NYC's best dance schools, high school marching bands, choruses and school orchestras would sing, dance, perform magic tricks, ventriloquism and generally clown around.

little rascals charactersTypically, Chubby performed jazz numbers with his group and then participated in comedy bits with his talking bass fiddle puppet "Casey," a favorite character on the show who would comically put Chubby in his place.

Chubby also invited well-known jazz musicians to perform on the show and share their love and knowledge of jazz music with the viewers at home - including a memorable appearance by legendary bandleader and drummer Gene Krupa.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups at Channel 7 didn't fully appreciate Chubby's format or his talents as a kid's TV performer. They replaced director Roger Shope with Bill Beale, who had previously directed Bob Keeshan on WABC's Tinker's Workshop.

Beale was better suited to supervising educational programs and didn't see the appeal of Chubby's entertainment oriented approach. As a result, the two openly conflicted over the format.

Arguments over creative differences forced Chubby Jackson to walk away from WABC's Little Rascals Show on Friday morning, July 14, 1961; the station continued to air the films without a host until 1967.

little rascals picturesMeanwhile, the phenomenal Sandy Becker (who has been covered extensively on TVparty) entertained NYC viewers between showings of the post-1938 MGM Our Gang films (a separate syndication package from The Little Rascals) on Sandy Becker Presents the Our Gang Comedies weekday evenings on WNEW Channel 5 from Monday, November 17, 1958 until Friday March 17, 1961.

Sonny Fox also screened the MGM comedies on his version of WNEW's Wonderama Sunday mornings from 1959 until 1960.

Little Rscals on TVHerb Sheldon hosted a program that aired the rarely-seen silent Little Rascals films (filmed between 1922-1929) on his last kid's show, The Mischief Makers, weekday evenings on WOR TV-9 starting Monday, September 19, 1960.

Herb Sheldon was a real character - he opened every episode of WOR and TelePictures Inc.'s Mischief Makers Show by driving onto the set of the show in a Model T Ford automobile - sporting his trademark straw skimmer, bow tie and striped or checkered blazer.

These silent Hal Roach Our Gang comedies were part of yet another syndication package (called The Mischief Makers). They were poorly edited for TV with oddly inappropriate music and overlaid narration provided by an unknown young boy. The silent comedies never caught on; the show lasted less than a year, ending on Friday, June 9, 1961. Sadly, Herb Sheldon died on July 21, 1964.

Our Gang / Little Rscals TV ShowsIn April of 1967, WPIX channel 11 bought back the TV rights to the Hal Roach Little Rascals from WABC to begin airing the films weekday afternoons on The Little Rascals Show hosted by "Captain Jack" McCarthy from Monday, April 3, 1967 until Friday, January 1, 1970.

"Officer Joe" Bolton was asked once again to host the cinematic antics of Darla, Spanky, Buckwheat, Porky, Alfalfa and Butch beginning in 1970 on WPIX's Little Rascals Show until protests from Peggy Charren's ACT (Action for Children's Television) and Forum, Inc. led to its demise.

the little rascals Spanky & alfalfaCharren's organization decried what they saw as a lack of quality educational kid's TV programs and felt that too many local entertainment oriented children's shows were promoting inappropriate products. ACT successfully pressured Channel 11 into changing their children's fare - Officer Joe Bolton and The Little Rascals were dropped on Friday, June 30, 1972.

little rascals TV showThe abrupt departure of Officer Joe dramatically altered the New York City television landscape (many think for the worse) and ended daily broadcasts of The Little Rascals / Our Gang in New York City.

 

NEXT - PART THREE:
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GANG?
Is there a curse on the Our Gang cast?

...and other Little Rascals
programs around the country!


Our Gang / Little Rascals / / Little Rascals Early Years
Little Rascals on TV / / Little Rascals Shows in NYC

What Happened to the Little Rascals?

TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!

 

Amazon Prime - unlimited streaming
of your fave TV shows and movies!
Get your FREE 30 Day Trial!

PR4 & PR5 Pages for Advertising

 

 

Video on Demand Rent or Buy

Entertainment Collectables

Our Gang / Little Rascals:
Little Rascals Early Years

Little Rascals
on TV
Little Rascals Shows in NYC

What Happened to the Little Rascals

 

Little Rascals on DVD
Little Rascals

Complete Collection on DVD!

Our Gang / Little Rascals on DVD

Hard-to-find classic TV
shows on DVD here!


The Death of Alfalfa
What Really Happened?!?

Porky was replaced in 1939 by Mickey Gubitosi who would later adopt the name Robert Blake (Baretta).


Please consider a donation
so we can continue this work!

 

 

 


The Death of Alfalfa
What Really Happened?!?

 



Video Vault / Holiday Specials / Fabulous Fifties / Unseen Scenes / Game Shows / Lost Kid Shows / Movie Stars on TV / Saturday Morning Shows / Requested Forgotten TV Shows / The Super Sixties / More Modern TV Shows / The New * * Shows / 1980's Wrestling / TV Blog

TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!

Television's Embarrassing Moments / Action Shows of the Sixties / TVparty Mysteries and Scandals / Variety Shows of the Seventies / The Eighties / TVafterparty / The Laugh Track / 1970's Hit Shows / Response to TVparty / Search the Site / Add Your Comments
1950's TV Shows / Fess Parker & Davy Crockett / First Sitcom Couple To Share A Bed / Jack Benny Program / Highway Patrol / Betty Hutton Show / 1952 Olympics Telethon / Amos 'n' Andy / Little Rascals & Our Gang / Howdy Doody / The First Batman Movie From 1943 / Who Was the REAL Aunt Jemima? / Freedomland USA / John Wayne Won Lassie in a Poker Game! / Lucy's Sitcom Before I Love Lucy / The Lone Ranger / It's Always Jan / 1950s Shows I NEED To See / Jack Lemmon & Billy Wilder on Marilyn Monroe / So This Is Hollywood / Audrey Meadows Refused To Do This For Jackie Gleason / When Jerry Lewis Ceased To Be Funny / The Plainclothesman / Buck Rogers in the 25th Century / Remembering Tony Dow / First Solo Female Series / Kuda Bux / Capt. Allen Swift - NYC Local Popeye Shows / Was the 1959 Santa Claus Movie Too Christian?!? / When Judy Garland's Daughters First Saw The Wizard of Oz / TV During WWII / Top Ten TV Shows 1950s / Jack Larson's Suprising Life As Superman's Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s / Judy Garland's 2nd TV Special and Las Vegas Debut / Early Network News Broadcasts / Lost Desilu Sitcom: Those Whiting Girls / Lost Superboy Pilot / The Shadow 1954 Pilot / KTLA News / / Kid Show Pioneer Herb Sheldon / Aline Saarinen / Tribute to Sandy Becker / The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu / O.Henry Playhouse / Capt. Allen Swift / NYC's First Bozo Bill Britten / The Magical Land of Alakazam! / 1950s and 60s Bloopers / TV's First Working Woman / Cannonball - 1950s Trucking Drama / Sonny Fox Kid Shows / Lauren Bacall on Bette Davis / Sunset Boulevard Explained / Abbott & Costello TV Show / The Three Stooges: The Where They Were / The First 'Black' Show - Beulah / Women on TV in the 1950s / The Today Show / Hey Jeannie / The Jeannie Carson Show / TV's First Educator Paul Tripp / Ernie Kovacs / Soap Opera Miss Susan / Adventures of Superman Lost Episode / Bette Davis vs Ronald Reagan / Captain Z-Ro / Obscure Actress Mary Castle / Serious 1950s TV shows / Remembering David Susskind / TV's First Rerun Series / The Ken Murray Budweiser Show / Saturday Morning Serials / Two Variety Shows of the Fifties / Game Shows of the Fifties /1950's TV Wrestling / Greensboro's Soda Pop History / Mr. Adams and Eve / TV's First Star / Oh Susanna! the Gale Storm Show / Bob Hastings / TV's First Star / History of the Laugh Track / The First Interactive Video Game / Designing Winky-Dink / Buffalo Bob Smith / The McKimson Brothers & Animation / Interview with a Show Business Legend / The Soundies / Snaders Telescriptions / Steve Allen Interviewed / Racket Squad / December Bride / The Big Show / Beverly Garland & Decoy / Richard Crenna & The Real McCoys / Roger Muir / Noel Coward's 1955 TV Special / Jon Provost Interview / 1950's TV Shows on DVD / Oh Susanna! The Gale Storm Show / 1950's Old Time TV Thanksgiving / Outrageous 1950's Commercial! / The Real Superman? / Mickey Mouse Club's Cheryl / Gale Storm / Captain Allen Swift / NYC's St. Patrick's Day Parade Telecasts / Julie London / The Goldbergs / 1950's Female Singers / The Dead End Kids / Bowery Boys / Fred Allen / Ed Wynn / Mr. Belvedere Movies / Art Linkletter / The Bickersons / Marty & Live TV / George Gobel & Red Buttons / Barbara Billingsley / Billy Gray Interview / Abbott & Costello Show / The Honeymooners / Three Stooges' Joe Besser / Whirlybirds / Burns & Allen Show
Classic TV Commercials / 1950's TV / 1960's TV / 1970's TV / Groucho vs William F Buckley / / TV Games / Honey Boo Boo / Lucy Shows / John Wayne / Gene Roddenberry / Big Blue Marble / Monty Hall / Carrascolendas / Mr. Dressup / Major Mudd / Chief Halftown / What's In Oprah's Purse? / Baby Daphne / Sheriff John / Winchell & Mahoney / Fireball X-L5 / Mr. Wizard / Captain Noah / Thanksgiving Day Specials / Disney's First Christmas Special / Saturday Morning Cartoons / The Magic Garden / Amahl & the Night Visitors / Holiday Toy Commercials / Lucy & Desi's Last Christmas Show / Joey Heatherton / Fat Albert / The Virginian / Bewitched / Death of John Wayne / 1974 Saturday Mornings / Chuck McCann / Rudolph Collectables / Shrimpenstein / Local Popeye Shows / New Treasure Hunt / Star Wars / KISS / Lancelot Link / Saturday Morning Cartoons / Wonder Woman / Classic Comic Books / Andy Griffith / Cher / TV Shows on DVD / Outtakes & Bloopers / 1967 TV Shows / Romper Room / Captain Kangaroo / Chicago Local Kiddie Shows / Boston Local TV / Philly Local TV / NYC Local Kid Shows / Electric Company / Bette Davis / Judy Garland / Christmas Specials / Redd Foxx / Good Times / Sitcom Houses / What's Happening! / Winky Dink & You / Sonny & Cher / Smothers Brothers / Soupy Sales / The Carpenters / Route 66 / Bozo / The Carpenters Christmas Specials / Local Kid Shows / Death of TV's Superman / Wonderama / Sesame Street / Bob Hope Specials / Little Rascals / Gay Icon T-Shirts / Alex Toth Book / TV Terrorists / Irwin Allen / The Untouchables / Carol Burnett Show / Batman TV Show / Green Hornet / Today Show History / Our Gang / Doris Day Show / 1970's Commercials For Women / Bill Cosby in the 1970s / The Golddiggers / Lola Falana / 1970s TV Shows / David Bowie on TV / Hudson Brothers / Jackie Gleason / Hollywood Squares / Match Game / Bob Keeshan / Gumby / The Flip Wilson Show / Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour / The Bobby Darin Show / The Richard Pryor Show / George Burns / Lucy's Lost Christmas Special / Classic Christmas Toy Commercials / Cricket On The Hearth / 1950's Holiday Shows / Amahl and the Night Visitors / A Christmas Carol on TV / The Yule Log / Celebrity Commercials / Rudolph / Movie Posters & More!

He Man on DVD June Cleaver book

Carol Burnett Show on DVD King Family Christmas on DVD “Amazing “The Dungeons & Dragons on DVD
TV Shows on DVD/ / / / / / / Classic TV/ / / / / / / Punk Book/ / / / / / / / / / / Holiday Specials on DVD / / / / / / Classic Commercials
Looking for classic TV on DVD?/See below:
TVparty is Classic TV on the internet!
Contact Us / Classic TV DVDs

TV Blog
June Cleaver book