Saturday Showboat debuted in January of 1980 and was a spinoff of the old Salty Sam Show, starring the late Bill Everett. Ventriloquist Dennis Bowman was his sidekick, First Mate Denny... and, of course, Chester Drawers joined the cast too.

The Salty Sam Show started in 1962 and was one of the longest-running kid shows in the country. Dennis Bowman joined Salty in 1979 and then a year later, Bill retired and they developed the new Saturday Showboat Show.

Bill Bowman left WSTM in December of 1984 and that's when Beth Sutton, also a ventriloquist, took over with her puppet characters.

Here's what Dennis Bowman had to say to Mike Taylor about the show:

"I do remember corresponding with you, years ago, Mike. You are obviously quite a fan of those old shows. I wish I had some photos to share, but I really don't. I just didn't save anything and I wish I had.

"The show debuted in January of 1980 and was a spinoff of the old Salty Sam Show, starring the late Bill Everett. I was his sidekick, First Mate Denny.. .and, of course, Chester Drawers joined us, too. The Salty Sam Show started in 1962 and was one of the longest running kid shows in the country. I joined Salty in 1979 and then a year later, Bill retired and they developed the new Saturday Showboat Show.

"I left WSTM in December of 1984 and that's when Beth Sutton, also a ventriloquist, took over with her puppet characters.

"I'll hang onto your email and if I stumble onto some memorabilia, I'll send it on to you. Thanks for your interest and loyalty to those programs! I'm back in Pittsburgh, PA and working as a fill-in meteorologist at KDKA-TV... the rest of the time I do school assemblies and other public speaking ventures. Did you peruse my web page? It's www.dennisbowman.net."

Take care!
Dennis

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