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Sam
Sanders writes: In any case, the show came and went in the '70s. Jack Miller died in the mid-'90s, I believe. KDNL became our Fox station in the early days of that network. When the network had kid's programming mornings and afternoons, there was a girl and mascot character who hosted the afternoon time, called "Katie and Al Fox." Get it? KPLR-11: Captain 11's Showboat. Captain 11 was hosted by local legend Harry Fender. Harry worked for KMOX radio and CBS Radio for decades as host and performer. In the '60s and '70s, KMOX Radio suspended their local swap/trade call-in show during the holidays for the chance for kids to call in to Harry portraying Santa Claus directly from the North Pole. Captain 11 came and went in the 1960s and showed Three Stooges shorts and had Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe on in person many times. This is when the Stooges toured the country and made movies. It was a very popular show, especially when the boys came to town. Here is a link to Harry's radio career: stlradio.com/hof-legacy-2.htm. KPLR became the leading kid's station in town after while with "Team 11," a group of singing teens who hosted the afternoon Kids WB block in the '80s and '90s After the other stations gave up on kids programming, many of my friends and I watched Looney Tunes, Ultraman, Gilligan's Island, etc. on Channel 11. 
Jack Miller actually developed his "Mr. Patches" character way before he became the host of KDNL's "Little Castle". He premeired the character on Monday, September 25, 1961 on St. Louis' KTVI Channel 2. Here is an ad for that show. In the later 60's he was host of "The Treehouse Gang", also on KTVI before he moved over to KDNL. His "Little Castle" show became simply "Mr. Patches" in the fall of 1970, and by 1973 there was a waiting list of birthday parties that was reputed to stretch to 1980! He used to end each singing of "Happy Birthday" with a snappy "Cha-cha-cha!" Here is a shot of him circa 1972.
Harry Fender aka "Captain 11" had the longest running show after Corky, which went from around 1959 (when the "Three Stooges" shorts were released to TV, and fantastic ratings), untill around 1968, when "Captian 11's Showboat" was replaced on KPLR by "Dark Shadows". Here's a publicity pic from KPLR of Harry as the Cap. A typical
weekday afternoon in the St. Louis These images and the clip are courtesy of the Media Archives Collection of the St. Louis Public Library. TVparty viewers respond: "Saw in
your web site that you didn't know who played the Captain on Cookie
and the Captain that was shown on KMOX-TV (now KMOV) in the late '50's
and early '60's. I had the same problem, that's how I found your web site.
I broke down and called Channel 4 and asked them. I was told that the Captain
was played by Dave Allen (or Allan), and this strikes me as being Kid's TV historian Kevin S. Butler adds: Here's more info about the host/performer who played the kindly old skipper Captain 11 - he also MC'd KPLR channel 11's 'Three Stooges Showboat' - his name was Clarence Harry Fender. Fender began his career as a singer/actor and dancer in vaudeville before joining the cast of the original Broadway production of 'Showboat.' He did 'Showboat' for a time but walked out on the production and pursued other ventures, eventually becoming a performer in nightclubs, on radio and on TV. In the early 1960s, Mr. Fender was hired to host 'The Three Stooges Showboat' for KPLR TV 11 in the St. Louis, Mo. viewing area. In order to create the proper characterization for his viewers, Fender researched the many colorful showboat captains of the past to emulate. He choose a well-known skipper by the name of Samuel Langhorn Clemmens - best known to literary buffs as "Mark Twain" - adapting Mr.Twain's previous experiences on the river and creating an elderly gentleman's make up and showboat captain's costume for the show. Fender's Captain 11 and his comedy asistant Jo Jo The Cook (played by comic/character actor and dialectician Joesph Cusinelli) entertained and informed their viewers and studio audiences between the reruns of the Three Stooges films.
Mr. Fender was slated to play Doc Holiday in The Three Stooges' last feature film 'The Outlaws Is Coming' but, according to the Cox and Terry book, Fender's conflicting schedule prevented him from appearing in the movie. Fender and Cusinelli continued to take passengers on their fun-filled and informative treks to "Stoogeville" on 'The Three Stooges Showboat' until the show was cancelled around 1964. Fender left kid's TV after that for a much different career - that of a NYC police detective. During a
stakeout, Police Det. Fender and his partner were caught in an ambush;
luckily they survived but Fender gave up police work after that and returned
to St. Louis to work as a radio/TV broadcaster. Clarence Harry Fender passed away in 1995. Do
you have info or |
Mr.
Patches Another popular St Louis kids show was The Wranglers Club. It ran from 1955 to 1963. It was sponsored by Adams Milk. The show's host was named Harry Gibbs and he played a dairy cowboy named "Texas Bruce." - Thanks, Jim Struckel
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KTVI-2-ABC
(now FOX): Our Romper Room station. There were
two teachers; the one I remember and met was Miss Lois. Lovely lady. Many
of my friends were on that show at one time or another, including my next
door neighbor. It aired from 7:15 to 8:00 AM daily and featured Casper
the Friendly Ghost cartoons and was sponsored by Hasbro, who made
all of the Romper Room toys. 
Kerry
Manderbach writes:
Cliff
St. James (Corky) had two programs on KSD, "Corky the Clown"
and "Corky's Colorama" where he would have puppets interact
with his guests. Sometimes he had shows several times in a day on Saturdays,
and sometimes back to back! Here is a shot of Cliff as Corky, 
