Blinky's Fun Club

Last updated

Blinky's Fun Club is a children's television program blending such elements as vaudeville, puppetry, and animation that first aired on CBS-Affiliated station KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1958 to 1966 [1] and then on KWGN-TV in Denver, Colorado, from 1966 to 1998. [2] In 1998, William Ross, KWGN's general manager at the time, would cancel the series after a combined 40 year run (nine years on KKTV, and 32 years on KWGN) on Colorado television. [2]

Program synopsis

The star of Blinky's Fun Club was Blinky the Clown, played by Russell Scott. In the early 1980s additional characters began to appear regularly, including Otis & Zelda, played by husband and wife acting duo Michael Berg and C.J. Prince. [2] As well as Mr Science, played by Scott Wallace. Children appeared on each show to celebrate their birthdays and were sung "Happy Birthday to You," (sung as Birf-Day) by Blinky. [2] [3]

Over 10,000 episodes, taped at KWGN's studios, initially located at Lincoln and Speer in Denver, later in Greenwood Village, aired during the show's three decades on the air. [3] The station reportedly saved tapes of only 10 shows. [2] KCNC and KUSA reportedly were able to get a few of the episodes out of the trash, and put them in their libraries.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Captain Kangaroo</i> American childrens television series

Captain Kangaroo is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day. In 1986, the American Program Service integrated some newly produced segments into reruns of past episodes, distributing the newer version of the series to PBS and independent public stations until 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bozo the Clown</span> Fictional childrens character

Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to television in 1949, later appearing in franchised television programs of which he was the host, where he was portrayed by numerous local performers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willard Scott</span> American weather presenter and television personality (1934–2021)

Willard Herman Scott Jr. was an American weather presenter, radio and TV personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, with a career spanning 65 years. He is best known for his television work on the Today show as weather reporter who also presented a tribute greetings segment for people celebrating their 100th or above birthdays as well as select marriage anniversaries. He was the creator and original portrayer of Ronald McDonald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKTV</span> CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Colorado Springs, Colorado

KKTV is a television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with CBS. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on East Colorado Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs and a transmitter on Cheyenne Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXRM-TV</span> Fox affiliate in Colorado Springs, Colorado

KXRM-TV is a television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power CW owned-and-operated station KXTU-LD. Both stations share studios on Wooten Road in Colorado Springs, while KXRM-TV's transmitter is located on Cheyenne Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWGN-TV</span> CW TV station in Denver

KWGN-TV is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, airing programming from The CW. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Group alongside Fox affiliate KDVR, channel 31. Both stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood, while KWGN-TV's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain, near Golden. The station's signal is relayed on three low-power translators: K14JZ-D in Peetz, K15MH-D in Anton and K31IQ-D in Sterling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMGH-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Denver

KMGH-TV is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Sterling-licensed independent station KCDO-TV, channel 3. Both stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood, while KMGH-TV's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain, near Golden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTVD</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Denver

KTVD is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside NBC affiliate KUSA. Both stations share studios on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood, while KTVD's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain.

KDVR is a television station in Denver, Colorado, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is simulcast full-time over satellite station KFCT in Fort Collins. The two stations are owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station KWGN-TV. Studios and offices are located on East Speer Boulevard in Denver's Speer neighborhood. KDVR's transmitter is located atop Lookout Mountain, near Golden, while KFCT's transmitter lies atop Horsetooth Mountain just outside Fort Collins.

"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It is actually the first episode of that season in the production order. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 1, 1990. In the episode, Bart catches a three-eyed fish in a river downstream of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. After an inspection of the plant reveals numerous safety violations, Mr. Burns runs for governor to prevent the plant from being closed. The night before the election, Burns has a televised dinner with the Simpsons to show his appeal to the common voter. Marge sabotages Burns' political stunt and dooms his campaign by serving him the head of Blinky, the three-eyed fish.

Adventure Island is an Australian television series for children which screened on the ABC from 11 September 1967 to 22 December 1972. It was jointly created by Godfrey Philipp, who produced the series, and actor-writer John Michael Howson, who also co-starred in the show. It typically aired from Monday to Friday and each story would stretch across a full week, reaching a resolution on Friday.

<i>WCW WorldWide</i> American television series

WCW WorldWide was an American syndicated television show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that aired from October 8, 1975, to March 31, 2001. At the time of its cancellation, WorldWide was the longest-running, uninterrupted weekly syndicated show of any kind on the air in the United States.

<i>The Bozo Show</i> Television series

The Bozo Show was a locally produced children's television program that aired on WGN-TV in Chicago and nationally on what is now NewsNation. It was based on a children's record-book series, Bozo the Clown by Capitol Records. The series is a local version of the internationally franchised Bozo the Clown format and is also the longest-running in the franchise. Recognized as the most popular and successful locally produced children's program in the history of television, it only aired under this title for 14 of its 40+ years: other titles were Bozo, Bozo's Circus, and The Bozo Super Sunday Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDFD</span> Radio station in Thornton, Colorado

KDFD is a commercial radio station licensed to Thornton, Colorado, and serving the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in Southeast Denver, while the transmitter site is off Colorado Boulevard in Brighton. Weekdays begin with This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal followed by Glenn Beck, Clay Travis & Buck Sexton, Sean Hannity, Jesse Kelly, Dave Ramsey and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Most hours begin with Fox News Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Scott</span> American clown

Blinky the Clown, also known as Russell Scott, and simply Clown, was an American clown, television personality and presenter who starred in a Denver, Colorado television program called Blinky's Fun Club. Having spent 41 years on television in character, Scott holds the record as longest-running television clown in history, as well as the longest running children's television host in the United States.

Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird and The Fry Kids.

References

  1. "Blinky's Fun Club - Russell Scott - KWGN". 2016-03-04. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, Julie Dunn, Susan Froyd, Michael. "Tears of a Clown". Westword. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  3. 1 2 "NATAS Heartland Silver Circle - Russell Scott". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2008-06-07.