Woodrow the Woodsman

Last updated

Woodrow the Woodsman was a local children's television program host in Cleveland and Detroit from 1961 to 1972, and again in 1997 to 2000. [1]

History

Lead actor J. Clayton "Clay" Conroy (born 1918 in Jersey City, New Jersey) attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, and later the New England Conservatory of Music, where his instrument was the trombone. He moved to Cleveland in 1959, and got his start as a supporting character on Linn Sheldon's "Barnaby" on KYW-TV. [2] He branched off with his own show, "Woodrow," in 1961, and remained with Barnaby on Saturdays in "Barnwood Playhouse," moving to Detroit in 1966 shortly after the station was sold.

Conroy's show ran through 1972 (returning to Cleveland as "Hey Woody" that year), and was revived for three years starting in 1997 after a chance encounter between Conroy and a Canton television executive, David Little, who had loved the show as a child. Remarkably, Conroy still had all of his original props and costumes in his basement, including the puppets who were regular characters on the show: Tarkington Whom Owl, Voracious the Elephant, and Freddie the Alley-Croc. The puppet characters were voiced by fellow Cleveland actor Lawson J. Deming from 1961 to 1966, [2] and Canton native Thomas E. Grove from 1997 to 2000. Deming went on to portray the popular horror movie host Sir Graves Ghastly for 15 years on Detroit television.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Ebsen</span> American actor and dancer (1908–2003)

Buddy Ebsen, also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971); afterwards he starred as the title character in the television detective drama Barnaby Jones (1973–1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Conway</span> American actor and comedian (1933–2019)

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. Conway is perhaps best known as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy The Carol Burnett Show where he portrayed his recurrent iconic characters Mister Tudball and the Oldest Man. Over his career he received numerous accolades including five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. He received the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.

<i>Howdy Doody</i> American childrens television series (1947–1960)

Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell and E. Roger Muir. It was broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States from December 27, 1947, until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer of children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it pioneered color production in 1956 and NBC used the show to promote color television sets in the late 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soupy Sales</span> American comedian and actor (1926–2009)

Milton Supman, known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television series, Lunch with Soupy Sales (1953–1966), a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his trademark. From 1968 to 1975, he was a regular panelist on the syndicated revival of What's My Line? and appeared on several other TV game shows. During the 1980s, he hosted his own show on WNBC in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Meriwether</span> American actress and former model

Lee Ann Meriwether is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daughter-in-law in the 1970s crime drama Barnaby Jones starring Buddy Ebsen. The role earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations in 1975 and 1976, and an Emmy Award nomination in 1977. She is also known for her portrayal of Catwoman, replacing Julie Newmar in the film version of Batman (1966), and for a co-starring role on the science fiction series The Time Tunnel. Meriwether had a recurring role as Ruth Martin on the daytime soap opera All My Children until the end of the series in September 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJBK</span> Fox TV station in Detroit

WJBK is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, serving as the market's Fox network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on West 9 Mile Road in the Detroit suburb of Southfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghoulardi</span> Fictional character portrayed by Ernie Anderson

Ghoulardi was a fictional character created and portrayed by voice announcer, actor and disc jockey Ernie Anderson as the horror host of Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8 the CBS Affiliate station in Cleveland, Ohio, from January 13, 1963, through December 16, 1966. Shock Theater featured grade-"B" science fiction films and horror films, aired in a Friday late-night time slot. At the peak of Ghoulardi's popularity, the character also hosted the Saturday afternoon Masterpiece Theater, and the weekday children's program Laurel, Ghoulardi and Hardy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKYC</span> NBC affiliate in Cleveland

WKYC is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way, and its transmitter is located in suburban Parma, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernie Anderson</span> American media personality (1923–1997)

Ernest Earle Anderson was an American radio and television personality, horror host, and announcer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKBF-TV</span> TV station in Cleveland (1968–1975)

WKBF-TV was a television station that broadcast on channel 61 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, from January 1968 to April 1975. Owned and operated by Kaiser Broadcasting as one of an eventual group of six stations, it was the first ultra high frequency (UHF) independent station to serve northeast Ohio and the last outlet constructed by the Kaiser chain during the 1960s to begin operations. Despite airing several high-profile local programs, Kaiser's efforts to establish itself in Cleveland never took root because of the establishment of a second independent outlet, WUAB, later that same year, as well as general stagnation in the Cleveland market. In April 1975, Kaiser shut WKBF-TV down and sold its programming inventory to WUAB in exchange for a minority stake in that station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Alden</span> American actor (1924–2012)

Norman Alden was an American character actor who performed in television programs and motion pictures. He first appeared on television on The 20th Century Fox Hour in 1957. He provided the voice of Kay in The Sword in the Stone (1963), and had a notable role in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. His acting career began in 1957 and lasted nearly 50 years. He is also known for playing Kranix and Arblus in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). He retired from acting in 2006. He died on July 27, 2012, at the age of 87.

Joel Fabiani is an American film, television and theater actor. Known for his leading role in the British TV series Department S, Fabiani has guest starred in The FBI, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Banacek, Cannon, The Rockford Files and Starsky and Hutch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walker Edmiston</span> American radio, television actor (1926–2007)

Walker Edmiston was an American actor and puppeteer.

Curiosity Shop is an American children's educational television program produced by ABC. The show was executive produced by Chuck Jones, sponsored by the Kellogg's cereal company and created as a commercial rival to the public television series Sesame Street. Curiosity Shop was broadcast from September 11, 1971 to September 2, 1973. The program featured three inquisitive children who each week visited a shop populated with various puppets and gadgets, discovering interesting things about science, nature and history. Each hour-long show covered a specific theme: clothing, music, dance, weather, the five senses, space, time, rules, flight, dolls, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawson J. Deming</span> American actor

Lawson J. Deming was a radio and TV character actor best known in Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and parts of Canada as the Saturday afternoon television horror movie host "Sir Graves Ghastly."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Graves Ghastly</span>

Sir Graves Ghastly was a character created by Cleveland-born actor Lawson J. Deming (1913–2007) for the popular television show of the same name.

<i>Sooty</i> British puppet media franchise

Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the franchises focused around the adventures of the character – a mute yellow bear with black ears and nose, who is kind-hearted but also cheeky, performs magic tricks and practical jokes, and squirts his handler and other people with his water pistol, including on other television programmes the guest stars on. The franchise itself also includes several other puppet characters who were created for television, some of whom became the backbone to performances, and features additional elements including an animated series, two spin-off series for the direct-to-video market, and a selection of toy merchandising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linn Sheldon</span>

Linn Sheldon was a Cleveland, Ohio-based American children's television host and actor, best known for his character "Barnaby," which was seen in Cleveland for over 30 years.

<i>Bom Dia & Cia</i> Brazilian TV series or program

Bom Dia & Cia is a morning children's television show that aired on SBT from August 2, 1993 to April 1, 2022, being also known as the Brazilian children's program to have been on display for the longest time.

References

  1. Polletta, Dan (2020-01-21). "Recalling The Golden Age Of Cleveland Children's Television". ideastream. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. 1 2 "Woodrow the Woodsman Debuts on Channel 2 Detroit". Detroit Free Press. 1966-12-06. p. 46. Retrieved 2021-03-29 via newspapers.com.