With that greeting came the arrival of Howdy Doody, a marionette boy and leading citizen of Doodyville. Later on that name was the subject of much
scatalogical humor.
The show's cast divided between marionette creations and some live players in
roles. Chief villain of the show was one Phineas T. Bluster the mayor of Doodyville who probably stuffed the ballot boxes. He was a marionette and
looked like a Scrooge character. Bluster had all kinds of nefarious schemes
which always came up short. A worthy antagonist for the All American Howdy Doody.
Presiding over all of this was Buffalo Bob Smith who hailed from Buffalo, New
York. He did it with grace and tact and never talked down to the kid audience.
I remember that he had a real heart attack at one point in the 50s. A guy named Bison Bill came in for a bit and Smith's return was welcomed.
Buffalo Bob was assisted by Clarabelle The Clown played by Bob Keeshan who
went straight into Captain Kangaroo when Howdy Doody finished its run of
13 years. Clarabelle the Clown usually ended quarrels with those oldfashioned
seltzer bottles with the spritzers.
It was a great kid's show, just about in the boomer generation saw it.