![]() ![]() Andy Devine took over and the title was changed to "Andy's Gang". The original star was Ed McConnell, but in 1954 he had a massive heart attack and passed away. This is my dog Tige and he lives here too."Īctually the show started out on radio as "Smilim' Ed's Buster Brown Gang" and moved to television in 1950. ![]() Actor Jerry Maren, one of the original "Munchkin's", played "Buster Brown" and all the kids could recite his jingle. Still not a lot, but inflation does count.īaby Boomers fondly remember "Andy's Gang" starring actor/comedian Andy Devine sponsored by "Buster Brown Shoes". Sounds like small change, but today in 2016 it would be $4.43. Below he is speaking to the star of the show himself. The screen was used to complete a character that Jack Barry would talk too. Where we had to get our parents to buy Ovaltine, I hated it, so we (they) could send in 25 cents to get the ring.ģ. Secret messages with "Decoder Rings" were popular on another show "Captain Midnight". ![]() There might be a secret coded message and we had to connect the dots to reveal what it was. We were asked to connect the dots to build something such as a cage to trap a lion.Ģ. Winky Dink arrives at a problem in his story. There were three main uses of "The Magic Drawing Screen" during the 15 minute program.ġ. To draw on the screen the kit contained a box of crayons which after use could be cleaned off. The screen was nothing more than a piece of vinyl plastic that would stick to the television by static electricity. So we could actually be part of what Jack Barry and Winky Dink were doing on the television set with "The Magic Drawing Screen". "Winky Dick" was a cartoon character and the interactive gimmick was way beyond its time.Ĭhildren, like myself, had to get our parents to order a "Winky Dink Kit". The program was hosted by Jack Barry who would become a major game show host in the 1950's and 1960's. " Charles Schultz mentioned "Miss Francis" by name in his "Peanuts" comic strip four times: June 8, 1954, August 30, 1955, Maand August 27, 1956.įrancis Rappaport Horwich passed away on Jat the age of 94, but she will always be remembered by her television students.įrom 1953 through 1957 CBS ran a children's show that Bill Gates calls "The First Interactive Television Show" and it really was. To illustrate the power of this program during that time. The show ended it's run December 28, 1956. I was six at the time, but when I could I enjoyed watching "Ding Dong School". Here is a photo of her doing a spot for "KIX" cereal. In her case the sponsor was "General Mills". Today that's a normal technique, but in 1952 Francis Horwich invented it.Īs with live broadcasts at the time "Miss Francis" would just stop her preschool class instruction and do the commercial. "Miss Francis" always looked directly at the television camera to give her young viewers the feeling she was talking directly to them. The East Coast picked up the show as broadcast, but as was the norm the stations in the Pacific Time Zones recorded the program for later showing. Although the originating live broadcast remained at WNBQ-TV in Chicago on Central Time. In March 1953 "Ding Dong School" was picked up by NBC and went National. Each morning as the show began, starting Novemlocally in Chicago, "Miss Francis" rang her "Ding Dong" bell to start the 30 minute class and to end it. "Miss Francis" prior to becoming the Nation's first televised preschool teacher earned her Masters Degree in Education at Columbia University and her Doctorate at Northwestern University. Hosted by "Miss Francis" who actually was Francis Horwich. Millions of young preschool children sat in front of their 13, 15, or 17 inch black and white television sets to watch "Ding Dong School". Before there was "Sesame Street", or "Mr. ![]()
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