Before Sarah Palin made us think of moose as prey for “hunters” firing high-powered rifles from helicopters, Mister Moose came across as the kind of animal any kid would want in his living room. He also was the voice of Grandfather Clock.īut Mister Moose was his perhaps his grandest creation. Allegretti’s creations included Dancing Bear, Bunny Rabbit, Rollo the Hippopotamus, Miss Worm, Cornelius the Walrus and Dennis the Apprentice. He got his break when a puppeteer earned the ire of the show’s producers. But mostly he was the animation and voice behind characters that delighted us, but hid his face.Īllegretti had experience as a puppeteer before he was hired on as the show’s set painter. He also played cameo roles on the show as, fittingly, Captain Kangaroo’s painter. However, a lot of the show’s appeal came from its cast of quirky characters, many of which were the brainchildren of Cosmo Allegretti. Literally generations of Americans, dating back to Baby Boomers like me, were glued to the TV when Bob Keeshen appeared on screen, with his flapping pockets and pre-Beatles mop-like hairdo. The set painter-turned-puppeteer who created Mister Moose has died at age 86. Lamar Alexander co-founded Corporate Family Solutions, an organization that provided day-care programs to businesses around the country.Those of us who grew up watching Captain Kangaroo loved his pals, especially Mister Moose and his corny knock-knock jokes. In 1987, Keeshan and former Tennessee Gov. "I don't think it's any secret that Fred and I were not very happy with the way children's television had gone," Keeshan said. When Fred Rogers, the gentle host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," died last year, Keeshan recalled how they often spoke about the state of children's programming. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent." "Every word, movement and action has an effect. "Parents are the ultimate role models for children," he said. And he spoke wherever he went about the importance of good parenting. He was critical of today's TV programs for children, saying they were too full of violence. Keeshan, who moved to Vermont in 1990, remained active as a children's advocate, writing books, lecturing and lobbying on behalf of children's issues. 3, 1955, and Keeshan remained in that role until 1993. Later he played Corny the clown, the host of a noontime cartoon program in New York City. His first television appearance came in 1948, when he played the voiceless, horn-honking Clarabell the Clown on the "Howdy Doody Show," a role he created and played for five years. Keeshan, born in Lynbrook, N.Y., became a page at NBC while he was in high school. He also personally supervised which commercials could air on the program, and promoted products, such as Play-Dough and Etch-a-Sketch, which he saw as facilitating creative play, while avoiding those he felt purely exploitative." "Keeshan wanted nothing that would come between him and the children in his television audience and so spoke directly to the camera. "Unlike many other children's programs, Captain Kangaroo was not filmed before a studio audience and did not include children in its cast," says the Museum of Broadcasting on its Web site. "I was impressed with the potential positive relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, so I chose an elderly character," Keeshan said. But the show revolved about the grandfatherly Captain Kangaroo, whose name was inspired by the kangaroo pouch-like pockets of the coat Keeshan wore.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |