A birthday surprise for Captain Kangaroo fans

[Times files 1970] Mr. Moose shares the stage with Captain Kangaroo in this scene from a 1970 episode.

By COLETTE BANCROFT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 27, 2002

Those who grew up with the beloved, grandfatherly Captain in the '50s and '60s might not believe it, but Bob Keeshan turns ''only'' 75 today. How can that be? Maybe he wasn't as old then as you thought he was. . . .

Good morning, children. Please join us at the Treasure House to wish a happy 75th birthday to Mr. Bob Keeshan.

You probably know him better as Captain Kangaroo, the rotund fellow with the gray mustache and the mellow voice who commanded the longest-running children's show on television, from 1955 to 1993.

The older fans of Captain Kangaroo among you might be saying, "Wait a minute. Captain Kangaroo is only 75? I watched him back in the '50s, and he looked like my grandpa then."

That's true, but remember, children, we're talking about television. Don't like to pierce that fourth wall, but Bob Keeshan is an actor who played Captain Kangaroo -- and he started playing him when he was 28.

He's been retired from television since the mid-'90s, but he has remained active in children's causes, speaking out about kids' entertainment and raising funds for educational and health care organizations. He's reported to be working on a deal for a retrospective TV special.

And why not? Captain Kangaroo, after all, was the show generations of American children started their days with, a sunny hour of music and jokes and baby animals and a sweet old gent who read stories with limitless patience, just for them. For at least that hour, Captain Kangaroo brought them the childhood every kid wishes for.

In his 1995 memoir Good Morning Captain, Keeshan describes his own childhood as largely idyllic except for his longing to spend more time with his father, an Irish immigrant who worked six-day weeks as a grocery store executive, and his pain at the death of his gentle, nurturing mother when he was 15. At 17, he joined the Marine Corps. It was the very end of World War II, and by the time he reported to Parris Island the war was over.

After his hitch with the Marines, Keeshan returned to New York, college and a job as a page at a television studio. That led in short order to his first step into kid TV fame in 1948, as the horn-honking, speechless Clarabell the Clown on Puppet Playhouse, soon renamed The Howdy Doody Show. The frenetic pace of that show made Keeshan think that there was a better way to make children's television, and in 1955 he got the chance to put his own ideas on the air nationally.

Keeshan had done local children's shows for several years after leaving Howdy Doody. When CBS asked him for a pilot, Keeshan was already developing the idea of a show based, he wrote in Good Morning Captain, on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children."

Captain Kangaroo was from the start an island of serenity, imagination and gentle humor. Aired live for the first four years, then on tape, five days a week (sometimes six), it offered kids a warm welcome to the Treasure House, and they responded eagerly.

We are wearily accustomed to programming that treats children as nothing but potential consumers. But, Keeshan wrote, he saw something else entirely: "Our audience was composed of intelligent human beings worthy of our respect and with potentially good taste."

With that in mind, the show created an inviting style that remained remarkably stable throughout its long run. The Captain's most constant pals included the affable Mr. Green Jeans (played by Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum) and all the puppets created and operated by Cosmo "Gus" Allegretti: silent trickster Bunny Rabbit, joker Mr. Moose, soft-shoe sweetie Dancing Bear.

Another constant was frequent visits with coo-inducing live animals, ranging from baby chicks to baby elephants (most of which had to be gotten up and down a stairwell to the show's second-floor set). Cartoons, notably the cool Tom Terrific, were a feature, as well as lots of music (everything from classical to an appearance by Elvis Presley) and the Captain's "Reading Stories" sessions, which introduced many kids to classics such as Curious George and Make Way for Ducklings.

To the millions of baby boomers who watched the show in the early years, the Captain indeed looked and sounded like someone's reassuring grandfather. But when Keeshan began playing the role at 28, a gray wig, makeup and considerable padding under that big-pocketed jacket were required to create the image.

The image was so convincing, he writes in Good Morning Captain, that his youngest daughter, Maeve, visited the set early on and sat in the Captain's lap for a chat. When Keeshan returned to the set out of costume, Maeve told him, "Daddy, Daddy, you just missed Captain Kangaroo!"

He had time to grow into the role over the decades. Captain Kangaroo ran on CBS for 30 years. Keeshan maintained close control over all its aspects, including what products were advertised during the show. After CBS canceled it (to make room for CBS Morning News), it ran on PBS for another six years, going off the air in 1993.

For the first time since the '50s, a generation of kids is growing up without the Captain. It's one of the few iconic baby boomer shows not being played 24 hours a day on some cable channel; there aren't even commercially available videos.

What are the new crop of little ones missing? The show's emphasis on the value and sheer pleasure of reading is astounding to think about today. Imagine a kids' TV program focusing the camera for minutes at a time on the pages of a book as an adult reads it aloud at a leisurely pace. You can almost hear the remotes clicking. But the Captain did just that, day after day, and kids watched raptly.

Captain Kangaroo taught such values as sharing, respect and honesty, and it was often ahead of the cultural curve on diversity and environmental awareness. During several decades that saw jolting increases in divorce and single-parent families, the show offered countless children male role models who were kind, kid-focused and always there.

But the main thing Captain Kangaroo offered us, baby boomers and their babies alike, was the Captain. Keeshan might have been playing a role, but his gentle spirit suffused the show, and his love and respect for the children who made up his audience came right through the screen.

The Captain always told us the magic phrases we must remember were "please" and "thank you." So, Captain, thank you for all those sunny mornings, and please have a very happy birthday.

-- Times researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

How well do you know your Captain Kangaroo?

1. What sound was always heard at the beginning of Captain Kangaroo?

2. The Captain read more than 5,000 books aloud to kids on the show. The most popular was Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. What was the steam shovel's name?

3. Name three objects frequent guest the Banana Man produced from his coat pockets (besides dozens of bananas).

4. Whom did the Captain and his viewers have to wake up every morning, and what happened when they did?

5. What comedy star became a regular on the show in the 1980s, doing the "Picture Pages" segment?

6. What did Bunny Rabbit manage to trick the Captain into giving him on almost every show?

7. What was the name of Tom Terrific's dog?

8. What rock musician has been widely rumored to be the son of Lumpy Brannum, aka. Mr. Green Jeans?

9. When Mr. Moose told his beloved knock-knock jokes and riddles, what usually ended up falling on the Captain's head?

10. What did the Captain remind his audience at the end of every show?

Answers:

1. The Captain jingling the keys to the Treasure House.

2. Mary Ann

3. Musical instruments, watermelons, pineapples, giant gloves, giant magnet, ties, music stand, bottle of milk, mirror.

4. Grandfather Clock; he recited a poem.

5. Bill Cosby.

6. A bunch of carrots.

7. Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog.

8. Frank Zappa (and no, it's not true).

9. Dozens of ping pong balls.

10. "It's another Be Good to Mother Day."

-- COLETTE BANCROFT, Times staff writer

Source: Good Morning Captain: 50 Wonderful Years With Bob Keeshan, TV's Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan and Cathryn Long; TVParty.com; the Banana Man site, www.furman.edu/~bryson/BananaMan/BananaKangaroo.html

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