267:", a science show—the Howdy Doody Show was strictly aimed at pleasing children, which it did to dizzying excess. With an audience of screaming kids filling the “Peanut Gallery” onstage to energize the millions watching at home, Buffalo Bob in cowboy buckskins opened each show by shouting out the signature question, “Hey kids, what time is it?” The verbal response by the audience, “It's Howdy Doody Time!” cued a rousing theme song, which inspired salty parodies in schoolyards across the country. The energy and decibel levels of the show were kept high throughout. When not taking a pratfall—sometimes on an actual banana peel—Smith was the target of Clarabell's high-pressure seltzer bottle. The show was particularly effective in its relentless use of words and nonsense syllables designed to drive children giddy with laughter. Flub-a-Dub, for instance, was a fantasy animal character which could survive only by eating meatballs. Such songs as “Ooga Booga Rocka Shmooga” and “Iggly Wiggly Spaghetti” sent the Peanut Gallery into paroxysms of laughter.
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Dawson created this new style of Howdy Doody puppet that debuted on June 8, 1948 after a break for “plastic surgery.” Throughout the series run on NBC, Bob Smith voiced the puppet, usually through recordings made before the show, while Margo and Rufus Rose were primarily responsible for building, maintaining, and performing the marionettes. Smith was also known as a singer and musician, appearing on many top shows of the time both before and after becoming nationally known for the
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and its grip on ratings for the 9 am time slot was an important part of the plan. WBEN first poached (from WGR) Clint
Buehlman's popular early morning show, which ended at 9am, followed by 15 minutes of local news. Then, Buffalo Bob appeared at 9:15 am. Within a period of time, Smith had won the #1
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Smith first performed the character on his WNBC radio show. When the show transitioned to TV (1947–1960), puppet builder Frank Paris created a marionette to match the voice. In 1948, a dispute over merchandising rights led Frank Paris to leave the show and take the original puppet with him. Velma
562:"Buffalo Bob Smith, a singing piano player and chatty radio disk jockey who created Howdy Doody and then teamed up with the puppet on one of early television's most enduring children's shows, died of cancer yesterday at a hospital near his home in Flat Rock, N.C. ... Mr. Smith was 80."
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Mr. Smith was 80. His remains were cremated. Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, Mildred, to whom he was married for 57 years; three sons, Robin, Ronald and
Christopher, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. None of his sons went into show
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Buffalo Bob Smith, a singing piano player and chatty radio disk jockey who created Howdy Doody and then teamed up with the puppet on one of early television's most enduring children's shows, died of cancer yesterday at a hospital near his home in
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Smith who built it into an enduring hit and one of television's first profitable franchises for licensed product tie-ins....Whereas other 1950s children's series were appreciated by adults for their tender wit—such as Burr
Tillstrom's puppet show
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spot in late mornings for WBEN, and McNeill dropped to second in the
Buffalo market. Smith's popularity in Buffalo won the attention of NBC, which brought him to New York after the war to host early mornings on flagship station
196:'s late morning radio slot in 1943, as part of a move which also brought Clint Buehlman's early morning show over from WGR to WBEN at the same time. (The WBEN morning slot had opened when its host, future NBC-TV personality
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In 1970 and 1971, Smith embarked on a live tour of college campuses. The shows, organized by producer Burt DuBrow, mixed nostalgia with more contemporary humor, such as
Buffalo Bob finding a package of
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285:) allegedly belonging to Clarabell. One show, on April 4, 1971, was recorded and released as an LP, on the Project 3 Total Sound Stereo label. It was titled
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show. In 1954, Smith suffered a heart attack and as a result, performed the show from a studio built in the basement of his home in
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WBEN was seeking to break WGR's #1 position in local popularity; shaking the position of network-fed
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episode aired in 1960. Later, in 1976, Smith reunited with longtime show producer
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and several of the original cast to produce a new daily syndicated
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every afternoon, five days a week, in the late 1940s and 1950s.
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336:(1991), as Father Flanagan. He also made guest appearances on
494:. Pinecrest Presbyterian Church. August 16, 2009. p. 5
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564:, New York Times, July 31, 1998; accessed August 5, 2015.
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514:"Buffalo Bob Smith, 'Howdy Doody' Creator, Is Dead at 80"
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538:"Say, kids, what time is it?" Buffalo Bob would ask his
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People from Flat Rock, Henderson County, North
Carolina
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Buffalo Bob Smith Live at Bill Graham's
Fillmore East
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Television personalities from New
Rochelle, New York
263:"—or were presented for educational value—such as "
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370:He made a live infomercial appearance to promote
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717:Television personalities from Buffalo, New York
354:(1987). After his retirement, Smith retired to
154:(November 27, 1917 – July 30, 1998), nicknamed
374:Entertainment Memorabilia on July 3, 1998, on
673:The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
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188:Schmidt got his start in radio in Buffalo at
578:Smith, Buffalo Bob; McCrohan, Donna (1990).
727:Radio personalities from Buffalo, New York
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747:American children's television presenters
630:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1803788
35:Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody in 1972
16:American television show host (1917–1998)
542:of children ages 3 to 8, gathered in an
328:His other screen efforts include films,
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181:, as Robert Emil Schmidt, he attended
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580:Howdy and Me: Buffalo Bob's Own Story
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192:(AM) though he switched from WGR to
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477:. Associated Press. July 31, 1998.
406:David Marc, "Smith, Buffalo Bob"
348:NBC's 60th Anniversary Celebration
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732:American television personalities
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512:Severo, Richard (July 31, 1998).
597:Davis, Howard L. (Winter 2000).
471:"Former 'Howdy Doody' host dies"
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292:Smith had a summer residence in
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434:"Howdy Doody marionette"
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183:Masten Park High School
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237:New Rochelle, New York
100:Television personality
475:The Bangor Daily News
352:It's Howdy Doody Time
261:Kukla, Fran and Ollie
617:"Smith, Buffalo Bob"
603:Television Quarterly
548:30 Rockefeller Plaza
173:Early life and radio
89:Pinecrest ARP Church
152:Robert Emil Schmidt
45:Robert Emil Schmidt
519:The New York Times
310:Millinocket, Maine
683:Buffalo Bob Smith
669:Buffalo Bob Smith
654:Buffalo Bob Smith
639:978-0-19-860669-7
489:"Bulletin insert"
272:After Howdy Doody
179:Buffalo, New York
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55:November 27, 1917
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86:Burial place
72:(1998-07-30)
712:1998 deaths
707:1917 births
388:Howdy Doody
384:Shari Lewis
372:Howdy Doody
332:(1968) and
249:Howdy Doody
241:Howdy Doody
233:Howdy Doody
224:Howdy Doody
216:Howdy Doody
161:Howdy Doody
156:Buffalo Bob
94:Occupations
701:Categories
609:(3): 70–9.
546:studio at
525:2009-12-27
498:2009-12-27
443:2024-02-08
394:References
339:Happy Days
324:Later life
51:1917-11-27
582:. Plume.
536:business.
492:(MS Word)
360:Flat Rock
198:Jack Paar
168:Biography
114:1943–1991
279:Zig Zags
177:Born in
142:Children
460:(2008)
423:(2008)
410:(2008)
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251:show.
218:show.
119:Spouse
80:, U.S.
61:, U.S.
366:Death
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658:IMDb
634:ISBN
584:ISBN
342:and
314:WHOU
312:and
306:WSYY
298:WQDY
289:.
226:show
222:The
212:WNBC
194:WBEN
103:host
67:Died
41:Born
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671:at
656:at
626:doi
544:NBC
376:QVC
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
