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379:, the last of New York's seven VHF TV outlets, signed on the air. Station executives decided that one of the new venture's first showcases should be a quality children's program, and contacted Heatherton to audition as the host of a show that would appeal to the younger TV viewers. The successful audition launched the long-running show that he created and shaped with radio and TV producer-director (and future major film producer)
230:. His affection for performing, however, inspired him to continue auditioning for radio assignments and he was eventually able to return as a singer on numerous radio musical variety series, and also found opportunities to perform in nightclubs and theater. In the late 1930s, he became a bandleader with his own orchestra which made recordings and performed at New York's
455:, both of which were seen during the remainder of the station’s 1956 season. He remained on the air for another year and a half, but no longer had a daily venue. Starting Saturday-Sunday, September 8–9, 1956 until Sunday, April 13, 1958, he served as the “sea captain” host-performer on the weekend evening edition of
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comedy, puppet skits, magic tricks, interviews with guest performers and personalities, and informational segments. As with virtually all children's shows of the 1950s and 60s, the format was structured so that the live segments were interspersed with cartoons—in this case, primarily the theatrical
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On
Thursday night, October 11, 1984, Ray Heatherton appeared for the last time on WOR-TV, Channel 9 during the station's evening-long celebration of its 35th anniversary on the air. Four years later, on Thursday, September 29, 1988, he made his final TV appearance on a very similar program, WPIX-TV,
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Every weekday afternoon and evening, as well as on
Saturday afternoons, Ray Heatherton and his comedy assistants Chick Darrow, who played "The Topsey-Turvey Auctioneer", and Milt Moss would entertain and inform their studio audiences and kids at home with games, songs, stories, craftmaking, hobbies,
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was, during the 1950s and 60s, the station with the greatest number of “kiddie shows” on its broadcast schedule. At this point, he left television for three years and, between 1958 and 1961, drawing on his public recognition and good will he had engendered over the years, was able to launch a new
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Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, and
Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1953 to 1955. Heatherton's gentle personality and pleasant singing voice and endearingly cheerful and reassuring demeanor made him one of the most beloved and recognizable regional personalities.
641:, where he spent the last four years of his life. Despite the debilitating effects of the disease, he still made appearances and greeted fans at some local functions nearby. Ray Heatherton died two-and-a-half months after his 88th birthday.
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During his high school years, he continued to find outlets for his singing talents, performing with bands at various local functions and winning a radio talent contest sponsored by the manufacturer of radio sets,
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537:), both made their careers in show business—Dick as a performer/director/consultant and Joey as an actress, singer and dancer, who became a major television star in the 1960s.
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Following intermittent job opportunities, Heatherton returned to radio in the late 1960s as the host/performer and interviewer of the nationally syndicated talk/variety program
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weekday afternoons during the noon-12:45 period when many schoolkids came home for lunch. However, the series fell prey to creative disagreements within station management, and
559:. Times had changed and variety shows, as well as Joey's once-hot career fell victim to changing tastes, while Ray was seen on TV at the time as the commercial spokesman for
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were supporting regulars and, by summer-show standards, the program received relatively good notices and ratings. In a nostalgic moment on the first show, Ray put on the
514:, to meet and entertain children. He appeared at Freedomland during 1962. Chick Darrow also appeared at the park on numerous occasions. Both are mentioned in the book
432:, resulting in the loss of sponsors and bad publicity for the station. WOR executives accepted Heatherton's word that the allegations were false and tried to keep
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158:) and was first introduced to music upon joining a boys' choir at his church. He sang with the choir until his family moved to another of the city's suburbs, the
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Ray
Heatherton married Davenie Ross Watson in 1941 and their 46-year marriage lasted until her death in 1987. Their two children, Dick and Davenie Johanna (
360:(now WABC), Channel 7. The minor local-TV assignment, which was not shown on the fledgling network's other stations, only lasted from April to June 1949.
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uniform; biographical details; history of the show; lyrics to the "I Am the Merry
Mailman" song and illustrations of Ray Heatherton collectibles
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broadcast its final show on Friday, June 22, 1956. (Information about Mr. Heatherton’s hosting the WOR-TV Channel 9 New York City edition of
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Returning from the service, he worked in radio and began his full-time television career as the host, performer and interviewer of
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Heatherton returned to television and radio work three more times during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. On Monday, September 25, 1961,
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affiliations and lost their careers. Unfounded public accusations of that nature were aimed at
Heatherton by an individual from
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Shortly afterward, Ray
Heatherton's singing talents came to the attention of the era's best-known radio bandleader-songwriter,
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and in national syndication between 1983 and 1985. Dick
Heatherton who, from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s was a drive-time
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Heatherton's last regular TV series was another talk/variety show, this time aimed at "mature" adults and senior citizens,
563:. However, for four weeks, July 6–27, they were the stars of the Sunday 7:30-8:30 p.m. summer replacement for
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on June 4, 1930, three days after his 21st birthday. During this time, Heatherton also attended
Columbia University.
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once again became a part of the lives of children in the New York City broadcast area. WPIX, Channel 11 broadcast
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Heatherton was able to clear his name of the defamation and went on to host two more programs for WOR-TV:
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In July 1975, Ray and Joey had a brief moment of network glory with their own CBS-TV variety program,
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Ray is also grandfather to Dana Fujiko
Heatherton who is 2009-2010 Nisei Week Queen for Los Angeles.
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label, and in 1939 twice performed on the then-experimental medium of television, appearing on
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arrived, Heatherton's career in the entertainment field was interrupted by service in the
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812:(2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 538.
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Detroit And The "Good War": The World War II Letters of Mayor Edward Jeffries and Friends
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Channel 11's day-long celebration and retrospective of its 40 years on the air,
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During this time, Heatherton appeared at many New York area venues, including
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p. 193 Possemato, Paul M., Johnston J. William & Johnston, D. Michael
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on the air as a station-sustained program. It was not enough, however, and
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Heatherton was commissioned and rose to the rank of Captain. He served as
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uniform and performed his familiar "I Am the Merry Mailman" theme song.
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In late 1955, Ray Heatherton fell victim to one of the excesses of the
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can be found in The NYC Kids’ Shows Roundup section of TV Party.Com.)
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In 1938 Heatherton recorded two discs of songs for children on the
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The Complete Directory to Prime Time TV Stars 1946—Present
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135:(June 1, 1909 – August 15, 1997) was an American singer,
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1974 photograph along with an excerpt from the radio show
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Broadway shows, recordings and pre–World War II television
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Pace, Eric. "Ray Heatherton, 88, TV's 'Merry Mailman'".
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Hotel, but was no longer serving as of the early 1990s.
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Ray Heatherton was born in the New York City suburb of
835:"Ray Heatherton; Big Band Singer, Musical Comedy Star"
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The Mighty Music Box: The Golden Age of Musical Radio
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era. A number of innocent performers were accused of
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Single film appearance and war service in the Marines
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Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States
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Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010
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467:which, along with another New York independent,
678:. Sun-Sentinel. August 21, 1997. Archived from
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590:. The series was seen locally in New York on
333:North Carolina as well as Guam and Okinawa.
759:Crown, 1981 - Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.
516:Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History
503:went off the air on Friday, May 31, 1963.
397:and the first made-for-TV animated series
356:'s newly opened New York flagship station
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785:University Press of Kentucky, 13 Jan 2015
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463:on another New York independent station,
352:was one of the first daytime programs on
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367:Heatherton as the "Merry Mailman", 1951.
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222:Following his father's death during the
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331:Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
242:Heatherton appeared in the musicals
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917:The Breakfast Club w/Ray Heatherton
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676:"Ray Heatherton, 88, Merry Mailman"
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567:'s variety hour. Comedy performers
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989:Military personnel from New Jersey
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547:Father and daughter performing on
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979:20th-century American male actors
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934:American television personalities
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833:Oliver, Myrna (August 19, 1997).
416:Career setback and continued work
633:In 1993, he was admitted to The
592:New York City Board of Education
900:Ray Heatherton's Breakfast Club
861:. New York:Ballantine Books.
523:Ray Heatherton's Breakfast Club
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964:Actors from Orange, New Jersey
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781:p.157 Capeci Jr., Dominic J.
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371:Heatherton's next TV series,
624:Long Island Lighting Company
497:The Merry Mailman's Funhouse
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877:obituary (August 18, 1997).
707:. Variety. October 15, 1997
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939:American male stage actors
794:p. 251 DeLong, Thomas A.
755:p. 227 Hirschhorn, Clive
731:Internet Broadway Database
626:, known as LILCO, and The
518:(Theme Park Press, 2019).
449:The Ray Heatherton Theater
228:New York Telephone Company
178:. His first appearance on
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602:on one of New York's top
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154:(some sources indicate
561:Tropicana Orange Juice
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294:(as Ralph Rackstraw).
46:Heatherton circa 1937.
857:Brooks, Tim (1987).
757:The Hollywood Musical
639:Englewood, New Jersey
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337:Early television and
217:New Amsterdam Theatre
84:Englewood, New Jersey
944:Apex Records artists
409:Mutual Radio Network
280:Gilbert and Sullivan
274:'s New York station
192:which opened at the
185:The Garrick Gaieties
770:Heroes and Teachers
737:on 25 February 2019
620:Alzheimer's disease
588:A New Day's Dawning
285:Pirates of Penzance
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508:Freedomland U.S.A.
453:The Cartoon Parade
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288:(as Frederic) and
261:My Funny Valentine
152:Orange, New Jersey
104:1930 - early 1990s
66:Orange, New Jersey
819:978-0-7864-6477-7
772:AuthorHouse, 2008
493:The Merry Mailman
486:The Merry Mailman
474:Franklin National
442:The Merry Mailman
438:The Merry Mailman
434:The Merry Mailman
405:The Merry Mailman
385:The Merry Mailman
373:The Merry Mailman
339:The Merry Mailman
308:U.S. Marine Corps
244:Anniversary Waltz
209:The Old Gold Hour
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101:Years active
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635:Actors' Fund
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616:"WPIX at 40"
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557:Joey and Dad
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844:January 26,
741:25 February
711:January 26,
686:January 26,
628:Garden City
569:Pat Paulsen
314:'s musical
164:Floral Park
162:village of
160:Long Island
156:Jersey City
928:Categories
645:References
606:stations,
394:Terrytoons
224:Depression
58:1909-06-01
512:The Bronx
426:Communist
839:LA Times
637:Home in
422:Cold War
318:(1943).
180:Broadway
137:Broadway
117:Children
94:Vocalist
182:was in
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816:
459:Popeye
109:Spouse
276:W2XBS
268:Decca
190:revue
120:Dick
96:Actor
893:IMDb
863:ISBN
846:2014
814:ISBN
743:2019
713:2014
688:2014
608:WCBS
575:and
565:Cher
535:Joey
476:and
461:Show
457:The
253:and
188:, a
73:Died
52:Born
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358:WJZ
354:ABC
329:at
312:PRC
302:As
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