Obit: Captain Kangaroo - Bob Keeshan (1927-2004)

Subject: Obit: Bob Keeshan
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:06 PM

According to the Associated Press, Bob Keeshan died today at the age of 76.

After a stint in the Marines, he created the character of Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show. From 1955 to 1993 he was Captain Kangaroo.

Mr. Rogers last year, Captain Kangaroo this year....

--- Transferred from thread on the same topic. ---

Subject: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Raptor
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:08 PM

It was Just on the radio

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: artbrooks
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:10 PM

Obit here.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Wesley S
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:18 PM

And here I thought he had passed on already. He'll be missed reguardless. It's a shame some cable channel doesn't bring his show back.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:22 PM

Oh Captain... :-(

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Raptor
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:29 PM

Very Nice Clinton Way to go!

Raptor

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:46 PM

Now all but one of the heroes of my childhood are dead...

Jim Henson...
The Friendly Giant
Mr Dressup
Now The Captain...

Morgan Freeman is the only one left... (remember him on The Electric Company?)

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: black walnut
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:53 PM

Oh that's so sad. I just heard it on the radio too. I didn't watch much TV as a kid but I did watch The Friendly Giant and Captain Kangaroo every single day. Oh.

Wistfully,

~black walnut

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 03:57 PM

Mr. Rogers

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Raptor
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 04:12 PM

The electric company was the best

WATCH OUT FOR FALLING PIANOS (Thud)

Raptor

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 04:23 PM

Bob Keeshan was one of the reasons I became interested in folk music, and probably my interest in TV and radio as well. I vividly remember being glued to my TV as a child watching Captain Kangaroo. This was during the folk revival and I remember watching the Capt. & his puppets acting out songs such as "Don't Let the Rain Come Down", "Lemon Tree", and if my memory serves me right "There's a Hole in the Bucket".   His introduction started me on a lifetime interest in learning. He was a remarkable man and it is a shame that CBS "retired" him back in 1993. The crap that they produce and call children's programming is now nothing more than a cheap babysitter and a way to sell toys. Not so with the Captain. We learned how to use our imagination. I will never forget him. Rest in peace Bob.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 04:26 PM

I grew uyp watching him and sesame street and mr rogers and electric company in the morning...and muppet show in the arvo....

I loved his show...I feel like I lost one of my dear childhood friends...

Subject: RE: Obit: Bob Keeshan
From: Walking Eagle
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 04:33 PM

Some of the things he used to say to Bunny Rabbit as the rabbit was taking all of the carrots were quite humeros!

Sad to say Rapaire, but we are of that certain age now.......

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: kendall
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 04:36 PM

Like grains of sand through an hour glass, so are the days of our lives.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo
From: sian, west wales
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 04:39 PM

oh, sigh.

I still have my Mr Bunny Rabbit hand puppet somewhere.

Captain and Mr Greenjeans. Warm and fuzzy feelings.

sian

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Chris in Wheaton
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 05:35 PM

Clarabell was iconoclastic - he would squirt anyone, high or mighty.   
The Captain was too much like candy cereal for me.   My top choice would be Burr Tillstrom's Oliver J. Dragon - shame he never ran for President.
Chris

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: GUEST,Chanteyranger
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 05:41 PM

My sister and I watched him every time, in the 1950's and early 60's. Captain Kangaroo was unforgettable. He set a high standard for children's programming. What was that pun he would occasionally use? "Restaurant to rest your uncle." He would end each show with "Always remember to say please and thank you." There was this gentleness to him and his whole show that probably only Mr. Rogers could match. I really feel sad. He was an important part of my childhood.

Chanteyranger

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Cluin
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 07:58 PM

Every morning I'd catch half the show before I had to get to school. I wouldn't leave until I saw the pingpong balls drop. Loved it!

The theme song: "Puffin' Billy".

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: RangerSteve
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 08:21 PM

He got paid five dollars a show to be Clarabelle. I would have found another career. I'm glad he stuck it out, though. He was a big part of my childhood in the mid 50's. I got to meet him when I was in first grade. He acted like it was a big deal to meet me. I've never met anyone else who could do that and seem really sincere about it.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 09:21 PM

Like Wesley, I thought he had passed on before this. Still, it's sad to hear and I do have fond memories of the few times I watched him. By the time we got a television, I considered myself a bit too "old" to watch him very often.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: richlmo
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 10:21 PM

I feel like I have lost a relative , he was such a HUGE part of my childhood. I loved every thing about the show. You really didn't mind being sick , home from school, because you got to watch the whole show! Mr. Moose, Mr. Greenjeans, Grandfather Clock..
What I remember most were the books he read, " Cats,Cats,Cats", might not be he right title, but if you are still reading this, you remember,too. And , "Stone Soup"...., I found this book for my daughter , 20 years later, but it wasn't the same one the Captain read.
Mr. Rodgers was a loss, but " The Captain" was the original.
There is no doubt that he is in heaven.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 10:30 PM

Captain Kangaroo was the first program I ever watched on television, literally. I remember when my parents bought our first television. The first Saturday after the arrival of the television was a life-changing event. My dad got up when we woke him early, took us into the living room, turned on the tv to Capt. Kangaroo and went back to bed. We were transfixed, but in such a great way.

SRS

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: open mike
Date: 23 Jan 04 - 11:01 PM

i am not sure if it was connected but i remember also watching Tom Terriffic and he would always put on his thinking cap. Cap'n Kangaroo had these HUGE pockets and he would pull bananas, carrots and stuff out of them...and wasn't there a character called mr banana man who would
always be there when he took bananas out of his pockets? And he often did origami or cut and paste projects...and wasn't there a trunk where there were costumes? Oh I am glad I was at the right age to watch his show! and Mr. Green Jeans...those overalls! loved 'em!
the sound clip sounds like there is tapping danging and clapping..

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: GUEST,Chip2447
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 12:20 AM

Goodnight Captain, thanks for all the good times.

Chip2447

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: open mike
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 12:27 AM

howdy doody captain kangaroo page
yes! Tom Terriffic, the Banana Man and others here:
Cap'n Kangaroo link
In the stories, Tom had the ability to change into any shape he could imagine in order to save his loveable (and lazy) dog Mighty Manfred from the clutches of the villainous Crabby Appleton.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: open mike
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 12:40 AM

198 Captian Kangaroo items are on e-bay right now...
bidding may be going up....

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 12:41 AM

One of my first forays into Mudcatland was a request for the words to a song I'd heard on Captain Kangaroo: I'm a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch. Answered promptly, of course. Yes, I remember the Banana Man. As I recall, he seemed just a tiny bit creepy to me...like the Goons on Popeye. I remember bits and pieces of many songs from that show: They Call Him Mr. Touchdown, My Little Playmate (the tune for which turned up many years later on a Leo Kottke album--the words had something about sliding down a cellar door), Christopher Robin at Buckingham Palace (which I later found in a collection of A.A. Milne songs), and others I guess I don't remember.

Thanks so much for linking to the theme song, Cluin. How did you know the name of the tune? And where did you get that recording with somebody dancing to it? Anybody know any more about the tune?

Here's another question about the theme song. Sometime around 1961 I visited New York City with my family for the first time (I grew up in Philadelphia). Naturally, we turned on the Captain on the TV in the hotel room. I am certain that the theme song had WORDS, including something like "... jolly old Captain Kangaroo..." In Philly the theme was instrumental only, just like in Cluin's link. Was I hallucinating, at the ripe old age of 7, or does somebody else remember words?

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 01:25 AM

PS...Before going to that Tom Terrific website, I believe I recall: "Terrytoons presents...the real great adventures of me, Tom Terrific! And Mighty Manfred, the Wonder Dog!" The villain was indeed Crabby Appleton, "rotten to the core." I think Tom wore a funnel on his head. I have no idea why.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 01:31 AM

I was 6 when he first came on in '55 and even as I got older and past the point where I should have been watching, I still did. Karen too watched him from her earliest childhood days to much later as well. Bob Keeshan had something special and he shared it with millions and millions of us everyday. When I heard the news today, I couldn't help but cry as if I had lost a close relative. I know I lost a part of my childhood. A kind and gentle man. I hope someone has the spirit and class to throw in a seltzer bottle and a few pin-pong balls. Goodbye Captain......and thanks......

Spaw

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 01:36 AM

There was a pop song which had the words "watching Capt Kangaro" - don't remember any more - and we didn;t get it in Oz, but we heard about it..

Robin

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: open mike
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 01:54 AM

and if there is a place where Kangaroos should have been....

Subject: ADD: Counting Flowers on the Wall
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 06:12 AM

The song you're thinking of is probably "Counting Flowers on the Wall" done by the Statler Brothers:

COUNTING FLOWERS ON THE WALLS
(songwriter???)

I keep hearing you're concerned about my happiness
But all that thought you're giving me is conscience, I guess
If I were walking in your shoes I wouldn't worry none
While you and your friends are worrying 'bout me,
I'm having lots of fun

CHORUS:
Counting flowers on the wall
That don't bother me at all
Playing solitaire till dawn
With a deck of 51
Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo
So don't tell me
I've nothing to do

Last night I dressed in tails pretended I was on the town
As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down
So please don't give a thought to me I'm really doing fine
You can always find me here
And having quite a time


CHORUS:
Counting flowers on the wall
That don't bother me at all
Playing solitaire till dawn
With a deck of 51
Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo
So don't tell me
I've nothing to do

It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright
Anyway my eyes are not accustomed to this light
And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete
So I must go back to my room
And make my day complete

CHORUS:
Counting flowers on the wall
That don't bother me at all
Playing solitaire till dawn
With a deck of 51
Smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo
So don't tell me
I've nothing to do

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 07:29 AM

Didn't the Captain have an occasional character on his show that was a butterfly or a bee?

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Lady Hillary
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 10:21 AM

Thanks, Clinton for posting that poster. Note the intensity of the eyes. I enjoyed him into my teens, thanks to younger sibs.

There was an e-mail going the rounds last year about him, citing him as the bravest man the writer had ever known. Perhaps that's where he got the grit to go beyond Clarabelle.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Lady Hillary
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 10:22 AM

That last was from EBarnacle, using Lady Hillary's machine.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 11:46 AM

Another part of lost America........................

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Cluin
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 11:55 AM

The link to the tune I provided above is dead for now. Witness.

Too bad. There were a couple other tunes and audios related to the Captain there. Maybe one of them was the one you were thinking of, Mark...

To answer your other question, I found out the name of the Captain's theme was "Puffin' Billy" a couple of years ago when I was doing a search on television theme songs. That was one of the first I found; it was on a CD of TV theme music I got from my library. Really brought back the memories.

"Don't fall for it Captain! Mr. Moose is trying to trick you! Here come the ping pong balls!!!"

As a kid, I always wondered who was stuck picking them all up. I'd always imagined Captain Kangaroo having to stoop over and gather them all up himself every day. Job security, I guess.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: Cluin
Date: 24 Jan 04 - 04:25 PM

By the way, there was an urban myth going around for years about Bob Keeshan.

Supposedly, Lee Marvin claimed they saw combat together at Iwo Jima and that the man to later become Captain Kangaroo was the bravest man he ever knew.

It's not true.

Neither is the one about Mr. Greenjeans being Frank Zappa's or Ted Nugent's dad. (I heard he was Alice Cooper's father when I was a teen).

But apparently it is true that Mr. Keeshan's kids didn't know their dad was the Captain when they were young.

Subject: RE: Obit: Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan)
From: The O'Meara
Date: 25 Jan 04 - 09:43 AM

I'm in the group of people I call The Last of the Radio People. My family didn't get television until I was in my early teens. Actually when we left small town Texas (San Angelo) for big town St. Paul MN. I didn't watch Cpt K. much. BUT - before that I'd sometimes wangle an invite to a neighbors house and watch their TV. I was particularly fascinated by the Howdy Doody show. I was too old to be interested in their story lines (besides, I'd grown up with Smilin' Ed McConnell and Foggy the Gremlin and Inner Sanctum on the radio) but in the first episode of Howdy Doody that I watched, Clarabell aimed a stream of seltzer at Buffalo Bob but the shot went wide and inadvertently hosed down the front row of the peanut gallery. The kids were just starting to tear up when the camera cut away and the sound went off. The next time the camera panned by, the front row of the Peanut Gallery was empty. Buffalo Bob and Clarabell had to struggle mightily to keep straight faces for the rest of the show. I was an admirer of Clarabell from then on.

O'Meara