![]() Along with three of his co-workers, Keeshan acquired an agent that represented all four of them - and all four of them were soon no longer employed by NBC. Numerous things combined to bring problems to a head – long hours (in addition to the show five days a week, there were numerous promotions to be done), work conditions, and the perception of low pay (although Bob Keeshan was receiving $600.00 per week at this time - a large sum for 1952). Bob Keeshan was rehired shortly afterward, to resume his impulsive, Seltzer-spraying ways - until Christmas week, 1952. The children of America immediately recognized the quiet, skillful, polite, taller, thinner newcomer wasn’t the real Clarabell. His Clarabell was gentle and shy, where Keeshan’s Clarabell was aggressive and prone to misbehavior - the character of Bob Keeshan’s Clarabell was much like a petulant two-year-old child. ![]() This new Clarabell seemed to be everything that Bob Keeshan was not - theatrically trained, a dancer and a mime. So, in June of 1950, Keeshan was fired, and a new Clarabell (Gil Lamb) was hired to replace him. There were other reasons as well some parents complained that the seltzer chases were getting the children too excited just before dinner - and Clarabell was the scapegoat. Buffalo Bob Smith was a musically-inclined person, and wanted that for the Howdy Doody show as well - but Keeshan couldn’t play an instrument, and seemingly couldn’t learn. Fired – for the first timeīob Keeshan continued playing Clarabell until 1950, when he was fired - for the first time. Most commonly “ Buffalo Bob” Smith, followed by a comedy chase through the studio. And inside that box was a bottle of Seltzer water, that Clarabell was swift to use on numerous cast members. A silent Auguste clown who communicated via twin bicycle horns mounted on a box. Accounts of the creation of the character differ, but what is not contested is that Bob Keeshan became Clarabell Hornblower. So, it was shortly afterward that Bob Keeshan become a clown on camera for the first time. However, a producer saw Keeshan on tape, and was upset at having a “normal” person on camera, since the show was supposedly a circus. He handed out prizes to children (the “Peanut Gallery”), and quieted the youngsters when they weren’t supposed to be heard. ![]() On Howdy Doody, Bob Keeshan’s tasks were initially fairly menial. Bob Keeshan followed along, having graduated from a page to a low-level employee at NBC, still working for Bob Smith.ĭue to a blizzard, Keeshan missed the first filming of Puppet Playhouse - but most other people didn’t the children’s show set viewership records, and was quickly expanded, and renamed after the lead puppet character - The Howdy Doody Show. With the advent of television, NBC asked him to copy his children’s program to a new TV show, Puppet Playhouse. Howdy Doody timeĬlarabell the Clown (Bob Keeshan) with Buffalo Bobīob Smith was a popular radio personality of the day, doing both a program for adults and a morning program for children. After the war ended, Bob returned to NBC to finish his time as a page, working for Bob Smith during the day, and attending college at night. Shortly before his 18th birthday, Bob joined the Marines and underwent basic training. Before Bob could discover this for himself, World War II interrupted. A page was a low-level gopher, giving an individual an “in” at NBC, and giving them time to find where, if anywhere, they belonged at NBC. Instead, in his 18th year, he began working for NBC in their page program. Without the influence of a school guidance counselor, Bob would have stayed mired in his grief. His mother died when Bob was only 15, and this deeply impacted him. ![]() He had a happy childhood, living with his immigrant father, mother, younger sister and two older brothers. ![]() Bob was born in Long Island, but moved to Forest Hills, NY shortly after his birth. Robert James “Bob” Keeshan (J– – January 23, 2004)īetter known to millions of viewers as the original Captain Kangaroo, Long Island native Bob Keeshan first came to national prominence as Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody TV show (1947 – 1952). ![]()
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