The Story of Captain Kangaroo

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American Stories. Our next story
comes to us from a man who’s simply known as
the History Guy. His videos are watched by hundreds of
thousands of people of all ages on YouTube. The History
Guy is also a regular contributor for us here in
our American Stories. On October third, nineteen fifty five, a

(00:31):
television program debuted that would eventually produce nearly nine thousand
shows over a span of almost forty years. Here’s the
History Guy with the story of Captain Kangaroo.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
If you want to know how history can be forgotten,
just look at popular culture, where a song, or a
movie or a television program can become incredibly popular and
important to one generation and then hold unrecognized by the next.
The first week in October represents the anniversary of the
first rag of a television show that for many of
you will bring back a flood of memories, but for others,

(01:10):
well leave you completely be fuddled. But I was one
of millions of children whose childhood weekdays almost are We
started with the.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Words good morning.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Captain. Robert James Keishan was born June seventeenth, nineteen twenty seven,
on Long Island, the son of an Irish immigrant who
was an executive with a grocery company. In his nineteen
ninety six autobiography, he describes an idyllic childhood growing up
in the New York City suburb of Forest Hills. His
life four changed dramatically when his mother died suddenly when

(01:39):
he was just fifteen. Such a loss could pull a
young man off the rails, but he credited the school
guidance counselor named Gertrude Farley for demanding that he find
his way once again. He graduated in nineteen forty five
and enlisted in the service in the last year of
the Second World War, and this has led to one
of the most enduring myths about Bob.

Speaker 4 (01:59):
Keisha There’s a popularly shared web story that says that
actor Lee Marvin said during an episode of The Tonight
Show that his life was saved during the Battle of
Ewigema by Bob Keishan.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
It’s a very persistent story. I came upon it several
times while doing research for this episode, despite the fact
that it is entirely untrue. But it does have a
kernel of truth, and that is that both Bob Keishan
and Lee Marvin were Marines. Marvin, three years older than Kishan,
served with the fourth Marine Division and participated in the

(02:33):
assaults on Inowetic in Saipan, where he was wounded, but
not a day with Jima. Keishan enlisted in the Marine
Corps Reserve in the summer of nineteen forty five and
was trending for the invasion of the Home Islands when
atomic weapons brought An into the war, and he never
saw combat. He did, however, pick credit to his brief service.
In his autobiography entitled Good Morning, Captain Fifty Wonderful Years

(02:54):
with Bob Keishen TV’s Captain Kangaroo, he said, Paris Island
is not a place of fond memory, but it is
a place of positive memories. I would never trade my
Marine Corps experience for anything. The training and the character
building are second to none. To this day, I call
upon that training and it has never failed me. Kishan
had worked part time as a page at NBC Radio

(03:15):
and returned to the job after the war. While attending
college at night and at NBC, he got a start
in early television on the iconic show Howdy Duty. The
parenting website hub Pages explains that Keishan was a bottom
run assistant to Buffalo Bob on The Howdy Duty Show,
originally puppet playhouse, entertaining the peanut gallery and keeping them orderly.
This would lead to an iconic role as how Pages continues.

(03:38):
He became Claire Belle the Clown when a network exec
told him to create a clown costumes so it would
not accidentally appear on screen in street clothes. He didn’t
speak on screen because she would have had been paid
more to do so. Keishan and much of the cast
were laid off in nineteen fifty two, possibly in a
dispute over pay. While some references suggest that he and
Buffalo Bob Smith didn’t get along, Keishan didn’t mention it

(03:59):
when I’m an Annun Smith in a nineteen eighty seven history
of The Howdy Duty Show. Bob Smith is my father
in the business. I give him one hundred percent credit
for my success, because I would not be here today
if I had learned all the technical aspects of the
medium from him. I put what he taught me to
work on Captain Kangaroo and we ran for thirty years.

(04:19):
Three different actors played Claire bell the Clown of the
run of the Howdy Duty Show, but Bob Keishan’s was
by far the most recognized of those, and in nineteen
ninety he was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame.
And if his entry in the show business was somewhat unorthodox,
it is perhaps even more surprising that he remained in
show business after leaving The Howdy Duty Show. The website

(04:40):
Famous Clowns notes that many of his colleagues thought that
this was the end of Bob Keishan’s foray into television.
After all, he couldn’t sing or play an instrument. He
was untrained and really not qualified as an entertainer. But
stay he did again, playing a clown on a noontime
children’s program broadcast in New York City, I AMDB It’s Planes.

(05:00):
Sitting on a park bench with a cocker Spaniel by
his side, Horny the clown gently talked to the kids
between cartoons. The show ran from nineteen fifty three to
nineteen fifty five. It was in nineteen fifty four, however,
that Keishen had another opportunity as well. You want to
do a weekday children’s show? The website TV Party explains
that he got the chance to do so. The programming

(05:21):
director at Channel seven, Adrian Rodian, told him, you’ve been
asking the station for a year to try and do
a weekday morning kids TV show. Well, you’ve got your chance.
Have the pilot ready by Monday morning. Thus, Keishan and
director Jack Miller developed the show over a single weekend.
It was called Tinker’s Workshop. By Monday. TV Party explains,

(05:41):
Tinker’s Workshop was open for business. The show, set in
a workshop in a Swiss village, was only shown locally
in New York City, but in that city it started
beating NBC’s Today’s Show and CBS’s Morning Show in the ratings,
and that through the attention of network executives had been
struggling to find success with a warning children’s show. The

(06:03):
website school Days explains the heads of CBSTV had auditioned
a few kids TV show concepts with former jazz band
vocalist at one time Miami Florida Kids TV mc merg Griffith,
folk singer, musician, songwriter and storyteller Frank Luther, and comedy
performer and singer Jerry Kallana. None of their series pilots
worked out. Keishan based his new character on the relationship

(06:24):
between children and their grandparents, a relationship that Keishan says
he explored originally with the Tinker character, calling Tinker the
father Captain Kangaroo. The kangaroo part came from the oversized
pockets on the lower part of his bright red coat
that were so large that resembled a pouch on a kangaroo,
and those pockets became so iconic that the lower pockets

(06:46):
on the United States Air Force dress uniform became affectionately
known as Captain Kangaroo pockets. Well. Some authors have suggested
that the captain part was because the character was originally
supposed to be the captain of the tour guides of
the Treasure House. Keishan simply calls it an alliterative promotion.
Keishan’s new show first aired October third, nineteen fifty five.

(07:09):
That same day, another children’s classic, The Mickey Mouse Club,
debut on rival network ABC. CBS marketed Kishan’s new creation
to parents. Good News for parents and for children. Starting
tomorrow at eight, CBS Television presents the Gentlest Children Show
on the air. As the Kindly Captain Kangaroo recreates the
private waterland of childhood and his treasure house, it is

(07:31):
a live and in drawling hour long program, Instantorian Tomes.
The announcer said, Boys and Girls, CBS Television presents Captain
Kangaroo and his Treasure House. The music started, the doors
to the house opened, and an elderly man jingling a
ring of keys made his way to the large desk
and hung the keys on a nail. Wearing a trademark

(07:53):
bowl haircut wig and sideburns. HubPages says of the character,
Captain Kangaroo attempted to re establish a role for grandparents
in the lives of children. For those kids that had
no grandparents, he became the Sea Captain Grandfather, a little
like Captain January in an old Shirley Temple film. Mister
Keishan used to say that as he aged, he just
needed increasingly last makeup than on his first show as

(08:14):
the Captain. Kishan said of the character, Captain Kangaroo treats
children as intelligent human beings and never talks down to them.
He is not afraid to ask them to think, and
he believes that they have good taste. Blogger Pamela Blame
recalled her experience in a two thousand and four post.
It was Captain Kangaroo who unlocked the treasure house door,
and we would come running to watch when we heard

(08:35):
the theme song begin on our television debts. Just a
small children wait to see the surprise Daddy had for
us in his pockets when he comes home. In the
same way we waited expectantly to see what the grandfatherly
Captain Kangaroo would extract from his oversized marsupial jacket that
he wore.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
And you’ve been listening to the story of Captain Kangaroo
as told by the history guy, and we get to
know the man behind the name, and that is Robert
James Kishan, who grew up idyllically in Farrest Tills, New
York and that’s in Queens and actually like just a
big suburban town just minutes from downtown New York City

(09:11):
and all those skyscrapers. But then came a dramatic turn.
He lost his mom at the age of eighteen, and
one person, more than an other, turned it all around
for him. And that was his guidance counselor in high school.
And for all of you guidance counselor’s teachers, anyone out
there who’s mentored kids and been there when they needed

(09:33):
them the most. Thank you to all of you. You
just heard it from the History Guy that one guidance
counselor changed a life, and then came the Marine Corps,
which changed his life and shaped his character. And then
that job is a page a page at NBC more
of the story of Captain Kangaroo. Here on our American Stories.

(10:09):
And we continue with our American stories and the story
of Captain Kangaroo as told by the History Guy. Let’s
pick up where we last left off.

Speaker 2 (10:20):
He brought out such outlandish things as large mirrors, bunches
of bananas, and even music stands. We all held our
breath apprehensively as he absent mindedly laid a bunch of
carrots on the counter, because the greedy bunny rabbit was
known to snatch any carrots away in a split second,
and we were never disappointed. The show also often featured
important performers of the day. Captain Captain, guess who just

(10:45):
call who? Well, you’ll never guess.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
I’ll tell you.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
Dolly Parton just called, and she’s on her way to
the Captain’s place.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
Dolly Parton called, she’s coming over.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Hey is a that’s terrific? Hey, how about that this.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
Is Nakishan argues because children were recognize them, nor that
he was marketing the show to adults. Rather, he wrote,
our famous guests from so many fields were invited for
one reason. It is my belief that children deserve the
best performance possible, and these artists were supremum performing their art.
Simple as that, before you leave, you’ve gotta favor us
with a song.

Speaker 3 (11:18):
Well, that would be nice, But I didn’t bring a guitar.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
That’s a little detail.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
I got a whole bunch of musical instruments.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
Here, Doll, the captains everything. There you go, Doll the
Captain’s place.

Speaker 4 (11:28):
I’ll tell you what.

Speaker 3 (11:29):
I’ll put this on.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
Dolly, I wonder could you if you sing a song?

Speaker 3 (11:33):
How about singing us a song that you wrote yourself?

Speaker 4 (11:35):
You know, Dolly Parton composes the most beautiful music.

Speaker 3 (11:38):
And I’d love to hear a song of your own. Okay,
I’d love to do one, and I’d like to do
a special one. This is a true story about a
little puppy dog that I had when I was a
little girl, A story that happened to you, Yep, about
my own puppy dog. And I’ll dedicate this to.

Speaker 4 (11:51):
You and for you.

Speaker 3 (11:52):
Okay, it’s called cracker Jack. Ready. I took him home
until he couldn’t even walk, and I took him to
my room and go to blanket home.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
And after that, beside my bed.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
Is wearing always sleep. And each night in my prayers,
I’d pray the Lord is sold to keep Crackodle. The
best friend that I ever had was cracker Job, but
he was more than playmate to the companion. He was
love and understanding. That was Crackodle. The best friend that

(12:35):
I ever had was cracker Day, but he was more
than than Why everything your kid could walk, I head
in crack.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
Walk.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
That’s really beautiful.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
Crack huh.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
The show originally carried a grueling schedule. Since the show
was live, it had to be performed twice, once at
eight a mem Eastern and then the second time at
eight am Central. There was just a forty second gap
in between the two shows to reset and start again.
It wasn’t until nineteen fifty nine that videotape allowed them
to tape the first show to play it back for
the Midwest audience. The show was unique. For example, Keishaan

(13:16):
didn’t use a live audience like how they duty is.
Keishan saw the medium of television as a way to
create a direct connection to children. I believe that television
was too intimate to allow us studio audience to interrupt
my relationship with the child at home. Keishan had strong
feelings about the show environment, limiting ads, and not allowing
the characters to advertise their products. CBS promised the show

(13:36):
twenty minutes of animation daily from its Terry Tunes studio,
purchased by CBS in nineteen fifty five, but Keishan felt
that the show’s offered displayed too much violence. While acceptable
to theatrical audiences of another era, he wrote, they were
unsuitable in our opinion, for our audience of young people.
CBS was very understanding and agreed to allow us to
produce entirely new animation at Terry Tuns. When Captain Kangaroo

(14:01):
first appeared, there was a lot of criticism who said
that children needed television that made them face the harsh
realities of life. Keisha’s response was, that’s what everybody else
is doing. The Green Valley News notes television was a
relatively new addition to most American homes. It had never
been a generation of kids exposed to home video entertainment before,
so the series was designed to give kids a gentle

(14:21):
alternative to the frenetic nature most children shows of the day,
of which Howdy Duty was considered to be one of
the worst offenders of pages opined four abused children. Captain
Kangaroo was the only spot in the day besides school time,
in which these kids could receive a kind word. The
Allentown Morning Call writes from that house came a trove

(14:42):
of timeless messages. Children are precious and deserving of our respect.
That quality children’s television is important, That reading is essential,
That time is the most valuable thing parents can give
to their children. Kishan noted that we read more than
five thousand books on the show, many of the multiple times.
The show would eventually be seen by more than two

(15:03):
hundred million children, parents, and grandparents. It ran for nearly
thirty years on CBS and then another six years on PBS.
It was, in its time, the longest running children’s television
show in history. He won six Emmy Awards and three
Peabody Awards. He was inducted into the Cloud Hall of
Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of fame.

(15:24):
The American Medical Association awarded him a Distinguished Service Award,
and he received a National Education Award. He earned a
Kennedy Center Honor in nineteen eighty seven. But the show’s
real legacies and the millions of children who like me
started our work days with the words good morning, Captain, hello,
and how do you do? Writing in his blog Thoughts

(15:48):
on Success, music and media musician Steve Brian gives a
powerful testimony to the meaning of the show. For me,
Captain Kangaroo was more than just a television host. When
my third grade teacher asked everyone in class to write
an essay about their fathers, I sat in my seat
for a few minutes and finally began to cry. Missus Miller,
an excellent educator, quietly ushered me into the hall to

(16:10):
determine the cause of my tears. My father died when
I was two years old. I told her I don’t
remember anything about him. I have nothing to write about.
You can have the best essay in class. She said,
if you could pick anybody in the whole world to
be your father, who would you choose. Once you decide
who that person is, write your report about him. I
didn’t hesitate, I looked right at her, and I said

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Captain Kangaroo. After the show’s run, Bob Keishen remained a
tireless advocate for many children’s causes, and testified before Congress
about the effects of violence on television. He said that
he and his good friend Fred Rogers would often commiserate
or for what they both thought was the sorry state
of children’s programming. Odd for a television icon. He would

(16:55):
usually give advice to parents to not let TV babysit
their children. He famously said, one of the big secrets
to finding time is not to watch television. Bob Keishan
passed away in two thousand and four, beloved by millions
but already unrecognized to new generations of children, but his
legacy remains famous. Chicago broadcaster John Calloway said in the

(17:16):
Daily Press, Ultimately he was about decency and dignity in
the midst of all that silliness. I’ll hope he’ll represent
something to future programmers of children’s television. The children have changed,
but what has not changed is their needs. And it
is always good to remember the advice that he signed

(17:36):
off with for nearly nine thousand episodes over nearly forty years.
Whatever you do, have a great.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
Day and a terrific job on the production, editing and
storytelling by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks
to the History Guy. And you can go to his
YouTube channel, the History Guy’s YouTube channel and see all
of the work he does. It’s watched by hundreds of
thousands of people of all ages. And by the way,

(18:08):
you can catch all of his work at Ouramerican stories
dot com. Just put in the History Guy. It’s dozens
of pieces. And what a story he told. What an
insight by the way, to have no live audience, because
he understood the audience. That direct connection was that camera
and the kid and his parents sitting at home, and
he didn’t want any interference. And this is a huge insight,

(18:31):
perhaps as big as what we learned from the Charles
Schultz piece we did in which there was no laugh
track in the Charlie Browns Christmas. He didn’t want it,
he didn’t need it. And my goodness, what a great choice.
Charles Schultz made a groundbit breaking choice. By the way.
There was lots of criticism, of course, about the fact
that kids needed TV that represented the harsh realities of

(18:53):
life to which, of course Captain Kangaroo and we’re talking
about Robert James Keishan. His response and Fred Rogers, was
the kids have more than enough of that. And the
way he signed off each and every day, whatever you do,
have a good day. And by the way, we need
to hear that every day given the harsh realities of life.

(19:14):
The story of Robert James Keishan aka Captain Kangaroo, Kennedy
Center Award winner, Emmy Award winner and child advocate. Here
on our American Stories