Here, just to tie together two recent topics on this page, is the cover of a Little Golden Record of Captain Kangaroo…with Mitch Miller and the Sandpipers. And I thought I'd answer a couple of messages I received asking about famous stories relating to Bob Keeshan. This one is from Mark Skertic…
Like just about everything on your website, I enjoyed your piece on Capt. Kangaroo. But given the history of the Keeshan's career that you outlined, does this mean the story often told about the last Howdy Doody show is not true? The story I've read several times is that on the very last show, Clarabelle ran around during the show with a sign promising a big surprise. Then, at the last minute, just before fade out, Clarabelle approached the camera and talked, for the first time, speaking the words, "Bye, kids?" So did that happen, and was that Clarabelle played by Keeshan?
Yes, Clarabelle did that on the last show in 1960 (He actually said, "Goodbye, kids.") but a gent named Lew Anderson was playing the role by then. Keeshan was long gone by then, having been fired in a purge just before Christmas of 1952.
In case you're interested in the chronology of Mr. Keeshan's shows: After being banned from Doodyville, he went off and took a job with his father-in-law but it didn't work out. He returned to television (local, in New York) in August of 1953 with a show called Time for Fun, in which the entire cast consisted of him as Corny the Clown, plus his dog. That was when he had to learn to speak on camera. Before '53 was out, he added a second show and a second character. On Tinker's Workshop, he played an old toymaker named Tinker. I've never seen any of these but Keeshan always told people that Captain Kangaroo was basically Tinker with more pockets in his coat.
Captain Kangaroo started on October 3, 1955. Most folks don't know it but that wasn't Keeshan's final characterization. During the 1964-1965 season, he turned up on CBS Saturday morning with a show called Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor looked and sounded exactly like Cap'n Kangaroo but he was a different guy in a different outfit and with a different set and supporting cast. (The set had a wonderful, elaborate toy train layout.) At the time, I wondered why Bob Keeshan was playing one guy Monday through Friday and a different but similar character on Saturday. When I finally met him, it was one of the first things I asked about and he told me the following story…
It seems that when Captain Kangaroo was launched, Keeshan had an unwanted partner. I think (but am not sure) he said it was related to the fact that the Captain had evolved out of the Tinker character so someone who had a business interest in that show wound up with a percentage of Captain Kangaroo. As he explained it, Keeshan was having trouble with this partner and finally decided he wanted to have total ownership and control of his character. He tried to buy out the partner's interest but when the guy declined, Keeshan threatened to give up Captain Kangaroo and to create a new character…one in which the partner would not share. The partner said, "You wouldn't dare," and Keeshan decided to go ahead with his bluff. When CBS decided they wanted to add a Saturday morning installment of Captain Kangaroo, Keeshan insisted he would do it as Mr. Mayor.
And he did. It was essentially a way to convince the partner that he was serious about abandoning Captain Kangaroo. "I was prepared to do that and continue as Mr. Mayor," he told me. "But what I really hoped was that it would convince him to sell out his interest in Kangaroo." That was how things played out. The partner sold out his share and the following season, the Saturday morning hour of Mr. Mayor was replaced by an hour of Captain Kangaroo. I always thought this was a fascinating story…how close Captain Kangaroo came to disappearing due to a business dispute.
Getting back to the urban legends, there are a dozen different stories around about Lee Marvin and Bob Keeshan serving together in the Marines. In most, they served heroically in Iwo Jima and were awarded many medals. In truth, Keeshan did serve in the Marines but never saw combat and never saw Lee Marvin. There are also stories about Keeshan accidentally uttering a naughty word or doing the show with his fly open, but as far as I know, those things never happened.