Winky Dink
and You
Winky Dink was the world's first interactive video game. You took a plastic screen, placed it on your television screen, then drew pictures on it with crayons to help poor Winky out of a tough spot.

Host Jack Barry and Mae Questel (the original voice of Olive Oil and the voice of Winky-Dink) are represented on this 1954 78 rpm record:

SIDE ONE:
Magic Crayons
Make Magic Pictures

SIDE TWO:
Winko

Never-Never Land, the B-side to the theme single.

Jack Barry also had another 78 RPM record in the Winky Dink series entitled "Mister Bungle" b/w "The Make-Lika Song" (Decca Children's Series).

Sheriff John
Kids who grew up in LA in the 1950s & 1960s will remember Sheriff John from his daily KTTV Channel 11 show.

SONG ONE:
Good Advice

SONG TWO:
Eat Your Food, Wash Your Hands, & Face, Brush Your Teeth, Take A Nap

SONG THREE:
The Safety Song

Sheriff John also had a record on the Imperial label titled "Little TV Cowboy" in the 1950s as well.

This is the children's version of Woody's hit song, originally recorded by Kay Kyser's Band.

I'm not crazy about Woody Woodpecker, he's annoying! But then, how can you hate a song that has a lyric like, "It's nothing to me... to peck a few holes in your head"!?!

Woody Woodpecker Song

THE OLD REBEL SHOW
In 1957, The Old Rebel and Pecos Pete from WFMY TV in Greensboro, NC released a 45 rpm record that was sold in local record stores.

The Old Rebel Show was one of the longest running children's shows of all time with 27 years on the air.

Seen at left is the Old Rebel played by George Perry, below (with Cathy the Chimp) is Pecos Pete portrayed by Jim Tucker.

Today this ultra-rare recording is not only a collector's item, it's a genuine folk classic.

The Mickey Mouse Club
This children's show changed the face of kid vid, replacing the wild, uncontrolled antics found on the Howdy Doody & Pinky Lee shows with a more low-key, lightly educational approach.

A slew of Mouseketeers record albums and 78 singles were released in conjunction with the afternoon series and they were enormously popular. These mid-fifties recordings were noted for their first-rate orchestrations and arrangements, as you would expect from Disney.

SIDE ONE:
The MMC March

SIDE TWO:
Mouseketeers Song

Here's the alternate version of the Mickey Mouse Club March, the one with Donald Duck in the mix.

Another release:
SIDE ONE:
We're the Mouseketeers
These tunes were intended to introduce youngsters to the concept of different cultures around the world.

SIDE TWO:
Hi To You (Around the World)
Teaching baby boomers how to say hello in various languages, then ending with the TV show's closing theme.

POPEYE
A popular local New York TV kiddie host was Captain Alan Swift with his daily Popeye Show.

These songs from his first album were performed by the host (as Popeye) with Mae Questel as Olive.

Mae Questel was the original voice of Olive Oyl in the Fleisher cartoons, and these recordings reflect the improvisational style of the incomparable 1930's Fleisher cartoons.

"Captain Allen" cut a second kid's TV recording in 1960 for RCA Camden Children's Records. "Popeye's Favorite Sea Shanties" had Capt. Allen performing songs ("his Mateys") along with informational segments and even some poetry (like "I Saw A Ship A Sailing") between tunes performed by "Bill Simon and His Crew." That record was nominated for a Grammy award in 1960 but lost to Liberty Record's "Alvin Show" TV soundtrack.

Allen Swift was responsible for so many of the cartoon voices we grew up with, like, Simon Bar Sinister ("Underdog"), Tom & Jerry cartoon narrations (1960-61) and Mayor Phineas T. Bluster ("Howdy Doody").

SIDE ONE:
Popeye's Song

SIDE TWO:
I Like Popeye

Here's the Popeye Song done by the original voice, Jack Mercer - from another Popeye 78 around the same time.

The Merry Mailman
The Merry Mailman was seen weekday evenings and afternoons on WOR channel 9 in NYC from Monday October 16, 1950 until Friday June 22, 1956.

Ray Heatherton, aka The Merry Mailman, made his debut as host of a 15 minute cartoon fest; the show was later re-formatted as an hour-long kiddie variety series.

Sadly, Mr. Heatherton became a victim of the Communist witch hunts, when a bogus supermarket chain owner wrongly accused him of being in support of 'the Red Menace.'

Ray Heatherton returned as The Merry Mailman when the series was picked up by WPIX channel 11 in NYC on Monday afternoon, September 25, 1961. The series didn't do very well and left the air on Friday, May 31, 1963.

Ray Heatherton died on August 15, 1997.

Merry Mailman records (and books) were sold nationally in the mid-fifties. The lyrics were written by Mrs. Sylvia Rosales.

Here's The Merry Mailman
song as released on a 78 RPM record

BERTIE THE BUNYIP
A Bunyip, from creator Lee Dexter's description, was a cross between a bunny, a collie dog and a duck billed platypus.

Their adventures could be seen Sunday mornings at 11am (and at times on Saturdays) for a 10 year span from 1956 until 1966 on channels WPTZ, WRCV & KYW (all channel 3 Philadelphia) - and on WPHL-TV (channel 17 UHF) in 1966.

Bertie the Bunyip
78 rpm recording

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