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Hi There, Boys and Girls: America's Local Children's TV Programs

Whatever happened to Bozo the Clown, to Aunt Norma, to Solomon C. Whiskers, those television celebrities who hammed it up between cartoons and contests during local kids' shows?

In Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs, Tim Hollis tracks down the story of every known local children's TV show from markets across the United States.

There have been many books about children's television on the networks, and such shows as Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, and Sesame Street are legends in broadcasting.

However, the local branch of children's programming has received much less attention. For every performer on the scale of a Captain Kangaroo or a Buffalo Bob, there were five or six local personalities who were just as beloved by their viewers--and sometimes even more so--since these local stars could be counted on for appearances at stores, children's hospitals, and shopping centers, where kids could meet them face-to-face.

Anyone over the age of thirty who grew up with a TV set will remember at least one or two of these productions. Whether it was hosted by a cowboy character, a clown such as the one on the many-franchised Bozo shows, a policeman, a sea captain who showed Popeye cartoons, or one of the gentle and lovely ladies who presided over Romper Room, these hometown stars were some of the Baby Boomers' first friends. Although children loved them, these hard-working performers garnered less respect from the rest of the TV industry.

Hi There, Boys and Girls! includes a capsule history of this programming from the earliest days of radio to the early 1970s, when a combination of social changes and broadcast regulations sent most of the hosts into retirement.

Walt Disney once observed that while there is very little adult in a child, there is a lot of child in every adult. This book will bring back a flood of long-submerged memories for anyone who was a child during this golden era.

Tim Hollis lives in Birmingham, Alabama. His previous books include Dixie Before Disney: 100 Years of Roadside Fun (University Press of Mississippi) and Cousin Cliff: 40 Magical Years in Television.

Important places

Albany (92)
Alexandria (7)
Ames (7)
Anniston (3)
Asheville (66)
Atlanta (448)
Auburn (14)
Augusta (29)
Bakersfield (15)
Bangor (13)
Baton Rouge (62)
Billings (10)
Biloxi (11)
Binghamton (25)
Birmingham (87)
Bismarck (7)
Boise (57)
Boston (1,284)
Bowling Green (11)
Buffalo (140)
Butte (28)
Cadillac (3)
Cedar Rapids (12)
Champaign (12)
Charlotte (50)
Chicago (1,721)
Cincinnati (193)
Cleveland (210)
Colorado Springs (33)
Columbus (7)
Columbus (6)
Columbus (57)
Dayton (32)
Decatur (18)
Denver (305)
Des Moines (39)
Detroit (313)
Dothan (4)
Duluth (37)
Durham (32)
Elmira (6)
Eugene (35)
Eureka (9)
Evansville (9)
Fargo (14)
Flint (23)
Florence (4)
Fort Dodge (3)
Fort Myers (16)
Fort Smith (18)
Fort Wayne (17)
Fresno (22)
Grand Junction (7)
Grand Rapids (27)
Great Falls (6)
Greensboro (22)
Greenville (6)
Greenwood (3)
Gulfport (3)
Hattiesburg (3)
Helena (13)
Huntsville (24)
Idaho Falls (5)
Indianapolis (101)
Ithaca (25)
Jackson (46)
Jacksonville (41)
Jefferson City (5)
Joplin (4)
Kalamazoo (14)
Kansas City (140)
Lafayette (10)
Lake Charles (4)
Lansing (9)
Las Vegas (540)
Lexington (36)
Lima (3)
Lincoln (32)
Little Rock (40)
Los Angeles (1,025)
Louisville (69)
Macon (37)
Marquette (2)
Mason City (5)
Miami (303)
Minneapolis (185)
Minot (3)
Mobile (41)
Montgomery (68)
New Bedford (17)
New Orleans (908)
New York (7,400)
Oklahoma City (45)
Omaha (74)
Orlando (86)
Panama City (10)
Peoria (15)
Phoenix (111)
Portland (67)
Portland (271)
Pueblo (6)
Quincy (5)
Raleigh (70)
Reno (51)
Rochester (8)
Rochester (76)
Rockford (11)
Rome (13)
Salinas (13)
San Diego (267)
San Francisco (1,595)
San Luis Obispo (10)
Savannah (182)
Schenectady (14)
Shreveport (31)
Sioux City (6)
South Bend (17)
Springfield (65)
Springfield (11)
Springfield (7)
St. Joseph (7)
St. Louis (272)
St. Paul (104)
St. Petersburg (25)
Syracuse (30)
Tallahassee (53)
Tampa (87)
Terre Haute (5)
Texarkana (8)
Toledo (33)
Topeka (15)
Traverse City (4)
Tucson (85)
Tulsa (47)
Utica (12)
Watertown (2)
West Palm Beach (7)
Wichita (37)
Winston-Salem (16)
Youngstown (34)
Yuma (9)
Zanesville (4)

Counties

Bristol (75)
Durham (34)
St. Joseph (28)
Webster (3)
Ingham (15)
Cerro Gordo (8)
Tompkins (32)
Macon (21)
Silver Bow (27)
Greene (8)
Kalamazoo (14)
Kent (31)
Hampden (22)
Allen (4)
Guilford (41)
Muskingum (5)
Onondaga (37)
Oklahoma (49)
Fulton (457)
Ward (3)
Fayette (37)
Bibb (38)
Mobile (53)
Erie (151)
El Paso (38)
Linn (12)
St. Louis (275)
Allen (17)
Sedgwick (38)
Lancaster (37)
Marion (106)
Mesa (16)
Ada (58)
Story (10)
San Francisco (1,690)
Jefferson (101)
Ramsey (112)
Jefferson (13)
Yuma (9)
Mecklenburg (73)
Clark (551)
Pueblo (12)
Pulaski (44)
Wexford (3)
Washington (6)
Winnebago (12)
Monroe (92)
Hennepin (234)
Humboldt (36)
Lee (37)
Champaign (15)
Cumberland (79)
Douglas (78)
Wake (97)
Calcasieu (4)
Maricopa (169)
Jackson (182)
Lowndes (7)
Hillsborough (94)
Penobscot (20)
Burleigh (7)
Forsyth (22)
Miami-Dade (358)
Jefferson (78)
Denver (307)
Harrison (15)
Madison (26)
Lane (43)
San Diego (358)
Cook (1,792)
Lucas (48)
New York (8,072)
Kern (27)
Mahoning (35)
Leon (64)
Leflore (6)
Washoe (51)
Jasper (11)
Oneida (38)
Pinellas (44)
Houston (4)
Chemung (6)
San Luis Obispo (40)
Cass (14)
Forrest (6)
Albany (100)
Chatham (193)
St. Louis (42)
Shawnee (14)
Monterey (173)
Lewis and Clark (13)
Broome (25)
Marquette (3)
Fresno (43)
Lafayette (9)
Hinds (49)
Yellowstone (11)
Rapides (8)
Wayne (345)
Vigo (6)
Cayuga (16)
Tulsa (53)
Vanderburgh (10)
Bonneville (5)
Orange (165)
Richmond (35)
Duval (42)
Polk (43)
Buchanan (7)
Hamilton (202)
Calhoun (6)
Palm Beach (146)
Genesee (23)
Sangamon (72)
Montgomery (32)
Muscogee (15)
Adams (8)
Woodbury (6)
Buncombe (86)
Bay (20)
Los Angeles (1,863)
Caddo (32)
Suffolk (1,359)
Schenectady (14)
Olmsted (8)
Warren (12)
Montgomery (73)
Cole (6)
Peoria (16)
Franklin (61)
Multnomah (274)
Bowie (9)
Lauderdale (5)
Grand Traverse (8)
East Baton Rouge (65)
Cuyahoga (223)
Sebastian (19)
Orleans (933)
Pima (93)
Cascade (6)

Regions

Kansas (511)
Colorado (1,596)
Connecticut (867)
North Dakota (215)
Hawaii (779)
Idaho (520)
Nevada (857)
Missouri (930)
District of Columbia (2,676)
Maryland (1,306)
New Mexico (810)
Arizona (1,022)
Arkansas (680)
Nebraska (466)
Oklahoma (380)
New Hampshire (499)
Alabama (831)
Indiana (687)
Ohio (1,283)
Massachusetts (3,085)
Minnesota (828)
Montana (730)
Florida (2,551)
Georgia (1,485)
Oregon (944)
California (7,435)
Iowa (567)
Louisiana (1,489)
Texas (2,882)
Mississippi (774)
Illinois (2,704)
Kentucky (814)
North Carolina (1,570)
Maine (1,075)
Michigan (1,031)
Alaska (1,096)
New York (9,763)

Countries

United States (64,950)

Other geographical areas

Ouachita Mountains (7)
Columbia Plateau (47)
Sonoran Desert (54)
Front Range (USA) (58)
Colorado Plateau (62)
Blue Ridge Mountains (74)
Superior Upland (76)
Ozark Plateau (77)
Alaska Range (82)
Great Basin (USA) (130)
Allegheny Plateau (173)
Cumberland Plateau (211)
Gulf Of Mexico (243)
Central Valley (290)
The Bay Area (313)
Rocky Mountains (370)
Coast Ranges (USA) (388)
Canadian Shield (805)
Piedmont (USA) (1,063)
Appalachian Mountains (1,111)
Central Lowlands (North America) (1,334)
Southwestern United States (1,729)
Carolinas (2,142)
Polynesia (2,166)
Great Plains (2,255)
Gulf Coast (USA) (2,573)
Southern California (2,840)
Upper Midwest (2,971)
Northern California (3,440)
Deep South (4,776)
West Coast (USA) (5,046)
New England (5,830)
North Atlantic Ocean (8,812)