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October 3, 1955…”Captain Kangaroo” & “Mickey Mouse Club” Debut

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Eyes Of A Generation.com

October 3, 1955…”Captain Kangaroo” & “Mickey Mouse Club” Debut

What a great day for kids! One new morning show and one new afternoon show!

Above is the whole story of “The Mickey Mouse Club”…a 50 minute video, full of history and the story of how it came to be for ABC and Disney.

At CBS, Bob Keeshan (who started as an NBC page, but later became the original Clarabell on “Howdy Doody”), kicked off a show that would run almost 29 years. By the way, the “Captain Kangaroo” theme song, which we all know by heart, was actually a stock music track from Chappell Music called “Puffin Billy”, which was used from ’55 till ’74.

Below, a shot in from the early years in CBS Studio 54 at Leiderkranz Hall. 53 and 54 were the two smaller upstairs studios there at 111 East 58th Street, and were equipped with Dumont cameras. 55 and 56 were the two larger studios downstairs where the soap operas were done with RCA cameras.

Seen with the Captain is the show’s puppeteer Cosmo Allegretti, who animated Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit, Grandfather Clock, Dancing Bear, and more. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee


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9 responses to “October 3, 1955…”Captain Kangaroo” & “Mickey Mouse Club” Debut”

  1. Alfred Robert Hogan

    Do you know when CAPTAIN KANGAROO shifted production to the second floor of the CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street in NYC please? I know that Election Night 1964 originated from the vast Studio 41 on that floor and that the big shift was going on around that time — Studio 41 was also used for Apollo 11 and some soap operas. I am trying to confirm which studios were used for which space missions.

    Thanks so much for posting this CAPTAIN KANGAROO info and pictures. The program was for years a special favorite, even when I could only watch during school vacations.

  2. Lawrence Manross

    Bunny Rabbit and the ping pong balls!

  3. Frank Scarfino

    I loved both shows when I was a kid. ☺

  4. Philip De Croocq

    PING PONG BALLS!

  5. Robert Barker

    I loved Captain Kangaroo. I learned manners and there was a wry sense of humor on display.

  6. Ray Dilfield

    I was 5 and living in LA when MMC debuted. Fell instantly in love with Karen and couldn’t understand why, since we were both in the same city, I couldn’t go see her.

  7. Marcy Grupp

    Watched both of them as I was the exact target age (a little over 3) for the Captain and Mickey Mouse. Didn’t Captain start at 8:15 in some point of its’ run?

  8. Paul Benjamin Mills

    And I loved them both.

  9. Fred Leonard

    “Puffin’ Billy” was written and recorded as the theme for the BBC Home Service radio “programme” “Children’s Favorites,” in which kids could send in requests to hear recordings. The title of the song refers to a steam locomotive.

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