If you can I.D. this show, you're good...

[Stanislav]

Vague memories of an obscure kiddie show seen in the NY-NJ-CT area back in the mid-to-late 60's. There was a guy who was host of the show, and he would sit next to a TV monitor on which a moose (either Bullwinkle, if actually licensed by Jay Ward, or a clone so close to Bullwinkle as to constitute major infringement) appeared and interacted with the host. The moose was a sort of cut-out animation, but in real time -- it was like one of those cheap Halloween skeleton hangings that have the hinged shoulders and elbows that allow for a herky-jerky kind of motion. (My guess is that it might have been manipulated by someone in front of a blue screen or similar technology.) I remember nothing else about the show (I think he showed cartoons, maybe) except that the host was a really bad actor, and the TV screen pseudo-Bullwinkle was so cheap, it offended even my adolescent sensibilities.

I swear on a stack of TV Guides that I saw this. Latter half of the 60's. Probably a local NYC station. (It was too, TOO crappy to have been syndicated, IMHO...) Ring any bells? Or was this just a bad dream from my childhood?

 

[David67]

Vague memories of an obscure kiddie show seen in the NY-NJ-CT area back in the mid-to-late 60's. There was a guy who was host of the show, and he would sit next to a TV monitor on which a moose (either Bullwinkle, if actually licensed by Jay Ward, or a clone so close to Bullwinkle as to constitute major infringement) appeared and interacted with the host. The moose was a sort of cut-out animation, but in real time -- it was like one of those cheap Halloween skeleton hangings that have the hinged shoulders and elbows that allow for a herky-jerky kind of motion. (My guess is that it might have been manipulated by someone in front of a blue screen or similar technology.) I remember nothing else about the show (I think he showed cartoons, maybe) except that the host was a really bad actor, and the TV screen pseudo-Bullwinkle was so cheap, it offended even my adolescent sensibilities.

I swear on a stack of TV Guides that I saw this. Latter half of the 60's. Probably a local NYC station. (It was too, TOO crappy to have been syndicated, IMHO...) Ring any bells? Or was this just a bad dream from my childhood?

It wasn't Fractured Fairy Tales,was it?

 

[wbhist]

If it was New York City, it sounds like the kind of thing that would have been put together by and aired on WOR-TV (Ch. 9), which had essentially a zero budget for its locally-based programs, thanks to then-owners RKO General.

 

[landtuna]

I remember Eyewitless Newz with Bill and Roger on WABC. Some similarities.

Do I win?

 

[Stanislav]

I remember Eyewitless Newz with Bill and Roger on WABC. Some similarities.

Do I win?

Yeah, but which one was the moose? ;D

 

[LKellerIII]

Could it possibly have been 4 years earlier? About 61? When the Bullwinkle Show premiered in prime-time on NBC, the cartoons were bridged with comic bits by Bullwinkle puppet...I vaguely remember this, and found the link (see below). I don't believe there was a host - just the puppet. This only lasted a few weeks - there was an incident that POed the network (details at the link), and the suits insisted that the puppet be removed from the show. Jay Ward then put back in the old filler they used for the earlier Rocky and his Friends show.


http://www.toontracker.com/bullwink/bullwink.htm

 

[Stanislav]

I was waiting for someone to suggest the short-lived Bullwinkle puppet fiasco (and probably should have mentioned it in my original post to stave off such a suggestion). NO, this has nothing to do with that show, which I am familiar with (but never saw at the time) -- we're not talking felt and cloth puppet here -- read the original post.

 

[wbhist]

Could this program have possibly been The Surprise Show? That program used a system called "Aniforms" (developed by puppeteer Morey Bunin) which seems to match what you've described. One of the people involved in this program was voice artist Jim Boyd (not to be confused with the recently-deceased "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" singer Jimmy Boyd - although many have indeed confused the two), who later became a regular on The Electric Company. Other voice artists included Wayland Flowers (of Madame fame) and Cleavon Little. It was on WPIX (Ch. 11) from 1965 to 1966 (I was off by one channel), and indeed one of the characters was called "Bullwinkle." However, for the second season WPIX management pulled an RKO and cut the characters, and rebranded the show as Hank Stohl Presents which ran until 1967.

 

[LKellerIII]

I was waiting for someone to suggest the short-lived Bullwinkle puppet fiasco (and probably should have mentioned it in my original post to stave off such a suggestion). NO, this has nothing to do with that show, which I am familiar with (but never saw at the time) -- we're not talking felt and cloth puppet here -- read the original post.

Excuuussse me...I did read the original post. But I've learned from my own experience that memory - especially 40 plus years out - is an often unreliable thing. When I read information on the internet regarding old movies and TV shows - I'll sometimes find - for example - that some show I was sure I first saw when I was in 6th grade wasn't on the air until I was in 8th grade. Similarly, I'll see some episode I remember from 40 years ago, and it will be quite different than my memory.

That's why I made the Bullwinkle puppet suggestion.

 

[Ultimajock]

Could this program have possibly been The Surprise Show? That program used a system called "Aniforms" (developed by puppeteer Morey Bunin) which seems to match what you've described. One of the people involved in this program was voice artist Jim Boyd (not to be confused with the recently-deceased "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" singer Jimmy Boyd - although many have indeed confused the two), who later became a regular on The Electric Company. Other voice artists included Wayland Flowers (of Madame fame) and Cleavon Little. It was on WPIX (Ch. 11) from 1965 to 1966 (I was off by one channel), and indeed one of the characters was called "Bullwinkle." However, for the second season WPIX management pulled an RKO and cut the characters, and rebranded the show as Hank Stohl Presents which ran until 1967.

...a demonstration of the Aniforms system took place on an installment of the 1972 revival of I've Got a Secret. YouTube used to have a kinnie of the spot, but I can't find it now...

 

[Stanislav]

Could this program have possibly been The Surprise Show? That program used a system called "Aniforms" (developed by puppeteer Morey Bunin) which seems to match what you've described. One of the people involved in this program was voice artist Jim Boyd (not to be confused with the recently-deceased "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" singer Jimmy Boyd - although many have indeed confused the two), who later became a regular on The Electric Company. Other voice artists included Wayland Flowers (of Madame fame) and Cleavon Little. It was on WPIX (Ch. 11) from 1965 to 1966 (I was off by one channel), and indeed one of the characters was called "Bullwinkle." However, for the second season WPIX management pulled an RKO and cut the characters, and rebranded the show as Hank Stohl Presents which ran until 1967.

That would almost HAVE to be it -- everything fits. I imagine the Bullwinkle character had to be licensed from Jay Ward if they were actually calling it by that name. I do recall that the voice for "Bullwinkle" certainly sounded "off" to my young ears, and not quite like Bill Scott's vocal characterization in the cartoons.