Smilin' Ed's Gang

[RichPhoenix]

Attention oldest Boomers!

Smilin' Ed McConnell's daughter Jane is looking for any films, kinescopes, videos (whatever) of the old show with Froggie the Gremlin, Midnight the Cat and the usual cast of suspects.

For you young-uns, Smilin' Ed was the originator of the show, which began on the radio, went to TV and upon his death, was taken over by Andy Devine. Over the years, there has apparently been virtually no known preservation of the original TV show which was filmed and appeared on NBC-TV and/or was syndicated.

Now, for those of you who may never have heard of the show (from the early '50s), it was alleged to be a kiddie show, but with characters like Froggie and Midnight, led us Boomers down the road to iconoclasm and questioning authority! Smilin' Ed is regrettably dead these 40+ years, but the memories live on! Thanks!

Rich Phoenix, President
NJ Radio Museum

 

[mwebster]

Re: Froggy

One more morning, after a very heavy snowfall, this big Orange tomcat showed up in front of my place in Brooklyn. My wife and I took him in and stayed back behind the furnace for a few days with a really bad cough. So I named him Froggy, for the frog in his throat. When he and the weather had improved, I let him out to go home but he came back that afternoon. Since male cats tend to mark territory in the house, we took him to the vet. And the vet plucked his magic twanger. (And unlike Ed's cat, Midnight, our Froggy did not say "nice.")

Froggyisms:

"Hiya, kids. Hiya, hiya."

"I'm a good boy. I am. I am."

I'm glad there is somebody else around who remembers Ed. I've seen several references to the program that refer only to Andy Devine, as if he were the original host, with no mention of Ed.

And for pre-boomers: Smilin' Ed's Gang started on radio in 1944. I'm sure OTR collectors have tapes. Same characters, including Froggy. Same sponsor, Buster Brown shoes. On radio, Ed told a wide-range of stories (one advantage of radio). On TV, he just had those really cheap films of an Indian boy and his elephant and an American Indian boy and his pony (both played by the same actor).

I don't I ever persuaded my mother to buy me Buster Brown shoes. I do recall we went into a story that sold them. They had all these in-store displays of Buster Brown and his dog, Tige. And they had this X-ray machine where you could go watch yourself wiggle your toes inside your shoes. I keep expecting to see a news item that some aging boomer has foot cancer and is suing Buster Brown, if they are still around.

 

[bpatrick]

Re: Froggy

> One more morning, after a very heavy snowfall, this big
> Orange tomcat showed up in front of my place in Brooklyn.
> My wife and I took him in and stayed back behind the furnace
> for a few days with a really bad cough. So I named him
> Froggy, for the frog in his throat. When he and the weather
> had improved, I let him out to go home but he came back that
> afternoon. Since male cats tend to mark territory in the
> house, we took him to the vet. And the vet plucked his
> magic twanger. (And unlike Ed's cat, Midnight, our Froggy
> did not say "nice.")
>
> Froggyisms:
>
> "Hiya, kids. Hiya, hiya."
>
> "I'm a good boy. I am. I am."
>
> I'm glad there is somebody else around who remembers Ed.
> I've seen several references to the program that refer only
> to Andy Devine, as if he were the original host, with no
> mention of Ed.
>
> And for pre-boomers: Smilin' Ed's Gang started on radio in
> 1944. I'm sure OTR collectors have tapes. Same characters,
> including Froggy. Same sponsor, Buster Brown shoes. On
> radio, Ed told a wide-range of stories (one advantage of
> radio). On TV, he just had those really cheap films of an
> Indian boy and his elephant and an American Indian boy and
> his pony (both played by the same actor).
>
> I don't I ever persuaded my mother to buy me Buster Brown
> shoes. I do recall we went into a story that sold them.
> They had all these in-store displays of Buster Brown and his
> dog, Tige. And they had this X-ray machine where you could
> go watch yourself wiggle your toes inside your shoes. I
> keep expecting to see a news item that some aging boomer has
> foot cancer and is suing Buster Brown, if they are still
> around.
>
Andy's Gang was in reruns as late as the '70s; I remember
seeing it on WTOG/44 Tampa/St. Petersburg in 1973. I've
never heard of Smilin' Ed's show being rerun.

Smilin' Ed McConnell was a singer with a regular 15-minute
slot, usually either on CBS or NBC-Red (the modern NBC--
NBC-Blue is now ABC) in the 1930s and early '40s.

The Indian boy's name was Gunga Ram, and I think the actor
who played him was named Nino Marcel.