These postcards were apparently given out at a special Easter event at Dayton’s department store. I don’t have details, but two cards refer to “Bunny Breakfast” and the third mentions “Bunny Parties.” I believe that is Mary Davies dressed as Bunny, along with Allan Lotsberg as The Magician. Of course, Allan also played Willie Ketchem […]
Here is a transcript from 1953 of The Night Before Christmas by Clellan Card, known to all of us as Axel on Channel 4. This was apparently sent by Card to listeners of WCCO. Compare this to the version published in 1938, and what was recorded in 1964 Here is the 1964 recording Thanks […]
And here is another classic Christmas bit, performed by Clellan Card as Axel. This is an audio recording of classic Christmas poem that Axel would read on the air every year. It also features Mary Davies as Carmen the Nurse. Unfortunately no actual video survives. This recording was sold for many years on a 45 […]
Don Stolz (center) with Axel and others in 1954 The legendary Don Stolz has passed away at the age of 97. He’s long been known as the owner and creative force behind the Old Log Theater in the Twin Cities, but he his role in children’s TV is why we remember him here. He worked […]
It was hard to grow up in Minnesota and not know Carmen the Nurse. As Carmen, Mary Davies was costar to Clellan Card’s Axel from 1954 until Card passed away in 1966. After that, Mary Davies hosted her own program, Carmen’s Cottage which was paired up with Clancy and Willie on weekday mornings until 1977. […]
This is a bit of a holiday tradition for kids that grew up in Minnesota. Clellan Card’s annual performance of A Night Before Christmas!
Here is a very rare home movie from 1964 of the Minneapolis Aquatennial Parade. At about the 6:30 mark there are a few seconds featuring WCCO’s Axel.
In the mid-1950s, Clellan Card appeared as Olaf the Janitor on the WCCO-TV program The Mel Jass Show to provide comedy relief.
In 1964, WCCO-TV issued a seven-inch record that featured Axel’s famous version of “The Night Before Christmas” on one side, and “Close Call for Santa” starring Clancy the Cop and Willie Ketchem on the other. Both sides were produced by Allan Lotsberg (Willie Ketchem), who also wrote the Clancy & Willie story. Clellan Card […]
Item from Northrup King Company Records, Minnesota Historical Society; photographed by Rebecca Pavlenko. The Night Before Christmas This is a transcription of Clellan Card’s 1938 parody of the famous poem, “The Night Before Christmas.” It’s likely that this was the first time that Clellan performed it publicly, and his recitation of it became an annual […]