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 […]
Robert Fransen was one of the early television pioneers in the Twin Cities. He started in radio, writing news for the legendary Cedric Adams back in 1949 and was soon working in the new medium of television. In 1950, he was employed at channel 4 (then WTCN, but now WCCO), in a variety of positions. […]
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 […]
Roger Erickson was a Minnesota broadcast legend. For almost 40 years, he was teamed with Charlie Boone on WCCO radio. Boone and Erickson were well known for their humor, storytelling, and interviews. Roger Erickson passed away on October 30, 2017 at the age of 89. Roger Erickson’s long career included playing Bozo the Clown […]
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 […]
Here are some wonderful clips posted by the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting. I believe these date to 1974 or 75. Bob Keeshan, known to kids everywhere as Captain Kangaroo, was in the Twin Cities, probably on a promotional tour. He spent some time at the CBS affiliate, WCCO and filmed some promos for the morning […]
Here’s a rare publicity photo of Bob White (Bob Montgomery) and Dale Woodley, the co-hosts of Popeye’s Clubhouse. The date on the back of the photo is 1956, and there is an address label indicating this may have come from Bob Montgomery. I’ll have to do some more research about Popeye’s Clubhouse. I’ve got […]
Here’s a look at a 1967 postcard from WCCO, signed on the back by Clancy and Willie. It’s signed “to Jennifer.”
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. […]