I’ve been posting a lot of material about Axel over the last few months. I never saw Axel when I was a kid as I was only 3 when he passed away. The first time I had ever head of Axel was when I saw this TV special on WCCO, Channel 4 back in the […]
February 1953 Clellan rejoins WCCO Radio, and he soon begins as the host of Pop the Question, Card’s Corral, and Spinner Sanctum. This time around, however, he only hosts Spinner Sanctum on Saturday nights. 4 April 1953 Clellan begins as the announcer of the Whoopee John Polka Party on WCCO Radio every Saturday night from […]
I am always looking for bits and pieces of Twin Cities television history. This pinback button popped up on ebay recently and I snagged it. Of course, we know Willie Ketchem was the sidekick for Clancy the Cop throughout the 1960s and well into the 1970’s. Willie Ketchem was portrayed by Allan Lotsberg on the […]
Axel launched on August 5, 1954 on WCCO. The photo above is from this very first show. On August 4, the following blurb appeared in the Minneapolis paper. Here is one of the earliest ads to mention the show, from August 12, 1954. And he was soon joined by Mary Davies as Carmen the Nurse […]
Jack Kennelly brings us another archive ad. This shows the WCCO kids show line up in 1958. This comes from the Rochester Post Bulletin newspaper on Feb 4, 1958. At this time, WCCO was dominating afternoons with Axel and his Dog at 5PM, followed by Popeye’s Clubhouse with Dale Woodley at 5:30. But the afternoon […]
Today we look back on one of the first kids show hosts in the Twin Cities. Toby Prin was a popular performer on radio, and later TV from the 1930’s until the late 1950’s. One of the earliest kids shows in the Twin Cities was Toby’s Talent Hunt (also known as Uncle Toby’s Tune Time), […]
Jack Kennelly has shared more clippings featuring Clellan Card as Axel. This article promoted Axel’s appearance at Crazy Day in Rosemount on August 18, 1961. “It will be a Crazy Day in Rosemount,” the article starts. “Axel will be in Rosemount with his usual attractions and entertainment Friday evening.” Other highlights of the day would […]
This is a pinback button promoting Foley Fun Days and Axel’s appearance at the annual summer celebration. Does anyone have any further information? Photo courtesy of Jack Kennelly
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. […]