Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo, died at 76 in 2004. He started his career as Clarabelle the Clown on the Howdy Doody show. He then created the low-keyed children's host that shows television need not be a wasteland. It was entertaining and educational, and ran for over 30 years.
Keeshan taught his young viewers two "magic phrases": please and thank you. Captain Kangaroo provided a safe place for children to start their day in a warm television Treasure House where bears danced, clocks read poems, and rabbits apologized for stealing carrots.
From the day the Captain made his debut on CBS in 1955, Keeshan took a different approach. There was no audience of screaming kids clamoring for prizes, no attempt to produce a kiddie version of vaudeville. Instead, there was just Keeshan, made up to look like everyone's ideal grandfather, interacting with a few TV friends: Mr. Green Jeans (the late Hugh Brannum), Grandfather Clock, Bunny Rabbit, and Mr. Moose.
The format changed over the years, but simplicity was always the watchword. The Captain would introduce a Tom Terrific cartoon or read a story. Mr. Moose would tell a joke as Ping-Pong balls dropped from the ceiling. Mr. Green Jeans would bring in a baby animal.
Rather than feed off children's nervous energy, as shows do today, Keeshan calmed his audience. He asked kids to slow down, sit for a moment and listen to a story. The effort earned him many awards and many more fans, even though he made no attempt to appeal to adults or older children.
The Captain was even mentioned in a song by the Statler Brothers a few years ago, "Counting Flowers on the Wall."
CBS dumped Kangaroo in 1984 to make more room for a morning news show that could compete with NBC's Today. Captain Kangaroo moved to PBS for a while and then disappeared.
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