More Sad News--'Captain Kangaroo' Dies

January 23, 2004, 2:01 PM EST
Montpelier, Vt. -- Bob Keeshan, who gently entertained and educated generations of children as television's walrus-mustachioed Captain Kangaroo, died Friday at 76.

Keeshan, who lived in Hartford, Vt., died of a long illness, his family said in a statement.

Keeshan's "Captain Kangaroo" premiered on CBS in 1955 and ran for 30 years before moving to public television for six more. It was wildly popular among children and won six Emmy Awards, three Gabriels and three Peabody Awards.

The format was simple: Each day, Captain Kangaroo, with his sugar-bowl haircut and uniform coat, would wander through his Treasure House, chatting with his good friend Mr. Green Jeans, played by Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum.

He would visit with puppet animals, like Bunny Rabbit, who was scolded for eating too many carrots, and Mr. Moose, who loved to tell knock-knock jokes. […]

For those of you my age who grew up with television, this is particularly sad. I loved Captain Kangaroo, and the goofy sight gags, and the ring full of keys, and the door with all the little doors, and Mr. Green Jeans, and Mr. Moose, and Mr. Bunny Rabbit, and Dancing Bear, and Grandfather Clock, and the fact that he would sit down and read. I've said it before, but one of the reasons Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is still one of my favorites is because I heard it read on Keeshan's show. It was very personal, as if he was talking just to me.

Captain Kangaroo was fun and and clever and informative, which I know from first hand experience at having to endure numerous stupid Japanimation Saturday mornings with Pokemon and Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh and Sailor Moon.

[…] He was critical of today's TV programs for children, saying they were too full of violence. And he spoke wherever he went about the importance of good parenting.

"Parents are the ultimate role models for children," he said. "Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent."

When Fred Rogers, the gentle host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," died last year, Keeshan recalled how they often spoke about the state of children's programming.

"I don't think it's any secret that Fred and I were not very happy with the way children's television had gone," Keeshan said. […]

Yep.
posted by Terry at 1:38:00 PM