One of my favorite pastimes is storytelling. I don't have a lot of stories, but the ones I tell are really good, and my delivery has been honed and perfected over multitudinous retellings. I'm not sure that a blog is the best format for storytelling, but I'm going to give it a go. Let me know what you think in the comments.
After the jump, I will tell you the amazing TRUE story of Bozo and the Santa Claus Horror Show!
I'm not sure why Rootie Kazootie is being referred to as "Rootie Tootie" here. But it sure is golden! The original Rootie Kazootie puppet is now owned by none other than Chuck McCann, the funnyman featured a little earlier in the show. I think Kazootie and McCann ought to go out on the road!
When I was a kid, the theme song to this show got me amped up higher than a full pot of coffee. A few years back, I was accepting an award for Spumco at the Annie Awards and I had my chihuahua with me to help accept. All of a sudden, I heard barking and catterwallering coming from the bag I had her in. I peeked inside and she looked as confused as I did. I turned around, and a few feet away stood Paul Winchell, trying to look inconspicuous as he threw his voice into my dog's mouth. Highlight of my life right there!
Here's a great bit of improvised hilarity by kidvid pioneer, Chuck McCann. I ran into Chuck at Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake and asked him about this skit. He said that it was intended as a parody of Dick Tracy, but his producers wouldn't let him use the comic strip's name. He was told to change the name of the character to something else. Chuck fumed for a minute, then brightened. "We'll call him DICK H. DUMP!" His producer wasn't sure... "Isn't that name kind of dirty?" "NO!" Chuck replied. "You just have a dirty mind." The name stayed.