Gotta Love Ho-Ho

[Matt]

I think the other dog was named Jeanie. She is the one I am told died.

She's the one that was taken to the vet.

No dog died on TV. The end.

[bornhere]

But HoHo did play Eddie Haskell on "Leave It To Beaver."

[jane10357]

I'm no Ho-Ho expert, but I did go to school with his kids and was good friends with his daughter Charmagne (AKA Cha Cha). I visited in their home a few times. Jeanie, the dog, did die on the air and Pokie, the sock puppet couldn't actually "see" it since alas his eyes weren't too great. :-)

As for Foreman Scotty, I was on his show a couple of times and even got to ride "Woody" the birthday horse. Once when my family was eating at Kips Big Boy he was there with his family - that's when I saw him driving a baracuda...wow...he was really "hot" for an old guy! ha.

[SoonerDave]

But HoHo did play Eddie Haskell on "Leave It To Beaver."

Huh? If there's a joke here, I'll have to play dumb and admit I don't get it...

[USG '60]

I loved the "character" Hollywood Harry. I loved to watch him talk. I taught school in El Reno in '65-'66 and just lived a block from school. HoHo was on during my lunch hour and I would hurry home so as not to miss any of the show while I ate. I never told anyone why I didn't eat at school.

[Matt]

Program details Oklahoma's early TV

"Sugaring" up Jeanie, are, left to right, Ho Ho the Clown, owner of the dog, Miss Fran and Foreman Scotty - Photo ran March 14, 1963

When Oklahoma’s first television station went on the air, at least 35 people crowded around a 12-inch screen at Oklahoma City’s Municipal Auditorium every night. What they watched was amazing at the time: the first fuzzy images coming over the airwaves and crackling to life. Stations in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Ada and Lawton broadcast local talk shows, cooking shows, news, weather and children’s shows. To mention the names of programs such as "Mr. Zing and Tuffy,” "Ho-Ho and Pokey” and "3-D Danny” is to watch the eyes of baby boomers light up with a glow of nostalgia.

"Stateline: Television Pioneers, Part One,” which premieres at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on OETA-13, will examine the rich and entertaining history of Oklahoma’s early local TV programs.

Now in its ninth season, "Stateline” is a regularly scheduled documentary series produced by OETA-The Oklahoma Network that focuses on issues and concerns of Oklahomans. The Emmy Award-winning series produces 10 half-hour documentaries each year, each with an Oklahoma focus. Recent episodes include an investigation into the state’s methamphetamine problem, water as the new oil, a history of the Governor’s Mansion, the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease and the growing homeschooling trend in Oklahoma.

And in case you'll be busy watching something else on Thursday night, this program airs again on Thursday, January 22, at 8:30 p.m., and on Sunday, January 25, at 11:30 a.m., with Part Two coming in March.

[namellac]

Rifleman2C must not have grown up here, or during that time frame.

"The show survived for 29 years" pretty much says it all.

I remember the world seemingly coming to a stop when he passed on in '88. It was like a member of the family had passed.

And now I can't get his theme song out of my head! Anybody know the name of the tune????

I'll be watching that show tonight for sure!

[Matt]

And now I can't get his theme song out of my head! Anybody know the name of the tune????

There's no Statute of Limitations to bump a thread here, is there?



I don't know what the theme song (if any) was like in the early days, but the Ho-Ho's Showplace of my day used this song (starting at around 1:39).

[RadicalModerate]

If Nicola Tesla wanted to hire a combo for a shindig--verging on a hootenanny--out there by The Electrical Tower he could have done worse than hiring wandering keyboardists Robert Moog and Larry Welk. But he did so he didn't.

[Bellaboo]

I read the bio of Ed Birchall in an earlier post. I know that Ed worked for my dad at Aero Comander at Wiley Post airport back in the 1960's.......when he left there, it was when he got his full time job as a clown.

[SoonerDave]

After hearing that theme, I still think there was a different, less "electric" version at one point, but I don't recall with certainty.

This was a nice thread bump. We need to remember the contribution to the community folks like HoHo provided, and how that era of locally produced television is now essentially extinct. Foreman Scotty was the other local show that's been mentioned in this thread, and it was, for a local show, a fairly large-scale production - big sets, story arcs, multiple episodes taped each day - it was a tremendous thing. I got to be on the ol' Circle 4 Ranch twice as a kid. Great stuff. Foreman Scotty used to drive huge crowds with appearances at the State Fair, one year to provide secret decoder cards to foil the evil Count, which was played by Danny Williams. Great, fun, creative stuff.

[reverend]

this thread brings up some memories for me. As for me, I am too young to have enjoyed HoHo, but my older brother adored HoHo as a child of the 80s. I can remember as a kid strolling through Shepherd Mall with my family and they had a HoHo exhibit in one of the (many) empty storefronts. My brother had tears rolling down his face. Anyone else remember this exhibit at Shepherd Mall?

[Jim Kyle]

Speaking of Danny Williams, I learned yesterday that he's in hospital with cardiac problems...

[RadicalModerate]

I'm sorry to say that I was previously unaware of how good Ho Ho was since I didn't grow up around here. I was aware of him as a media character in the background but that's about all . . . This guy was great!

(to the tune of that old MTV standard):
"Technology killed the video clown . . ."

[RadicalModerate]

Please allow me a brief moment to apologize for the updated, implied, metaphor, above.
I just spent about two hours watching CREATE (a semi-federallyfunded subsidiaryofpbs/npr) then clicked the dial to K4(Four) to listen/view the newz.
Suggestion: Delete the OgleRant/BarbieDoll and just let Bob Mills run the show. (its a "believabiltiy" thing. i can't believe "the news" unless Bob Mills presents it. Bob Mills and The BMWDude (ho-hos sock puppet =)

[Matt]

After hearing that theme, I still think there was a different, less "electric" version at one point, but I don't recall with certainty.

You're right. The earlier (original?) theme was the theme from the 1962 movie The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm. For the show they used a cover version done by Henry Mancini in 1963. That doesn't seem to be on YouTube, but the original, done by the David Rose Orchestra, is, and the two versions are very similar.