25 Facts About Bob Keeshan

1.

Robert James Keeshan was an American television producer and actor.

2.

Bob Keeshan created and played the title role in the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day.

3.

Bob Keeshan played the original Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program.

4.

Bob Keeshan was born to Irish parents in Lynbrook, New York.

5.

Bob Keeshan received his bachelor's degree in education in 1951.

6.

Bob Keeshan never saw combat in Europe or Japan, having enlisted too late to serve overseas.

7.

Bob Keeshan had conflicts with Smith and in late 1952 left the show, or possibly was fired, after hiring an agent for himself and other workers on the show.

Related searches
Fred Rogers
8.

Bob Keeshan played Corny the Clown, and this time he spoke.

9.

CBS approved the show, and Bob Keeshan starred as the title character when it premiered on CBS on October 3,1955.

10.

Bob Keeshan described his character as based on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children".

11.

Bob Keeshan had a longtime close friendship with Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

12.

Bob Keeshan did voice recordings for a number of albums for Columbia Records, Golden Records and RCA-Victor.

13.

Bob Keeshan suffered a severe heart attack just moments after stepping off a plane at Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 11,1981, which pushed the start of a revamped version of his show back to at least mid-August.

14.

Bob Keeshan had come to the city to accept a children's service award.

15.

Bob Keeshan underwent triple-bypass surgery and received an estimated 5,000 get-well wishes from fans during his hospitalization.

16.

Tired of CBS's constant reductions of his show, Bob Keeshan left Captain Kangaroo when his contract with the network ended in December 1984, just nine months shy of the show's 30th anniversary.

17.

Bob Keeshan's show was given a farewell of sorts with Captain Kangaroo and Friends, a primetime network TV special that aired in 1985.

18.

Bob Keeshan appeared in framing sequences for the animated stories, showcasing the book versions and suggesting similar books for the viewers to seek out.

19.

Bob Keeshan was a strong advocate against video game violence and took part in congressional hearings in 1993.

20.

Bob Keeshan joined with parents' groups in the 1980s who protested children's TV shows based on toys like He-Man and Transformers, feeling that toys turned into TV shows did not teach children anything about the real world.

21.

Bob Keeshan made a rare film appearance in The Stupids in 1996.

22.

Bob Keeshan was married to Anne Jeanne Laurie Bob Keeshan for 45 years, ending at her death February 25,1996.

23.

Bob Keeshan died in Windsor, Vermont, on January 23,2004, at age 76.

24.

Bob Keeshan was buried in Saint Joseph's Cemetery in Babylon, New York.

25.

Bob Keeshan carried photographs of his grandfather on that ascent, and he buried a photo of the two of them at the summit.

Related searches
Fred Rogers