BOB KEESHAN

'Robert James Keeshan' (June 27 1927 – January 23 2004) was an American actor who played the original "Clarabell the Clown" on the ''Howdy Doody'' television program. He is most famous as the star and title character of the children's show ''Captain Kangaroo''.
Keeshan was born in Lynbrook, New York, and attended Fordham University after serving in the United States Marine Corps reserve during World War II. He later became an honorary member of Dartmouth College's Class of 1942.
On ''Howdy Doody'', Keeshan played "Clarabell", a silent clown who mainly communicated by honking horns attached to a belt around his waist (one of the horns meant "yes"; the other horn meant "no"). Clarabell often spritzed Buffalo Bob Smith with a seltzer bottle and played practical jokes.
Keeshan played the children's show host ''Captain Kangaroo'' for over three decades. Frequently recurring characters included Mr. Green Jeans (played by Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum), and puppets such as "Bunny Rabbit" and "Mr. Moose." He also had a Saturday morning show called Mister Mayor during the 1964-65 season.

Contents

After ''Captain Kangaroo''

War service

Awards

Trivia

Quotes

Gallery

External links

After ''Captain Kangaroo''

After ''Captain Kangaroo'' ended, Keeshan hosted 1985's ''CBS Storybreak'', which featured animated versions of children's literature. Keeshan appeared in framing sequences for the animated stories, showcasing the book versions and suggesting similar books for the viewers to seek out.
In 1987, Keeshan founded Corporate Family Solutions with former Tennessee Republican Governor Lamar Alexander. The company provided day-care programs to businesses.
Keeshan lived on Melbury Road in Babylon Village, Long Island, New York before moving to spend the last 14 years of his life in Vermont, where he became a children's advocate as well as an author. His memoirs, entitled ''Good Morning, Captain'', were published in 1995 by Fairview Press.
Keeshan was a strong advocate against video game violence and took part in the congressional hearings in 1993.
Keeshan died in Windsor, Vermont, at the age of 76 of natural causes. He was survived by 3 children. His wife of 40 years, Anne Jeanne Laurie Keeshan, had died in 1990.

War service

A persistent rumor says that U.S. actor Lee Marvin appeared on television and talked about serving under one of the bravest men, he ever knew: Bob Keeshan. However, while both men were U.S. Marines during World War II, Lee Marvin's last battle was the Battle for Saipan, while Keeshan was too young to see any combat in that war. [1].

Awards

Keeshan received many awards, including:

★ Five Emmy Awards (1978, 1981-1984)

★ Three Peabody Awards (1958, 1972, 1979)

★ National Education Award, 1982

★ Kennedy Center Honors, 1987

★ Induction into the Clown Hall of Fame, 1990

★ American Medical Association Distinguished Service Award, 1991

★ Induction into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, 1998

Trivia

★ Bob Keeshan's grandson, Britton Keeshan, became the youngest person at the time to climb the Seven Summits when he summited Mount Everest in May 2004. He did so carrying photos of his grandfather, and buried a photo of the two of them at the summit of Everest ([2]).

★ An internet rumor purports that Lee Marvin appeared on "The Tonight Show" and said he had served in the Marine Corps fighting alongside Keeshan at the Battle of Iwo Jima. There is no truth to this tale. Marvin never told the story, never served on Iwo Jima (having been invalided out after the battle of Saipan months earlier), and Keeshan never saw combat in any form, having enlisted just before the end of the war. [3]

Quotes

★ "The responsibility of parents is to raise children who do not need parents."

★ "Children don't drop out of high school when they are 16, they do so in the first grade and wait 10 years to make it official."[4]

Gallery

Bob Keeshan speaking for United Way at Bok Tower

External links

★

★ Biography of Bob Keeshan