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4Wly Doodys DADDY
^efrne you vote, cowtid&i
candidate. t£e efajtdnen'4> c&oice
Bob Smith, left, has no political aspirations,
but when he created puppet Howdy Doody he found
he had a presidential candidate on his hands.
Now, besides a morning Bob Smith Show, Bob runs
a Howdy Doody campaign on WNBC and
WNBT. From young members of the "Peanut
Gallery" — the studio audience — like those above,
come the "Thingamagigs" for Howdy's platform.
BOB SMITH, whose widest fame has come as creator and campaign manager of the puppet Howdy Doody, has been a "little-bit-of -everything" man in radio for the past fifteen years; he's thirty now. After an actively musical childhood, Bob found a spot on WGR in Buffalo, his home town, and became a wellknown local personality. In 1944, while he was running his own show on WBEN, NBC decided he was big-time talent and brought him to WNBC in New York City to do the early-morning (6:30 EST, Mon.-Sat.) Bob Smith Show.
In March, 1947, Bob added NBC's Triple B Ranch to his schedule, and Howdy Doody came into the world. As fun-and-quiz-master on this Saturday morning (9 A.M. EST) program for juniors, Bob decided he needed a foil for his quips. At first, he merely answered himself back in another voice, which he called "Howdy Doody." But as time went by Bob realized that his youthful studio audiences were very disappointed at not being able to see Howdy. So the gang
ling, yellow-haired puppet took physical form, and raced into favor with such meteoric speed that NBC, when it caught its breath, built the Howdy Doody televison show around him (Mon.-Fri., 5:30 P.M.)
Bob's programs still consist of a "bit of everything" — music, games, quizzes and so on — but the important thing right now is, of course, Howdy's campaign for president. It's complete with buttons, a campaign song and ardent young supporters writing in from wherever WNBC and NBT are heard to offer their suggestions for Howdy's platform. He's the choice of the Peanut Gallery (that's what Bob calls his studio audience) and they are the voters of the future!
Working more than twelve hours per week on the air, plus rehearsal and "thinking" time, hasn't left Bob Smith much leisure. But starting this fall his family — his mother, wife Margaret, sons Ronnie and Robin — will see more of him. NBC is building a studio in the basement of the Smith home in New Rochelle, from which Bob's broadcasts will come from now on.
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