Daryl Laub is a television and radio personality who worked for stations in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, USA, from the 1950s until his retirement in 1993. He worked in a variety of different roles and created several children's show characters, including "J. P. Patches

J. P. Patches

J.P. Patches is a clown portrayed by Seattle entertainer Chris Wedes . The J.P. Patches Show was one of the longer-running locally-produced children's television programs in the United States, having appeared on Seattle TV station KIRO channel 7 from 1958 to 1981...

"

J. P. Patches

In 1953, he joined WTCN, channel 11, (now KARE

KARE

KARE, digital channel 11, is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota and portions of western Wisconsin. It also operates KARE WX NOW, formerly known as NBC Weather Plus on its second digital subchannel...

) where he first created his "Skipper Daryl" character. Later that year, the clown "J. P. Patches" premiered. He played the role for two years until crosstown rival KSTP-TV

KSTP-TV

KSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States....

, channel 5, hired him away. Chris Wedes took up the Patches character when Laub left and eventually carried him to KIRO-TV

KIRO-TV

KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...

 in Seattle, Washington (1957). J. P. Patches inspired a similar character on Portland TV called "Rusty Nails

Rusty Nails

Jim Allen portrayed the clown character Rusty Nails and was the host of various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon, U.S. television market from 1957–1972...

", who Matt Groening

Matt Groening

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....

 cites as one of his influences in creating "The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

" character "Krusty the Clown".

Later career

Meanwhile, at KSTP TV, Laub changed his clown to become "T. N. Tatters" and changed his nautical character to "Captain Daryl". His shows were scheduled back-to-back, so he had to do a quick costume and makeup change in order to play both of them each day. Captain Daryl & J.P. Patches were the first costumed children's TV personalities in Minneapolis-St. Paul and were also among the first in the area to be broadcast in color.

After his stint on television, he went on to work in KSTP's radio division, then spent nearly thirty years at KQRS-FM (ABC Radio) where he worked in sales and eventually became the station manager.

The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting

Pavek Museum of Broadcasting

The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting is a museum in St. Louis Park, Minnesota which has one of the world's most significant collections of vintage radio and television equipment. It originated in the collection of Joe Pavek, who began squirreling away unique radios while he was an instructor at...

honored Laub's contribution to the region by entering him into their Hall of Fame in 2003.

External links

• Julian West. Twin Cities Local Kid Shows. TVparty.com.
• Daryl Laub. Pavek Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame.