Photo Doody (Howdy)
Encyclopedia
Photo Doody is one of the three original Howdy Doody
1940s marionette
s. He is the Howdy figure that was used in Howdy Doody still photo sessions for the Howdy Doody Show and the publicity pictures taken with Buffalo Bob Smith
. The near-stringless Howdy marionette was also used in personal appearances and parades. His arm joints and legs were specially built to hold a pose for advertising and marketing photography. He sat easily in Buffalo Bob Smith's lap.
Photo Doody, made of carved wood, is 30" tall. His face is hand-painted with blue eyes; he has red hair, a gap-tooth grin, pronounced ears and 48 freckles (one for each of the states at the time when the show first went on the air). He wears a western style outfit consisting of blue jeans, a plaid shirt, cowboy boots and a red bandanna.
Prior to the sale, Roger Muir, executive producer of The Howdy Doody Show, owned the puppet. In 1983 Photo Doody was mutilated by vandals who broke into the New York NBC
office of Muir. Puppeteers successfully repaired the damage but Photo Doody still bears neck "scars" where the vandals pulled his head off.
named Photo Doody one of the world's "Top 100 Treasures" for 1997.
In 1998 the Palm Beach
Daily News (The Shiny Sheet), a Palm Beach Post newspaper, identified Palm Beacher TJ Fisher
http://www.tjfisher.com/howdy.html as the Photo Doody high bidder. A "Howdy Doody Comes to Town" front-page feature story profiled Fisher taking Howdy around town in a convertible and dining out with him at local restaurants.
After Buffalo Bob Smith's death in 1998, the Palm Beach Daily News ran a second exposé quoting Americana
and sports memorabilia experts. The article called Photo Doody "priceless" and might "fetch a cool million." Fisher said he would never sell Howdy.
Photo Doody is the only Howdy Doody marionette
to ever be privately owned. The other two original Howdy puppets are museum property — the one used in the show remains on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts
; and the other ("Double Doody") is on permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian.
national TV stint from 1947 to 1960. The program's host, the Buffalo Bob Smith, who created the Howdy character, performed the voice of Howdy. During the show's heyday, Howdy received 1,500 pieces of mail a week.
The network to help promote the sale of color TV sets also used a landmark pioneer in early TV color production, the show. Beginning in 1950, the NBC test pattern featured a picture of Howdy. Photo Doody was the model for the NBC test pattern.
With hundreds of thousands of children in the television viewing audience glued to their TV sets at 5:30 p.m. weekdays, each show opened with Buffalo Bob asking — "Say, kids, what time is it?" The children in the studio audience "peanut gallery
" responded in unison, "It's Howdy Doody time!"
Buffalo Bob Smith did commercials for Wonder Bread, Campbell Soup, Hostess Twinkies and other sponsors that were new to television; it taught marketers the strength of marketing to children.
Howdy Doody
Howdy Doody is an American children's television program that was created and produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on NBC in the United States from 1947 until 1960. It was a pioneer in children's television programming and set the pattern for many similar shows...
1940s marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
s. He is the Howdy figure that was used in Howdy Doody still photo sessions for the Howdy Doody Show and the publicity pictures taken with Buffalo Bob Smith
Buffalo Bob Smith
Buffalo Bob Smith was the host of the children's show Howdy Doody.-Biography:...
. The near-stringless Howdy marionette was also used in personal appearances and parades. His arm joints and legs were specially built to hold a pose for advertising and marketing photography. He sat easily in Buffalo Bob Smith's lap.
Photo Doody, made of carved wood, is 30" tall. His face is hand-painted with blue eyes; he has red hair, a gap-tooth grin, pronounced ears and 48 freckles (one for each of the states at the time when the show first went on the air). He wears a western style outfit consisting of blue jeans, a plaid shirt, cowboy boots and a red bandanna.
The historic sale
Photo Doody sold at Leland's auction house in 1997 for $113,432 to a private collector. The legendary Howdy Doody sale made international print and broadcast headline news.Prior to the sale, Roger Muir, executive producer of The Howdy Doody Show, owned the puppet. In 1983 Photo Doody was mutilated by vandals who broke into the New York NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
office of Muir. Puppeteers successfully repaired the damage but Photo Doody still bears neck "scars" where the vandals pulled his head off.
After the sale
Following the 1997 auction, Art and Antiques MagazineArt and Antiques Magazine
Art & Antiques is an American arts magazine.-1984 launch:Art & Antiques began with the March, 1984, issue, also called the "Premier Issue." While the magazine disclaimed any connection to a previous publication of the same name, the company had in fact bought the rights from a previous magazine...
named Photo Doody one of the world's "Top 100 Treasures" for 1997.
In 1998 the Palm Beach
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
Daily News (The Shiny Sheet), a Palm Beach Post newspaper, identified Palm Beacher TJ Fisher
TJ Fisher
TJ Fisher is a Southern author, documentarist and social critic who lives in New Orleans, Louisiana and Palm Beach, Florida.- Career :Prior to being an author, Fisher had taken jobs as a journalist, gossip columnist, documentary filmmaker and ad agency/PR executive.- Post-Katrina :After Hurricane...
http://www.tjfisher.com/howdy.html as the Photo Doody high bidder. A "Howdy Doody Comes to Town" front-page feature story profiled Fisher taking Howdy around town in a convertible and dining out with him at local restaurants.
After Buffalo Bob Smith's death in 1998, the Palm Beach Daily News ran a second exposé quoting Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
and sports memorabilia experts. The article called Photo Doody "priceless" and might "fetch a cool million." Fisher said he would never sell Howdy.
Photo Doody is the only Howdy Doody marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
to ever be privately owned. The other two original Howdy puppets are museum property — the one used in the show remains on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
; and the other ("Double Doody") is on permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian.
The show
The idyllic half-hour Howdy Doody Show — legendary as the first children's program to appear on TV and a pioneer in children's programming that set the pattern for many shows — aired for a near-record 2,343 episodes during its 13-year NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
national TV stint from 1947 to 1960. The program's host, the Buffalo Bob Smith, who created the Howdy character, performed the voice of Howdy. During the show's heyday, Howdy received 1,500 pieces of mail a week.
The network to help promote the sale of color TV sets also used a landmark pioneer in early TV color production, the show. Beginning in 1950, the NBC test pattern featured a picture of Howdy. Photo Doody was the model for the NBC test pattern.
With hundreds of thousands of children in the television viewing audience glued to their TV sets at 5:30 p.m. weekdays, each show opened with Buffalo Bob asking — "Say, kids, what time is it?" The children in the studio audience "peanut gallery
Peanut gallery
A peanut gallery is an audience that heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest seats in the theater; the least expensive snack served at the theater would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage...
" responded in unison, "It's Howdy Doody time!"
Buffalo Bob Smith did commercials for Wonder Bread, Campbell Soup, Hostess Twinkies and other sponsors that were new to television; it taught marketers the strength of marketing to children.