Re: Three Tons of Fun...?

["'A. Joseph Ross'" <lawyer@world.std.com>]

On Sat, 1 Aug 1998, Robert Jackson wrote:

>  After watching the Buffalo Bob Smith memorial on A&E this evening, I
> wondered if my memory is correct in thinking that Buffalo Bob featured
> a few movies on his show during the 50s? 

There was a Buffalo Bob Smith memorial?  And I missed it?  Damn!

(That last word was a "Howdy Doody Don't"!)

You are quite correct that the Howdy Doody Show regularly featured a
segment of old-time silent movies, with Buffalo Bob narrating the movie.
The "Tons of Fun" was one of several sets of features they used.  In fact,
I think I have a Howdy Doody show on video which features them.  Buffalo
Bob said their names were Vic, Clint, and Bullets.  Later, he began
calling them "Buffalo Vic, Buffalo Clint, and Buffalo Bullets."  This
apparently was conected with the fact that his older brother Vic appeared
on the show a couple of times as "Buffalo Vic."

When the show went to color in 1955, the Old-Time Movie was replaced, for
awhile, by some British color cartoons.  Eventually, they were brought
back and continued until the show moved to Saturday morning in June 1956.

In fact, the Old-Time Movie was the occasion for a very funny storie that
Buffalo Bob used to tell while he was doing the college circuit in the
early 70s.  It seems that on Halloween Night, 1951, he was sitting in the
Peanut Gallery narrating the Old Time Movie, about someone who was falling
asleep so much that Buffalo Bob called him "Rip Van Winkle."  A boy began
tugging his arm saying, "Buffalo Bob, hafta tinkle!"  Well, the Buff
couldn't take him tinkling, so he pointed in the direction of several
camara men, who were standing around, not doing anything during the movie.

In that same direction, however, in front of the puppet stage, was a large
pumpkin.  And the boy apparently thought Buffalo Bob was pointing at the
pumpkin because that's where he tinkled.  The kids in the Peanut Gallery
began laughing hysterically, saying "Sissy in the Pumpkin, Buffalo Bob!"
When Buffalo Bob saw it, he started laughing, too and had to leave the
set.  Dayton Allen came down from the puppet bridge, finished the movie
narration, and, in fact, finished the show.

Watching at home, you couldn't tell what had happened, except that
everyone was laughing, and Buffalo Bob was gone.  The phone calls and
letters began coming in, and they had to figure out what to say.  So they
wrote the following verse, which they mailed out to people who inquired:

So many of you have asked what happened,
On the night of Hallowe'en,
When everyone was hysterical
And Buffalo Bob had to leave the scene.
It was during an old-time movie
About a man named Rip Van Winkle,
When a four-year-old boy from the Gallery
Told Bob that he had to tinkle.
Well, Buffalo Bob couldn't take him,
So he pointed to someone who could.
But the little kid didn't follow directions,
He just walked to a pumpkin and stood.
Well, the rest of the story is obvious
And we didn't even need a mop,
'Cause our little friend had great aim
And he never spilled a drop.

This was quoted from the book =Howdy and Me= by Buffalo Bob Smith and
Donna McCrohan

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 A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                                         617.367.0468
 15 Court Square                                      lawyer@world.std.com
 Boston, MA 02108-2503                       http://world.std.com/~lawyer/
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