Like the later
Sesame Street, Canadian, Cuban, and Mexican
spin-off shows were licensed using local casts and duplicate puppets.
La Hora de Jaudi Dudi In March 1953, the Kagran Corporation, the organization which produced the original
Howdy Doody for NBC, started production on
La Hora de Jaudi Dudi, a daily Spanish-language version of the program filmed in Mexico City. The program aired over
Canal 2 in Mexico and, beginning on April 27,
CMQ-TV in Havana, Cuba. According to
Billboard, the series featured a freckleless Howdy puppet and a new puppet named Don Burro. While the aim was to produce a series to distribute to the entirety of Latin America, the company halted production after six months due to unforeseen production difficulties (at the time, Mexican television programming was scarce and often improvised, unlike the American-influenced Cuban market, apart from the fact that Mexican broadcasters weren't interested in foreign production) and market considerations (until 1960, most South American countries did not have television services or
supermarkets; by 1953, the only ones in the region were located in
Havana and
Lima, Peru). 96 half-hour episodes were filmed. Cuban television later launched its own local version, named
Club Chirikin, which lasted through 1959 or early 1960 over CMQ. It was a Monday-Saturday show produced by Stone Associates, a company formed by former Kagran president Martin Stone.
The Canadian Howdy Doody Show The Canadian
Howdy Doody Show was produced by the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and first aired on November 15, 1954. The CBC built its own Doodyville in a Toronto studio, and the show was set in Canada's north. It was more low-budget than its American counterpart, with less raucous plots and fewer villainous villains, as well as a more educational orientation. Most of the puppet characters, including Phineas T. Bluster, the cranky mayor and chief killjoy of Doodyville, Dilly Dally, a foolish carpenter who was usually the butt of Bluster's plots, Flub-a-dub, a beast with a duck's head, cat's whiskers, and the parts of several other animals, Heidi Doody, Howdy's sister, and Howdy himself, of course, were retained from the U.S. production. But it had some major differences from its American cousin. Other puppets included Percival, a parrot, and Mr. X, who zipped through time and space in his "whatsis box". The show had Howdy and Clarabell, but most of the human performers differed in the CBC version. There was no Buffalo Bob, for instance. The show's host was Timber Tom, a forest ranger, played by Peter Mews. Mews later appeared in the films
The Unforeseen,
Folio and
First Performance. He also appeared on television in the 1954 production of
Delilah, and the 1974 mini-series
The National Dream. One of his most notable works was as Matthew Cuthbert in the Charlottetown Festival's production of
Anne of Green Gables, which he played for over twenty years. Peter Mews died on November 24, 1984, at the age of 63. Clarabell was played by
Alfie Scopp. Like the American Clarabell, he communicated in mime, by honking horns on his belt, and by squirting
seltzer. Scopp was born in London England in 1919, and came to Canada with his family when they immigrated to Montreal. Scopp has had a long and glorious career in both television and film. One of his most notable roles was the bookseller Avram in the 1971 film
Fiddler on the Roof. He is also known for being the voice of "Charlie-in-the-Box" on the 1964 television Christmas special,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Toby Tarnow played Princess Pan of the Forest, generally referred to as Pan. Tarnow was born in
Gravelbourg Saskatchewan in 1937. She started studying acting at the
Lorne Green Academy of Radio Arts at the age of eight, and by the age of ten she was already performing professionally on CBC radio. In 1954, she became the first actress to play Anne in the live televised production of the musical adaptation of
Anne of Green Gables. Following her role as Princess Pan on
Howdy Doody, she had a recurring role on the CBC children's program
Mr. Dressup (the spinoff from
Fred Rogers'
Misterrogers, after he took his neighborhood to Pittsburgh). Tarnow's wide career encompassed radio, television, film, theater, and writing. After moving to the United States, she founded the Riverbend School of Theater Arts for the Boys and Girls Club in New Hampshire. In 2010, she was awarded the Children and Youth Theater Award by the New Hampshire Theater Awards.
Barbara Hamilton was Willow the Witch, an absent-minded white witch with a good heart. Known for her work on Canadian stage and television, she was once labelled the funniest woman in Canada. Born in Kingston Ontario, Hamilton attended the University of Toronto before embarking on a career in theatre arts. Her first big break came with a role in
Arsenic and Old Lace at Toronto's historic Royal Alexandra Theatre. From there, she went on to perform in theatres across the country, in works that ranged from classical tragedies to modern comedies. She originated the role of Marilla Cuthbert in both the Canadian and London West End productions of
Anne of Green Gables, and was later a regular on the CBC's
Road to Avonlea, and appeared in many other roles in film and television.
Larry D. Mann played good-natured pirate Cap'n Scuttlebutt. In Canada, the Cap'n was a live character, unlike the American Cap'n, which was a puppet. Mann was also the voice of Flub-a-Dub on the show. Mann was a character actor whose face and acting were often recognizable. Born in Toronto on December 18, 1922, Mann was a disc jockey on radio station 1050 CHUM before he began his acting career. In his four decades of performing, Mann's many credits included
Get Smart,
Gunsmoke,
The Man from Uncle,
Hill Street Blues, and
The Dukes of Hazzard, to mention just a few of his TV appearances. Two of his most prominent movie roles were
In the Heat of the Night (1967) and
The Sting (1973). Larry Mann died in Los Angeles California on January 6, 2014, at the age of 91. Another famous person that appeared on the Canadian
Howdy was the famous singer and later Broadway star
Robert Goulet. He played the character Trapper Pierre. The Canadian show had one other Princess, named Haida, who had the powers of a Medicine Man. The character was played by actress Caryl McBain. Other characters on the show included Jean Cavall as Papa La Touke and Drew Thompson as Mendel Mason. Some sources credit James Doohan (Scotty on the original
Star Trek) as being the first host of the show, playing Ranger Bill for a short time at the beginning of the series. As the story goes, after the chief forest ranger called him away to fight a forest fire in November 1954, Timber Tom, played by Peter Mews, took his place. However, in his autobiography Doohan never credits himself in the role. And the show's first public episode was November 15, so his time on the show was probably very short-lived. Another actress started out playing Princess Pan in 1954. That was
Maxine Miller, who later went on to play Nurse Farmer in the first three seasons of
Misterrogers, the previously mentioned Canadian precursor to ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' in the U.S. She has since appeared in over 120 movies and television shows. A young
William Shatner (later to go on to fame as ''
Star Trek's''
Captain Kirk). would in 1954 be featured on the show as the character Ranger Bob. One of the shows characters was named Mr. X. Not to be confused with the American
Howdy Doody character with the same name, the Canadian Mr. X would teach history to the children watching. To do so, he would travel through space and time in what he called his "Whatsis Box". The actors who voiced the different puppet characters on the Canadian
Howdy Doody Show included Claude Rae (Howdy Doody, Phineas T. Bluster and Mr. X), Jacqueline White (Howdy Doody), Norma MacMillan (Heidi Doody), Donna Miller (Prunella Bluster and Heidi Doody), and Jack Mather (Dilly Dally, Percival Parrot, and other characters). And Larry Mann, who already had experience working with puppets with CBC's Uncle Chichimus, was the voice of Flub-a-dub. The puppeteers who worked the strings were Hal and Renée Marquette. In addition to the adventures of the citizens of Doodyville and the Peanut Gallery, the show also featured film presentation on nature or travel. The scripts were adapted by Cliff Braggins, who also wrote music for the show.
Quentin Maclean provided organ music. The program was produced by Paddy Sampson. After nearly five years on the air, the CBC decided to cancel the show to develop children's programming of its own. The Canadian Howdy Doody's last broadcast was on June 26, 1959. ==Cultural references==