- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRobert James Keeshan
- Nickname
- Bob
- Television producer and host Robert James Keeshan was born in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York. As a young man he served in the US Marine Corps Reserve. Starting as a page at the National Broadcasting Company, Keeshan later began his on-air career as the original "Clarabell, the Clown" for the NBC Puppet Playhouse (1947) (aka "The Howdy Doody Show"). He was then the first host/performer of WJZ/WABC TV Ch. 7 NYC's "Time For Fun" / "The Johnny Jellybean Show". Keeshan emceed the show as "Corny The Clown" weekdays at noon from Monday, September 21st, 1953, to Friday, July 29th, 1955. He co-created, co-produced and hosted "Tinker's Workshop" with Jack Miller on WJZ/WABC TV Ch. 7 in New York City weekday mornings from Monday, November 15, 1954 to Friday, September 9, 1955. The show continued without Robert until Friday August 22, 1958. The later hosts of the show were Henry Burbig, Gene London & Dom DeLuise.
When asked to put together a show for children, he leaped at the chance. On Monday, October 3rd, 1955, Captain Kangaroo (1955) began its near 30-year run on CBS, until it was moved to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the 1980s. There was a lot of fun in the "Treasure House", with Bunny Rabbit swindling carrots before lunch from The Captain or Mister Moose finding yet another way to get the Captain to stand still long enough to drop dozens of ping-pong balls down on the ever-unsuspecting Captain's head. Dennis (Cosmo Allegretti) asking so many questions that Mister Bainter would almost always lose his cool. All the while during this, Captain Kangaroo taught us values and gave those with busy or absent fathers a gentle and caring male role model to learn good behavior and manners from. A love of reading was encouraged and the animals that Mister Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum) showed allowed children who had never seen a particular animal to experience it though his fascination with it. During its run in 1964, Keeshan also took on a Saturday morning persona as "Mister Mayor" for a year, but remained the Captain until the end of its run on PBS in 1993. Over the years he and the show won six Emmy's and three Peabody Awards, totaling nine awards, altogether, and he was also elected to the Clown Hall of Fame.
In 1989 he published "Growing Up Happy" and then in October of 1996 he published "Good Morning Captain: 50 Wonderful Years with Bob Keeshan, TV's Captain Kangaroo". Keeshan is also the author of the "Itty Bitty Kitty" children's book series. Widowed in the 1990s, he died in Vermont in 2004.- IMDb Mini Biography By: re-written by Mean John Dean
- SpouseAnne Jeanne Laurie(December 30, 1950 - February 25, 1996) (her death, 3 children)
- ChildrenMichael Derek KeeshanLaurie Margaret KeeshanMaeve Jeanne Keeshan
- Bright red jacket with huge pockets, hence the name "Captain Kangaroo"
- Received his Bachelor of Science degree in education from Fordham University (1951).
- He quit smoking following a severe heart attack.
- He was not a Dartmouth student, but he certainly was a member of the Dartmouth family. He was an adopted member of the class of 1942, and received an honorary doctorate from the college in 1975. His son, Michael Keeshan, is a 1973 graduate of Dartmouth and a 1975 graduate of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business; his daughter, Laurie Keeshan, graduated in 1975. Keeshan's grandson, Britton Keeshan, received a master's degree from Dartmouth in 2006. Mr. Keeshan was a regular visitor to the college in his latter years, and lived just across the river in nearby Norwich and Hartford, Vermont, for a number of years until his death in 2004.
- In the original version of Captain Kangaroo, Keeshan endorsed two brands of candy bars. He stopped them, in order to lessen the "commercial" aspect of this show.
- Served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve near the end of the second World War. Accounts that he was a platoon sergeant on Iwo Jima are incorrect. Keeshan was only 17 during Iwo Jima and could not have made platoon sergeant in any way. As for being over Lee Marvin, that is also false, as Marvin and Keeshan did not serve in the same battles.
- Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent.
- Just as actors are afraid of child audiences because they're so honest, I would be scared stiff of going before the big folks.
- Play is the work of children. It's very serious stuff.
- One of the worst things about television is that it sows nitpicking and reaps cynicism. Let's face it: There are simply too many shows on TV which should be canceled because *somebody* will find them objectionable; on the other hand, if you succeed at weeding them all out, you'll be lucky if you're left with "Sesame Street" and "The 700 Club". There! I rest my case.
- One of the surest ways to find more time in your life is by not watching television. What's ironic is that, before TV was invented, some of us dismissed reading books as being similarly wasteful.
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