Captain Tugg was the host of a local children's cartoon show that was broadcast in the early 1960s by WTTG, Channel 5, a
Washington, D.C. television station. Captain Tugg was the master of the ''Channel Queen'', a
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
that plied the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Datas ...
, near the capital city. With his parrot, Fantail (a
puppet
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
), he fought spies Spike Marlin and Axel Grackle and the Sea Hag. Lee Reynolds, the actor who played Tugg, also played Commander Salamander and a number of other characters on the show. His skits and adlibbed lines were sandwiched between animated cartoons. On Christmas Eve, the captain would use his onboard radar to track Santa's progress as he made his international rounds.
Cartoon segments
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Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.[The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC tele ...](_blank)
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Space Angel
''Space Angel'' is an animated science fiction television series produced in the United States from early 1962 through 1964. It used the same Synchro-Vox lip technique as '' Clutch Cargo'', the first cartoon produced by the same studio, Cambria P ...
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The Mighty Hercules
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Clutch Cargo
Further reading
*
Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Programs' by Tim Hollis, University Press of Mississippi (2010)
External links
Tugg
Local children's television programming in the United States
American television shows featuring puppetry
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