William Stulla (May 24, 1911 – August 12, 2008), also known as Engineer Bill, (1955-1966) was an American

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

host. He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. From 1951 to 1954, he hosted "Bill Stulla's Parlor Party." Later, he hosted Cartoon Express on Los Angeles's

KHJ-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). The two stations share studios at the Rad ...

9 (Ind) from 1954 to 1966; in this position, he won two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s. In addition to the usual cartoons (early era ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'', ''

Spunky and Tadpole ''The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole'' is an animated television series produced by Beverly Hills Productions and syndicated beginning on September 6, 1958. The show's characters were a boy and a bear who hunted down bad guys. The show was mad ...

'', and ''

Colonel Bleep ''Colonel Bleep'' is a 1957 American science fiction animated TV series which was the first color cartoon series made for television. It was created and written by Robert D. Buchanan and Jack Schleh on June 8, 1956, and was animated by Soundac, ...

''), the show included a game called "Red Light, Green Light" where children were given glasses of milk which they would drink when the announcer said "green light" and stop drinking when he said "red light". If they finished their glass before the game was over, they lost and were referred to as "gulpers". Also featured on the show was "Little Mo, the bad habit buster," in which a small model electric train engine attempted to push a model boxcar containing the "bad habit" of the week into a bin, located at the top of an incline. A new bad habit was named on Monday, and the effort concluded, usually successfully, on Friday. Also featured was a "Get Well Wall," in which well-wishes were sent to children who were ill, who were listed as a "Get Well Bell" rung. Bill Stulla closed his show with his signature message to his young audience, "Happy highball, engineers!" In 1966, he retired from broadcasting and became a

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

. He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2008, aged 97. Stulla is credited as an inspiration in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

for the 1966

Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

album, '' Freak Out''.

References

External links

* 1911 births 2008 deaths Emmy Award winners American stockbrokers {{US-tv-bio-stub