Uncle Al Show
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''The Uncle Al Show'' was a children's television program originating in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. The show was hosted by Cleveland native Al Lewis (1924–2009) (not to be confused with the actor who played Grandpa on ''
The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...
''), and later was co-hosted by his wife, Wanda. The show enjoyed a remarkable 35-year run (1950–1985) on
WCPO-TV WCPO-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based E. W. Scripps Company, which has owned the station since its inception. WCPO-TV's ...
, making it one of the longest-running local children's shows in American TV history. (''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' holds the national record, being on the air continuously since 1969.) ''Uncle Al'' holds the unofficial record for the longest-running regularly-scheduled series with the same host for the show's entire run.


History

The show's origins were completely by happenstance. In the summer of
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...
, then-General Manager Mort Watters asked Lewis (hired on two months earlier as WCPO's first art director) to host an hour-long filler show called ''Al's Corner Drugstore'', in which Lewis, dressed in a
soda jerk Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person—typically a young man—who would operate the soda fountain in a restaurant, preparing and serving carbonated drink, soda drinks and ice cream sodas. The drinks were made ...
's uniform, would take phone-in requests for songs which he would play on his accordion, which would later become one of his many trademarks along with his straw
boater hat __NOTOC__ A boater (also straw boater, basher, skimmer, The English Panama, cady, katie, canotier, somer, or sennit hat) is a semi-formal summer hat for men, which was popularised in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is normally ...
. At that time, the show was not aired in a closed set, so people could walk in from off the street to watch the show in person. Neighborhood children began doing just that, and Lewis, having a natural affinity for children, invited them onto the stage during the show. The same kids would return on subsequent occasions bringing friends, and they all took to calling Lewis "Uncle Al". When mothers began calling into the station requesting tickets to be on ''The Uncle Al Show'', a Cincinnati institution was born. ''The Uncle Al Show'' made its official début on June 12, 1950. Having originally started as a 15-minute outing, it quickly expanded into an hour long show airing three episodes daily: ::First episode: 9–10 am (ET) ::Second episode: 11 am – 12 noon (ET) ::Third episode: 1–2 pm (ET) By the mid-late 1960s the show was scaled back to one 90-minute episode per day from 9 to 10:30 am, running opposite
WLWT WLWT (channel 5) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Young Street, and its transmitter is located on Chickasaw Street, both in th ...
's ''
Paul Dixon Show The ''Paul Dixon Show'' is an American television variety program originating in Cincinnati on WLWT Television beginning in 1955 and ending in December 1974, following Dixon's death. The show began as a 30-minute series expanding to 90 minutes ...
''. By 1955 Uncle Al had become so popular that executives from
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
came to Cincinnati to consult with Al about hosting a similar show on their network; this was before WCPO switched affiliation from
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
to
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in 1961. Station executives understandably refused to release Lewis from his contract, so CBS brass settled on ''
Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell
'' alum
Bob Keeshan Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program ''Captain Kangaroo'', which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longest ...
to host their new kids' show, which became ''
Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...
''. When WCPO switched networks, both shows would run back-to-back on weekday mornings. Lewis' wife Wanda joined the show in 1956. Initially, Wanda was called "Captain Windy", costumed in a
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
-like outfit during the early days of the show, and was seen "flying" Superman-style before she made her entrance on stage. Her shy, quiet manner inspired colleague Paul Dixon to call her "The Windy One" when they co-starred on their own show. Uncle Al's show was picked up by ABC from October 18, 1958, until September 19, 1959.


Uncle Al & the kids

The kids who visited Uncle Al were more than just audience members; most of them were selected to be active participants for different skits on the show. While Wanda would handle the more educational aspects of the show, featuring kids assisting in one way or another, Uncle Al got kids involved as helpers for puppets doing different odd jobs, or he would enlist a child from the crowd on-the-spot to be a barker for games at Uncle Al's circus ''("Step right up! Win a prize!")''. At the age of eight,
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...
appeared in a 1970 episode of ''Uncle Al'' playing a ship's captain in one of the show's skits. By the 1960s, kids who appeared on the show each were given a name-tag sticker in the shape of a bow tie modeled after Uncle Al's sartorial trademark. While the kids were told the name tag was a ticket to get in and a souvenir to take home, the primary reason for them was so that Lewis could refer to each child by name. Initially the tags were plain white, but later included the name of the show to one side, and WCPO's "9" logo to the other, with room in the middle for the child's name. Other activities included dance contests, celebrating birthdays of kids in the audience that day (which was usually done during their trip to the circus near the end of the show) and singing, accompanied by Al himself, who often played either a
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
, a
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
or his trademark
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
singing simple ditties like this one: :''"When we sing together songs are such delight..
Har-mo-nee makes the melody right.."'' Each day the show would end with Uncle Al, Wanda and the kids all singing a prayer on the air before the kids made their way off the stage: :(they sang the first three lines of the prayer) ::''"Help me, God, to love you more,'' ::''Than I ever did before,'' ::''In my work and in my play,'' :(the last five lines they spoke) ::''Please be with me through the day,'' ::''Thank you for the friends we meet,'' ::''Thank you for the food we eat,'' ::''Thank you for the birds that sing,'' ::''Thank you, God, for everything!"'' The cast and the kids would then say their goodbyes and the kids would walk off the set as the closing credits ran. The show's closing theme was the last few verses of the Disney standard ''
It's a Small World It's a Small World (stylized in all lowercase and in quotations or with exclamation mark) is an Old Mill boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at various Disney theme parks around the world. Versions of the ride are installed at Disney ...
'' written by
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
& Richard Sherman.


Unusual moments

In a 1990 interview, Lewis related an incident during a live show where he saw a little girl offstage sitting on his accordion, Lewis often assigned one of the kids' mothers to watch his accordion for him when he wasn't playing it. On this occasion, it was the assigned mother's daughter who was sitting on the accordion. After a commercial break, Lewis went to retrieve the accordion to play it on camera and the keys promptly got stuck; the girl had urinated into his accordion. Thankfully, the instrument was insured and replaced, much to the chagrin of the insurer. In 1984, a young boy on the show started running around the set and breaking props. As fake trees started to fall over during one of Uncle Al's sing-along-songs, they had to cut to commercial break. The young boy’s mother was called out in the audience to come retrieve him and he was never allowed on the show again.


Sponsors

One of the show's many trademarks was when they would go to an external commercial, Uncle Al would get everyone in front of the camera to say "magic words": :''"Ala-kazam one, Ala-kazam two, Ala-kazam three, and POOF!!"'' But on equally frequent occasions, they would do in-studio commercials for various local businesses. These included, but were not limited to: :*
Kahn's Kahn's is an American meat processing and distribution company established in Cincinnati, Ohio. History Originally from Albersweiler in Germany's Rhenish Palatinate, 45-year-old Elias Kahn immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1882 ...
Wieners: Billed at the time as "The Wiener the World Awaited", these commercials sometimes featured a talking puppet in the shape of a "Man in the Moon" frankfurter, possibly created by puppeteer Larry Smith. :*Mama's Cookies: Uncle Al and the kids together would sing a variation of "
Shortnin' Bread "Shortnin' Bread" (also spelled "Shortenin' Bread", "Short'nin' Bread", or "Sho'tnin' Bread") is an American folk song dating back at least to 1900, when James Whitcomb Riley published it as a poem. While there is speculation that Riley may hav ...
" as the jingle in this commercial. :*
Barq's Barq's () is a brand of root beer created by Edward Barq and bottled since the beginning of the 20th century. It is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. It was known as "Barq's Famous Olde Tyme Root Beer" until 2012. Some of its formulations contai ...
Soft Drinks: This was when Barq's had other flavors besides just root beer; they also had orange, grape, lemon-lime and cream soda flavors as well. Wanda would sing the jingle while she and an assistant served drinks to the kids. :*Al Naish Movers: Associated at one time with Mayflower movers, Naish was known for giving toy trucks to their customers' kids. The family-owned company is still in business today. :*Pat & Joe's: A now-defunct husband-and-wife-owned chain of five-volume furniture stores in and around the Cincinnati area; the show used a jingle sung to the tune of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" which went: ::''My good friends are Pat & Joe, Pat & Joe, Pat & Joe, ::''my good friends are Pat & Joe, they save your mommy do-ough..'' :*Alber's Grocery Store: These commercials featured children holding signs with the letters A, L, B, E, R, ', and S. They were to smile and the child with the apostrophe would make it bob up and down while the Alber's jingle played.


Regulars

Uncle Al's farm was also frequented by his in-house friends, which at one time or another included: :*Pal the Dog (Tom York), Uncle Al's pet :*Lucky the Clown Used mainly when they visited the circus near the end of each show.
''(originally played by Jack Williams, and by Artie Scheff on the weekend version)'' :*
The Merry Mailman Ray Heatherton (June 1, 1909 – August 15, 1997) was an American singer, Broadway musical theatre performer, and a New York City television personality in the early days of the medium. Early career Ray Heatherton was born in the New York C ...
: A puppet who delivered viewer mail to Uncle Al every day.
''(the producers used the last few lines of the
Ray Heatherton Ray Heatherton (June 1, 1909 – August 15, 1997) was an American singer, Broadway musical theatre performer, and a New York City television personality in the early days of the medium. Early career Ray Heatherton was born in the New York C ...
song from the New York kids show of the same name)'' :*The Ding-A-Lings: A group of giggling, dancing squiggly columns. :*The Weather People: These consisted of kids dressed in double-sided sun and cloud costumes ''(one side happy, the other side sad)''. If the weather forecast for a given day called for sunshine, the sun costume would be turned happy for the camera, and a "pity party" would be briefly held for the sad cloud. The opposite, of course, would ensue if that day's forecast called for rain. :*Mr. Patches (Tom McGreevey): When going to a commercial break from a skit he was in, Mr. Patches would say some magic words of his own, finishing with a "hum-m-m-m-m-mmmmm". :*Ernie the Ape Introduced in song with "Hi Ernie, Hi Ernie...what do you know and what do you say"....Ernie would reply "Hi Uncle Hi Captain, can I have my banana today." Some of the cast members went on to become beloved Cincinnati TV personalities in their own right. Most notable among these were: Larry Smith:
Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
native Smith began his Cincinnati TV career with ''The Uncle Al Show'' handling and performing ''(and even creating)'' most of the puppets; he remained with the show for six years. Starting in the late 1960s he hosted his own afternoon kids cartoon show on
WXIX WXIX-TV (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Newport, Kentucky, United States, serving the Cincinnati metro as the market's Fox affiliate. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WBQC-LD (channel 25) and ...
. Smith died in February 2018. Bob Shreve: A consummate performer, Shreve played various characters including Roger the Robot and, at one point, Lucky The Clown. He was a commercial pitchman for various Cincinnati businesses including Schoenling Beer and Pool City, and hosted late night movie shows that, at one time or another, ran on all three major Cincinnati TV stations and even one station in nearby Dayton over a 40-year period. Shreve died in February 1990. Mike Tangi: Tangi worked both behind and in front of the camera on ''Uncle Al'' and at WCPO in general from 1953 to 1963. He later worked with
Glenn Ryle Glenn Ryle Schnitker (1927-1993) was an American television personality based in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best remembered by Cincinnatians for hosting the ''Skipper Ryle Show'' for seventeen years on WKRC Television. Early life Ryle attended We ...
at
WKRC-TV WKRC-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR-TV (channel 64) under a loc ...
before going into advertising in the 1970s, writing and performing memorable commercials for King Kwik Minit Markets. Tangi died in 1995.


Later years

Throughout the years ''The Uncle Al Show'' remained a perennial ratings champion in Cincinnati, especially when the show ran three times a day. Personalities from competing stations knew they were in trouble when their shows were rescheduled opposite Uncle Al. The show ran an estimated 15,000 episodes, with an estimated 440,000 children having appeared on the show throughout its run. By 1975, the show had adopted a more educational base, with guest appearances by members of the Cincinnati Police and Fire departments, representatives from the
Cincinnati Zoo The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the second oldest zoo in the United States, founded in 1873 and officially opening in 1875. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It originally began with in the middle of the ...
, educators and many others. But despite the educational enrichments, ''The Uncle Al Show'' continued to hold fast to the values the children came to love from day one. By the early 1980s,
demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...
were changing, and ''The Uncle Al Show'' was not immune. The show was first cut down to a half-hour, and then moved from its weekday slot to an early-morning weekend show. The show was renamed ''Uncle Al Town'' with the final episode taped on May 29, 1985. Despite the show coming to an end, both Al and Wanda remained at WCPO to the end of the 1980s. Al and Wanda both retired to their home, a large farm near
Hillsboro, Ohio Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States, approximately west of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe and east of Cincinnati. The population was 6,481 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Hi ...
. But in retirement, the Lewises remained active in their community, and on occasion made personal appearances at festivals and other functions in Cincinnati. Surrounded by his family, Al Lewis died at his Hillsboro home on February 28, 2009, at the age of 84. He was survived by his wife Wanda, his four daughters and his 13 grandchildren. Wanda died August 17, 2020, at the age of 94.


Sources and external links


TVParty! - Cincinnati Local TV Kid Shows



References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uncle Al Show, The Mass media in Cincinnati 1950 American television series debuts 1950s American children's television series 1960s American children's television series 1970s American children's television series 1980s American children's television series 1985 American television series endings Local children's television programming in the United States American Broadcasting Company original programming American children's education television series American television shows featuring puppetry