Michigan’s Local Kid Shows, 1950’s – 1970’s

One of the best childhood memories anyone under the age of 75 can have are the kid shows that we used to watch. The ones from the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's had to mainly rely on creativity and not computer-generated images.

There were plenty of cartoon shows, but the ones that were mostly live-action seem to be the most memorable, especially the ones that were done locally.

Detroit was the daddy when it came to locally-produced kid shows:
AUNTIE DEE SHOW
CARTOON FUN
CURTAIN TIME (old-time comedies; Johnny Ginger was the host and this show introduced the Three Stooges to Michigan.)
HOT FUDGE
JINGLES IN BOOFLAND
LUNCH WITH SOUPY
MILKY’S PARTY TIME
OOPSY THE CLOWN
POPEYE THEATER (w/ Capt. Jolly & Poopdeck Paul)
RICKY THE CLOWN
SAGEBRUSH SHORTY
WIXIE’S WONDERLAND

Lansing had a nice share, too:
AL E. KHATT & PANSY (w/ Deputy Dave)
AL E. KHATT & THE MAYOR
COMEDY MATINEE (Three Stooges and Little Rascals)
THE LAND OF PLAY
RANGER JIM

And we can't forget these:
Canada:
THE FRIENDLY GIANT

Kalamazoo:
CHANNEL 3 CLUBHOUSE

Jackson:
POPEYE THEATER (w/ Capt. Barnacle)
TAM’S FUN TIME

Grand Rapids:
THE BUCK BARRY SHOW
CAPTAIN WOODY

And most of Michigan's larger cities had their own version of "Bozo The Clown" or "Bozo's Big Top" and "Romper Room".

True, most of the above programs showed cartoons, but they didn't rely just on cartoons. Many of them had their own gallery of kids that were invited to watch the show and there were plenty of live-action skits.

Of course, the national ones aired on Saturday mornings as well, like "The Lone Ranger", reruns of "The Monkees", "H.R. Pufnstuf", "The Bugaloos", "Lidsville" and so many others.

Many (not all) of today's kid shows unfortunately rely on booger & fart jokes for comedy. Yes, there are a handful of good current kid shows on TV, but most of them lack the innocence and creative output of the old ones. Some of the old ones can be excruciatingly boring to watch these days, but back then, kids were glued to their sets, jaws dropped and mouths wide open. I mean - what ELSE was there to do back then?