Preface: There are certain dangers to thinking about something that happened to me over fifty years ago. I am reminded of my age, a thought worth avoiding; I become nostalgic, usually making my eyes a little watery; and I strain my brain, wondering if my memory is accurate or not. Such is what happens to me when I think about being in KSL-TV'sRomper Room.
"Romper Room" was a children's television show that originated in Baltimore in 1953 and was franchised to other stations over the years. KSL-TV (Salt Lake City, Utah – Channel 5) started their version of the program in 1957. I was one of the early 1957 graduates.
The TV program starred "Miss Nancy" (real name: Jackie Nokes) who danced, sang, and played with children, who were taken from the surrounding community.
If childhood makes the man, then I was made from Romper Room. How can children, age 4 or 5, walk away from Romper Room without it having left a mark? It is not possible.
In the 1950s I learned a lesson that achievement is possible. As a pre-school child glued to the new invention called TV, I announced to my mother that I was going to be on Romper Room. There was no doubt in my mind. I pulled out a sheet of paper and drew a stick man holding an umbrella over his head while it rained. My mother was instructed to attach a note to this work of art that stated: "Dear Miss Nancy, I want to be on Romper Room." Within a few days KSL-TV contacted my mother and I was accepted onto the program for a two week (?) period. (Half the time was rehearsal, as I remember).
Our home was in Murray, and the TV station was in downtown Salt Lake. My mother was the taxi service – driving a '57 Ford. There were no seatbelts in those days, and so I literally stood or knelt on the front seat during our travel. On one of our first trips I saw a sidewalk water fountain. I made my mother stop in order to get a drink. A little later I announced I wanted a restaurant cinnamon roll. We stopped at a downtown café. Such were the demands of a self-centered television-bound four-year old.
The adventure was educational in multiple ways. I remember some side-excursions passing Eagle's Gate and the Brigham Young monument in the middle of a street square. Brigham Young seemed ancient and irrelevant to me in those days, but at least I noticed him. Paradoxically, fifty years later he does not seem that ancient, and he seems much more interesting.
It was a good thing that I was a well-studied "Do-Bee." Having watched the program many times, I knew the routines. Miss Nancy asked certain questions of the pre-schoolers, and I was ready with my answers. Planning ahead was a characteristic from an early age. But, there were several lines of stress and trauma. Live television came with a lot of pressure.
During the show, Miss Nancy would go around a table where the children on the show would be playing with a toy. "What toy are you playing with, Johnny?" she might ask. This was a great question if you were playing with a great toy. The problem was the TV station had a limited number of toys, and NOT all were great.
At some point in the show, Miss Nancy would release the kids for the toy shelf (shown in the top photo) to grab toys. It was a mad rush, and I was not quick even in those days. The fastest kids got the best toys, often taking more than one. The rest got leftovers.
One day I was stuck with a rag doll. It was all that was left. I was mortified. Guys don't play with dolls. I can just imagine the dialogue:
Miss Nancy: "What are you playing with, Steve?"
Four-year old S.Faux: "I got a crappy rag doll."
Miss Nancy: "Oh, Stevie, good Do-Bees don't say 'crappy.'"
Four-year old S.Faux: "Sorry, Miss Nancy. I am playing with a cruddy rag doll."
Remember, it was live TV. Children are capable of saying anything. Miss Nancy must have been fearless.
Then there was the problem with milk. Cream O' Weber milk company sponsored the show and they served milk in some contraption called a wax carton. As a committed milk connoisseur, I preferred Winder milk, which was served from bottles.
The last problem was both natural and minor. I had a crush on Miss Nancy, and I did not appreciate it when she spent a portion of her attention on the other children. On the other hand, she scared the dickens out of me, as I was afraid of her "Don't Bee," a wicked insect that could swallow-up children – or at least that is what I thought. Regardless, I leaned heavily into her when we took our class photo (see above).
It was not the "Don't Bee" that swallowed me; it was the brand new TV culture. Words, characters, rhymes, stories, themes, and songs filled my head. Here is one of my favorite chants from Romper Room:
"I always do everything right.
I never do anything wrong.
I'm a Romper Room Do Bee;
A Do Bee all day long!"
No wonder I am an obsessive perfectionist overwhelmed with inevitable guilt. Wait! I spent as much time in "Be ye perfect" LDS Primary as in Romper Room. Let's divide the due credit.
Another favorite was the "Do-Bee" dance. The children would gather in a circle and one of the children would ask "Mr. Music" to begin:
"Start buzzin' buzzin'. Here's your chance.
Everybody's doing the Do Bee dance.
Just let your wings fly, your arms fly too.
Then buzz around round and round... Do-body-doo!"
I don't remember what the Do Bee dance was like, but I imagine it involved a lot of flailing of the arms. I am sure it was a sight.
The program would end with Miss Nancy staring into a magic mirror and then reciting:
"Romper, bomper,
stomper, boo.
Tell me, tell me,
tell me do.
Magic mirror,
tell me today.
Did all my friends
have fun at play?"
Mysteriously, she would see children in TV land and call out their names. I wonder if she ever saw me in that mirror. If she did, I hope she saw a "Do Bee."
Copyright 2009 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.
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7 comments:
A marvelous blog entry. I'm old enough to remember the San Francisco Bay Area's version of Romper Room, but I never built up any kind of a desire to be on the show. I was much more of a "Captain Satellite" kind of guy, but the closest I ever got to being on his show was 1) meeting him at a promotional appearance at my favorite (and now defunct) toy store in San Jose when I was probably 6 or 7 years old, and 2) finding out a few years ago that he's still alive and has a website that documents the old "Captain Satellite" TV show, and lives and works not too far from me in Sacramento County, which prompted me to send him an email, complimenting his website.
Those were the days.
Miss Nancy had moved on and Miss Julie taken her place by the time I first remember Romper Room. I have no independent memory of why my 3-year-old self loved the show-- it's wonderful to read the inside scoop from a real, life Do Bee! Thanks, S.
OH MY HECK! I loved that show and remember the magic mirror. in fact, I was a failed Do Bee. My mom had got me on the show for a week, but something happened, the car broke down or something and we couldn't go. I still remember the disappointment. I also remember once she said my name as she peered into TV land on my birthday. That rhyme brought back so many memories. I still remember the spinning wheel in black and white as it spun around as she read the poem. How strange and wonderful to be reminded of that after all these years. How long did the show run? It would have been in the early '60's I was watching it.
To All Readers:
My mother (born in the same year as "Miss Nancy") just emailed me. She states:
"That is surely a darling picture of you and the others in Romper Room. Yes, it lasted for two weeks, but later on, I believe they changed children every week, perhaps because so many wanted a chance to be on there. -- Mom"
Even though my elderly mother does not know how to post comments on this blog, at least she can still email me and tell me I am wonderful. There are VERY few blessings in my life that could be greater than that!!
Funny enough, in Bettendorf, IA, we also had a Romper Room (in the early 80s), of which, I did my two week stint as a doo-bee. My mom to this day, still says, "Are you being a good doo-bee?" - even at age 30. My sister just shakes her head in horror. . .
Awesome post, Steve.
I was born the year after this story takes place, but I do have a vague memory of visiting the set and watching a Romper Room in sction in Denver, I think. I don't recall the details of how that came about. But for that reason I was very interested to read your first person account of what went on in one of those shows.
I was completely convinced that Miss Linda was a doll or robot because there was always a cord that followed her around. I thought that she was 'plugged in' to an electrical outlet! Now I know that it was her microphone but to a four-year-old she was certainly magical. And I waited for the day when she finally said she saw me in that magical mirror of hers. Oh Joy!
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