The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

(Left to right) Captain Kangaroo & Harry Harris
1956

Captain Kangaroo premiered on CBS-TV on Monday, October 3, 1955 (it was previously a local NYC show), but it wasn't seen in Philly until Monday, February 20, 1956 when Channel 10 picked up the daily funfest. At that time, WCAU-TV was owned by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin newspaper and the station thought it was much more profitable to run its local program instead of the network fare. The local telecast, by the way, was called Mr. & Mrs. and starred our own Gene Crane with his first wife, Joan. Also on the broadcast was Broadcast Pioneers member Bill Campbell with sports, Chef Albert with cooking tips and Jack Valentine (of "Action in the Afternoon" fame) with some songs. Pressure from CBS forced Channel 10 to carry the show. We date this date from early 1956 when WCAU-TV started to carry the broadcast.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com