Customer Reviews

The Golden Age of Chicago Children's Television

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Ted Okuda and Jack Mulqueen's book, "The Golden Age Of Chicago Children's Television" is an incredible treasure chest of nostalgia for the beloved childhood memories of anyone who grew up in the Chicago Mid-West during the 1950's and 1960's.

Authors Okuda and Mulqueen cover the extensive and often elaborately produced Chicago area children's televison shows, along with their hosts, who became local stars of the first magnitude in the days before cable, sattelite dishes, and even UHF channels! These behind-the-scenes stories are both fascinating and riveting, and the reader can follow the rise and fall of such local, but famed legendary shows like "Garfield Goose And Friends", "Kukla, Fran & Ollie", "Ray Raynor And Friends", "B.J. And Dirty Dragon", "Bozo's Circus", "Elmer The Elephant", and "The Mulqueen's Kiddy-A-Go-Go', among many others! Readers will recall the wonderful stars of this long-gone era like Burr Tillstrom, Fran Allison, Frazier Thomas, Bob Bell, Ray Raynor, Roy Brown, Don Sandburg, John Conrad, Elaine (beautiful Pandora) Mulqueen, Bill Jackson, Mary Hartline, all the greats and many more!

Having grown up in Chicago during this era, I was unable to put down this book, and was astonished as to how many wonderful memories it brought back. The authors Ted Okuda and Jack Mulqueen have thankfully preserved for us some of Chicagoland TV's magic and history, before all traces of it vanish forever like the Buffalo!

This lively and detailed history of locally produced children's television programming in Chicago, from the forties to the seventies, benefits from the writing and research skills of prolific film historian Okuda, and the experiences of co-author Mulqueen, who was THERE as a kid-TV personality & producer for three decades. The book gives equal and welcome emphasis to programs, personalities, and invariaby interesting behind-the-scenes stories of production, budgets, and technical challenges, as well as ratings and the myriad other business factors that allowed local kids' TV to flourish but which finally decreed that it must die. This is an attractively packaged volume, with smart, pleasing art direction and a generous selection of photographs. The book will be embraced by grown-up Chicagoans, of course, but also will fascinate people like me, who grew up elsewhere, but who have an interest in the art and business of television.

Like the other reviewers on this page, I enjoyed the Okuda-Mulqueen "Chicago Children's Television" book very much. Unlike those reviewers, however, I'm not from Chicago and I never saw the programs and personalities under discussion.

I think it's important to point out that this book is not a "you had to be there" exercise in local nostalgia. Chicago was a bedrock of children's television, some of it on a national network scale. There's a good chance that you'll recognize at least some of the luminaries discussed here.

The authors are careful to put the "golden age" in context. Many first-person accounts, from both sides of the cameras, illuminate the high-pressure, low-budget, anything-could-happen world of live TV. Statistically-minded readers will admire the research, with dates, places, and participants fully documented.

Viewers who grew up with the likes of Chicago's kid-TV icons Ray Rayner and Hardrock, Coco, and Joe are obviously the best audience for this book, but anyone interested in early television, popular culture, and biographical studies will find much to enjoy.

The Golden Age Of Chicago Children's Television tells the true story of children's television produced or aired in Chicago from the 1940's to the 1970's. Even though these shows often operated under strict budget limits, the imagination that fueled them was boundless. Classic productions such as "Fran & Ollie", "Garfield Goose", "Bozo's Circus", and more, truly captivated the imagination of generations. Black-and-white photographs illustrate The Golden Age Of Chicago Children's Television, which delves deeply into the amazing history and trivia behind popular and beloved shows, from the lives of stars and hosts to what gave television executives sudden fits and much more. A wonderful trip through memory lane and fascinating repository of little-known facts.

For those of us who recall Chicago children's television, this book will bring back many wonderful memories about the shows and the performers. Bozo's Circus, Ray Rayner and Friends, and so many other great shows allowed kids to be entertained, to learn, and to free up our imaginations. Ted and Jack's book does a thorough job of tracing the history of Chicago children's television, with complete information about the shows, great illustrations, and many fascinating, amusing anecdotes. It is a book that no baby boomer should be without.

What a wonderful collection of memories for Chicago Baby Boomers. Reading through this book brought them all back. From the shows I had never really forgotten, "Garfield Goose & Friends" (I still can sing "Jingle Bells" in Latin thanks to Frazier Thomas) to those I had, like "The Blue Fairy". The authors explain the who, how and why of most of these shows with plenty of anecdotes on the behind the scenes highjinks and problems.

While coverage is uneven, some shows get their own chapters while others get perhaps a paragraph or two, one feels that all the information still available was researched and presented. More photos would have been nice, particularly of the shorter lived shows. Sadly, the tapes of the vast majority of episodes are lost forever, as they were taped over in short order, the stations never dreaming of the future gold mine they were destroying. Sad also is confirmation of the passing away of so many of these wonderful hosts and performers. They weren't just grainy b&w images in a box, somehow they became our friends. Rest in peace, gentlemen and ladies.

So, if you're a Chicago kid who grew up in the '50s or '60s pick up this book and bring back the memories.

This book was a joyful journey back to the days of the tv I grew up on in Chicago. There were so many fun shows geared towards us kids that woke us up, thrilled us at lunch and welcomed us home afterschool. Shows designed to brighten our days. As a kid I had no idea how much work went in to creating these fun shows. This book shares the stories behind the scenes that we were oblivious to and nothing in this book will leave the reader disappointed.
You'll love Ray Rayner, Frazier Thomas and Ned Locke even more and give them the respect and admiration ALL the people involved in Chicago children's television richly deserve. They were a unique bunch and we were so fortunate to have them working for us. This book was a great walk through memory lane. It's too bad those shows weren't all taped to be available now. Thank goodness someone wrote a book about the era.

I bought 4 of these books to give to my brothers for Christmas. They range in age from 45-60 and they love it. There are memories in it for all of them. I was so happy to find something different that would open up so many memories and create a lot of happy discussions.

I bought this for my hubby. He didn't put it down for a week. He kept reading and re=reading about all of the tv show from our youth. it was great.

This book is an outstanding reminder of how lucky us Baby Boomer's were to live in the Chicagoland area, and to have these shows available to us. It's sad to see that the children of today, don't have the same type of great shows.

This was a great trip down memory lane, and yes this would make a great gift for family, and nostalgia buffs!