TV • AUDIO • VIDEO
The Great Foodini show on CBS-TV grew out of the Lucky
Pup show. The popularity of Foodini, his foils Pinhead,
Jolo, and Phineas Pitch were so compelling that Foodini got
his own show. The combination of Lucky Pup and Foodini ran
from 1948 - 1951. The voices were Hope Bunin, Morey Bunin,
Doris Brown and George Fryne. The shows were televised live at 6:30pm Monday-Friday
directly by cable from New York City to Chicago,
Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, DC. A Kinescope
recording was shown five days a week in Cleveland, Toledo,
Detroit, Syracuse and Seattle. The series competed favorably against "The Howdy Doody
Show", "Kukla, Fran And Ollie" and "Captain Video" for three
years, until it moved to ABC as "Foodini the Great" in 1951.
The shift to the earlier time slot, compounded by a change
to pre-recorded production, caused it to lose audiences. The
final new episode was broadcast on December 29, 1951, it
remained in syndication until 1954.
The opening of the Foodini Show
Foodini and Pinhead appeared on the cover of the April16-22 1949
TeleVision Guide
Two records featuring Foodini, Pinhead and other familiar
characters were produced. Both were Copyright 1949 by
Caravan Records, Inc.Each is a 10" 78 RPM red vinyl
two-sided recording. They came in a heavy paper envelope,
brightly printed. They seemed to be part of a series: "For
every child's lifetime library" which included a number of
stories narrated by Milton Cross. They sold for 98 cents
each. (The record sets were apparently also sold as 2 45 RPM
records.) Each record features Jimmy Carroll's Orchestra with
original music by Barry Winton and Jimmy Carroll, story by
Jerry and Jeanette Lynn, directed by Barry Winton. I am
certain that they contain the voices of Hope and Morey Bunin
as Foodini and Pinhead! "Foodini's Trip to the Moon" is item # C-22. "Foodini
Goes A 'Huntin'" is item # C-23. The text story is on the
back of the storage envelope.
LISTEN to the complete record (MP3)
LISTEN to the complete record (MP3)
We know of two sources of videos of Foodini TV shows. Video Yesteryear, Phone: 800-243-0987 has item # 1244,
Foodini the Great which includes Pinhead's "fork flinging"
act (Autumn, 1951). Video Resources New York Inc. (212) 724-7055 have a video
with an episode of The Paul Winchell Show and a Foodini
episode. The same episode as on the Video Yesteryear
video. Foodini videos do show up from time to time on eBay.
Doris Brown and Jolo the Clown
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©2004 Rhett Bryson
If you have ANY Foodini stories, pictures, material or
information,
Please eMail Rhett
Bryson (rhett.bryson@furman.edu)
Last Updated 03/18/2004