Garfield Goose and Friends was a children's television show shown by WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois in the United States during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The host of the show was a man named Frazier Thomas, who did all of the talking. The show centered on a clacking goose puppet named Garfield Goose, who considered himself king of the United States. Several other puppet characters were featured such as Romberg Rabbit, Macintosh Mouse, and sleepy bloodhound Beauregard Burnside III. The show also featured the Little Theater Screen, on which cartoons such as Clutch Cargo and Space Angel were shown. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook Incorporated March 4, 1837 Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area    - City 606. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Frazier Thomas, born William Frazier Thomas in Rushville, Indiana, USA on June 13, 1918 and died in Chicago Illinois, USA on April 3, 1985, was an American television personality. ... Elmo, a popular puppet from Sesame Street. ... Clutch Cargo was an animated television series produced by Cambria Productions and syndicated beginning in March 1959. ...

Garfield Goose originated on a local program called Meet the Little People on WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thomas, an Indiana native who had been working on Cincinnati local radio since before World War II said he had gotten the idea from Catholic nuns collecting for charity. He recalled how they'd appear with a sock puppet in the form of a goose and children were invited to "feed the goose" with donations. The name "Garfield" came from WKRC-TV's telephone exchange. Cincinnati's version was somewhat different in that Gar lived in a cuckoo clock as he'd wanted to be a cuckoo bird. Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Thomas and Gar moved to Chicago in 1951, appearing originally on CBS affiliate WBKB-TV, then on Channel 4. At first, the goose appeared as a featured character on a show Thomas hosted called Petticoat Party but it was decided the character had enough appeal for a show of his own and on September 29, 1952, Garfield Goose and Friend made its debut, with the help of Chicago puppeteer Bruce Newton. CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ...

Gar originally communicated with Thomas via an off-screen typewriter during Newton's brief time with the show. But when Thomas and new puppeteer Roy Brown expanded the cast and renamed the program Garfield Goose and Friends, it would fall upon Romberg Rabbit to translate for Gar -- no easy task as Rom's speech, as well as the rest of the puppets, was so quiet (silent, in reality), only Thomas could "hear" them. Thomas would then repeat what Rom and the rest of the puppets were communicating to him. Roy Thomas Brown (July 8, 1932-January 22, 2001) was an American television personality, puppeteer, clown and artist best known for playing Cooky the Cook on Chicagos long running Bozos Circus and The Bozo Show. ...

After a complicated sale of stations in February 1953, WBKB-TV became WBBM-TV, the CBS o-and-o (owned-and-operated station), and moved to Channel 2. Gar moved to WBKB-TV (now an ABC o-and-o) to Channel 7 a year later. The show finally nested in on WGN-TV in 1955 and remained for over two decades, usually appearing weekday afternoons and later mornings. The program gradually lost viewership in the early 1970s due to competition (and in part because of timeslot tampering with one episode even depicting Gar as being VERY upset over this) and the show's long run ended in 1976. But this was not the end of the puppets. Frazier Thomas had taken the role of circus manager on WGN-TV's longtime hit program Bozo's Circus after the retirement of Ringmaster Ned Locke and Thomas cleverly kept his puppets on the air with a storyline that had Gar buying Bozo's Circus. The puppets would continue to make appearances until 1981, when they were retired. Thomas would continue to work on The Bozo Show until his death in 1985 and the puppets were donated to The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago in 1987. Bozo the Clown is the name of a clown whose widespread syndication in early television made him the best-known clown character in the United States. ... The Museum of Broadcast Communications is located in Chicago, Illinois. ...

As was often the case for television producers in the 1950s and early 1960s (such as with The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, or the first Super Bowl game), the station did not keep tapes of the show as thrifty owners recycled them, not realizing how valuable they might have become. WGN-TV premiered a primetime special in December of 2005 titled Bozo, Gar & Ray: WGN TV Classics, which included the earliest surviving clip of the show, with Gar having scored tickets for the 1959 World Series at Chicago's Comiskey Park. Coincidentally, the White Sox had just won the 2005 World Series in their first World Series appearance since 1959 when this retrospective show first aired. The premiere was #1 in the Chicago market and the station announced plans to re-air it every holiday season. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was the full name of NBCs The Tonight Show during the years that Johnny Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. ... The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. ... Comiskey Park (35th Street & Shields Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. ...

External link

• Many thanks to www.chicagotelevision.com for info on the show and Frazier Thomas