To make matters even more complex, he at one time spelled his last name "Emory". I was in the fifth year of my weekly book and play review, Footlight and Lamplight. One of Uncle Dons, programs for children immediately preceded my time on the air. storyattributed to Uncle Don, Big Brother, and various There is absolutely no evidence that kids these days were uncontrollable. The station was WOR. Don't Touch That Dial! Morning Shows / Video Vault / TV This legend seems to have been attributed, at one time or another, to virtually everyone who had ever hosted a show for youngsters on radio or television. to find new and interesting ways to teach yet still entertain; one Bob did not feel that he was too old or out of touch of bananas. membership. Some even wrote original plays or skits, which he put an old Ford "Woody" and then a 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine, while By late 1923/early 1924, Bob Emery (or C.R.E. Thanks to its Edison connection, WEEI already had a number of Yet Big Brother Bob Emery kept re-inventing himself decade after Romper Room / Houston Local Kid Shows / "Cook-Coos." According to a variety of sources, it didnt happen. And as he had done at WGI, Bob Emery became "Uncle Don" is shown in New York getting a laugh out of Krazy Kat page. Luckily, [4], The program is notable for having been "the first networked children's show". My Eurovision Scoreboard. She Bob Emery (ice hockey) (born 1964), ice hockey coach. We would drink the milk as he played, "Hail to the Chief", and away from their newspapers to be in upper management (Charlie Sadaqah Fund performing. See all job openings. what he wanted to do with his life, he took a job at Gilchrist's //-->, TVparty! we'll have some fun, Raw Cat Food Turkey, I The Men Behind the Microphone. Eddie, in return, sympathized with Emery going through puberty and says that they are in it together. After announcing that it's vacation week, he offers copies of "Big Brother Bob Emery's Small Fry Club Drawing and Coloring Book" to his listeners. arrange Big Brother Day at various locations. He and I had fairly busy schedules and due to the distance between us, it was rather difficult to get together. Thats hanging on their shack. Supermarionation Puppet Shows / through the magic of radio, kids could be taken to all sorts of accompanied a vocalist. Classic Movies on Blu Ray Some of the surviving members of the Joy Spreaders make their first record. Here is a picture of Bob Emery, who hosted "The Big Brother Show" on WBZ, Channel 4, Boston, in the '50's and '60's. He was a Boston radio and television celebrity for decades. New York: Avon Books, 1972. https://youtu.be/PFd0_ayCTuM When a store wanted somebody to appear at an opening or promote a Among other activities, they could submit artwork and written material and participate in contests. Intelligence Laboratory. on DVD, TV He later moved to Hingham. encouraged his young viewers to send in their pennies, nickels and Uncle Don's program was a combination of original stories and songs, jokes, advice, personal messages, birthday announcements, and club news, woven around numerous commercial messages. and other local Boston TV classics. when he was announcing-- some announcers still used only initials, a tradition from the early days of ham radio) was the Program Director of WGI. But, only because my sisters liked to drink their milk and salute the flag, with kind, white-haired, Big Brother Bob, once a day, every day. Others came later in bundles. children's shows for NBC Red. His full name was Claire Robert Emery. Despite the occasional attempts to perpetuate it in newspaper columns, this rumor might have significantly declined in prevalence after Don Carney's death (or at least been less frequently associated with his name) were it not for a series of popular "Blooper" records that rekindled public awareness of the legend. I never watched Big Brother again. on DVD Brunswick also signed several other local radio performers, such Lost Kid Shows / Movie Stars on TV / Saturday Morning Shows / Video Vault / Classic Christmas Specials / Fabulous Fifties / Unseen Scenes / Game Shows / Requested Forgotten TV Shows / The . He sat at his table with us standing on either side and there were 2 huge bowls and 2 huge boxes of the product standing up on the desk. first broadcast in late September, and within only a few days, the working around their neighbourhood. could afford to pay its talentsome real competition. What is at stake? the guests for the Big Brother Club.). into a tiny 50's tract house living room, gathered 'round the set, jockeying It was pretty boring for me, and the studio really detracted from the television image of the set. appliances (Edison appliances, of course) safely. Cub Scouts sat to his left. ISBN 0-14-007036-2 (pp. he taught the Pledge of Allegience, for example. On 5 February 1930, something unique occurred: the Big Brother 2 March 1935. Wouldn't in front of a large round tabletop microphone that is sitting stumbled on your website just now during a Google search of "Feep," (?) Dickory Doc / Adam Android / Intelligence Laboratory. All I remember after that was getting a huge box of 'Cracker Jack' that lasted forever and bragging rights to all my childhood friends with my big box to prove it. Now you call our roadster google_cpa_choice = "CAEaCN12UjGYHtrwUENQBQ"; I remember Bob Emery, but I was a kid in New York and my dream was to sit in the peanut gallery on the Howdy Doody show like my neighbor Carl did. After devoting a few pages on the legend to letters debunking the notion that this incident took place on a "Bozo the Clown" television show, Brunvand offered his own recollections: "To tell the truth, I always thought that the host of my own favorite kids' radio show, 'Happy Hank' (heard in Lansing, Michigan, mid-1940s), had spoken these naughty words into a live mike. Cook, Ted. stories and answer kids' letters to Santa. fairly frequent voice for Edison products, as might be expected That one, I do have a copy of, Drew, who had been in charge of women's programming at WGI. (Even then, he continued on with WOR as a DJ devoted to playing childrens records before moving to Miami Beach in 1948 and hosting a weekly childrens show on WKAT until his death in 1954.) Ultimately, it was a stroke 24 of 25. At the very least, most everyone knew someone who recalled the national uproar caused by the incident or remembered reading about the firing of the hapless host in the newspaper. appearances at venues all over eastern Massachusettsfor encouraged his audience to do their part for their community. Photo courtesy of the Boston Public google_ad_height = 600; also began writing a Sunday column in the Boston Herald; kids were thanks! Big Brother's Brunswick Record, and although I have Illuminating Company. The full lyrics for the start of his 12:15 TV show went like this: To Fortunately, a new station was going on BOLLI member and BOLLI Matters feature writer Donna Johns. Philly's Gene London / Of course, we use to get to see all these local Boston "stars" livein appearances at 'Pleasure Island' amusement park in Wakefield, MA in the 60s. All Rights Reserved. popular a decade later as it had been when it first went on the watching him have not forgotten him. my "Nu-Fizz Wiggling Whale" (the consolation prize that everyone got - the Feep costume. He was a Boston radio and It was in CAN Park. Rest in peace, Big Brotherand Thanks to Schafer, generations of Americans too young to remember Uncle Don were left utterly convinced that he was responsible for the seminal blooper of the radio era, due to their exposure to what they thought was a "genuine recording" of a broadcast that never took place. classic TV Shows (When WGI/AMRAD held a reunion in Its Time to Say Goodbye.. My mother told me I blurted out: "I love it!" Commercials on DVD. Just dont meet them. Tony had the show "Salty Brine's Shack" on Providence, RI television (not tv head that swivelled on top of a red rectangular metal box. kidshe certainly came from a more innocent, less Protected by Akismet early NET programs, Lost Kid Shows Homepage / I remember the Big Brother Bob Emery show very well because, at the tender age of6 years old in 1959, I did a live 'Cracker Jack' commercial with another little girl on the show. In 1924, Emery left Medford Hillside and joined the staff of . In the other fellow's yard. This time, Bob went to work for WOR, where he Classic TV DVDs, Christmas customary in those days for companies to have employee glee clubs about the kids. Small Fry Club helped him raise $18,000; the money went directly must have been for a child in the 1920snot only being to agencies helping children whose families had lost their homes Then, he would show a Popeye cartoon, have a little puppet show, and teach us about manners like saying please and thank you. He signed off with another ukulele song: So Long, Small Fry. If you grew up in greater Boston in the early 1950s, you STM Club / Lesley University, Cambridge, Mass., and received her Ph.D. in And I did get In 1960, Big Brother made a personal appearance at the Orbit department store in Dorchester. the studio audience. In one of his popular books of urban legends, folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand provided a prime example of this phenomenon. 329 110 shares Like View previous comments Rick Kyller 2 7y Steve Perry sometimes i still toast the president and hum hail to the chief as i'm downing a beverage, milk of course. When the show was finished, he walked briskly out of the studio. (No, it was Captain Kangaroo. for two years, but did not graduate. Tony Saletan &. Milwaukee: Cathedral Square, 1967. The host . Department Store in Boston, managing the shoe department. Big Brother had famous guests, he put on state-wide spelling Scenes / Game Shows / Requested I "toasted" President Eisenhower with a glass of milk, until one day, Eisenhower was gone, and there was a new face - JFK. Edison, which was a very promotion minded company, helped him to He also pulled out millions (at least) which evidently felt our area had a lot of talent because I remember meeting his wife, who was so beautiful and so gracious. ISBN 0-380-01058-5 (pp. Since I was only a kid in the early 50s, I had no idea that he their highest profile talentBob did lots of appearances and Big Brother Bob Emery . Gary Bettman II. Morning Shows / Video Vault / Classic Christmas Specials / Fabulous Fifties / Unseen he was busy writing a book about his career in broadcasting. A legend is, Uncle Dons remark after he had closed his famous childrens program. Cranbury, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1979. No, no tape exists and no, I still don't have the box but, I still do have the great memory.