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Time for Beany

Children’s Programming

About This Show

From Wikipedia:

Time for Beany was an American television series, with puppets for characters, which aired locally in Los Angeles starting in 1949 and nationally (via kinescope) on the improvised Paramount Television Network from 1950 to 1955. It was created by animator Bob Clampett, who later reused its core characters in the animated Beany and Cecil series. The principal characters were Beany, a plucky young boy who wears a beanie; the brave but dimwitted Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent, who claimed to be 300 years old and 35 feet 3 inches tall; Beany's uncle, the pigheaded Captain Horatio Huffenpuff (whose name is a play on Horatio Hornblower), familiarly called Uncle Captain; Dishonest John, whose cape and handlebar mustache clearly identified him as the villain; and Tearalong the Dotted Lion. Another character, a circus clown aptly named Clownie, appeared in early episodes but was later dropped.

The principal voice actors were Daws Butler and Stan Freberg. The puppets, created by Maurice Seiderman, were presented against simple sets or crude background drawings.

Time for Beany recounted the exotic voyages and landfalls of the ship Leakin' Lena under the at times inept command of Uncle Captain. The daily episodes, each fifteen minutes in length, frequently contained topical references, usually of a satirical nature. One episode portrayed President Harry S Truman in puppet form, accompanying Cecil's singing. Other characters spoofed popular entertainers; examples are Dinah Saur and The Red Skeleton, parodies of Dinah Shore and Red Skelton.

Created by Bob Clampett

Starring

Daws Butler

Stan Freberg

Production

Running time 15 minutes

Broadcast

Original channel Paramount Television Network

Original run 1949 – 1955

People Who Talked About This Show

  • Stan Chambers

Featured Content

Video clip: Time for Beany partial episode (airdate: September 24, 1950)

Resources

Links:

Book: It Only Hurts When I Laugh by Stan Freberg

Book: Daws Butler Characters Actor by Ben Ohmart and Joe Bevilacqua

IMDb entry for Time for Beany

Wikipedia entry for Time for Beany

YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.

People Talking About This Show

  • Stan Chambers
    • Stan Chambers on the introduction of Beany and Cecil on Los Angeles' station KTLA
      Clip begins at: 04:21, Duration: 01m 08s
    • Stan Chambers on Time for Beany's Stan Freberg and Daws Butler
      Clip begins at: 05:09, Duration: 01m 56s
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