Blinky's Fun Club
Blinky's Fun Club was a children's television program blending such elements as vaudeville, puppetry, and animation that first aired on CBS-Affiliated station KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1958 to 1966[1] and then on KWGN-TV in Denver, Colorado, from 1966 to 1998.[2] In 1998, KWGN's general manager at the time William Ross would cancel the series after a combined 40 year run (nine years on KKTV, and 32 years on KWGN) on Colorado television.[2]
Program synopsis
The star of Blinky's Fun Club was Blinky the Clown, played by Russell Scott. In the early 1980s additional characters began to appear regularly, including Otis and Zelda, played by husband and wife acting duo Michael Berg and C.J. Prince.[2] Children appeared on each show to celebrate their birthdays and were sung "Happy Birthday to You," (sung as Birf-Day) by Blinky.[2][3]
Over 10,000 episodes, taped at KWGN's studios, initially located at Lincoln & Speer in Denver, later in Greenwood Village, aired during the show's three decades on the air.[3] The station reportedly saved tapes of only 10 shows.[2] KCNC & KUSA reportedly were able to get a few of the episodes out of the trash, and put them in their libraries.
References
- Biography. Blinky's Fun Club. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- Roberts, Michael; Susan Froyd; and Julie Dunn. "Tears of a Clown: the Ups and Downs of Being Blinky". Westword. May 13, 2004.
- "NATAS Heartland Silver Circle - Russell Scott". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2008-06-07.