The Floppy Show

Did You Know?

• Four DVDs have been released in the Duane and Floppy series.
• The special features Floppy escaping the daily grind of his afternoon show.

Overview

Duane Ellett carved Floppy himself from balsa wood and performed the puppet through self-taught ventriloquism. Ellett had served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later attended Drake University, planning to become a lawyer, but a radio journalism class led to a job with WHO radio in 1947. The half-hour show in the 1970s and 1980s included short sketches with Ellett's puppets, a segment where children asked Floppy riddles, and vintage Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry cartoons. Ellett also made about 200 personal appearances with Floppy each year. The most common riddle children asked was, "Why did the man put the car in the oven?" with the answer "Because he wanted a hot-rod." Floppy never got it right and never tired of hearing it.

Legacy

A Facebook group called "Save Floppy!" created an online petition to keep the original version of the Floppy area on public display. Museum spokesman Jeff Morgan was noncommittal about restoring the exhibit. The Iowa State Historical Society presented a retrospective film festival in 2009 and again in 2010.