Billy Bean and His Funny Machine
A puppet and his machine create humorous mishaps.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's Television
- Based on
- Jolly Gene and His Fun Machine
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Seasons
- 6
- Episodes
- 36
- Company
- BBC
- First aired
- 1953
- Last aired
- 1957
Facts from the source article.
Premise
The series centered on Billy Bean, a puppet who operated a large machine equipped with devices such as a Dorset-Faucet and a Mixerator. By drawing on the cartoonerator, Billy could produce any object, though misunderstandings often led to comedic errors. He was joined by Yoo-Hoo the Cuckoo, who laid an egg each episode that rolled down zig-zag chutes, and Lester, the unseen engine room operator.
Production
The show was based on Chuck Luchsinger's American series Jolly Gene & His Fun Machine, and like that program, Billy Bean ran a train and dressed as an American locomotive engineer. John Wright created the puppets and equipment, Lisa Lincoln wrote the series, Reginald Jeffryes drew the cartoonerator images, and Jane Tyson and Elizabeth Donaldson served as puppeteers. Vere Lorrimer produced the show. The first series of six episodes featured Dick Vosburgh as Billy and Gaylord Cavallaro as Yoo-Hoo, broadcast twice monthly. From series 2 onward, Peter Hawkins played Billy and Ivan Owen played Yoo-Hoo. Series 4, 5, and 6 were titled The New Adventures of Billy Bean and his Funny Machine, The Further Adventures of Billy Bean and his Funny Machine, and The Adventures of Billy Bean and his Funny Machine respectively.
More in 1950s British Children's Television Series
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