Winky Dink and You
A 1950s TV show that let children draw on the screen.
Winky Dink and You is a CBS children's television series that originally aired from 1953 to 1957. Hosted by Jack Barry, it featured the animated character Winky Dink and his dog Woofer. The show is notable for its interactive gimmick, which allowed children at home to draw on a plastic screen placed over the television set.
Quick Facts
- Network
- CBS
- Original run
- 1953–1957
- Air time
- Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Eastern; 9:30 Central
- Host
- Jack Barry
- Creator
- Harry Prichett, Sr. and Ed Wyckoff
- Voice of winky dink
- Mae Questel
- Revival syndication
- 1969–1973 (65 episodes)
Facts from the source article.
Interactivity
The show's central gimmick was a "magic drawing screen" made of transparent vinyl plastic that adhered to the television screen via static electricity. A kit containing the screen and special crayons cost 50 cents. During each animated short, Winky Dink would encounter a connect-the-dots picture that required viewers to complete it, helping him advance the story. Examples included drawing a bridge over a river, an axe to chop a tree, or a cage to trap a lion. The screen was also used to decode secret messages: vertical lines of letters appeared first, then horizontal lines, and viewers traced both to read the text. Additionally, viewers could outline a character that Jack Barry would then converse with, a feature that seemed meaningless without the screen.
Origin
Harry Prichett conceived the idea of drawing on a television screen in the 1950s while working as a graphic designer for an advertising agency handling the Benrus Watches account, a sponsor of Your Show of Shows. Benrus reported that dealers faced complaints from viewers who believed an expensive watch shown in a commercial could be bought for $39.95, not seeing the "and up" due to overscan on early TV sets. Agency staff were asked to watch the show and report what was visible. Prichett placed a piece of cellulose acetate film over his screen and used a grease pencil to sketch the visible portions. While waiting, he began adding drawings to the images, erasing them, and adding new ones, and concluded that children would enjoy this activity.
Cancellation and revival
The show’s popularity was undeniable, but production stopped due to fears that TV picture tubes, especially in early color sets, emitted x-rays. CBS also fielded complaints from parents whose kids drew directly on the screen without the official kit. A syndicated revival ran for 65 episodes from 1969 to 1973. In the 1990s, a new kit with a screen, crayons, and digitized episodes went on sale.
More in 1960s American Animated Television Series
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