Adventure Time (1958 TV series)
Down goes the curtain, and back up again for...
Adventure Time, a local children's program, aired on Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV 4 from September 15, 1958, to February 18, 1979. Paul Shannon hosted the show from its debut until his 1975 retirement, with guitarist Joe Negri and puppeteer Jim Martin as regulars. Negri then served as host from 1975 until the series ended.
Each episode blended fast-paced segments to hold young viewers' attention, mixing cartoons and comedic clips with live-action bits. Shannon would lower a "magic sword" and announce, "Down goes the curtain, and back up again for..." before naming the cartoon. Popular cartoons included *Rocky and Bullwinkle*, *Kimba the White Lion*, *Dodo, the Kid from Outer Space*, *Koko the Clown*, *Beanie and Cecil*, *Space Angel*, *Dick Tracy*, *Krazy Kat*, *Snuffy Smith*, *Popeye*, and *Beetle Bailey*. The last four came from King Features Syndicate, whose parent company also owns WTAE.
Shannon also frequently aired *Three Stooges* shorts, introduced by spinning the "Stooge-O-Scope"—a wheel with pictures of the six actors who played the Stooges. The camera zoomed in as the wheel spun, fading to black and then to that day's episode. In his book, Moe Howard credited *Adventure Time* with sparking the Stooges' 1960s revival. Shannon himself appeared as Wild Bill Hickok in the Stooges' feature *The Outlaws Is Coming*.
Shannon sometimes played his alter ego, Nosmo King—a silent, bearded man in dark sunglasses, a slouch hat, and a tan raincoat. Nosmo would "drive" around Pittsburgh or play one-man-band renditions of songs like The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There." The name came from a "No Smoking" sign. Other recurring characters included Happy Howard (The Friendly Spider), Randy Rocket, and The Great Mysto the Magician.
The studio audience often consisted of children's groups like Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, and Camp Fire Girls. Shannon featured a "Picture Gallery," pretending to play a player piano or playing recorded songs (e.g., The Toys' "A Lover's Concerto") while viewer-submitted drawings scrolled on screen. Contests included a 1966 chance to meet the Three Stooges at Kennywood Park, and a 1968 contest where a winner named a new roller coaster "The Thunderbolt," still operating today. Each Christmas, Shannon loaded children's letters to Santa into a rocket and launched it to the North Pole, where Santa read them on air.
After Shannon retired in 1975, Joe Negri took over. Negri, WTAE's music director from 1960 to 1982, worked on several children's shows, portraying Mr. Music on *Rickie and Copper*, hosting *Popeye with Joe and Sandy* and *High School Talent Scene*, and playing Handyman Negri on *Mister Rogers' Neighborhood*. Puppeteer Jim Martin's main character was Baby Jeffy; when the puppet was lost, Negri said Martin reacted "like Jeffy was kidnapped." Martin later became a puppeteer for *Sesame Street*.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's television series
- Presenter
- Paul Shannon; Joe Negri
- Theme Music Composer
- Joe Negri
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 22
- Director
- John J. Vince
- Network
- WTAE-TV
- First Aired
- 1958-09-15
- Last Aired
- 1979-02-18
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Each episode of Adventure Time featured a variety of segments, constantly changing pace to keep children engaged. The show made great use of a variety of cartoons and other comedic clips interspersed between live action segments. The cartoons were often introduced by Paul Shannon lowering a 'magic sword' and reciting the phrase, 'Down goes the curtain, and back up again for...', completing the phrase with the title of the featured cartoon. Commonly used cartoons included Rocky and Bullwinkle, Kimba the White Lion, Dodo, the Kid from Outer Space, Koko the Clown, Beanie and Cecil, Space Angel, Dick Tracy, Krazy Kat, Snuffy Smith, Popeye, and Beetle Bailey. The latter four cartoons were produced by King Features Syndicate, whose parent company is also WTAE's current owner. In addition to animated segments, Shannon also frequently showed old Three Stooges shorts. These were introduced by Shannon spinning the 'Stooge-O-Scope', a mounted wheel with pictures of the six comic actors who played the Three Stooges attached to it. As the wheel spun, the camera would zoom into it, fading first to black and then back out to that day's episode of the Stooges. In his book, Moe Howard gave Shannon and Adventure Time major credit for the Stooges' national revival in the 1960s. Shannon also appeared in one of the Stooges' full-length features, The Outlaws Is Coming, as Wild Bill Hickok. In addition to his hosting duties, Shannon periodically portrayed his alter ego, Nosmo King, a mysteriously silent, bearded man in dark sunglasses, who stalked about the studio in a slouch hat and tan raincoat. Nosmo was also featured 'driving his car' around Pittsburgh, or playing a one-man-band type instrument to well-known tunes such as The Beatles' 'I Saw Her Standing There'. The character reportedly got his name from a 'No Smoking' sign. Other popular characters in the series included Happy Howard (The Friendly Spider), Randy Rocket and The Great Mysto the Magician. The studio audience was generally composed of children's groups such as Boy Scout, Cub Scout, Girl Scout, Brownie, and Camp Fire Girl troops. Shannon regularly featured a 'Picture Gallery', either pretending to play a player piano or broadcasting recorded songs, such as The Toys' 'A Lover's Concerto', while viewer-submitted drawings and coloring pages scrolled across the screen.
Reader's Guide
The show aired on WTAE-TV 4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from September 15, 1958 to February 18, 1979. Hosted by Paul Shannon (1958–1975) and later Joe Negri (1975–1979). Featured cartoons, Three Stooges shorts, live segments, and audience participation.
Did You Know?
- Paul Shannon portrayed the alter ego Nosmo King, whose name reportedly came from a 'No Smoking' sign.
- Jim Martin's puppet Baby Jeffy was once lost during production, and Negri said Martin reacted 'like Jeffy was kidnapped.'
- A 1968 contest winner named Kennywood's roller coaster 'The Thunderbolt,' which still operates today.
More in American television shows featuring puppetry 1-24
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