The Candy Apple News Company is a locally produced children's television series that premiered on Friday, February 2, 1979 at 8:00pm[1] on WCAU-TV Channel 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The premiere was rebroadcast the following Sunday at 8:00am, which remained the show's time slot for the rest of the season.[2] It was rerun early on weekend mornings for many years until the final regular airing on September 7, 1991.[3] Between 2006-2011 WCAU occasionally ran a show called Out of the Vault[4] that featured Candy Apple News Company,[5] although it's unknown how many episodes were shown.
| The Candy Apple News Company | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television |
| Starring | Matt Robinson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Original release | |
| Network | WCAU-TV, Channel 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
In the show, a small human cast interacted with puppets in an old-fashioned, small-town storefront office which operated as a feature service distributing items of children's interest to television, radio and newspapers. The principal human cast member was Matt Robinson, who had previously played Gordon on Sesame Street.,[6][7] as the Editor-in-Chief. He was joined by his assistant C.B., played by Mary Margaret Myers, and a staff of puppets; a bat (Boris) worked as book reviewer, a mole (Morgan) was a researcher, and a cuckoo (Alistair) was the timekeeper. Other Candy Apple regulars included puppet Sparks O'Sullivan and a vintage 1930s talking radio that acted as show narrator.[8] Each episode was an hour of skits, short educational films, and other produced pieces.
The mole, bat, and cuckoo puppets were first used a year earlier in the half-hour WCAU feature Yipe! Don't Be Afraid.[9] They were built by George Neff, chairman of the art department at Glassboro State College in New Jersey.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Candy Apple News Company premiere episode listing". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 28 January 1979. p. 284.
- ^ "Candy Apple News Company premiere feature". Courier-Post. 2 February 1979. p. 20.
- ^ "Candy Apple News Company (WCAU-TV 10, Philadelphia PA) - the last documented airing". Citizens' Voice. 7 September 1991. p. 19.
- ^ "Show Spotlight: Out of the Vault". Nbdphiladelphia.com. 2 December 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "WCAU-TV 10 airs new show called "Out of the Vault" | RadioDiscussions". Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ "'Sesame's' Matthew Robinson dies, Phila. native was 'Cosby' writer". Philadelphia Daily News. August 7, 2002. p. 8. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ "Matt Robinson, actor, writer". Philadelphia Inquirer. August 8, 2002. p. B07. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
- ^ "Candy Apple News Company premiere announcement". Sunday News. 28 January 1979. p. 79.
- ^ "Yipe! Don't be Afraid (WCAU-TV 10, Philadelphia PA) - synopsis with more Candy Apple News puppets". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 1978. p. 59.
- ^ "Yipe! Don't be Afraid (WCAU-TV 10, Philadelphia PA) - Where the Candy Apple News puppets came from". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 14 August 1978. p. 41.