Razzle Dazzle – Nostalgia Central

1 9 6 1 – 1 9 6 6 (Canada)
30 minute episodes

This high-energy, fast-moving daily Canadian children’s show was originally hosted by Alan Hamel and Michele Finney. Al “the kiddies’ pal” had a healthy wardrobe of sweaters and slacks, closely cropped hair, and a lot of teeth.

Michele was eleven years old when the show started, and just about dared you to call her perky!

Ray Bellew and Trudy Young later took over hosting duties in 1964.

The star of the show, though, was Howard the Turtle, a cheeky puppet voiced by John Keogh who loved telling painfully corny jokes that the show proudly called “Groaners” and was often Buddha-like in his serenity,

Howard changed characters as easily as changing what he wore on his head or around his neck (which is basically how he did change character). He was Howard Mellotone, with the Pick of the Pops from radio station COW; he was Jimmy Fiddle Faddle with the latest gossip from Hollywood; he reported news of real importance for the Razzle Dazzle Daily; he was poet Howard I. Threadneedle; he hosted Howard Handsome’s Dance Party with the Razzle Dazzle Dancers, and he was the impresario of Turtleshell Theatre.

The show’s villain was Percy Q. Kidpester, played by Ed McNamara. A black-cloaked misanthrope who stepped out of a Victorian melodrama, his appearances guaranteed boos and hisses from the kids in the gallery.

Also featured was Mr Sharpey, a comedic con man character played by Paul Kligman, widely known for his trademark catchphrase “A knuckle full of nickels!”

Joe Murphy played Mr Igotit, the local shopkeeper; Don “Ace” Baker appeared regularly to demonstrate exercises and physical activities for kids (who presumably were watching Razzle Dazzle instead of playing outside), and dancer Joey Hollingsworth appeared frequently.

The most prolific supporting player, though, was Michael Roth, who appeared as eight characters in the show, among them the oriental mystic Mandarin Tee Hee, Bimbo the clown, the English gentleman Lord Faversham, and the magician Sheikh Ali Ben Roth.

Other supporting characters included Mendel Meek, Boomer Foghorn, Hiram Corntassel, the “uncountrified farmer” from Cucumber Corners, the German inventor Herr Doktor Professor Vee Gates, and Sherlock House, “the defective detective,” and the mailman Johann Sebastian Bagstrap.

Another important contributor to the show was the cartoonist George Feyer. His drawings comprised the comic strip adventures of Percy Kidpester, Terwilleger Topsoil, Daniel the Spaniel, and J. Tipton Teabag.

The action took place each afternoon in ‘Razzle Dazzle Alley’, which was populated each day by a gallery of children bused in from Toronto-area elementary schools. The kids were kept engaged through interactive games, most famously the “Spots and Stripes” studio competition.

The show boasted an enormous fan club of over 100,000 children across Canada. Viewers could write to the CBC to receive a physical, cardboard Secret Decoder Wheel in the mail.

At the end of each episode, a scrambled message would appear on the TV screen for kids to solve at home.

The final five minutes of each broadcast were reserved for action-adventure serials.

Most notably, Razzle Dazzle broadcast the early episodes of The Forest Rangers (pictured), which became so popular it spun off into its own legendary standalone series.

It also imported foreign adventure serials, including Australia’s The Terrific Adventures of the Terrible Ten and The Magic Boomerang, and the dubbed French hit Thierry la Fronde.

Howard the Turtle
John Keogh (voice)
Hosts
Alan Hamel
Michele Finney
Ray Bellew
Trudy Young
Percy Q. Kidpester
Ed McNamara
Mr Sharpey
Paul Kligman