Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

One of the most beloved kids show icons on New York City TV, Sandy Becker brought a wacky charm and a genuine love and respect for children to every program he hosted. Refusing to talk down to his audience, Becker instead reveled in the two extremes of being a kid: an insatiable eagerness to learn, and an unparalleled gift for spontaneous silliness.

In the early 1950’s, Becker moved from radio (where he was the voice of CBS’ Young Dr. Malone) to daily morning television on New York’s WNEW-TV (channel 5), where he hosted the early morning Sandy Becker Show. In between cartoon shorts, Becker entertained his preschool-aged audience with puppets Geeba Geeba (an elderly man), Marvin Mouse, Henry Headline (who offered kid-friendly items of news) and others, along with Becker’s real family dog, Schatzie.

In 1955, Becker became the first host of the long-running Wonderama, which originally aired for six hours straight on Sunday. Herb Sheldon took over as Wonderama’s host the next season, allowing Becker to focus on his own show.

In the early 1960’s, The Sandy Becker Show moved to the early evenings, and his comic repertoire expanded even further. For his revamped show, Becker adopted a wide range of alter egos, which appeared in short skits throughout the hour-long program. Norton Nork was a klutzy sort who tried to follow Becker’s off-camera directions to perform a simple task (making a pizza, baking a cake, etc.), but always failed spectacularly. Wearing a graduation gown and accompanied by the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance,” The Big Professor offered ludicrous, unscientific answers to questions sent in by the viewers. Other characters included the bilingual K. Lastima, mad scientist Dr. Gesundheit and his puppet assistant Dorshock, and the Lone Ranger spoof Arthur Arrowroot.

One of the more memorable and bizarre characters in Becker’s lineup was the mad disc jockey Hambone, who danced to the song of the same name while dressed in a pith helmet with a long plume, goggle-like eyeglasses and a gaudy military uniform. Spouting nonsensical advice like, “Cut the grass so the ants can pass,” Hambone quickly became a fan favorite.

The Sandy Becker Show (alternately known as Sandy Becker’s Fun House) kept viewers constantly entertained with its zippy, off-the-wall humor and pacing. Sketches shared the bill with pre-MTV music videos (including a Gesundheit/Dorshock lip sync of “Mr. Bass Man”) and with contests like “Catch Max,” wherein viewers had to phone the station if they spotted cartoon burglar Max running across the screen.

The show continued to air in its evening slot until the late 1960’s, making Sandy Becker a fixture in the lives of an entire generation. The talented showman may never have gotten the national audience or attention of fellow hosts like Soupy Sales or Captain Kangaroo's Bob Keeshan, but he was no less important to those who watched and adored him locally.

Release History

1953 WNEW, New York

TV Sub Categories

live-action
local
comedy

TV Studio

WNEW-TV

Television Cast

Sandy Becker Himself
Hambone Sandy Becker
Norton Nork Sandy Becker
The Big Professor Sandy Becker
Dr. Gesundheit Sandy Becker
K. Lastima Sandy Becker
Arthur Arrowroot Sandy Becker
Schatzie Himself

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