Captain Kangaroo is Dead

[Kathy in Cambridge]

I'm waiting for a link. Does anyone else remember him? I loved him as a little kid!

:-(

[GOPisEvil]

1. Aw, man...not the Captain?

:-(

[11 Bravo]

21. I can't really put into words why,

but this saddens me to no end.

[drdon326]

2. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=327434

[catzies]

15. There's a link in that thread now. MSNBC has it up. *sniffle*

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[terrya]

3. Yes. I loved that show so much..

That theme music that I still remember...

Mr Green Jeans. Bunny Rabbit. Tom Terrific and Manfred, the Wonder Dog.

The ping pong balls that poured down on the Captain.

This is so sad. Bob Keeshan was one of the nicest, warmest, caring people on television growing up...along with Fred Rogers.

RIP, Captain.

Terry

[ohiosmith]

4. Remember him even when he was Clarabelle on Howdy Doody.

The Captain was my breakfast buddy.

[asjr]

11. I thought Willard Scott was

Clarabelle on Howdy Doody. Were there two of them? I don't know why that came to mind. I am probably all wrong.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. Willard Scott was Bozo...

...and our local weather man. :-)

[Lars39]

5. Watched him faithfully.

:(

[devilgrrl]

6. Captain Kangaroo kicked ass!

I loved that show and all the characters. Remember when the ping pong balls would drop from the ceiling? :-)

RIP Bob :cry:

[supernova]

7. Awww, how sad

by the time Fred Rogers came along, Capt Kangaroo already had won my heart. :cry:

RIP Bob Keeshan

[absyntheNsugar]

8. Captain Kangaroo was a lefty

like us....

Thought I'd post some snippets from a recent speech he gave in favor or public education:

"More ominous threats can be seen in other states and in the platforms of some national candidates. We have floating around the spurious notion that the remedy for public school improvement lies in the abandoning of the system, giving taxpayer money to private, selective institutions to educate our children, children who should be educated in the public school system. These private schools are, by nature, selective; we will take this student but we will not take that student, picking and choosing, with taxpayer money, money that is taken from, directly from the public school system. Imagine your school turning away a child because, for whatever reason, you wished to reject him.

Public schools are, arguably, the most democratic of this nations democratic institutions; we serve everybody, that’s everybody. If we have challenges in our schools, and most of us believe we do, the solution lies in directly addressing those challenges, the solution is not in depriving public schools of the resources to do so and shunting public funds to private, selective institutions. "

<snip>

"Over twenty percent, almost a quarter of our kids live in this land of plenty, the land of thriving business and industry, the land of booming stock markets, the land of consumer confidence, the land of plenty and promise, over twenty per cent of our kids live in poverty. Are we nuts? Are we ready to take such a resource and toss away one in every five kids, are they our throw-aways? And we wonder about Littleton and Oregon and Kentucky. Many of the complex answers sought to those tragedies lies in the attitude of this nation that is ready to throw away one out of every five of our children."

Read the whole text at http://www.vtnea.org/Nov00.htm

[no_hypocrisy]

9. That's it. My childhood officially died today.

:cry:

R.I.P. Capt'n. Say hello to Mr. Greenjeans for me.

[texasmom]

40. That's exactly what I thought...

"goodbye childhood." That was the only children's show on tv in our little country town when I was preschool age. I loved Captain Kangaroo...

[INTELBYTES]

10. Man that is really sad. I had thought he passed away long ago though.

Lot of childhood memories with him, and Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Moose, and Mr. Greenjeans. That's a bummer. He was loved by countless kids, that are now adults.

[seventhson]

12. Anyone remember the bananaman?

He was a very funny clown with strings of bananas comingout of his pockets and sleeves and siunging dementedly.

THAT was my favorite.

But this does make me sad and colder. I loved that show when I was just a toddler.

Bob was the best.

You gave a lot of Joy, Mr. Keeshan. May you be blessed for it wherever you go!

[alwynsw]

31. Wooooo! Oohhhhh!

He never said anyting I can recall except as above - as he pulled enough bananas to feed King Kong out of his pockets.

I think I'll go out and buy a ucket of ping pong balls.

[Davis_X_Machina]

13. I think a lot of us...

...figured out that when Mr. Moose pulled that stunt with the pingpong balls over and over again, and the Captain got angry over and over again, and there Mr. Moose was the next day anyways, over and over again, that nothing we did would ever really make our parents hate us and get rid of us.

And Bunny Rabbit was punk before there was punk. Elvis Costello stole Bunny Rabbit's glasses for his look.

[populistmom]

14. I barely remember him

But I know I watched when I was very young. RIP Captain.

[RebelOne]

16. Yes, my son would watch him every morning.

[Faygo Kid]

17. Oh, no! Not Bob Keeshan!

As a baby boomer, I am devastated. What a class act, all his life. This is horrible news.

[BigMcLargehuge]

18. Oh man

First Fred Rogers...

Captain Kangaroo was a staple of my weekday morning television while I was getting ready for school. Hell, I watched him, Mr. Greenjeans, Mr. Moose and Bunny Rabbit until I was in high school.

Rest in peace Captain, may their be a shower of ping-pong balls awaiting you at the pearly gates.

:(

[bif]

19. First Mr. Rogers, now this!

How sad. He seemed like a wonderful man. Saw him at a book signing at a Borders once.

[NightTrain]

20. Goddammit, there's too much death going on this week!

First my radio colleague, then LH's kitten, now Captain Kangaroo. Christ, what a depressing week!

[Melsky]

22. This is so sad

I have such good memories of him.

[NYYFan]

23. Alas, poor Captain.

You shall be missed. ;( O8)

[Iverson]

24. R.I.P. Captain Kangaroo

I'll light a candle.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Here are some pics...

[Love Bug]

27. I met Bob Keeshan about 5 years ago

He was doing a book signing in Barnes & Noble one day when I just happened to be there. All of us baby boomers stood around awestruck! It was THE CAPTAIN!

RIP Mr. Keeshan

;(

[RebelOne]

28. Wait a minute, didn't he die a long time ago?

[lpbk2713]

33. You might be thinking of

Mister (Fred) Rogers.

[Kat45]

34. I thought so too. Guess we both were wrong.

RIP, Captain.

[commander bunnypants]

29. I just heard

I am sad. Mr. Moose, and bunny rabbit-You are eating to many carrots and the ping-ball tricks. I suddenly feel old.

Rest in Peace my friend, and thank-you

DDQM

[alwynsw]

30. Goodbye, old friend. You will be sadly missed and joyously remembered.

[lpbk2713]

32. This just in .......... General Franco is still dead.

Sorry, but Chevy Chase just got the best of me.

[dflprincess]

35. Another icon of my childhood is gone

Mick Jagger was right, "what a drag it is getting old".

I loved the Captain - watched him every morning. Whenever I visted my grandparents my grandpa would watch him with me. I thought it was funny to call my grandpa 'grandpa clock'.

God speed, Captain. You leave millions behind who loved you.

[carpetbagger]

36. Henson, Rogers, Kangaroo.

That about does it.

[Zomby Woof]

37. my childhood hero

He and Mr. Greenjeans both. Many years ago, it was the first thing I'd watch in the morning - it kept me out of the way as my big sister was getting ready for school.

With the possible exception of Sesame Street, intelligent children's programming is now officially dead. No more Mr. Rogers, no more Captain. :evilfrown:

[Pobeka]

38. His show was the first TV series I remember in my life.

Sorry to see him go. I have fond memories of Captain Kangaroo!

[Cascadian]

39. I loved his show.

It is sad that quality TV shows for children are a rarity these days. Both Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo have a special place in my heart. They were a my best friends when I was child. They were like father-figures to me and I learned a lot from them. It is also a little odd that both men passed away at such a short time from one another too.

Goodbye Captain and send Mr. Rogers my kind regards! I will miss you both!


;(

[pstokely]

41. will Fred Phelps be protesting at his funeral

like he did with Mr Rogers