The Importance of Being WHIZZO!
by Dave Stuckey
Dave Stuckey wrote us recently seeking information about the lost Kiddie Matinee film, SANTA'S CHRISTMAS CIRCUS, starring Whizzo the Clown. Dave's fond and vivid memories of the beloved Kansas City Kid-Show host were so cool, we decided to share them with our readers! So join us as we reveal "The Importance of Being WHIZZO!"
It's impossible to overstate the impact of Frank Wiziarde -- Whizzo -- on 1960's Kids' TV in Kansas City. Whizzo was a superstar - an icon...a clown among clowns! Actually, by the time he left the Kansas City market in the mid-1970's (to WIBW in Topeka) he was a little bit taken for granted, but in his heyday Whizzo had *2* TV shows, his own amusement park (Whizzo-Land) -- even his own bread! He had one of the all-time great kid theme songs -- one that anyone who was of a certain age in Kansas City in the 60's could still sing you today, note for note.
Click on WHIZZO to hear his original theme song!
Kansas born and bred, and having been an actual clown in his family's circus, Frank Wiziarde left the act and started kicking around in Kansas City in the 1930's as a hillbilly comic in the Brush Creek Follies, KC's version of the Grand Ol' Opry. He made the move to kids' TV in the mid-1950's, first to KMBC, then KCMO (later to WIBW in Topeka). My sister Betsy and I -- along with the rest of the kids in our neighborhood in North Kansas City -- were Whizzo's guests on KMBC in about '68 or '69. They taped a week's worth of shows in one afternoon and poor Betsy got roped into being Whizzo's patsy right off the bat:
"What's your name little girl?"
Maddening! He then pulled the old wand-that-collapses-if-you-hold-the wrong-end routine on my sister ("Betty - what in the world did you do to my wand?" Hardy Har! Eventually, he sent her back to the audience with a prize of some sort. It was at this point he would often mix in an ad-lib for the benefit of the "big kids" ("That's right - we've got a six pack of Yoo Hoo for the kids... and a six-pack of something else for the parents").
Later, my best buddy Everett was pulled from the crowd to see who could balance on a large rubber ball. After a quick exit he would forever insist "Whizzo pushed me!" That was his story and he was sticking with it! Aw, it was a great time...what I wouldn't give for video from THAT day! To be fair, Whizzo's crosstown competition, Torey Southwick and his show (Torey Time, with his puppet sidekick, Ol' Gus ) was also very good and hugely successful (It's said that Roger Miller wrote "Kansas City Star" about Torey, who was also a DJ on KMBZ)...but Torey's show was a bit more on the 'gentle humor' side -- more educational -- while Whizzo (along with The Whizzo Dog, The Whizzo Lark and Hissy the Goose) offered nothing but pure roughouse chaos... in other words, perfect for us kids!
Other, more 'childish' clowns like Bozo seemed like pretenders next to our Whizzo! Conventional (eg. punk-rock) wisdom holds that Whizzo was a boozer and kid-hater... personally, I don't buy it... what he *was* (besides, like Pinky Lee, one of the last of the dying breed of vaudevillians) was an entertainer who knew how to deal with kids on their level...not to condescend or coddle. As a kid seeing Whizzo in person, it seemed to me that he knew kids got a kick out of seeing a big person who was more mixed up than THEY were! By the way, John Bilyeu ("Santa" in the movie SANTA'S CHRISTMAS CIRCUS) was also a prominent local TV personality. I remember him doing the weather, hosting "Bowling for Dollars" and the local segment of the Jerry Lewis Telethon.
The scans are from the great www.oldkc.com website. The Kansas City history of kids shows & horror hosts is covered at great length in the 1996 documentary "Whizzo, Ol' Gus & Me". Whizzo also gets a few paragraphs (and the cover!) in the kids' show book "Hi There Boys and Girls" by Tim Hollis.
Kevin Butler adds some interesting information regarding Whizzo the Clown:
"In regards to "Whizzo the Clown" being the choice for the cover for Tim Hollis' book, "Hi There, Boys & Girls!", according to phone conversations with Hollis, he revealed that another piece of artwork was originally going to be used for the book's cover. A collage of images of Kid-TV cops, clowns, cowboys and other Kid-TV show hosts was the original design. Even the book's working title was going to be "Cops,Clowns And Cowboys." The publisher, University Of Mississippi Press, wanted a different title for the book, and one Kid-TV character to serve as the book's cover image. Hence, the title became "Hi There, Boys & Girls," and Frank Wiarde's clown character adorned the cover."
"Betsy Stuckey"
"Okay Betty Tucker..."
"No! Betsy!"
"yes, yes - Betty"
(07-04-06)
