Billy Bean & His Funny Machine

1 9 5 4 – 1 9 5 6 (UK)

This afternoon’s children’s programme from the BBC featured a character called Billy Bean, who operated a large fantastic machine that featured a windmill and a Dorset-Faucet, and could produce anything Billy drew on the ‘Cartoonerator’ through the ‘Mixerator’.

Billy was accompanied in his escapades by Yoo-Hoo, a cuckoo (voiced by Ivan Owen, the future “Boom Boom” behind Basil Brush), and the machine was operated by Lester, Billy’s unseen assistant with whom he communicated through a speaking tube of nautical design.

The Funny Machine was devised by Chuck Luchsinger.

Billy Bean built a machine to see what it could do
He made it out of sticks and stones, and nuts and bolts and glue
The motor sang Chuffaty Bang, Rattata Rattatarator
And all of a sudden a picture appeared on the funny old Cartoonerator
Billy Bean built a machine to see what it would do
It did the funniest things he’d seen
So he called it his fun machine, machine,
Billy Bean and his fun machine

Billy Bean 
Peter Hawkins
Yoo-Hoo 
Ivan Owen