This Chicago-based live series featured ventriloquist Johnny Coons as host and puppet operator. Each episode featured stories, silent films, cartoons and dramatic interludes designed to teach youngsters about moral responsibility.
Between sketches and film inserts, Coons played comedy routines with his wooden partner, George Dummy, George’s invisible dog, Blackie, and Joe the “unseen giant”. Coons provided the voices for every character.
Originally titled Life WIth Uncle Johnny Coons, the series debuted on the CBS Saturday schedule in April 1954. The first two words of the title were dropped shortly thereafter.
The series was an outgrowth of the local Noontime Comics, a show aimed at a lunchtime family audience. Restaurants and sandwich shops often had a TV tuned to the show, testifying to its popularity.
Johnny Coons also starred in Uncle Mistletoe and his Adventures, which ran on ABC in 1950. He died in July 1975.
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Between sketches and film inserts, Coons played comedy routines with his wooden partner, George Dummy, George’s invisible dog, Blackie, and Joe the “unseen giant”. Coons provided the voices for every character.
