1 9 6 8 – 1 9 6 9 (UK)
15 minute episodes
This children’s puppet series from Yorkshire Television about the adventures of a young jungle boy was produced by Jess Yates (of Stars On Sunday fame,) directed by Geoff Hall (1st series) and Bill Cole (2nd series), and broadcast in black and white.
Big Chief Bilbo was an angry black marionette who wore a bowler hat and had a bone through his nose.
The puppets were made and operated by Eric Bramall and Chris Somerville of The Harlequin Puppet Theatre in North Wales.
Definitely a product of its time, Sugarball would certainly fall fairly and squarely in the Non-PC category today.
Big chief Bilbo ‘s getting very cross, umalakawee
Don’t you know that he’s the boss, umalakawee?
Voices
Juliet Cooke
Puppetry
Eric Bramall
Songs
Kenny Lynch
Episodes
The Arrival of Sugarball (29 October 1968) | The Jumble Sale (5 November 1968) | Whiteman (12 November 1968) | The Aeroplane (19 November 1968) | Bilbo’s Birthday Surprise (26 November 1968) | The Giant Plant (3 December 1968) | The Weighing Machine (10 December 1968) | The Alarm Clock (17 December 1968) | The Stranger (26 December 1968) | Treacle Toffee Is Good (31 December 1968) | Chief Bilbo’s Holiday (7 January 1969) | The Water Diviner (14 January 1969) | The Jungle Village Concert (21 January 1969) | Bilbo’s Big Nose (28 January 1969) | The Hypnotist (4 February 1969) | Chief Bilbo’s Surprise (11 February 1969) | Bilbo Keeps Fit (18 February 1969) | The Blackboard Jungle (25 February 1969) | A Tale of Bilbo’s Head (4 March 1969) | The Artist (11 March 1969) | The Magic Wishing Stick (18 March 1969) | Hunting, Shooting and Fishing (25 March 1969) | Bilbo Washes Whiter (1 April 1969)
