`Hey, kids! D’you know what time it is?”
It’s time to auction off a Howdy Doody marionette,, with no strings attached.
Quiet in the Peanut Gallery!
As Boomers everywhere know full well, Howdy, and his human pal, Buffalo Bob Smith, starred from 1947 to 1960 in “Howdy Doody,” TV’s first big kids’ show.
Buffalo Bob and others involved with the show have put up “Howdy Doody” memorabilia for a telephone auction, now through Oct. 24, from Leland’s Auction House (212-545-0800).
The principal objet d’Howdy is a 2-foot marionette of the star, dubbed “Photo Doody.” It’s a fully articulated marionette, but no strings attached.
“It’s one of the three actual, original Howdy Doodys,” explained Leland staffer Richard Bond. “The main one still resides in Buffalo Bob Smith’s collection. A second one is in the Smithsonian. This is the third one, used for photo shoots, stills, advertising, travel and anything else that was appropriate.”
Bond said the bidding starts at $5,000, with an expected price of $25,000 for the marionette, owned by Robert Muir, the show’s executive producer.
Howdy, complete with red-checked shirt, neckerchief, tan pants and cowboy boots, is one of 104 lots of “Howdy Doody” memorabilia up for sale, Bond said.
Other items include the costume of Clarabell the Clown and the red-fringed cowboy outfit Buffalo Bob wore in a number of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parades, Bond said.
– Stanley Tucci, perhaps best known for his pivotal role on ABC’s “Murder One,” has been cast to play famed gossip columnist Walter Winchell in an upcoming HBO movie.
“Walter Winchell” will chronical the rise of the columnist from vaudeville entertainer to one of the most influential journalists of his time (the ’40s and ’50s).