Happy's Place
Encyclopedia
Happy's Place was an afternoon children's television program that aired on WFFT-TV
Super 55 Fox in Fort Wayne, Indiana
in the 1980s and 1990s.
, Inspector Gadget
, The Smurfs, He-Man
, Saber Rider and G.I. Joe
. The original program was called "Happy's Hour" which began broadcasting in 1976 on WTVQ, Channel 62 in Lexington, KY with Tim Eppenstein playing the character of Happy and Mike McMellon providing the voice of Froggie.
During programming breaks, Happy, who was a clown dressed as a hobo, would do children's activities from the WFFT studios. In the show, he had a sidekick named Froggie, a frog puppet (voiced by Craig Beaverson). Froggie had his own morning program on WFFT Super 55 Fox, entitled Froggie's Pad. Froggie's Pad featured children's cartoons such as ThunderCats and SilverHawks
. Later on, Chester T. Fox (Paul Moring) and Lawn Boy (Rick Miller) were added.
Charles Willer was slated to be the first Happy, but he turned the job down when WFFT asked him to retire his other locally-known clown character, Chuckles the Clown, as a condition of employment. The original Happy was then played by Mike Fry, a television show host-turned inventorhttp://www.oneminutemillionaire.com/articles/toystory.asp. Fry left the show in 1990 to concentrate on the gourmet fortune cookie company
he started with girlfriend Kim Harvey in 1988. http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/Articles.asp?ID=166
Happy's Place was visited by "Cousin" Happy (Chris Danielson), dressed in the same hobo apparel when the original Happy blew out his knee and needed surgery. This injury was the result of Mike slipping off the roof of the "Happymobile" -- a customized golf cart—during Fort Wayne's Thanksgiving Parade in 1988. A new "Happy" (Phillip Colglazier, now the executive director of the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre) eventually joined the show when Mike Fry left to pursue his inventing career. That Happy eventually left the show to a fourth Happy the Hobo (Adrian Guenther), who went on to work for WPTA-TV.
The show featured an in-studio audience, in which children met Happy on TV during breaks between programs in a single file line. Children were chosen to play games on the show. Parents had a place to sit on the side and were not shown to be part of the TV audience. When the kids were leaving after the show was over, they were all given goodie bags containing treats like Pop Weaver microwave popcorn, Astro Pop suckers, and Archway cookies.
From 1981 to 1997 "Happy's Place" was a live program, and no recordings of Happy's Place were saved by WFFT, however there are some episodes on YouTube
.
WFFT-TV
WFFT-TV is an Independent station for Northeastern Indiana licensed to Fort Wayne. From the network's launch on October 9th, 1986 to July 31, 2011, WFFT was the Fox-affiliated television station for Fort Wayne. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter at...
Super 55 Fox in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in the 1980s and 1990s.
Background
The program was known for its two hour block of children's programming (in later supplied by the Fox network) that initially aired from 3 to 5 in the afternoon. In the early 1980s, programming included DuckTalesDuckTales
DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...
, Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadget is an animated television series that revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, simple-witted cyborg detective named Inspector Gadget – a human being with various bionic gadgets built into his body. Gadget's arch-nemesis is Dr...
, The Smurfs, He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
, Saber Rider and G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
. The original program was called "Happy's Hour" which began broadcasting in 1976 on WTVQ, Channel 62 in Lexington, KY with Tim Eppenstein playing the character of Happy and Mike McMellon providing the voice of Froggie.
During programming breaks, Happy, who was a clown dressed as a hobo, would do children's activities from the WFFT studios. In the show, he had a sidekick named Froggie, a frog puppet (voiced by Craig Beaverson). Froggie had his own morning program on WFFT Super 55 Fox, entitled Froggie's Pad. Froggie's Pad featured children's cartoons such as ThunderCats and SilverHawks
Silverhawks
SilverHawks is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were made...
. Later on, Chester T. Fox (Paul Moring) and Lawn Boy (Rick Miller) were added.
History
The original program was called "Happy's Hour" which began broadcasting in 1976 on WTVQ, Channel 62 in Lexington, KY with Tim Eppenstein playing the character of Happy and Mike McMellon providing the voice of Froggie. The voice of Froggie was later provided by Greg Miller. (www.whenhappymetfroggie.com)Charles Willer was slated to be the first Happy, but he turned the job down when WFFT asked him to retire his other locally-known clown character, Chuckles the Clown, as a condition of employment. The original Happy was then played by Mike Fry, a television show host-turned inventorhttp://www.oneminutemillionaire.com/articles/toystory.asp. Fry left the show in 1990 to concentrate on the gourmet fortune cookie company
Fancy Fortune Cookies
Fancy Fortune Cookies is a company, founded by Mike L. Fry in 1988, that produces custom fortune cookies.-History:In late 1987, former circus clown and children's show host Mike Fry got the idea to produce custom fortune cookies, and left his job on the children's television series Happy's Place to...
he started with girlfriend Kim Harvey in 1988. http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/Articles.asp?ID=166
Happy's Place was visited by "Cousin" Happy (Chris Danielson), dressed in the same hobo apparel when the original Happy blew out his knee and needed surgery. This injury was the result of Mike slipping off the roof of the "Happymobile" -- a customized golf cart—during Fort Wayne's Thanksgiving Parade in 1988. A new "Happy" (Phillip Colglazier, now the executive director of the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre) eventually joined the show when Mike Fry left to pursue his inventing career. That Happy eventually left the show to a fourth Happy the Hobo (Adrian Guenther), who went on to work for WPTA-TV.
The show featured an in-studio audience, in which children met Happy on TV during breaks between programs in a single file line. Children were chosen to play games on the show. Parents had a place to sit on the side and were not shown to be part of the TV audience. When the kids were leaving after the show was over, they were all given goodie bags containing treats like Pop Weaver microwave popcorn, Astro Pop suckers, and Archway cookies.
From 1981 to 1997 "Happy's Place" was a live program, and no recordings of Happy's Place were saved by WFFT, however there are some episodes on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.