Uncle Don
Encyclopedia
Uncle Don was a children's radio program which aired on WOR
radio from 1928 to 1947. The host was Uncle Don Carney, a former vaudevillie performer who was born Howard Rice in 1897. The half-hour program was broadcast daily, five or six days a week.
Debuting September 1928, it was the most popular children's show of that era due to the powerful 50,000 watt range of New York's WOR station. Carney sang, played the piano, told stories and introduced a variety of features: the "Earnest Savers Club" which encouraged setting up accounts at the Greenwich Savings Bank
; a "Healthy Child Contest"; a "Talent Quest" that provided screen tests for winners. Each program began with Uncle Don arriving in the imaginary autogyro
he called his "puddle-jumper." His opening song was widely known:
Bloopers album, though this was later shown to be a fake recreation. Ultimately, this became attributed to later children's shows as well.
This scenario, a host inadvertently talking into an open mike at the end of a live show, was used as a comeuppance for lead character Lonesome Rhodes in the fictional film drama, A Face in the Crowd. Amplifying the urban legend, a scene in that film shows two real Variety
pressmen handling an issue of Variety with a headline comparing Rhodes to Uncle Don.
As a play on the urban legend, jazz musician Sonny Rollins
sometimes introduced himself, facetiously, as "Uncle Don", a nickname that continues to this day. On A Night at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1957), he says, "Hi, I'm Sonny Rollins. Who did you expect, Uncle Don?"
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
radio from 1928 to 1947. The host was Uncle Don Carney, a former vaudevillie performer who was born Howard Rice in 1897. The half-hour program was broadcast daily, five or six days a week.
Debuting September 1928, it was the most popular children's show of that era due to the powerful 50,000 watt range of New York's WOR station. Carney sang, played the piano, told stories and introduced a variety of features: the "Earnest Savers Club" which encouraged setting up accounts at the Greenwich Savings Bank
Greenwich Savings Bank
Greenwich Savings Bank was an American savings bank based in New York City that operated from 1833 to 1981. At the time of its closure in 1981, it was the 16th largest bank in the U.S. by total deposits.-Charter:...
; a "Healthy Child Contest"; a "Talent Quest" that provided screen tests for winners. Each program began with Uncle Don arriving in the imaginary autogyro
Autogyro
An autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...
he called his "puddle-jumper." His opening song was widely known:
Hello nephews, nieces too,
Mothers and daddies, how are you?
This is Uncle Don all set to go,
With a meeting on the ra-di-o!
We'll start off with a little song
To learn the words will not take long;
For they're as easy as easy can be,
So come on now and sing with me:
Hibbidy-Gits has-ha ring boree,
Sibonia Skividy, hi-lo-dee!
Honi-ko-doke with an ali-ka-zon,
Sing this song with your Uncle Don!
Books
Uncle Don's Strange Adventures, a 1936 Big Little Book, retells Carney's story about a mystery cruiser.Urban legend
For decades, a widespread rumor claimed that one night Uncle Don had inadvertently spoken into an open mike, saying "There! That ought to hold the little bastards." However, this has been debunked as untrue. The rumor was later resurrected in the 1950s, when an audio recording of the mistake turned up on a Kermit SchaeferKermit Schaefer
Kermit Schafer was an American writer and producer for radio and television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his collections of "bloopers" — the word Schafer coined for mistakes and gaffes of radio and TV announcers and personalities.-Early bloopers:Bloopers came into prominence in...
Bloopers album, though this was later shown to be a fake recreation. Ultimately, this became attributed to later children's shows as well.
This scenario, a host inadvertently talking into an open mike at the end of a live show, was used as a comeuppance for lead character Lonesome Rhodes in the fictional film drama, A Face in the Crowd. Amplifying the urban legend, a scene in that film shows two real Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
pressmen handling an issue of Variety with a headline comparing Rhodes to Uncle Don.
As a play on the urban legend, jazz musician Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
sometimes introduced himself, facetiously, as "Uncle Don", a nickname that continues to this day. On A Night at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1957), he says, "Hi, I'm Sonny Rollins. Who did you expect, Uncle Don?"