The Adventures of Oky Doky

The Adventures of Oky Doky
	Cast member Wendy Barrie
Genre	Children's program
Starring	Wendy Barrie; Burt Hilber; Pat Barnard; Dayton Allen
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes (1948-49); 15 minutes (1949)
Release
Original network	DuMont
Original release	November 4, 1948 –; May 26, 1949

The Adventures of Oky Doky is an American children's television program that aired on the DuMont Television Network on Thursdays at 7pm ET from November 4, 1948, through May 26, 1949.[1] Sometime in early 1949, the time slot for the show went from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. In March, the show was cut back to Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:45pm ET.

The show had many similarities with Howdy Doody, including a frontier/western theme and a cowboy puppet as the title character.

Background

The puppet Oky Doky (created by puppeteer Raye Copeland) was first seen on New York City television station WABD[2] in a children's fashion show program called Tots, Tweens and Teens.[3]

Although there are conflicting stories of when Oky Doky first appeared on local television, it seems likely that his move to network prime time was inspired by the success of the Howdy Doody show.

Plot and cast

Oky Doky ran a dude ranch where children came to play games, perform skits and watch Oky's latest adventures. In each show, Oky would get into trouble, but his magic milk pills gave him the strength to defeat the bad guys.

The cast included Wendy Barrie, Rex Trailer,[4] Burt Hilber and Pat Barnard, with Dayton Allen as puppeteer and the voice of Oky Doky. Frank Bunetta was the producer and director; Ben Zavin was the writer.[2]

Broadcast changes

Early in 1949 the show's name was changed to Oky Doky Ranch and became a twice a week show, shortened from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. Oky Doky gained a new costar, a cowboy played by Rex Trailer. This did not prevent the show from being cancelled at the end of the season.

References

Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
Hyatt, Wesley (2003). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. p. 9. ISBN 9780786414208. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 15.

Bibliography

David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8

External links

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[Woolery-1] Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.

[slts-2] Hyatt, Wesley (2003). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. p. 9. ISBN 9780786414208. Retrieved 14 August 2017.

[3] Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

[etv-4] Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 15.