It was November 1966, and I had just turned 20 years of age when, to my utter shock, a chance interview with CBS-TV turned into a job working for the popular 'Captain Kangaroo' show.
I loved the fact that the show was not at stodgy CBS headquarters (known as 'Black Rock') but at the Broadcast Center on West 57th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues...far enough off the beaten track to actually become friends with a police horse (they were stabled around the block from the Broadcast Center and I couldn't have been more thrilled.)
And I especially loved the fact that I was surrounded by so many brilliant, talented and well-educated people. Working for Captain Kangaroo was my college education. It was the mid-60s so the conversations, still vivid in my mind, were often about Vietnam, politics (JFK's assassination was still fresh and raw) and of course, the hippie movement sweeping the country at the time. My co-workers and friends, Carol and Sam, actually attended the first 'Be-In' at Central Park in 1967. That solidified my love and admiration for them both!
Of all the puppet characters on the show, I think everyone loved Mister Moose best. He was such an irreverent little screwball, especially when he teamed up with Bunny Rabbit and cooked up yet another plot to drop ping pong balls on the poor Captain's head. Whenever I visited the studio, I always expected the Mister Moose puppet to come to life, that's how real he seemed to me.
Sadly, the man behind the puppets ~ Cosmo ('Gus') Allegretti ~ has passed away at the age of 86. Gus was a talented guy, but had the personality of a cactus. Not an easy person to get along with, we still struck up a friendship that lasted pretty much till the end of his life.
The Captain, Mr. Greenjeans, and now Mister Moose (and his other puppet characters) are all gone now...I hope to a sparkling new Treasure House in the sky. Be sure to give my love to Phoebe.
And thanks, so very much, for the memories....
THE AMERICAN CLASS STRUGGLE HAS A FACE * *Or, as one YouTube comedian observed, "We finally have someone who can replace all those Ch...

-
THE AMERICAN CLASS STRUGGLE HAS A FACE * *Or, as one YouTube comedian observed, "We finally have someone who can replace all those Ch...
-
AN AMERICAN DISGRACE Once upon a time, there used to be a country called "The United States of America." By no means, was it ever...
-
From Wikipedia: Luddites were 19th Century English textile artisans who protested against newly developed, labor-saving machinery from 18...
-
After a brief respite from the last job I had, I inherited a HUGE problem concerning the company water bill and the very old building ...
-
See that clock? For the next three weeks, that is how I will be feeling every time I check the time. (What time is it?? Doesn't quite ma...
-
So much so, that I am seriously considering moving back to my old 'Little Italy in the Bronx' neighborhood where most, if not all, ...
-
To say that this is the single most depressing campaign EVER (in my life anyway) would be the understatement of the year. If, God ...
-
At least when it comes to negative people who want nothing more than to suck the life energy out of your body and have you join them in thei...
-
...asked an old neighborhood friend of a close relative after I repeatedly said "thanks but no thanks" to a summer gatheri...
-
Greetings From Planet Paula: BRING BACK PONY EXPRESS : We all know that our beloved U.S. Postal Service has one foot in the grave and the ot...