Best of 50s Children's Television (DVD)

Take a trip back to those nostalgic days of the 1950s with this collection of vintage children's television programs. Many of these shows are rare, and in some cases the only surviving episodes of their respective series.

THE PAUL WINCHELL AND JERRY MAHONEY SHOW (1955): The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show is one of the most well-remembered shows from the early days of TV. Ventriloquist Paul Winchell acted as host to a clubhouse full of children along with his puppets, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. Serving as Winchell's sidekick was composer Milton DeLugg (author of "Orange Colored Sky", among other songs.) The Saturday morning version of the program was sponsored by Tootsie Roll. Winchell and his friends never missed an opportunity to plug the chewy candy. After the series ended, Winchell became much in demand doing voice-overs for cartoons, playing Tigger in Winnie the Pooh, Dick Dastardly on Wacky Races, and Gargamel on The Smurfs. At the same time, he pursued a medical career at Columbia University, eventually building and patenting the first artificial heart.

THE ROOTIE KAZOOTIE CLUB (1953): Created by producer Steve Carlin, The Rootie Kazootie Club aired live Saturday mornings on ABC. "Rootie Kazootie", a hand puppet, represented the typical All-American boy "full of zip and joy" (and was never seen without his signature baseball cap.) Host Todd Russell interacted with Rootie and other characters like girlfriend Polka Dottie, man's best friend Gala Poochie Pup, policeman Mr. Deetle Dottle, and the evil Poison Zoomack. The Rootie Kazootie Club was sponsored by that long-since retired confection, Powerhouse candy bars.

JUVENILE JURY (1951): Jack Barry is the host of this hilarious children's panel show in which five clever kids offer unique solutions to some very unusual problems. Juvenile Jury originated as a radio program on WOR out of New York, and was sponsored by Scotch Cellophane Tape. In one 1953 episode, a 4-year-old contestant accidentally blurted out that she'd been given the answers to the questions by her parents the night before. Jack Barry was subsequently involved in the quiz show scandals and had to testify before a congressional committee.

DING DONG SCHOOL (1953): The original "nursery school on the air", Ding Dong School aired weekday mornings on NBC. Ohio-born educator Frances Horwich ("Miss Frances") hosted the program facing the camera as if she was teaching a class of unseen students. A firm believer in using television to enrich children's lives, Miss Frances would only promote products on Ding Dong School that met her high standards, such as Kix cereal.

THE MAGIC CLOWN (1951): The Magic Clown was created by entrepreneur Tico Bonomo to promote his product, Bonomo Turkish Taffy. The Magic Clown was "Zovella" (the stage name of magician Josh Norris.) He entertained children with magic tricks when he wasn't extolling the virtues of Bonomo Turkish Taffy.

• television