Cappelli & Company
Encyclopedia
Cappelli & Company is an American
children's television series created by, and starring, children's songwriter/composer Frank Cappelli
. The series was in production for four and a half seasons, from 1989 to 1992, originating from Pittsburgh ABC
affiliate WTAE-TV
. Upon the program's instant success both critically and ratings-wise in Pittsburgh, Cappelli & Company was distributed by WTAE's parent owner Hearst Television to air on all its sister stations across the country. Other Hearst-owned stations which aired the show well into the 1990s included WCVB in Boston, WDTN
in Dayton, KMBC
in Kansas City, WISN
in Milwaukee, WBAL
in Baltimore, and KCRA in Sacramento.
Cappelli & Company featured musical segments, montages, in studio sing-alongs with an audience of kids, and a variety of human interest pieces. Frank would usually play a role in most musical segments, which were taped in locations away from the show's main set. These segments featured original songs by Cappelli, ranging from the lighthearted "Brusha-Brusha Brush Your Teeth" to the more sentimental "Lindsay's Bakery". Various children would appear in necessary roles to help illustrate the actions/stories of each song. Depending on the segment, an influx of other adult actors would appear. The main studio segments would have Frank leading sing-alongs with the young audience, while playing his acoustic guitar. Guests of versatile talents would also join Frank and the kids in studio. Each episode would feature one human interest segment, such as a look inside a candy manufacturing company to see how its products are made (à la the "Picture Picture" segment of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
).
Cappelli & Companys furthered success on the Hearst family of stations led to cable kids' giant Nickelodeon
picking up reruns of the show for its Monday-Friday morning Nick Jr. lineup. Its airtime on Nick began on April 5, 1993 and ended on June 10, 1994. While all Hearst stations continued to run Cappelli & Company after it went out of production in 1992 (once a week on Saturday mornings), the series' flagship station WTAE ran it the longest. In the fall of 2003, after a 14 year-run, the last 10 which had been entirely of reruns, the show was removed from WTAE's Saturday morning schedule. Most Hearst stations had only run the program until the late 1990s, while later stations acquired by the merger with Argyle Television never carried it at all.
While enjoying a great run on broadcast and cable television, Cappelli & Company won two Emmys for quality children's programming and two national Gabriel Awards for children's television. Frank also was signed by A&M Records
as one of their national recording artists and released six audio cassettes and two video cassettes, partially based on this series. Both the audios and videos have been honored with numerous Parent Choice Awards.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
children's television series created by, and starring, children's songwriter/composer Frank Cappelli
Frank Cappelli
Frank Cappelli was the star of the children's television series Cappelli & Company.-External links:*...
. The series was in production for four and a half seasons, from 1989 to 1992, originating from Pittsburgh ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WTAE-TV
WTAE-TV
WTAE-TV is the ABC affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh, broadcasting on UHF channel 51 and identifying via PSIP as channel 4 . It also serves as an ABC affiliate for the Wheeling/Steubenville and Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia market areas...
. Upon the program's instant success both critically and ratings-wise in Pittsburgh, Cappelli & Company was distributed by WTAE's parent owner Hearst Television to air on all its sister stations across the country. Other Hearst-owned stations which aired the show well into the 1990s included WCVB in Boston, WDTN
WDTN
WDTN, virtual channel 2, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Ohio's Miami Valley. Licensed to Dayton, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in the Frytown section of the city. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in...
in Dayton, KMBC
KMBC-TV
KMBC-TV virtual channel 9 is a television station affiliated with the ABC television network, located in Kansas City, Missouri. KMBC-TV is owned by Hearst Television and its studios are located on Winchester Ave. near Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The station's high guyed mast broadcast...
in Kansas City, WISN
WISN-TV
WISN-TV, virtual channel 12.1 , is a television station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin serving as an affiliate of the ABC television network. Its signal covers most of southeastern Wisconsin and parts of northeastern Illinois, including Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan and Waukesha...
in Milwaukee, WBAL
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
in Baltimore, and KCRA in Sacramento.
Cappelli & Company featured musical segments, montages, in studio sing-alongs with an audience of kids, and a variety of human interest pieces. Frank would usually play a role in most musical segments, which were taped in locations away from the show's main set. These segments featured original songs by Cappelli, ranging from the lighthearted "Brusha-Brusha Brush Your Teeth" to the more sentimental "Lindsay's Bakery". Various children would appear in necessary roles to help illustrate the actions/stories of each song. Depending on the segment, an influx of other adult actors would appear. The main studio segments would have Frank leading sing-alongs with the young audience, while playing his acoustic guitar. Guests of versatile talents would also join Frank and the kids in studio. Each episode would feature one human interest segment, such as a look inside a candy manufacturing company to see how its products are made (à la the "Picture Picture" segment of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, also known as Mister Rogers, is an American children's television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series is aimed primarily at preschool ages, 2-5, but has been stated by Public Broadcasting Service as "appropriate for all ages"...
).
Cappelli & Companys furthered success on the Hearst family of stations led to cable kids' giant Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
picking up reruns of the show for its Monday-Friday morning Nick Jr. lineup. Its airtime on Nick began on April 5, 1993 and ended on June 10, 1994. While all Hearst stations continued to run Cappelli & Company after it went out of production in 1992 (once a week on Saturday mornings), the series' flagship station WTAE ran it the longest. In the fall of 2003, after a 14 year-run, the last 10 which had been entirely of reruns, the show was removed from WTAE's Saturday morning schedule. Most Hearst stations had only run the program until the late 1990s, while later stations acquired by the merger with Argyle Television never carried it at all.
While enjoying a great run on broadcast and cable television, Cappelli & Company won two Emmys for quality children's programming and two national Gabriel Awards for children's television. Frank also was signed by A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
as one of their national recording artists and released six audio cassettes and two video cassettes, partially based on this series. Both the audios and videos have been honored with numerous Parent Choice Awards.