Capt. Jim's Popeye Club
Encyclopedia
Capt. Jim's Popeye Club was a local Pittsburgh
children's television series
during the 1970s, which showed Popeye the Sailor Man cartoons. Captain Jim was played by Jim Martin
, who is now a puppeteer for Sesame Street
.
The series was described as a "classic" in 2005, by Bob Karlovits of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
.
Captain Jim was originally played by Jim Saunders who was later replaced by Ted Eckman, who used the name "Jim" instead of "Ted" was because another person was using the "Captain Ted" name. The "Captain Jim" show is further asserted to have been broadcast from 1959 to about 1965 in an after-school time slot with Popeye cartoons, with this version of the show running for an hour. This broadcast ran on WIIC-TV, now WPXI
.
The second version was a half-hour show broadcast starting in 1970 and running for "a few years." This show ran in the early-morning hours targeted for pre-schoolers. It contained the syndicated series "New Zoo Revue
".
An earlier "Popeye Club" series, hosted by "Officer Don" (actually local radio announcer and actor Don Kennedy
) had a long run of more than ten years on local television in Atlanta, Georgia
, beginning in the late 1950s. It was telecast on WSB-TV
(WPXI's sister station), at that time the local NBC
affiliate, on weekdays from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
. In addition to showing "Popeye" cartoons (both old and new), it featured interviews with celebrities promoting family films, such as Virginia McKenna
and Bill Travers
talking about the their newly-released film Born Free
, and children's games such as "Untie the Knot", musical chairs
, and most famously, "Ooey-Gooey". This was a game which featured four grocery bags which rotated on a platform. Three of them contained groceries, but the fourth always contained a gooey mixture of egg yolk and other items. The contestant (always a child, although Officer Don occasionally played) would be blindfolded, the platform would be turned, and then the contestant was required to stick his/her hand into one of the grocery bags, not knowing if they would clutch a grocery item or the gooey mixture.
The WSB-TV version not only showed the old Popeye cartoons but also those created especially for the TV series Popeye the Sailor. However in Pittsbugh, ABC affiliate WTAE-TV
also aired a Popeye related program that featured the 1960-62 TV series while WIIC had the theatrical versions.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
during the 1970s, which showed Popeye the Sailor Man cartoons. Captain Jim was played by Jim Martin
Jim Martin (puppeteer)
Jim Martin is a puppeteer, best known for his roles on Sesame Street. As part of the cast, he has won an Emmy Award. He has been nominated multiple times, and won for "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling" at the Emmys, also for Sesame Street.-Early life:Martin graduated from St...
, who is now a puppeteer for Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
.
The series was described as a "classic" in 2005, by Bob Karlovits of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
.
Captain Jim was originally played by Jim Saunders who was later replaced by Ted Eckman, who used the name "Jim" instead of "Ted" was because another person was using the "Captain Ted" name. The "Captain Jim" show is further asserted to have been broadcast from 1959 to about 1965 in an after-school time slot with Popeye cartoons, with this version of the show running for an hour. This broadcast ran on WIIC-TV, now WPXI
WPXI
WPXI, channel 11, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter located on the north side of Pittsburgh. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in the...
.
The second version was a half-hour show broadcast starting in 1970 and running for "a few years." This show ran in the early-morning hours targeted for pre-schoolers. It contained the syndicated series "New Zoo Revue
New Zoo Revue
New Zoo Revue is an American half-hour children's television show that ran in syndication from 1972-1977. Stations usually broadcast the program in the early or middle part of the morning hours, when many pre-schoolers were watching it as well as similar shows such as the franchised Romper Room and...
".
An earlier "Popeye Club" series, hosted by "Officer Don" (actually local radio announcer and actor Don Kennedy
Don Kennedy
Donald Kennedy, , , is a radio, film and television actor whose career began in the late 1940s with a radio announcer spot on PA station WPIC....
) had a long run of more than ten years on local television in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, beginning in the late 1950s. It was telecast on WSB-TV
WSB-TV
WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...
(WPXI's sister station), at that time the local NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate, on weekdays from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. In addition to showing "Popeye" cartoons (both old and new), it featured interviews with celebrities promoting family films, such as Virginia McKenna
Virginia McKenna
Virginia A. McKenna OBE is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner.-Early career:McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked on stage in London's West End theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952...
and Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
talking about the their newly-released film Born Free
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
, and children's games such as "Untie the Knot", musical chairs
Musical chairs
Musical chairs is a game played by a group of people , often in an informal setting purely for entertainment such as a birthday party...
, and most famously, "Ooey-Gooey". This was a game which featured four grocery bags which rotated on a platform. Three of them contained groceries, but the fourth always contained a gooey mixture of egg yolk and other items. The contestant (always a child, although Officer Don occasionally played) would be blindfolded, the platform would be turned, and then the contestant was required to stick his/her hand into one of the grocery bags, not knowing if they would clutch a grocery item or the gooey mixture.
The WSB-TV version not only showed the old Popeye cartoons but also those created especially for the TV series Popeye the Sailor. However in Pittsbugh, ABC 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...
also aired a Popeye related program that featured the 1960-62 TV series while WIIC had the theatrical versions.