Commander Tom Show
Encyclopedia
The Commander Tom Show was a children's television series
that aired weekday afternoons on Channel 7 WKBW-TV
in Buffalo, New York
, premiering on December 20, 1965.
The host of the show was Tom Jolls
, who had joined WKBW as a weatherman earlier in 1965. When the show launched, it consisted of interstitial
segments with Jolls shown around episodes of the Adventures of Superman
TV series. Dustmop the puppet (a dog) was introduced in 1967. An alligator puppet, Matty the Mod followed, along with the first female puppet Cecily Fripp, modelled after American comedian Phyllis Diller. In the early 1970s, Superman would be replaced with other family and children's programming including re-runs of The Three Stooges, The Flintstones
, Batman
, Little Rascals, The Munsters
, and The Addams Family
. Many short animated cartoons also were shown: Warner Brothers' Merrie Melodies
and Looney Toons were staples for many years, including some of the earliest Porky Pig
and Bugs Bunny
shorts from the 1930s. Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Touche Turtle and Peter Potamous replaced Bugs and his friends after a time. A number of MGM cartoons from the 1930s were shown as well. Near the end of its run, the show was renamed Commander Tom's World and relegated to weekends. In later years, it played such shows as Davey and Goliath
, Rainbow Brite
, and The Getalong Gang. After its cancellation in 1991, the "Commander Tom" character was merged into a revival of Rocketship 7
in 1992. That, too, was cancelled in 1993, ending the character of "Commander Tom" for good.
Tom would often travel from school to school to speak to young children. He was an annual event in the Holland Central School district's "Let's Give America a Chance" career day.
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...
that aired weekday afternoons on Channel 7 WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, premiering on December 20, 1965.
The host of the show was Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls
Tom Jolls is a retired television weatherman at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, where he worked for 34 years. He was also the star of the Commander Tom Show which had a 26-year run on WKBW....
, who had joined WKBW as a weatherman earlier in 1965. When the show launched, it consisted of interstitial
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
segments with Jolls shown around episodes of the Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
TV series. Dustmop the puppet (a dog) was introduced in 1967. An alligator puppet, Matty the Mod followed, along with the first female puppet Cecily Fripp, modelled after American comedian Phyllis Diller. In the early 1970s, Superman would be replaced with other family and children's programming including re-runs of The Three Stooges, The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Little Rascals, The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
, and The Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
. Many short animated cartoons also were shown: Warner Brothers' Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
and Looney Toons were staples for many years, including some of the earliest Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
and Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
shorts from the 1930s. Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Touche Turtle and Peter Potamous replaced Bugs and his friends after a time. A number of MGM cartoons from the 1930s were shown as well. Near the end of its run, the show was renamed Commander Tom's World and relegated to weekends. In later years, it played such shows as Davey and Goliath
Davey and Goliath
Davey and Goliath is a 1960s stop-motion animated children's Christian television series. The programs, produced by the Lutheran Church in America , were produced by Art Clokey after the success of his Gumby series.Each 15-minute episode features the adventures of Davey Hansen and his "talking"...
, Rainbow Brite
Rainbow Brite
Rainbow Brite was a character franchise introduced by Hallmark Cards in 1983, with the animated television series starting the following year....
, and The Getalong Gang. After its cancellation in 1991, the "Commander Tom" character was merged into a revival of Rocketship 7
Rocketship 7
Rocketship 7 was a children's television series that aired weekday mornings on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from 1962 to 1978 and from 1992 to 1993....
in 1992. That, too, was cancelled in 1993, ending the character of "Commander Tom" for good.
Tom would often travel from school to school to speak to young children. He was an annual event in the Holland Central School district's "Let's Give America a Chance" career day.