You are invited to a very special photographic
exhibition sponsored by C.H.A.I.M., October
13 thru 3 I , 1996, at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield.View the special
photographs Ann Weiss uncovered from
Auschwitz and learn how she was able to share
them with the world.

DESSERT RECEPTION • SATURN% OCiOBER 26, 8:00 RI

JCC West Bloomfield
Shiffman Hall

Ann Weiss will speak following the reception.

COMMUNITY INVITED • FREE ADMISSION
DONATIONS APPRECIATED

This event is being held in cooperation with the Jewish Community Center,
The Jewish News and Sinai Hospital's Program for Holocaust Survivors and Families.

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WHAT TIME page 85

Flub-A-Dub, an actual dictio-
nary word at the time, captured
his attention. and Mr. Kean gave
the puppet its name. --
"I never got more than a week
ahead with my writing," Mr.
Kean said. "I liked to gauge the
kids' reactions. If they really
liked something, I'd drag it out;
if they didn't, I'd move on."
In all his years of writing for
the show, Mr. Kean appeared on
camera once. A piano needed to
be moved. He and the show's
producer did the job so their
families could see them on tele-
vision.
Some New York papers ran
small articles about Mr. Kean,
but the notoriety of the show
was greater than his own fame.
"As I say to most people, 'Can
you tell me who wrote "Happy
Days," "Friends" or any other TV
show?' "
When the show aired, Mr.
Kean often went up to the ninth
floor of the NBC building
to watch it with the parents of
those children in the audience
(the Peanut Gallery). The
parents didn't know who he
was, and that helped be-
cause he would listen as
they talked about their
child's favorite character or
episodes.
Mr. Kean did all his
work from his New York
apartment. Writing be-
tween seven and eight
hours a day, he drank cof-
fee — lots of it — and
smoked more than two
packs of cigarettes a day.
"The only bad thing I did
while I was working on the
show was smoke too much," he
said.
Mr. Kean wrote over 2,000
scripts for the show and as
many as 98 Howdy Doody songs
over the nine years he spent
writing for the program. Most
of those songs were recorded af-
ter a contract with RCA was
signed.
"I got the biggest kick of my
life hearing those records,"
he said. "They did my songs with
a band and they sounded terrif-
ic."
The show eventually had to
share center stage with the 1955
debut of the "Mickey Mouse
Club," which aired on ABC. It
ran for an hour and began 30
minutes before "Howdy Doody,"
which only aired for half an
hour. Ultimately, Howdy Doody
was moved to Saturday morn-
ings. The last "Howdy Doody"
episode aired in September of
1960.
"I tried to persuade the net-
work to show cartoons for the
half hour before we came on, but
they didn't think that was nec-
essary," Mr. Kean said.
"I left because I reached a
point where I had enough," he

said. "Repetition prompted me
to move on."
"It was a good job that was full
of glamour and money," he said.
He continues to receive a
quarterly check for national and
international royalties generat-
ed by the show. A majority of the
money comes from a "Happy
Days" episode, a Back to the
Future movie and the film
Avalon, all of which include clips
from the show. Other royalties
come from books and records. He
typically nets $1,500 a year,
splitting all profits with Mr.
Smith.
After the show, Mr. Kean
went into business with an old
friend who had a seat on the
New York Stock Exchange and
planned to start a company. Mr.
Kean became a registered stock-
broker.
Seven years later, he switched
careers entirely. The publicity
director of the city of Miami was
looking for someone to do public
relations. Mr. Kean spent 10
years doing the job.

IT k

It was in Miami that he met
his second wife, Vivian, a native
Detroiter. The couple married
almost three years ago and
moved to West Bloomfield near-
ly two years ago. Now Mr. Kean
works as a professional piano
player. Three times a week
he plays at the Doubletree Ho-
tel in Southfield, and on Satur-
day and Sunday evenings, he
plays the Ritz-Carlton in Dear-
born.
While the days of "Howdy
Doody" are long gone, Mr. Kean
is quick to note the show's 50th
anniversary is approaching (De-
cember 1997). The show's writer
could talk forever about his
memories. His condo is filled
with mementos from the show
— a few scripts, "Howdy Doody"
books and comics, song lyrics,
records, correspondence ... he
keeps it all. He talks to Bob
Smith regularly, occasionally
reminiscing about the show.
"It was a great time in my
life," Mr. Kean said. "Once, the
whole cast appeared on Milton
Berle's "The Texaco Star The-
ater.' I helped start a 'Howdy
Doody' show in Canada and in
Cuba as well." ❑