Actors - Bob Keeshan

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	Actors - Bob Keeshan

Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an actor who was the original "Clarabell the Clown" on the Howdy Doody television program, but who is most famous as the star and title character of the children's show Captain Kangaroo.

Keeshan was born in Lynbrook, New York, and attended Fordham University after serving in the United States Marine Corps reserve during World War II. He later became an honorary member of Dartmouth College's Class of 1942.

On Howdy Doody, Keeshan played "Clarabell", a silent clown who mainly communicated by honking horns attached to a belt around his waist (one of the horns meant "yes"; the other horn meant "no"). Clarabell often spritzed Buffalo Bob Smith with a seltzer bottle and played practical jokes.

Keeshan played the children's show host Captain Kangaroo for over three decades. Frequently recurring characters included Mr. Green Jeans (played by Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum), and puppets such as "Bunny Rabbit" and "Mr. Moose."

In 1987, Keeshan founded Corporate Family Solutions with former Tennessee Republican Governor Lamar Alexander. The company provided day-care programs to businesses.

Keeshan lived on Melbury Road in Babylon Village, Long Island, New York before moving to spend the last 14 years of his life in Vermont. After moving to Vermont, he became a children's advocate as well as an author, writing his memoirs entitled Good Morning, Captain in 1995.

Keeshan died in Windsor, Vermont, at the age of 76 of natural causes. He was survived by 3 children. His wife of 40 years, Anne Jeanne Laurie Keeshan, predeceased him in 1990.

Awards

For his work on television and for children, Keeshan received many awards, including:

Five Emmy Awards (1978, 1981-1984)
Three Peabody Awards (1958, 1972, 1979)
National Education Award, 1982
Kennedy Center Honors, 1987
Induction into the Clown Hall of Fame, 1990
American Medical Association Distinguished Service Award, 1991
Induction into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, 1998

Trivia

An urban legend says Keeshan fought alongside actor Lee Marvin at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Although both men served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, neither man was at the actual battle. Keeshan did not see combat in the war; Marvin saw action, but was seriously wounded during the Battle of Saipan and returned to the U.S. several months before the battle on Iwo Jima.

Gallery

Bob Keeshan speaking for United Way at Bok Tower

Image:WIKI BOB KEESHAN 1.jpg| Image:WIKI BOB KEESHAN 2.jpg|

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Actors - Bob Keeshan

Awards

Trivia

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