Bob Smith

Beloved pioneer TV kids' show host, Buffalo Bob Smith was the co-creator and host of TV's Howdy Doody (1954) for almost its entire thirteen-year run (NBC: 1947 - 1960), being sidelined for a little less than a year by a near-fatal heart attack in 1954. With his open, friendly personality, combined with the antics of the show's puppet and human casts, he won over the hearts of America's baby-boomer children easily, a hold he retains in spirit to this day. After a decade of semi-retirement following the show's cancellation in September 1960, Bob Smith made a huge comeback on the college campus circuit in the early 1970s, including a sold-out engagement at New York City's legendary rock palace, "The Fillmore East". Although he continued to make sporadic, successful appearances (TV, films, and in person) until the end of his life, his one attempt to bring "Howdy Doody" back as a regular series, in 1976, was regrettably a failure. He and his wife of more than 50 years had three children.