Woodrow the Woodsman Plays the Palace – Dec. 1963

Woodrow the Woodsman
(Courtesy Akron Beacon Journal)

Woodrow and Barnaby

Baby Boomers that grew up in the Cleveland area have pleasant memories of the many talented TV personalities that hosted or appeared on children's shows. Seeing them on TV regularly performing their gentle antics was quite comforting, and naturally kids began to think of them as friends. 

Several of them – Captain Penny, Jungle Larry and Barnaby – have been featured on this blog many times.

But another one that was a hit with the kids was Woodrow the Woodsman, played by Clay Conroy. His show went in the air in 1961 and was actually a spin-off from Barnaby.

By 1963, Woodrow was popular enough on his own that when it came time for the annual Mary Lee Tucker Christmas Show, the City Club arranged for a special matinee show at the Palace featuring the axe-wielding entertainer. Below is the front page Journal article of December 2, 1963 making the special announcement.

And here's an article that ran in the Journal the next day, that undoubtedly drummed up even more enthusiasm and excitement for the matinee.

Both articles appropriately include a mention of puppeteer Lawson Deming, the man behind the lovable woodland sidekicks, including Freddy the Alley-Crock, Tarkington the Owl and Voracious the Elephant.

Of course, the Mary Lee Tucker Matinee show was a big hit with the youngsters, as reported in the article below from December 5, 1963.

Like many other kids, my siblings and I watched Woodrow on Channel 3. I remember the alley-crock, and the fact that all you could see of the elephant was the trunk dangling into the scene. I also seem to recall that he showed those cheapie made-for-TV Popeye cartoons that featured the spinach-eating sailor battling an obese 'Brutus.'

Anyway, Clay Conroy revived his famous character on TV briefly in the late 1990s. Here he is making a cameo on the Big Chuck and Little John Show, popping in on Soupy Sales who was filming a special intro for the program.