By:Karenlyn Barone
His bushy mustache, Buster Brown haircut and big-pocketed coat have been laid to rest, but the spirit of Bob Keeshan will live on. Known as television's Captain Kangaroo, Keeshan died in Vermont on Jan. 24 after a long illness. The Lynbrook-born actor and TV producer leaves behind a legacy embraced by millions of children and parents who watched his show for more than 30 years.
Born Robert James Keeshan in 1927, he lived at 49 Marion Street in Lynbrook, where his father, Joseph, was a manager at the local Daniel Reece's grocery store and his mother, Margaret, was a homemaker. While Keeshan was still a young boy, the grocery was acquired by Safeway and his father lost his job. By all accounts, the family was forced to move to a more modest house in Forest Hills, Queens.
"His parents lived in Lynbrook for several years before Keeshan was born," said Lynbrook historian Art Mattson. "They were true Lynbrookites, and he was really always a Long Islander -- that connection held."
Keeshan was a product of the New York City school system, and in his senior year he landed a $13.50-a-week night job as a page at NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center. In 1945 he joined the Marines, but the war ended before he was sent off to combat, and he was soon rehired by NBC as a receptionist.
There he met Buffalo Bob Smith, the host of an afternoon children's show that eventually became famous as "Howdy Doody." Keeshan was hired to dress as a clown and give out prizes to the show's studio audience. In his striped frock and painted face he said not a word, but communicated with twin bicycle horns -- right for yes, left for no. His name was Clarabell the Hornblower.
A rift with Smith caused Keeshan's ouster from the popular show, but he rebounded with a two-year stint as Corny the Clown on ABC's "Time For Fun." In 1954 he earned a spot on "Tinker's Workshop," and the following year CBS offered Keeshan his own children's show.
Remarkably, "Captain Kangaroo" ran just shy of 30 years on CBS and then an additional six years on PBS. The show was an immediate success, gently encouraging children to be creative, commune with animals and respect nature and themselves. Keeshan imparted these subtle lessons to children with the help of sidekick Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum) and staples Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose and Grandfather Clock.
During most of his adult life, Keeshan lived in Babylon and devoted himself to causes on Long Island. He served on the Board of Education for the West Islip School District, was president of the Suffolk County Hearing and Speech Center, director of the Bank of Babylon and served on the board of directors of the Good Samitaritan Hospital in West Islip.
"Captain Kangaroo" won five Emmys and three Peabody Awards. Keeshan was honored at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1987, and was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in 1990.
Keeshan married the former Anne Jeanne Laurie in 1950. She died in 1990. He is survived by three children, Derek, Laurie Margaret and Maeve Jeanne, and six grandchildren.
Keeshan was a lifelong advocate for children, and received the Distinguished Service to Children Award in 1981. "Play is the work of children," he said. "It's very serious stuff, and if it's properly structured in a developmental program, children can blossom."
Keeshan leaves untold numbers of fully blossomed children to carry on his memory.
