kids encyclopedia robot

Captain Chesapeake facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Captain Chesapeake was a popular children's TV show in Baltimore, Maryland. It aired on WBFF (channel 45) every morning and afternoon. The show ran from April 1971 until 1990.

The host of the show was George A. Lewis, who played the character "Captain Chesapeake." George Lewis was born on November 24, 1926, and passed away on December 18, 2000, in Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland.

Before becoming Captain Chesapeake, Lewis hosted a similar show called Captain Pitt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That show was on WPNT (channel 22). He also started his career hosting children's shows like Steamboat Bill and Mr. Cartoon on WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia, from 1957 to 1970. Besides his children's shows, George Lewis also acted as "Ghost Host" on WBFF's late-night horror movie show and worked as a news anchor before 1988.

Kids in Baltimore loved the show! They could even become "crew members" of Captain Chesapeake's team.

The Captain Chesapeake show always started with a special poem: "A shipwrecked sailor found himself in a plight. Lost at sea he was really a sight. He swam and swam 'til he thought he'd die, when a wondrous sight appeared to his eye. A derelict boat that saved his life and put an end to his watery strife."

The show's theme song was a tune called "Stumbling" by The Three Suns. It was originally a Bob Crosby song. The interesting part was that they played the song from a 33 rpm record at a faster 45 rpm speed!

Captain Chesapeake always ended each show with important advice for his young viewers. He would say, “Be somebody important, Be yourself!”

Characters on the Captain Chesapeake Show

Captain Chesapeake wasn't alone on his adventures! He had several fun characters who joined him on the show.

  • Captain Chesapeake
  • Mondy the Sea Monster: Mondy (pronounced Moan-dee) was a friendly sea monster. This character was Baltimore's own version of a famous lake monster, but not to be confused with Chessie, the legendary sea monster of Chesapeake Bay. Mondy was played by Jimmy Uhrin, a longtime employee at WBFF. In the early 1980s, another WBFF employee, Anna Cosby, also played Mondy. Anna Cosby also voiced Andrew Claws the Lion.
  • Bruce the Bird
  • Andrew Claws the Lion
  • Little Mo'
  • Missy the Mermaid
  • Mandy the Mermaid
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Captain Chesapeake Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.