New Zoo Revue facts for kids

New Zoo Revue was a fun and educational American children's television show. It aired for half an hour per episode from 1972 to 1977. The show was created to teach kids important life lessons in an entertaining way.

Discovering the New Zoo Revue

What Was the Show About?

This musical comedy series had 196 episodes. Each episode focused on a different topic. It taught children about important ideas like cooperation, being polite, and having patience. The show helped kids understand how to get along in the world.

The show featured human hosts, Doug and Emmy Jo. They were played by real-life husband and wife, Douglas Momary and Emily Josephine Peden. But the real stars were the amazing animal characters! These were full-bodied puppets, meaning people wore costumes to bring them to life. The main animal friends were Freddie the Frog, Henrietta the Hippo, and Charlie the Owl. Doug Momary also wrote over 600 songs for the series, making it a true musical adventure!

New Zoo Revue was recognized for its quality. It received awards and recommendations from important groups. These included the National Education Association and the National School Board Association. This showed how much people valued its educational content.

New Zoo Revue was acquired from O Atlas Entertainment and the show's original co-creator, Barbara Atlas; the property is now owned by Frank A. O'Donnell, who is based in Las Vegas.

Today, you can still find New Zoo Revue episodes. They are available to watch online. You can also find merchandise and DVDs of the original shows.

Meet the Characters!

The New Zoo Revue was full of memorable characters. They helped teach lessons and make every episode exciting.

Human Friends

• Doug (played by Doug Momary): He was a kind human host. Doug was a great friend to all the animal characters.
• Emmy Jo (played by Emily Peden): Emmy Jo was Doug's helpful partner. She always supported the gang.

Animal Pals

• Freddie the Frog (performed by Yanco Inone, voiced by Joni Robbins): Freddie was a cheerful and fun-loving frog. He was sometimes a little bit innocent or naive. Even though he was the same size as the other adult characters, Freddie often acted like a school-aged child.
• Charlie the Owl (performed by Sharon Baird, voiced by Bob Holt and later Bill Callaway): Charlie was a very smart and serious owl. He knew a lot about everything! Charlie lived in a tall tree that even had its own elevator. He worked as a scientist and an inventor. Charlie sometimes gave out "One-Bell Prizes" for great ideas, which was a clever play on the famous Nobel Prize.
• Henrietta Hippo (performed by Larri Thomas, voiced by Hazel Shermet): Henrietta was a graceful hippopotamus. She often wore a tutu and had a sweet, polite personality. Henrietta was a bit shy but always kind.

Other Neighbors

• Mr. Dingle (played by Chuck Woolery in season one, then by Walker Edmiston): Mr. Dingle was a friendly elderly postman. He was also a shopkeeper and could do many different jobs. He was truly a "Jack-of-All-Trades"!
• Mrs. Goodbody (played by Fran Ryan): Mrs. Goodbody was a neighbor who sometimes visited. She was known for being a bit curious. She also wrote an advice column for The All-New Zoo Gazette.

Famous Faces Who Visited

Many well-known people appeared on New Zoo Revue as guest stars.

• The famous music composer Henry Mancini made a special appearance.
• Actor Jim Backus, known for Mr. Magoo and Gilligan's Island, also visited.
• Jesse White, famous as the original Maytag repairman in TV commercials, guest starred in a few episodes.
• June Lockhart, who starred in shows like Lassie and Lost in Space, played a very shy woman named Penelope Potter in the "Shyness" episode.
• Richard Dawson, known from Hogan's Heroes and game shows like Family Feud, appeared in the "Time Travel" episode as a knight from medieval England.
• Jo Anne Worley played a talk show host named Vanessa Gramcracker.

See also

• Johnny and the Sprites
• Zoobilee Zoo
• Yo Gabba Gabba!