The Uncle Al Show facts for kids

The Uncle Al Show was a popular children's TV program. It started in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show's host was Al Lewis (1924–2009). Later, his wife, Wanda, joined him as a co-host.

This show was on TV for an amazing 35 years! It ran from 1950 to 1985 on WCPO-TV. This makes it one of the longest-running local children's shows ever in American TV history. Uncle Al holds a special record. It's the longest-running show with the same host for its entire time on air.

The Show's Beginning

The Uncle Al Show started by accident. In 1949, Al Lewis was the first art director at WCPO. The station manager, Mort Watters, asked him to host a temporary show. It was called Al's Corner Drugstore.

On this show, Al dressed like a soda jerk. He would play songs on his accordion. People could call in and ask for songs. The accordion later became one of his famous things, along with his straw boater hat.

At first, the show was open to anyone. People could just walk in and watch it live. Kids from the neighborhood started coming. Al Lewis loved children. He invited them to join him on stage during the show. The same kids kept coming back. They brought their friends too. Soon, all the kids started calling him "Uncle Al."

When parents began calling the station for tickets, a new TV show was born! The Uncle Al Show officially started on June 12, 1950. It began as a short 15-minute show. But it quickly grew to an hour long. It even aired three times a day for a while.

By the mid-1960s, the show changed to one 90-minute episode each day.

Uncle Al and the Kids

The children who came to Uncle Al's Show were more than just audience members. Many of them got to be part of the show's skits. Wanda Lewis often led the educational parts. She had kids help with different activities. Uncle Al would get kids involved with puppets. He also picked kids from the audience to help with games. For example, they might be a "barker" for games at Uncle Al's circus.

Did you know that famous actor George Clooney was on the show? When he was eight years old, he played a ship's captain in a skit in 1970.

By the 1960s, kids on the show got a special name-tag sticker. It looked like Uncle Al's bow tie. The tags helped Uncle Al remember each child's name. They were also a souvenir for the kids to take home.

Other fun activities included dance contests. They also celebrated birthdays of kids in the audience. This often happened during their trip to the circus part of the show. Kids and Uncle Al would sing together. Al often played his banjo, guitar, or his famous accordion.

Every show ended with Uncle Al, Wanda, and the kids singing a prayer. Then, the kids would leave the stage as the credits rolled. The show's closing song was "It's a Small World."

Show Sponsors

One special thing about the show was how they went to commercials. Uncle Al would have everyone say "magic words":

"Ala-kazam one, Ala-kazam two, Ala-kazam three, and POOF!!"

They also did commercials right there in the studio. These were for local businesses. Some of these included:

• Kahn's Wieners: These commercials sometimes had a talking puppet. It looked like a "Man in the Moon" hot dog.
• Mama's Cookies: Uncle Al and the kids would sing a jingle for these cookies. It was a fun song.
• Barq's Soft Drinks: Barq's used to have many flavors, not just root beer. Wanda would sing a jingle. She and an assistant would serve drinks to the kids.
• Al Naish Movers: This moving company gave toy trucks to kids. The company is still in business today!
• Pat & Joe's: This was a furniture store chain. The show used a jingle sung to the tune of "Mary Had A Little Lamb."
• Alber's Grocery Store: Kids would hold signs with the letters of "Alber's." They would smile as the store's jingle played.

Show Friends

Uncle Al's "farm" was home to many fun characters. These were his in-house friends:

• Pal the Dog (played by Tom York): This was Uncle Al's pet.
• Lucky the Clown: Lucky was often seen when they visited the circus part of the show.
• The Merry Mailman: This was a puppet. He delivered mail from viewers to Uncle Al every day.
• The Ding-A-Lings: These were funny, giggling, dancing squiggly columns.
• The Weather People: These were kids dressed in special costumes. One side was a happy sun, the other was a sad cloud. They would show the right side for the day's weather forecast.
• Mr. Patches (played by Tom McGreevey): When Mr. Patches went to a commercial break, he would say his own magic words.

Some people who worked on The Uncle Al Show became famous TV personalities in Cincinnati.

Larry Smith: Larry worked with puppets on The Uncle Al Show. He even created some of them. He later hosted his own kids' cartoon show.

Bob Shreve: Bob played many characters on the show. These included Roger the Robot and Lucky The Clown. He also hosted late-night movie shows for many years.

Mike Tangi: Mike worked both behind and in front of the camera for Uncle Al. He later went into advertising. He wrote and performed commercials.

Later Years

For many years, The Uncle Al Show was very popular in Cincinnati. Especially when it aired three times a day! It's thought that about 15,000 episodes were made. Around 440,000 children appeared on the show over its long run.

By 1975, the show became more educational. Guests like police officers, firefighters, and people from the Cincinnati Zoo would visit. They taught kids about different topics. But even with these changes, the show kept the fun values that kids loved.

In the early 1980s, things started to change. The Uncle Al Show was first cut to a half-hour. Then, it moved from weekdays to a weekend morning slot. The show was renamed Uncle Al Town. The very last episode was taped on May 29, 1985. Even though the show ended, Al and Wanda Lewis stayed at WCPO until the end of the 1980s.

Al and Wanda retired to their farm near Hillsboro, Ohio. They stayed active in their community. They sometimes made appearances at festivals in Cincinnati. Al Lewis passed away on February 28, 2009, at age 84. Wanda passed away on August 17, 2020, at age 94.