Wonderama facts for kids

Wonderama was a popular and long-running children's television show. It aired on TV stations owned by a company called Metromedia from 1955 to 1986. The main show was made in New York City at a station called WNEW-TV.

Wonderama was also shown in five other cities where Metromedia owned TV stations. These included WTTG in Washington D.C., KMBC-TV in Kansas City, KTTV in Los Angeles, WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, and WTCN-TV in Minneapolis – Saint Paul. The show usually ran for three hours, and later for two hours on Sunday mornings.

Who Hosted Wonderama?

Many different people hosted Wonderama over the years. Here are some of the hosts:

• Al Hodge (as Captain Video, 1955 - 1956)
• Jon Gnagy (mid to late 1950s)
• Sandy Becker (1955–56)
• Pat Meikle (co-hosted from 1955 to 1956)
• Herb Sheldon (1956–1958)
• Bill Britten (known as New York's Bozo the Clown, co-host in 1958)
• Doris Faye (co-host in 1958)
• Sonny Fox (1959–1967)
• Bob McAllister (1967–1977)
• Teens hosted a documentary style show (1980–1985)

The Bob McAllister Era: A Favorite Host

Even though many hosts came and went in the 1950s, Wonderama became most famous with Bob McAllister. He was a kids' show host from Baltimore before joining Wonderama. Bob McAllister took over from Sonny Fox in 1967 and stayed until 1977. During his time, the show had its biggest audiences.

What Happened on the Show?

Each episode of Wonderama was filmed with a live audience. The show included many fun activities. These often featured learning, music, and games. There were also interviews with guests and short cartoon videos.

Awesome Gifts for the Audience

Every week, kids in the audience received a special package of gifts to take home. Some of the cool items they got included:

• An Oral-B toothbrush
• An issue of Dynamite Magazine or Golden Magazine
• Some Good Humor ice cream
• A box of Hostess Twinkies
• A 6-pack of RC Cola
• A tube of Hold! cough lozenges
• A package of Fruit Stripe Gum
• A gift certificate for Burger King or McDonald's
• A pack of Lender's Bagelettes.
  • Each child also got a necklace made from a Lender's Bagelette. It had their name or first initial painted on it!
• A 45 record of a music artist who performed on that week's show.

Bob McAllister also sang the show's closing song. It was called Kids Are People Too (with a "wacka-doo" sound). This song later became the title of a new show when it moved to the ABC network.

Famous Guests on Wonderama

Many famous people from music, movies, and TV appeared on Wonderama. Some of these stars included:

• The Sylvers
• ABBA
• Jerry Lewis
• Jodie Foster
• Paul Lynde
• Muhammad Ali
• Joe Frazier
• José Feliciano
• The Jackson 5
• The cast of Monty Python
• The Amazing Randi
• Wolfman Jack
• Lena Zavaroni
• And many more!

Wonderama Returns in the 1980s

In 1980, a new version of Wonderama started. It was a documentary-style show for children, hosted by teenagers. It aired on Sunday mornings on WNEW-TV. This new show kept the Wonderama name, but it was very different from the fun festival it used to be. This hour-long version ran until 1983. Shorter, 30-minute reruns were shown from 1984 to 1986 on WNEW-TV/WNYW on Saturday mornings.