Bob Keeshan

Robert James Keeshan (21 June 1927 – 23 January 2004), better known as Captain Kangaroo, was a United States television personality and childrens' advocate.

For so many years gentle has been equated with weakness but it requires more strength to be gentle. So it's the every day encounters of life that I think we prepare children for and prepare them to be good to other people and to consider other people.

Quotes

Let me introduce myself. My name is, uh, Kangaroo... Kangaroo — Captain Kangaroo … I'm the keeper here of the Treasure House.

We listened to each other and the interest was not put on; it was real. … A child needs to be listened to and talked to at 3 and 4 and 5 years of age.

• The children should never be excluded from what I am doing and should never have the feeling of being part of an audience.
  • Instructions to director Peter Birch on the format of Captain Kangaroo, as quoted in "Bob Keeshan, Creator and Star of TV's 'Captain Kangaroo,' Is Dead at 76" in The New York Times (24 January 2004)

• Let me introduce myself. My name is, uh, Kangaroo... Kangaroo — Captain Kangaroo … I'm the keeper here of the Treasure House.
  • Premiere episode of Captain Kangaroo (3 October 1955)

• We have respect for our audience. … We operate on the conviction that it is composed of young children of potentially good taste, and that this taste should be developed.
  • Interview with Steven V. Roberts in The New York Times (1965); as quoted in "Bob Keeshan, Creator and Star of TV's 'Captain Kangaroo,' Is Dead at 76" in The New York Times (24 January 2004)

• Back in the old days, when I was a child, we sat around the family table at dinner time and exchanged our daily experiences.... It wasn't very organized, but everyone was recognized and all the news that had to be told was told by each family member. We listened to each other and the interest was not put on; it was real. … A child needs to be listened to and talked to at 3 and 4 and 5 years of age … Parents should not wait for the sophisticated conversation of a teenager.
  • Essay in The New York Times (1979); as quoted in "Bob Keeshan, Creator and Star of TV's 'Captain Kangaroo,' Is Dead at 76" in The New York Times (24 January 2004)

• It is my contention that most people are not mugged every day, that most people in this world do not encounter violence every day. I think we prepare people for violence, and I think it just as important that we prepare people for the definition of being gentle. … for so many years gentle has been equated with weakness but it requires more strength to be gentle. So it's the every day encounters of life that I think we prepare children for and prepare them to be good to other people and to consider other people.
  • NPR interview with Carl Kasell (1984) partly rebroadcast in "'Captain Kangaroo' Dies at 76" in All Things Considered (NPR) (23 January 2004)

• One of the big secrets of finding time is not to watch television.
  • Reply to a question on "how he found time to star in his own show and still engage in lecturing, volunteerism, the study of French, reading, and also spend time with his family and his hobbies of photography, fishing and sailing", as quoted in "Bob Keeshan, Creator and Star of TV's 'Captain Kangaroo,' Is Dead at 76" in The New York Times (24 January 2004)

• Children don't drop out of high school when they are 16, they do so in the first grade and wait 10 years to make it official.
  • As quoted in "Commentary: Pre-school Rankings" by Susan Hoff KERA Public Newsroom (6 September 2007)

Quotes about Keeshan

• Keeshan made no secret of his distate for most TV shows … Keeshan argued that violent cartoons and the crime dramas that kids could easily see were no more reflective of reality than his beloved Treasure House.
  • Neda Ulaby in "'Captain Kangaroo' Dies at 76" (NPR) (24 January 2004)

External links

• Profile at the Museum of Broadcast Communication
• Bob Keeshan on IMDb
• Biography of Bob Keeshan