HoHo!HaHa!HeeHee!HaHa! The Wallace and Ladmo Show: 35 Years of Laughter - Hardcover

Sweeney, Michael K.; Palmer, Carole M.; Kuhman, Jeanne A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 096423551X ISBN 13: 9780964235519

Publisher: View Designs, Inc., 1994

Synopsis

The Phoenix, AZ children's TV program "The Wallace and Ladmo Show" entertained generations of youngsters during its 35-year run and became synonymous with growing up in Arizona. Here is the story of the people (Bill "Wallace" Thompson, Ladimir "Ladmo" Kwiatkowski and Pat McMahon) the characters (Gerald, Aunt Maud, Capt. Super, Jodi, Hub Kapp and the Wheels, Boffo, the Science Lady and a host of others) who came together to create what is arguably the longest-running, continuous program in television history. The book includes 500+ photos and illustrations.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Laughter--it was part of the opening credits of "The Wallace and Ladmo Show", the longest-running daily television program in the country. The longest-running kids' show with an original cast. The longest-running uninterrupted show in the television industry--past, present, period.

For Arizona children who tuned in to watch "The Wallace and Ladmo Show", laughter was part of each day. It was more than the cartoons (including Bugs Bunny, Popeye and Roger Ramjet). They were supposed to be funny.

It was Wallace, Ladmo--even Gerald. It was Aunt Maud, Hub Kapp and Bobby Joe Trouble. It was Mr. Grudgmeyer, Marshall Good and Amazo the Magician. It was Boffo the Clown and Perky. It was Jody, Dan and Orson, Harvey Trundle and Carney Barker. It was the Ladmo Jets, Commodore Condello's Salt River Navy Band and the Losers.

It was the sudden appearance of the Wizard ("Did you know...that horses play peopleshoes?!").

You couldn't see it, but there was laughter in a Ladmo Bag. It was at the malls, the gymnasiums, the parks. It was at Christmas parties, birthday parties and rodeo parades. It was at the State Fair every year. It was at Phoenix Children's Hospital when Ladmo stopped by to visit. It was part of the Emmy Awards--not just once, but nine times.

In HoHo!HaHa!HeeHee!HaHa! The Wallace and Ladmo Show: 35 Years Of Laughter, the history of the show is presented for children of every age to enjoy. With a foreword by Erma Bombeck, text written by Richard Ruelas and Mike Sweeney and assembled with the enthusiastic cooperation of Bill Thompson, Pat McMahon, Ladmo Kwiatkowski and their families, this book is a labor of love which attempts to recapture the laughter created by "The Wallace and Ladmo Show" and its principals. Included are many never-before-seen photos taken by family, fans and friends.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The world is lucky, if every thirty years or so, a trio of comic geniuses appear to make us laugh and forget our problems.

But I'm not here to talk about The Three Stooges. Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald are not as publicized as the Grand Canyon. They aren't as photogenic as the Grand Canyon. And let's level here, people, they aren't as deep, but for thirty-five years they rounded out Arizona's quartet of prime products: copper, cotton, citrus--and comedy.

In case you haven't noticed, it isn't easy to get a child to laugh. That is because they are born with the dark side of Damien. If Mother spills a scalding pot of spaghetti water down her chest, they will laugh for a week. If the top bunk collapses and traps little brother below it, Baby Leroy will laugh himself into a coma. That's the way they are.

Children also have the attention span of a gnat. So, when you can get three people doing schtick every day for thirty-five years, it's nothing short of a miracle.

We moved to Arizona in 1971. One afternoon, my chimes rang and I opened the door to see three people standing there who looked like they had wandered off the grounds of the home for the terminally weird. One was very tall and wore a top hat. The man in the middle wore flood pants held up by very optimistic suspenders. And the third one was a troll having a bad hair day.

Instinctively, I knew they weren't there to give me a pamphlet and pray with me. Especially with a cameraman hiding behind an oleander.

"We're Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald," they announced. With that, they gave me a bag containing what appeared to be Halloween treats that an older sister didn't want for herself.

They informed me they had a children's show that had been on the air for 17 years. (I had a cookie sheet older than that.) I thanked them for their barf bag and said we'd keep in touch.

Later, when I told people about the visit, I gained respect I had never known before. "You met Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald!" What was such a big deal? I had also met the Pope, Paul Harvey, the President and Richard Simmons. It seemed my career had peaked.

I always had a theory that when a humorist, comedian or funny performer dies, something happens to the world on that day. The sun goes behind a cloud, time drags, hope is replaced by despair, and we feel a loss and don't know what it is.

It was that way in December, 1989 when the last "Wallace and Ladmo Show" was aired. As the final credits rolled, there were pictures of the audience in attendance that had transcended three generations. There were former governors, present mayors, and fans from every level of economics, religious, political, and educational status.

I had specific instructions before writing the foreword to this book that I was not to wallow in sentiment, but approach it with my usual irreverence and bad taste. Right. Like I'm going to tell you that I double-dated with Mother Teresa.

This book can tell you who these men were and how they worked to get where they are, but it cannot tell you how the magic happens. Laughter is an enigma. You mix a little absurdity, a pinch of shock, a dash of surprise and daring, a scapegoat, a villain, a patsy, and unlimited amounts of creativity and keep adjusting the recipe for thirty-five years.

Don't even think of trying this in your own home.(from Foreword by Erma Bombeck)

Edition details

• Publisher: View Designs, Inc.
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 096423551X
• ISBN 13: 9780964235519
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208
• Editor: Sweeney Michael