Wonderama

I was a very small child when WONDERAMA was on but I think the reason I remember as much of it as I do is because MY FATHER liked the show. You know how when your a little kid your parents will walk into the room and say "Oh what is that garbage your watching?" My father actually got some kind of GLEE when he'd see that "Hey,WONDERAMA is on!" I guess WONDERAMA was the last show of its kind that most resembled the childrens shows of my fathers time. I remember the audience of kids running around trying to win prizes and having dance contests and stuff. In retrospect it was sort of like a kiddie version of LETS MAKE A DEAL. the kids would run around like idiota and wind up winning....a necklace made of bagels...or something or other. I remember the song "Kids Are People...Kids Are PEOPle...Kids are People Too....They're really really people too! Wocka dooh, wokka dooh!" I also remember...because at 70 years of age my Dad STILL sings it..." Does anybody here have an aardvarrk? Does anybody here have an aardvark? Theres a boy over here with a left and right ear but NOBODY here has an aardvark". It all seems sort of corny now but when I see the drek like POKEMON that kids have to watch on the weekend mornings now it makes me long for WONDERAMA, MAGIC GARDEN, ROMPER ROOM.....)

WOW!! i had forgotten about this show!!! Yes, Sunday mornings, 7am, channel 5 and they got the baagel necklace with their name on it from Lenders bagels, which I see in the store till this day and think about wonderama. Anyway, my father worked at IBM in White Plains, and we went to an IBM Xmas party somewhere in White Plains, and who was the guest host or whatever of the party? Bob McAllister !!! I was like 8, and had my first heart attack!! I was soo amazed he was the nicest man, it truly was one of the best things I had seen and experienced as a child.

Thanks bob!!!

PS- Wait!!!!! Remember they had a lion or tiger cub from the Bronx Zoo, and they named it Rama??? Please someone remember that!!!

I remember watching Wonderama on Sunday mornings growing up in the New York area as well as Minnesota and it was a classic kids show thanks to the men who hosted such as Sandy Becker and Sonny Fox and the host I remember the most, Bob McAllister. Bob presided over a potpourri of music, comedy sketches, celebrity guests and games that included "Snake Cans" and "Guess Your Best." And when it ended he would sing the closing theme "Kids are People Too (wackadoo wackadoo wackadoo).

What made the show a big success was that Bob truly loved kids and treated everyone with respect. He almost got a big break as a game show host when Monty Hall hired him to host a pilot called "Carnival", which didn't sell. It's a shame he's gone, since I thought he would have a great candidate to replace Bob Barker on "The Price is Right." But we'll always remember him for the way he guided a successful kids show in "Wonderama." Wackadoo wackadoo.

As with my fellow posters, I, too, grew up in the greater New York area and viewed "Wonderama" as nothing less than a weekly ritual, as hosted by Sonny Fox and, a little later, the late, great Bob McAllister. Both men had a real knack for talking to children without talking down to them. Really, they seemed to be having as much fun as the kids. And the kids were having a ball, obviously. From the exercise segments ("Exercise! Exercise! C'Mon, everybody, do your exercise!"), to the dance contest (where the main songs always seemed to be the Grass Roots' "Midnight Confession" and the Foundations' "Build Me Up, Buttercup," long after both had ceased to be hits), through McAllister's superficially nonsensical, but ultimately unforgettable songs ("Nobody Here Has an Aardvaark," "I've Got You"), to his Professor Fingleheimer creation ("The more you fingle, the less you heimer. Fingleheimer! Fingleheimer! Fingle-dingle-heimer!"), it was the sort of simplistic (But fun!) programming that would never pass muster with today's more sophisticated youngsters. And for that reason, I pity today's kids. They don't know what they're missing.

But we former "Wonderama" fans DO know. It was an irreplaceable part of our childhood, one we'll always treasure.

Truly, one of my fondest childhood TV memories. I remember getting up and doing the "Exercise" song, and especially the dance contests. I remember Bob would ask the winner "whats your favorite dance", and the kids would always say "the four corners" with their eastern accents ( I was from Los Angeles)....anyway, what a great show. I teach dancing to adults, and whenever I am with a group around my age, I will always ask if they used to watch Wonderama, And then the stories begin. Its so funny to hear what each individual remembers. We all loved the show, thats for sure.

Sorry to hear about the passing of Bob McAllister. Thanks for the memories. Todd Van Dorn Long Beach Ca.