Time for Beany

When I was very young in Los Angeles, every evening after homework was done and before dinner was served, there was, "Time for Beany". Live and in glorious black-and-white from the studios of KTLA, in the other quarter-hour from Shirley Dinsdale, three men created wonderful handpuppet mayhem on our 7-inch screen, and made us four Martin kids more adventuresome and happier that we knew. Television was still an infant, like us in many ways. Trying everything, testing the then-current boundaries of taste and excess, acting out all emotion, mugging at the 'fourth wall' -- arts we fine-tuned on the backyard swings, softball fields, and upper school quads just in time for the 60s. In the beginning, as I recall, in addition to the Cap'n and Beany and Dishonest John, two other characters littered the decks of the "Leakin' Lena". A clown-suited fellow called "Clownie" apparently was an early victim of Not Enough Hands To Go Around, and either fell overboard or was pushed there (accidently, of course) by DJ (nyah ah ahhhhh!). Fading inept memory suggests flowsy red (we were told) hair, conical hat-with-tassel, and a striped and baggy suit. And an Irish/Scots accent? The second additional character lasted somewhat longer, and may have been overtaken by some PC sensitivity. "Cookie" was the obviously oriental gentleman in charge of the galley aboard the Leakin' Lena, with costume and braid in proper form. He often brandished a meat cleaver, tho, and was not at all fond of the Cap'n's reactions to his creations. Somewhen, he went missing, too. The adventures of the permanent cast are not etched in my mind, nor do I recall any one of the plot lines. What does remain, more than fifty years after the fact, is how good one can be (Beany) and still be sad sometimes, how blundering (Cecil) or pig-headed (Cap'n) it is possible to be and yet retain a huge heart, and that craftiness and skullduggery (DJ) will get you absolutely nowhere and, often, wet.

Unbelievably, this show was done live 5 times a week for 6 years, from 1949 to 1955, on KTLA in Los Angeles. Stan Freberg and Daws Butler played, respectively, Cecil and Beany, and it was produced by Bob Clampett, with all 3 sharing writing credits. It was about the adventures of a boy and his seasick sea serpent, and was a hit almost from the first episode.

That said, it doesn't for a moment convey the incredible inventiveness and hilarious insanity that went on during the show, and behind the scenes. To understand that, you need to pick up the new Beany and Cecil DVD, and listen to Stan Freberg's audio commentary while 3 of the original live episodes play. His comments are priceless; I would have loved to be a part of this experience. I would pay any amount to hear more about the show from Freberg, too; his memory is unparalleled. He talks about one of the special effects they used, to portray bats in an episode. They used black balloons, which burst when they got too hot under the studio lights, causing children watching to scream when it looked like the bat had exploded, on purpose. He then tells us about all the letters they got from angry mothers on that episode, laughing as he talks. They frequently adlibbed, especially when they couldn't find the scripts.

The "Time for Beany" live show eventually became "Beany and Cecil", the animated cartoon that all us baby boomers loved. But the animation could never, no matter how much we loved it, surpass these live shows. If anyone in Production Land is listening out there, I'd buy more of them on DVD at any price.

I attended Beverly Hills Catholic School with Butler's two sons. The older one David was in my seventh grade class when we did the annual play for the graduating eighth grade class. We decided to do a parody of Around the World in 80 Days, a popular movie at that time. Our play was not coming together when our teacher asked David to get some help from his father. Not only did Butler rewrite the play, he rehearsed every day with us at the parish hall. The play was funny and a great success. Working with a group of no talent seventh graders could not have been easy, but he never complained and seemed to enjoy his work.

Daws Butler was an incredibly talented man and a great father. I will always remember his work with us.

I remember that the Leakin' Lena was voyaging over the open sea when the lookout (Uncle Capt.?) spotted a dot way ahead on the horizon. What could it be??? It took days to get close enough to see that it was in fact an atoll. Getting even closer a sign was made out with the name on it. Nothing!!!!!This was around the time that the US Gov. sent Bikini to it's eternal reward and I have classed this bit as best Jibe ever. And who could ever forget Tearalong the Dotted Lion!!! Also a kooky bird that may have looked a lot like Big Bird. Don't remember the name but my Dad (a band leader) knew the march that was it's theme music. Thanx everyone for jogging my memory.

Nobody mentioned the beany cap with the propeller on top.

I never watched the cartoon version, which evidently the boomers liked, but to us war-time babys, the puppet version was a daily must in Los Angeles. Too bad it wasn't Nationwide.

The Beany cap was manufactured and sold in Los Angeles. Kids wore them much the same as the coonskin cap from Davy Crockett show later in the 50's.

I have often wondered if Jim Henson was inspired by this show, especially with his creation of the Cookie Monster, which used the same expressions as Cecil.