Paul Shannon

infobox actor

---

birthdate=birth date|1909|11|11
birthplace=Chartiers Township, Pennsylvania
deathdate=death date and age|1990|7|25|1909|11|11
deathplace=Lantana, Florida
occupation=Television actor

Paul V. Shannon (born November 11, 1909, Chartiers Township, Pennsylvania; died July 25, 1990, Lantana, Florida) was a veteran Pittsburgh radio announcer in the days before commercial television. He worked for years at KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and hosted his own show as the "Dream Weaver," reading romantic poetry to electric organ accompaniment. He also hosted the syndicated science-focused program Adventures in Research with Thomas Phillips. [Fritz, Jose [http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2007/11/adventures-in-research.html "Adventures in Research "] , "Arcane Radio Trivia", November 30, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2007. "Host Paul Shannon was a Pennsylvania native, born near Washington, PA in 1909. He worked at KDKA-AM for years eventually leaving for a gig at WTAE-TV doing children's programming including the locally popular "Adventure Time."]

After moving to WTAE TV, he became a Pittsburgh legend, particularly to the Baby Boom generation, as host of the popular children's television show Adventure Time. The show aired on WTAE channel 4 in the afternoons. The show showed Three Stooges shorts and the first color Anime, Kimba the White Lion in serialised form along with skits and songs.

Shannon also played to a studio audience that attended each broadcast, usually scout troops and amused his audiences with his alter ego, "Nosmo King", a play on "No Smoking" signs (but not to be confused with H. Vernon Watson (1886-1949), the British music hall artist who also performed as Nosmo King).

He also used a prop he dubbed "The Magic Sword."

Shannon was one of several 1950s-1960s children's TV hosts to begin presenting reruns of the Three Stooges on Adventure Time, bringing the trio's 1930s and 1940s comedy shorts to an entirely new audience. It helped revive the Stooges as a viable act at a time when they were considered ancient history, leading to an entirely new career of stage and film appearances. In gratitude to Shannon and several other hosts, the Stooges featured them in cameo roles in their feature film. Shannon played played Wild Bill Hickok in the Three Stooges film, "The Outlaws Is Coming". He retired and moved to Lantana, Florida in 1975, and died there of brain cancer at age 80 in 1990.

References

External links

*Leigh Ann Eagleston, "Memories are memorial to Shannon", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 26, 1990
*"Paul Shannon" (obituary), Orlando Sentinel, July 27, 1990
* [http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2007/11/adventures-in-research.html Arcane Radio Trivia article]
*imdb name|id=0788345|name=Paul Shannon
* [http://www.geocities.com/pittlocalstars/shannonpaul.html Fansite with Photo]
* [http://kiddiematinee.com/o-outlaws.html "The Outlaws Is Coming" at Kiddiematinee.com]