The Adventures of Oky Doky

The Adventures of Oky Doky
Format	Children's program
Starring	Wendy Barrie Burt Hilber Pat Barnard Dayton Allen
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes (1948-49) 15 minutes (1949)
Broadcast
Original channel	DuMont
Original run	November 4, 1948 – May 26, 1949

The Adventures of Oky Doky was an American children's television program that aired on the DuMont Television Network from November 4, 1948 through May 26, 1949. It had many similarities with Howdy Doody, including a frontier/western theme and a cowboy puppet as the title character.

The puppet Oky Doky was first seen on a local TV show in New York City called Tots, Tweens and Teens.

Although there are conflicting stories of when Oky Doky first appeared on local television, it seems likely that his move to network prime time was inspired by the success of the Howdy Doody show.

Oky Doky ran a dude ranch where children came to play games, perform skits and watch Oky's latest adventures. In each show, Oky would get into trouble, but his magic milk pills gave him the strength to defeat the bad guys.

The cast included Wendy Barrie, Burt Hilber and Pat Barnard, with Dayton Allen as puppeteer and the voice of Oky Doky.

Early in 1949 the show's name was changed to Oky Doky Ranch and became a twice a week show, shortened from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. Oky Doky gained a new costar, a cowboy played by Rex Trailer. This did not prevent the show from being cancelled at the end of the season.

Rex Trailer went on to be a television cowboy, hosting local shows first in Philadelphia, then Boston. Dayton Allen went on to become one of the primary puppet performers on the Howdy Doody show, then later became a voice actor for television cartoons.

See also

• List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network
• List of surviving DuMont Television Network broadcasts

Bibliography

• David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6
• Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1980) ISBN 0-14-024916-8
• Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, Third edition (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964) ISBN 0-345-31864-1

External links

• Adventures Of Oky Doky at the Internet Movie Database
• DuMont historical website