Editing Howdy Doody (section)

==Characters==
===Puppet characters===
Besides Howdy Doody, the other characters in this show included:

* '''Heidi Doody''' – Introduced as a stranger who saved Buffalo Bob's life in Africa, she was adopted as Howdy's sister.
* '''Phineas T. Bluster''' – Resident skinflint, mayor of Doodyville and nemesis of Howdy; one of the Bluster triplets.
* '''Petey Bluster''' – Phineas's nephew.
* '''Don José Bluster''' – The South American Bluster brother.
* '''Thaddeus Bluster''' – Another Bluster brother.
* '''Hector Hamhock Bluster''' – The British Bluster brother.
* '''Princess Summerfall Winterspring''' – Introduced as a puppet, then played by actress [[Judy Tyler]], who afterwards appeared opposite [[Elvis Presley]] in the 1957 film [[Jailhouse Rock (film)|''Jailhouse Rock'']]. After she was killed in a car accident on July 3, 1957, the character was portrayed by a marionette.
* '''Dilly Dally''' – Howdy's naive boyhood friend.
* '''Inspector John J. Fadoozle''' – "America's No. 1 [[Detective|private eye]]" whose character was revealed as the mysterious "Mr. X" who used the pseudonym to run against Howdy for the office of President of All the Boys and Girls of America. Children could vote by using ballots attached to the wrappers of loaves of [[Wonder Bread]], a major sponsor of the show.
* '''Chief Thunderthud and Chief Featherman''' – Two of several [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] characters used to emphasize the show's western theme.
* '''J. Cornelius Cobb''' – The [[shopkeeper]] (played by Nick Nicholson), who had a strong [[Coulrophobia|dislike for clowns]].
* '''Sandra the Witch'''
* '''Capt. Windy Scuttlebut'''
* '''Flub-a-Dub''' – A hybrid of eight animals. He had a [[duck]]'s bill, a [[cat]]'s whiskers, a [[spaniel]]'s ears, a [[giraffe]]'s neck, a [[dachshund]]'s body, a [[Pinniped|seal]]'s flippers, a [[pig]]'s tail, and an [[elephant]]'s memory.

===Animal puppets===
The show also featured animal puppets such as:

* '''Hyde and Zeke''' – Twin [[bear]]s.
* '''Mambo''' – An [[African elephant]].
* '''Tizzy''' – A [[dinosaur]].
* '''Paddle''' – A [[Wildebeest|gnu]].
* '''Tommy Turtle''' – A slow-talking turtle who is not very bright.

===Human characters===
[[File:Clarabell the Clown Howdy Doody.JPG|thumb|Clarabell the Clown]]
There also were several human characters, most notably:

* '''[[Clarabell the Clown|Clarabell]]''' – The mute clown who communicated in [[Mime artist|mime]], by [[Bulb horn|honking horns]] on his belt, and by squirting [[Soda water|seltzer]]. Originally played by [[Bob Keeshan]], who went on to create the children's TV character Captain Kangaroo, he was later played by [[Bobby Nicholson|Robert "Nick" Nicholson]] and finally by Lew Anderson. Clarabell did not talk because the actor would have to be paid scale, and it was a low-budget show. 
* '''J. Cornelius Cobb''' (played by "Nick" Nicholson concurrently with the role of '''Clarabell''' and then exclusively when Lew Anderson took over the '''Clarabell''' role)
* '''Sir Archibald''' (played by Dayton Allen) – An explorer.
* '''Chief Thunderthud''' (portrayed by Bill Le Cornec) – Head of the Ooragnak (''kangaroo'' spelled backward) tribe of American Indians. [[Edward Kean]] originated Thunderthud's greeting "[[wikt:cowabunga|Kowabonga]]!"—a nonsense word that eventually became part of the California surfer culture lexicon.
* '''Oil Well Willie''' (portrayed by Bill Le Cornec) – A bearded oil exploration driller who always came up dry.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://petroleumhistoryblog.com/2016/06/23/oil-well-willie/ | title=Oil Well Willie | date=June 23, 2016 }}</ref>
* '''Princess Summerfall Winterspring''' (portrayed by [[Judy Tyler]]) – As a teenager, Tyler began her career with this supporting role, which she played from 1950 to 1956. The opportunity led to Tyler breaking out to starring roles on Broadway and eventually Hollywood, where she notably co-starred with [[Elvis Presley]] in ''[[Jailhouse Rock (film)|Jailhouse Rock]]'' before her death in an auto accident.
* '''Gus Gasbags''' (played by [[Ed Alberian]]) – A man who made animal balloons.<ref>{{cite news |last = Shain |first = Percey |title = Clown Broke Family Tradition |work = Boston Globe |date = 1973}}</ref>
The characters inhabited the fictional town of Doodyville. Several characters (including Ugly Sam, the world's worst wrestler, and Pierre the Chef) were played by comedian [[Dayton Allen]], who would become a cast regular on NBC's prime time ''[[The Steve Allen Show]]''.

The ''Howdy'' show's non-televised rehearsals were renowned for including considerable [[double-entendre]] dialogue between the cast members (particularly the witty Dayton Allen) and the puppet characters. Corny Cobb was played by Bobby "Nick" Nicholson in 1952, by puppeteer Rufus Rose in 1953 and 1954 while Nicholson assumed the role of Clarabell, and again by Nicholson from early 1955 until the end of the show.<ref name="davisbook">{{cite book | last1=Davis | first1=Stephen | title=Say Kids! What Time Is It? | publisher=Little, Brown and Company | isbn=0316176621 | url=https://archive.org/details/saykidswhattimei00davi | year=1987 }}</ref>

Clarabell was first played by Bob Keeshan (who also played The Featherman). Keeshan continued in that role until December 1952, when he, Dayton Allen, puppeteer Rhoda Mann, and Bill LeCornec left the show over a salary dispute. The role of Clarabell was then taken by Nicholson, who played it for about 22 months. In January 1955, the role was turned over to Anderson, who kept it until the series ended and for all subsequent revivals and specials, while Nicholson took on the role of J. Cornelius "Corny" Cobb.<ref name="davisbook" /> Each of the cast members also played other roles as required.

At the end of the final episode, telecast on September 24, 1960, Clarabell broke his series-long silence to say the final words of the final broadcast: "Goodbye, kids."<ref>{{cite news |first= Douglas|last= Martin|title= Lew Anderson, 84, Clarabell the Clown and a Bandleader |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/arts/television/17anderson.html |work=New York Times |date=May 17, 2006 |access-date=April 17, 2024}}</ref>