Thursday, September 17, 2009
Lost Memphis "All Aboard with Mr. Be"
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 3:29 PM
You don't remember it? Then stop reading right here, turn off your computer, and do something productive with your lives.
But if you do remember this show, then I'm going to tell you more about it, like it or not.
First of all, the main character's name was indeed spelled "Be." I know this because some time ago I talked to a nice gentleman named Holden Potter, who produced and directed the show, and he ought to know. Mr. Be himself was a local actor named Allen Bates, who dressed up like a locomotive engineer, and this kindly old fellow served as the host to the half-hour show, which featured films and puppets, including one called Ponce de Lion (a play on the name of the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, you see).
"This was in the days before organized kindergarten and day care," Potter told me, "so the show was designed to fill in for that." They went with an old-timey train motif because back then, in the 1960s and 1970s, everything was high-tech and plastic, and Potter says, "We wanted to convey that grandfather image, smelling of pipe tobacco and oranges, and trains had a certain romance. Kids knew that trains could take you anywhere you wanted to go."
WKNO built a huge plywood locomotive engine (a fake one, I mean) in the studios, which back then were located on the main campus of Memphis State University, but they used stock footage at the opening of the program to show a real train pulling up to a station.
The show was part education, part entertainment, and Potter remembered one time when they were doing a segment on the jungle. "Back then, you could buy these little monkeys in drugstores, and Katz Drugs loaned us a little spider monkey," said Potter. "Well, that guy did fine in rehearsals, but when we actually started taping and rang the train bell to start the show, he peed all over Mr. Be, and then scrambled out of there. It took us quite a while to get him down out of the lights."
Poor little guy!
Allen Bates went on to bigger and better things. After changing his last name to Hamilton to avoid any confusion with the British actor Alan Bates, he hit Broadway, where he starred in Death of a Salesman and other plays. He eventually moved to Minneapolis and became a member of that city's prestigious Guthrie Theatre Company.
PHOTO COURTESY WKNO-TV CHANNEL 10
Comments (15)
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I had forgotten about this show! I only saw it a few times, but I remembered the train when I saw the picture.
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I can still remember the theme song - which I think was played on a recorder or panpipe - and the train on the set. Thanks for that memory, Vance.
One of my great childhood possesions that I still have is a drawing Mr. Be did for me of Mr. Be, Ponce De Lion and Trollus T (I think that was his name). He drew it in magic marker and it is almost completely faded away now but still hangs on my wall.
The theme song was an old French (Medieval I think) tune that Allen got the sheet music for from the music department at Memphis State. We recorded it (royalty free) in the studio with musicians from the music department. Penny flute, lute, cymbals on a stick, and viola. Possibly more.
The other puppet was Troyolus the Train Loving Troll. Both he and Ponce de Lion were gifts from Tom Tichner, former puppeteer at 'KNO and the man who created the puppets for "Lilliom" on Broadway. Both puppets were voiced by high school student, John McDonald. — Holden Potter, "All Aboard" creator and producer.
Holden Potter, the producer and director of this show, recently sent me additional information about "the monkey episode" and Mr. Bates himself, so I thought I'd share it with you. (Thanks, Holden):
1. The monkey story is essentially correct, BUT he peed at the end of the show, not the beginning. Basically he was a good monkey all through rehearsal and he wasn't on the train when we began the "live" taping. Mr. Be revealed him when we came back from a film segment in the show. Because the in-studio train on the turn table was so cumbersome and was turned by a floor director we didn't do it in rehearsal. The show always ended with Mr. Be getting on in the cab and ringing the bell when he said bye bye to the boys and girls. That's when he rang the bell (it was to signal the grunt behind the curtain to start winching the turntable). Mr. Be had the monkey in his arms, waved to the camera, said, "Bye-bye boys and girls" and, "ding-dong," and rang the bell which was located right at his eye level. Surprised, the monkey clambered up the inside of the "cab" as it started turning, Mr. Be was trying to pull him back down, and the monkey, in fear and revenge I guess, peed all over Be as he looked up. Fortunately, we were on a cover shot and the pee didn't really show up on the outside of the cab. A couple of hours and many bananas later we lured him out of the light grid which was about 20 feet in the air and spanned half of the old field house basketball court.
2. Allen Bates was in Minneapolis at the Gutherie among other theatres when he did "Death of A Salesman." It opened in Chicago I think with Brian Denehey and then went to LA and Chicago, London and Broadway. He's still in Minneapolis, doing some acting, and taking it easy. We stay in touch and he was back for 'KNO's 50th. I have his contact info and some "current" photos if you ever need.
My regards to the Lauderdale family. I heard one of them was running for Mayor on the "can't get worse than it is" platform. — Holden
I grew up in Memphis (born 1961) and remember enjoying this show and have thought about it from time to time. I remember Mr. Be riding in to the station as the engineer in a real train and being in a plywood train at the station. I also remember Ponce de Lion and Mr. Be reading a story about a troll that wouldn't let the goats across a bridge to get to the grass to graze on the other side - somehow the goats tricked the troll. I wish there was a way to get a copy of an episode or an entire series because it was an entertaining show that served well for children's fantasies.
Does anyone remember the rest of "slanting rain, the color blue...."? Mr. Be used to say this to Ponce de Lion when he would get upset?
I also grew up in Memphis in the 1960s and I LOVED watching Mr. Be — even more than "Kaptain Kangaroo"! Wish I could get the entire series on DVD!
How about it, Vance? Could you ask Mr. Potter if it's available for purchase?
BTW, the story AllisonJones mentions is "Three Billy Goats Gruff."
The story about the troll under the bridge is an old fairy tale, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" I loved it! According to Google it is a Norwegian tale. You don't see all those wonderful old stories as much anymore. Mr Be was a great little show...!
OMG!!! I tried so hard to find someone ... anyone with copies of this show for my son. I was born in 1962 ... and this was my favorite childhood show ... I would stay glued to the TV whenever Mr. Be was on! (Anyone remember how to PRONOUNCE Ponce De Lion's name?)
My son is now 7 ... not sure he would appreciate it as much as a few years back ... but I would still LOVE to see these shows again.
And I remember the episode with the monkey (although I didn't know what was REALLY going on there!). And the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff ... funny how those little "dings" spark memories ...
When I was twelve I was featured on a 2nd-grade music show at WKNO, and I asked about "All Aboard." I was told the original tapes had been played so often the images had worn down and recorded-over, so I guess there's nothing left of the show. I've read that the train footage at the beginning was of The General, which was touring the country as part of the Civil War centennial, and WKNO got permission to film Allen Bates in character at the controls.
We were close friends with Allen and were on the show sometimes — he called us the Poe family, and my oldest son, JC, was "Edgar Allen Poe" (in a lost boy segment), and the other two boys were "Markey Poe" (Mark) and Baby Poe (Joshua) ... If there is any way at all to get copies of the shows PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! By the way, the other puppet was Troilus the Trainloving Troll ...
Joelle Morrison (wattzup@earthlink.net).
