Do you remember Magnolia Blossom, the Ostrich? ...

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Do you remember Magnolia Blossom, the Ostrich?

She first appeared nationally in the 1961 Jerry Lewis movie The Errand Boy (Lewis meets her and Bobo, The Silent Clown). Both were puppet characters created by Paul and Mary Ritts (pictured above), who are not as well remembered today as they deserve to be.

The Ritts Puppets were next seen on NBC’s Exploring, a Saturday morning news magazine for children (1962-1966). The TV series was hosted by Dr. Albert Hibbs, a scientist and educator, with the puppets assisting. They also made guest appearances on such variety shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, with Jack Paar on The Tonight Show, on Metromedia’s Wonderama with Sonny Fox and Bob McAllister and on The Bob McAllister Show.

The Ritts also created a kid’s recording called Let’s Have A Puppet Show, and later their puppets served as hosts of The Pink Panther Show, Saturday mornings on NBC during the 1972-1973 season.

NBC press photo from the Library of American Broadcasting collection. Album cover from kiddierecords.com.