A CONVERSATION WITH KEN WAGNER, JR., SON OF THE FIRST CAPTAIN OF THE CARTOON SHOWBOAT
WOC'S VERY OWN KEN WAGNER!
WOC TV 6 DAVENPORT, IOWA
Special thanks to Tim Hollis, author of "Hi There Boys and Girl's, America's Local Children's TV Programs"
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A CONVERSATION WITH KEN WAGNER, JR., SON OF THE FIRST CAPTAIN OF THE CARTOON SHOWBOAT WOC'S VERY OWN KEN WAGNER! WOC TV 6 DAVENPORT, IOWA
| Special thanks to Tim Hollis, author of "Hi There Boys and Girl's, America's Local Children's TV Programs" |
I was 15 years old and we lived in Wilton Junction, Iowa. Today it is called Wilton. That is a town between Davenport and Iowa City. In 1940 my mother and father bought a theater in Wilton Junction. Before that he was in Mason City and that is where I was born.
Back when he was in high school he would draw comic strips. Some of them were published in the local paper. He really liked working with kids and these strips were evident of the nature of things that he enjoyed in life and an indication of what he was to do with his career. He became a commecial artist with a showprint company. He was always into movies and film and always had a dream to own a theater. This was partly because he had worked in one when he was in high school. My parents got some pennies together and bought this theater and ran it from 1940 until television came along in 1949.
So, in 1949 he got wind that WOC was going to start the first television station west of the Mississippi. He renewed some of his commercial art abilities and decided that he wanted to do a show on television. He prepared one and went to WOC before they even started television and auditioned with them. I went with him because I operated Pee Wee the puppet who was on the show! They liked the show and decided to put it on the air and we were on once a week. This went on for a long time.
We remained in Wilton for about four or five months after he started at WOC. Right away the folks at WOC saw that he had some knowledge and ability that might be valuable to them because they were all radio men. I remember that when WOC started, they had the WOC letters cut out and pasted on a piece of cardboard.
He started driving from Wilton to Davenport every day. This got to be a burden after awhile and he said to himself that television had become more important to him than the movie business. He then decided to move to Davenport which we did in the fall of 1949, it was almost Christmas time. That was quite an event for the family to uproot from Wilton to Davenport.
I also remember a number of the people including Dave Hauser and Ray Guth. Ray turned out to be a great friend of mine because he was a model railroad enthusiast and I was into model railroads at the time. We got together a few times and worked on some models. Special thanks to legendary WOC engineer Jon Book for the scan of the Palmer mansion, original home of WOC TV 6
He said to himself that he could do better than that. He presented them with the call letters with the Davenport skyline and a sun-burst behind it.
They were pioneers in television and recognized that my dad had graphics ability and a lot of knowledge about movies which was something that they needed for the station. It wasn't more than two or three weeks later that they asked him if he could spend some more time there and it gradually worked into a job.
I recall those first weeks when WOC started telecasting. There was a little room in that big mansion. It was a front room, it must have been a parlor. They had a control room fixed up behind the parlor. It wasn't more than a few months later that they decided that they needed something bigger. They went back and converted the garage building which was an addition to the house into a larger studio. 
The first show my dad did was Comic Cutups. It was a fifteen minute show when it started. Initially the shows were that he would tell a story and draw at the same time. He would illustrate the story which he had made up. During the story he would talk back and forth with Pee Wee the Clown. Pee Wee would make comments about what he was doing and add suggestions as well. It was just a real simple format, all done in fifteen minutes. Of course, in the first days of television, that was enough. People would watch absolutely anything, everything was exciting to watch. Comic Cutups was on WOC from the very first week that WOC signed on the air. I call my dad a pioneer of television, along with the others in that early time period.
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We continued the show and I continued operating Pee Wee the puppet until the middle of my senior year of high school. At that time I landed a part time job and couldn't do Pee Wee after school anymore. I graduated from Davenport High School (now Davenport Central) in 1953 so that gives you the time period that all of this was occuring. Someone else may have become Pee Wee for a short time but then my sister came on board and started doing it. She is the one who became Tommy the Cabin Boy on The Showboat when Ken became the first Captain of the Dixie Belle.
Special thanks for the scan of the WOC Captain Ken and friends card to legendary WOC engineer Jon Book
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I suspect that my dad came up with Captain Ken and The Showboat because he was always dreaming up things like that. He then probably ran it by Ray Guth who gave him the direction of which way to go with it and that became the Showboat. On The Showboat, originally he wore a fake beard but after about a year he grew a gotee to play the part of Captain Ken. My mom and dad and my sisters moved to Minnesota in 1960 and started The Showboat all over again on station KMSP. I was married by then and stayed here. As he got older he became Grandpa Ken on the air. The show up there was very popular and it kept going until he retired. The show was on the air from 1960 until 1978. He did a lot of personal appearances during that time. |  |
He also made a lot of personal appearances here in Davenport and the Quad Cities as well as the outlying communities during his time in Davenport. He even made an appearance in Princeton, Illinois which is one of the furthest outreaches of the WOC viewing area. I would say that he would make a personal personal appearance once a week on average. Sometimes I would go with him. He would draw the pictures and tell the stories at these shows. He would put on a "chalk talk" where you stand up there and tell a story. It would depend on what the occasion was. That was a really big thing for the local folks when he appeared since he was on television.
He had sponsors on the show. I remember Hiland Potato Chips and Iowana Dairy along with another ice cream company were all sponsors on my dad's shows. My dad also had another show for maybe a year during the later evening hours called "As I See It". It was kind of like an editorial program. He would share his thoughts on different subjects such as the news and every day life. This program was on once a week.
On the Comic Cutups Show, he did not have children on it like he did on The Showboat. At the end of the run of the show he would have some on occasionally, however. The Showboat started out as an hour show and then expanded into a one and one-half hour show. So there was a lot of variety on that show and the kids were part of the action. An hour and one-half is a long stretch to cover on a live show every day. I don't know how he did it! When well known stars came into town, they would come on WOC television to promote what they were doing. They would sometimes go on The Showboat with Ken, especially if they were explicable to kids. Gene Autrey was on, I met him on the show. Tex Ritter and William Boyd, among others, were all on the air with him when they came through the area.
My dad was the first Captain of The Dixie Belle and Ernie Mims was the fourth and final Captain. They knew each other and worked on projects together at WOC before my dad left for Minnesota. He often talked about Ernie who is a great guy.
 | Special thanks to Ken Wagner Junior who wrote and shares his father's biography here. Presenting the life and creative genious of Ken Wagner, television pioneer. |
KENNETH ARTHUR WAGNER
Kenneth Arthur Wagner was an Artist, an Author, a Film Maker/Exhibitor and a Showman. He was "Ken Wagner" to his friends and family. To the television viewing public, between 1949 and 1975, he was "Captain Ken" and "Grandpa Ken". His desire to entertain people through the mediums of art and film shaped his life and career. A career that found him designing circus posters and show bills in the Thirties, a movie theater owner in the forties, a pioneer television personality in the fifties, sixties and seventies and a writer/illustrator of children's books in his retiring years. His drive to seek satisfaction through the public's acceptance and appreciation of his talents was tempered by a love for, and pride in his family.
He was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1911. His mother and father, both deaf mutes, met at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. Ken was challenged during his childhood by a sense that he was somewhat responsible for his family's welfare due to the handicap that deafness placed on his parents. The family was of modest means, did not own property and moved often. His father had mechanical skills and worked at various factories and industries, having no great desire to stay long at any of them. Ken spent some summers of his childhood in Bradgate, Iowa where his mother's family lived. He, his parents and younger sister lived also in Charles City, Iowa before moving to Mason City in 1927. Ken was 16.
Ken attended Mason City High School where he found outlets for his art and film interests. Various school publications and events required commercial artwork which he was able to provide. He had been drawing and sketching since he was old enough to hold a pencil and pen.
He was also fascinated with how movies were made and how they were shown. When he was a child in Council Bluffs he went to the movie theaters there and in Omaha across the river as often as he could get his hands on the nickel or dime it took to buy a child's ticket. Those were the years when the movies changed from "moving picture shows" in places called "Nickelodeons" to "Motion Pictures" in palatial theaters. By the time Ken moved to Mason City, sound had been added to the movies. When not in school he worked at the Cecil Theater, Mason City's finest. His artistic talents served him well when he graduated from high school. It was the beginning of the Great Depression and he needed another job to augment his income in order to help with the family finances. The Central Show Print Co. in Mason City needed someone with good graphics and composition skills to help out in the composition room. It was not long until his originality and talent with a brush and pen were recognized and he was sitting at a drawing board. He soon became the company's chief artist turning out a new array of colorful circus and carnival posters, the company's main product. One of the firm's clients, Jay Gould, engaged Ken to create a whole new set of graphics for his traveling shows including scenes on huge folding panels that could be trucked from one show location to another. Ken spent many weekend and evening hours painting his creations on the panels. Mr. Gould was so pleased with the work that he ordered the panels to be returned to Ken at the end of each show season for touch-up and rehabilitation, trusting no one else to do it.
Ken continued his interest in photography and motion pictures. He organized the Hawkeye Camera Club with some friends of like interests and served as its first president. He built a dark room (photo lab) in the basement of their new home and with cameras acquired previously, he pursued photography and movie making with fervor. He made many home movies of family and friends always spending many hours cutting and editing to make them interesting and fun to watch. In 1940 he produced "The Rescue of Nancy Smith", a western movie featuring local kids fully costumed as cowboys and indians with the customary hero and heroen. It was filmed over several weekends in open fields behind his house as well as along the stone cliffs of the Winnebago River that runs through town a few blocks away. The premier showing was in the Wagner's back yard open air "theater" where movies were often shown to friends and neighbors.
Ken and his wife LaVina made many friendships that endured for many years including Bruce Powell. Ken and Bruce shared a particular interest in the motion picture theater business. They talked many hours about owning and operating movie theaters. Early in 1940 Bruce had the means to lease and operate a theater in the nearby small town of Nora Springs.
Ken's desire to own and operate a theater increased and in 1942, with some money saved and a small loan, he purchased a fledgling little theater in Wilton Jct., Iowa, nearly 200 miles from Mason City.
Ken Wagner's Theater in Wilton Junction, Iowa. Ken was a master promoter and below is a shot of his ability to draw a crowd.
Wilton Jct. became the family's home for the next eight years. It was a farming community of approximately 1500 people about 30 miles west of Davenport. The theater was located in a former store building on the main intersection of the business district. It was not much of an operation when Ken took it over. Show posters were taped to the storefront windows, noisy projectors operated from an open platform and movies were shown only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Ken saw great potential for business. He immediately made improvements to the physical and operational qualities of the theater. Equipment was updated, acoustics improved and movies were shown every night of the week on the premise that no potential patron should have to remember when the theater was open or when it was closed. The people responded. Attendance steadily increased. Ken was never satisfied with the status quo. He made physical improvements continually, published a monthly show calendar, produced a hometown newsreel and acquired the kind of movies that the people wanted to see. The theater soon became an asset to other businesses in town since it attracted many people to Wilton from farms and surrounding towns. Never letting an interest grow cold and with LaVina's assistance he established the town's first professional photography and portrait studio.
Ken Wagner's genious shown as he films happenings in Wilton Junction, Iowa. Before and in between movies, Ken would play back this film in his theater much to the delight of the overflow crowds.
Ken became an accepted and respected member of Wilton's business community. He and other businessmen met regularly to discuss policies and plan events that would enhance Wilton's commerce and competitiveness. When World War II ended and communities were able to resume their self interests, he helped organize the first annual "Wilton Days". He persuaded an old friend, Jay Gould, to bring his grand show and midway to Wilton, a town ordinarily deemed to be too small for such an enterprise. The event was so successful that Gould returned with his shows the next two years. Ken also served as president of the Wilton Chapter of Lions International. As a volunteer fireman he often answered the call of the big siren atop the town hall just one block from the theater.
Commercial television arrived on the scene after World War II. By 1948 New York and Chicago had stations on the air and many more cities were well on their way to having television stations. One of those was Davenport, Iowa just 28 miles from Wilton. B. J. Palmer, a pioneer in commercial radio, started the radio station WOC (Wonders of Chiropractic) in the 1920's. He was determined to have one of the first TV stations as well. Ken was fascinated with the potential of television for utilizing the kind of talent and interests that he had to communicate and entertain people.
Ken Wagner, his son Ken Jr. and an incredibly rare picture of Pee Wee the puppet clown. Special thanks to Ken Jr. & Linda Wagner
A decision had to be made. Ken was driving back and forth between Wilton and Davenport almost every day and there was not enough time to be both a TV pioneer and a theater owner/operator. Though he loved the theater and all that he was able to do in Wilton, The challenge and opportunity of television prevailed. The family moved to 1419 Gaines Street, Davenport, Iowa in November 1950.
When word reached Ken that WOC was preparing to start a television station he immediately set about to create a show that he believed was perfectly suited for TV. Using an old entertainment media called the "chalk Talk", a modern drawing easel and a hand puppet named Pee Wee, he created "COMIC CUTUPS". The audition at WOC-TV was successful and the show aired along with others when the station began operating in November 1949. It was the only operating TV station west of the Mississippi River for a time until a station went on the air in Los Angeles three months later. Ken's talent for communicating via expressive graphics, movies and various art forms was soon discovered by the people (primarily radio experienced) at the station who were struggling to build a new media. They were breaking new ground. Television was a new media. It was not radio and it was not the movies. His council was increasingly sought out and within a few weeks he was a member of the team that was pioneering the ideas and events that would establish television in the Quad Cities. 
"Comic Cutups" began as a weekly show and grew in popularity. The station's hours of telecasting increased and the show became a daily late afternoon program enjoyed by children as well as adults. By 1953 programming filled the day and the station was linked directly to the network (WOC-TV was an NBC affiliate). Comic Cutups had grown to an hour-long show with a big audience and a full slate of commercials. It was time to create a major theme and expand the show to one and a half hours each day.
CAP'N KEN and the DIXIE BELLE showboat were created. New puppet friends were added including Tommy Sawyer, the inquisitive cabin boy, and Calliope, the turtle with all the answers. Cap'n Ken, in full riverboat captain uniform and distinguished beard, hosted the show from the pilot house. Fun and games with educational merit were the hallmark of Ken's shows. He used animated cartoons, short films, puppets, props and his drawing easel to entertain, tell stories and involve the viewing audience in the theme of the show. Guest appearances by local and nationally known celebrities were commonplace. Ken interviewed such favorites as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Wm. Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy) and many others. While the show occupied much of Ken's time he continued to direct the station's film and art departments. He also was in demand for personal appearances at civic, corporate and professional organization events. The show played every weekday on WOC-TV until 1960 when he took it to KMSP-TV in Minneapolis.
The ABC affiliate station KMSP-TV was looking for a new late afternoon show and Ken was interested in moving the show to larger market area. They got together and the deal was made.
Ken, his wife LaVina, and two of his daughters Linda and Cindy moved to Bloomington, Minnesota (suburb of Minneapolis) in 1960. His son, Ken Jr., was married by this time and living in Bettendorf, Iowa where he was begining his career in Architecture. Another daughter Diane was also married, starting her family and living in Bettendorf.
 Special thanks to Ken Jr. and Linda Wagner | The Cap'n Ken show telecast daily, entertaining young and old alike. Ken never stopped innovating. Taking advantage of television's technical advancements he continually added and changed features that enhanced the show's appeal and success. He soon became well known in the Twin Cities area. Many TV and movie personalities who came to town made guest appearances on Ken's show. He also invited and interviewed, authors, educators and others who could add to the substantive value of the show. Personal appearances at such events as the Minnesota State Fair, the Winter Festival and many other venues were frequent occurrences for Ken. The show took on a new look in 1967 when Ken changed from Cap'n Ken to "Grandpa Ken". The studio set was changed from the Dixie Belle to "The Farm" and a new group of puppet friends was created. His flowing white hair and distinguished beard conveyed the image of the wise, kind and understanding grandfather. Those physical features were not needed by his family who by this time knew him as just such a grandfather in real life. He had 12 grandchildren. |
 Special thanks to Ken Jr. and Linda Wagner |
With an eye toward retirement, Ken set out to author and illustrate children's books. His natural talent and years of creative story telling served him well. His first book "From One to Ten and Back Again" was accepted and published by Western Press "Golden Books". They wanted more. By the time he retired in 1975 from 25 years in television, he had two more books on the shelves of book stores, department stores, K Marts and Wal Marts. They were "Tony and His Friends" and "The One Word Story Book". He went on to do one more, "Jack in the Sack". Some of his books received international acclaim for helping to teach English in many foreign countries. All were re-published later for distribution to libraries. On the left - Television Pioneer Ken Wagner reading Ken's Little Golden Book "The One Word Storybook" to Calliope the Turtle from Captain Ken's Showboat. This is the first glimpse that WOC viewers have ever had of Calliope in color |
Ken Wagner's daughter Linda Played Tommy the Cabin Boy (Tommy Sawyer) for a number of years on WOC's Captain Ken's Showboat. She attended Davenport High School and the DHS Editor wrote an article featuring her in the Quad City Times-Democrat on November 15th, 1959.
Linda Wagner with her pal Tommy the Cabin Boy.
Linda Wagner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ken Wagner, is a student at Davenport High School and the puppeteer on the program. Linda works with "Tommy" the little cabin boy who is always asking questions, while her father narrates and operates "Calliope", the turtle who knows all the answers.
It seems not only natural but inheritance that each member of the family has at some time worked with puppets. Linda's brother was the first. He worked with Pee Wee on "Comic Cut-ups", and then a sister took over his job. Now it's Linda and no doubt Cindy, her youngest sister, hopes to fill the role at a later date.
Everyone is well acquainted with the WOC television program, "Captain Ken's Showboat." Fans from two to 92 watch diligently the cartoons, Tommy and Calliope and the other fun and amusements.
Working with puppets has brought great happiness to Linda. She has been working with them for two years.
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Linda's father made the two puppets from wood, old stockings and paint. Linda said, "Tommy may be made out of wood, but I'll never forget when his ear fell off and they nailed it back. It actually made me mad and it hurt to see it. To me he is a living person." The most vivid thing about the way the program is presented is that it is a complete ad lib show. There has never been a script and never will be. Linda pretends she is a little boy and forgets everything else during the program. When asked how she could think of enough ideas on the show, she replied "It's only natural now and Dad and I are well aware of what each other is going to say." |  Linda was never seen on The Showboat. Here is an incredibly rare picture of her playing Tommy while hiding behind Captain Ken's pilot house! |
 Longtime WOC director Ed Jones, Linda and her father Captain Ken Wagner go over a format of the day's show. The show never uses a script although it is on an hour a day, five days a week! | She said that a lot of comical situations have happened on the show. One time her father's beard fell off. This prompted him to grow a real one and now he feels much more assured. Another time Linda used the wrong brand name in introducing the commercial. Linda is an active member of GRA and Dramatic clubs, although she hasn't taken any Dramatics course at school to develop her talent. Like her father, she likes to draw and has made chalk talks for different groups. She is a member of Rainbow, where she is the officer "Patriotism" and she is also a member of the Turners and of the "Junior Illowa" riding club. |
As far as furthering her talent, Linda would like to. She finds new experiences in every performance which teach her what to do and how to think clearly in a tight situation.
Special thanks to Ken Jr. and Linda Wagner for the clipping and photos. This website is not affiliated with The Quad City Times or WOC. The information presented on this site is for educational purposes only.
Ken Wagner's incredible artwork shown here in a picture of his good friend WOC's Sportscaster Ed Zack who spun records on a 1959 show which was similar to a local American Bandstand. This picture has not been seen in 50 years. Special thanks to Ed Zack.
On the left, Ken Wagner, who was the first Captain of The Cartoon Showboat on WOC, along with WOC personality Warren Vasen performing at the Tree of Lights - WOC's annual Christmas program to raise money for The Salvation Army. Special thanks to Anita Sundin.
Update 05/04/2007 ... In yet another one of the greatest updates ever on this website, Ken Wagner Jr. and his sister Diane, children of WOC's first megastar Ken Wagner, provide the first glimpse at PeeWee the clown in 50 years! PeeWee was one of the most beloved characters on television in the 1950's in the WOC viewing area. To top it off, this is the first ever shot of PeeWee in living color! Here are three pictures; (1)- 1954 or '55 of Eddie Glidden (Director) with my sister Diane and PeeWee; (2)- Diane today w/ 58 year old PeeWee; (3)- Ken Jr. today w/ PeeWee.
My sister Linda said, as she remembered it, that the puppet "Tommy" was left at WOC to remain with the show there and that Dad took "Calliope" to Minneapolis. Calliope was used occassionly up there. We still do not know what became of him. It's great to have PeeWee though even if he is a bit "shop worn".
Diane left Comic Cutups in January 1957. Another girl did PeeWee for a brief time until Cutups went off the air. She said Dad was off-air for a brief time until the Showboat began. Sorry she can't remember the exact dates.
- Ken Wagner Jr.
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|  RCA's TK 30 A camera, the type used on Ken Wagner's Comic Cutups beginning in 1949. Special thanks to legendary WOC engineer Jon Book |
 | Direction of cameramen and adjustment of picture quality are the responsibility of experts in the WOC-TV control room at the old Palmer Mansion. Engineers Dick Turnipseed, Jim Larson and Max Roth watch the monitor screens. Special thanks to legendary WOC engineer Jon Book for the scan. |
The time slot for the listings of the Circle 6 Cartoon Corral, Popeye Cartoon Corral and Captain Ken was always the same 4:30pm to 5:30pm, preceeded by Cactus Jim from 4pm to 4:30pm.
Circle 6 Cartoon Corral (Wes Holly as Cowboy Wes) - Monday 7/29/57 (last show)
Popeye Cartoon Corral - Tuesday 08/01/57 (still starring Cowboy Wes, first show)
Monday 10/06/58 = Captain Ken
Incredibly, Popeye was so popular that it was shown not only at 4:30pm but then again after the news for a short while in 1957. The listings on 10/25/57 show the news on from 5:30pm to 6pm followed by Popeye from 6pm to 630pm.
Popeye was released to television in September of 1956 so it is also interesting to see that it looks like it took WOC almost a year to purchase the package. Popeye at the time was the hottest and most expensive cartoon package that a station could buy (until The Three Stooges were released in 1959). As a result, most stations that purchased the Popeye package had a Captain host the show and it looks like WOC followed the hot trend. It is really interesting to see how apparently Ken Wagner, Vern Geilow, Don Warren and Ernie Mims became Captains thanks to Popeye! Wagner would have been aware of the reason but Geilow, Warren and Mims most likely did not. By the time Captain Ernie came around, The Showboat had become synonymous with his character and most including Ernie thought that The Showboat was a reference to the nearby Mississippi River. Three cheers for Popeye for without him there would have never been a Cartoon Showboat on WOC!
Popeye's image from Wikipedia may be copyrighted and is used here only as reference according to fair use and is not intended for any other distribution.
