I know I've said it before, but to me CHUCK McCANN was the best kid show entertainer I ever saw. His comedy, characters, heart and most importantly PUPPETRY ("voices & animation") was eveything I needed. He was just so much FUN! And. Come along! We're all going to have FUN together. Chuck inspired me no end. The memories still do. 
Chuck understood and presented his love for television itself as part of his presentation. He was on for 4 hours(!) on Sunday with a show called "LET'S HAVE FUN". Before the program came on, WPIX-11 would show an artcard with cutout pictures of the puppets and a LETS HAVE FUN logo in the center. They'd play old time gazebo music by a group called Professor H. Then at 9:00 AM, this following scene would unfold. . .
Notice how Chuck took us into his world - - behind the scenes of the teeny tiny studio populated by characters of his own imagination - - all the way to the far end of magic-land until soon? He disappears behind the puppet stage and his alter egos take over. Absolute magic. I'd never miss it!
Olga, Chuck & Me in Flexitoon Central, prior to an "Evening of Memories" @ the Museum of Broadcasting
On the next Chuck post, I get the courage to traipse from Queens-to-Manhattan to meet Chuck @ WPIX, and end the day by being on his show!
*Produced by CHET DOWLING. Directed by IRV JARVIS.
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The camera pedded up to reveal two of the most amazing make-believe characters I ever saw in my young life. I was captivated! These puppets (who called themselves Stan & Ollie) introduced a film, and there unspooled a live-action version of the puppets who were just talking to me: LAUREL & HARDY!
After the film (that showed these two charming idiots trying to carry a piano up an impossibly loooooooong flight of stairs,) the camera cut back to the puppets saying goodbye. Then - - wonder of wonders - - from below the magical playboard up pops a smiling man to add his "see ya next time." This was my introduction to CHUCK McCANN!
Chuck McCann is, as far as I'm concerned (based upon a lifetime of learned observation and partcipation in the field), the GREATEST HAND-PUPPETEER OF ALL TIME. He took what was ostensibly a "Punch & Judy" art form (one man, hand puppets, multiple voices) and launched it into the modern era. Chuck brought style and exuberance to his manipulation, and married it to quality voice characterizations (splitting back and forth between puppets in lightning-quick transitions.) His puppets were made by PAUL ASHLEY - - again to my mind - - the greatest hand-puppet maker of the 20th century. I had to meet this man and peer backstage, for through his world-of-wonder, I knew who I was. .jpg)