Western Theatre
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"Western Theatre" was the first children's television show to air in the Birmingham market. It debuted on WAFM-TV in 1949 and featured host Benny Carle dressed as a cowboy to introduce syndicated western movies. Carle added a studio audience of children to help fill time.
The popular program inspired a copycat, "Circle 6 Ranch" at WBRC-TV. In 1954 Carle was lured to WBRC to take over for their original host, Bob Bandy. Western Theatre was reformatted as "Uncle Bill's Fun Shop", also known as "Channel 13 Theatre", with Bill Wright as host.
References
- Hollis, Tim (2001) Hi There Boys and Girls: America's Local Children's TV Programs. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1578063965
- Hollis, Tim (2006) Birmingham Broadcasting. Images of America series. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738542717