#Casey jones birthday song professional#
This manic and fun character, physically fit from years as a professional skater in the Ice Capades, often played the comic to Jones role as the “straight man”.
Similarly, the show would not be the same without the physical gags and antics of Lynn Dwyer a.k.a. This real life friendship and natural chemistry fueled the careers of both men. Wedes also graduated from Macalester, and went on host his own shows: “Cartoon Carnival” and later J.P.Patches. The first character of import to join the host, “Joe the Cook”, was played by Chris Wedes. Hearkening back to childhood neighborhood shows, he pitched the idea for “Lunch with Casey” inviting boys and girls to “join him for lunch, skits, songs and cartoons.” ***Īlways one to include others, both on and off the air, some of Casey Jones TV friends were real life buddies of Awsumb’s. He got wind that the station was hunting for talent for kids programming. **įrom there, he branched out into the exciting new world (then) of television: first at WCCO as a floor director, and then at WMIN in 1953 also as “floor man” and announcer. (Strike that, he was known to be an entertainer as a kid during the Depression making shows and programs with and for his neighborhood friends.) He began in “show business” as an announcer on WBOM at Macalester College of Saint Paul, Minnesota about 1948, and went on to become the station’s program director and manager. Roger’s interests began with a love of radio.
Maybe the first thing you notice about Casey Jones is his big, resonant, but always friendly voice. “ Lunch with Casey Jones (Roger Awsumb) becomes a noontime tradition for Twin Cities youngsters-and later for their children.Ĭasey and his cast of regulars-including Joe the Cook, Roundhouse Rodney, Carmen the Nurse, and Clancy the Cop-will entertain kids with skits, songs, guests, and cartoons until 1972.” * PrayThroughHistory on Borlaug Receives Nobel Prize Americaoncoffee on Borlaug Receives Nobel Prize