Warren Wright, 91, Creator Of TV Pioneer 'Willie The Worm'
Hoodoo
July 25, 2005
http://www.nbc10.com/news/4765943/detail.html
The man behind 'Willie The Worm," the first children's TV show
star in Philadelphia, has died.
Warren Wright, 91, died last Thursday in Indiana, his son says.
Wright created a puppet, Willie The Worm, who starred in the
first popular kids television show in the Philadelphia area.
Willie The Worm was a fixture on WCAU TV during the 1950s as his
show ran from 1950 to 1959 as "Junior Hi-Jinx."
Wright's creation, which he fashioned from a piece of automotive
tubing, also caused one of the Philadelphia region's first TV
controversies.
During a live Christmas special in the early 1950s, Willie made a
visit to the North Pole via Philadelphia Airport.
However, a cameraman pulled away to soon from the show's last
shot, revealing Wright as the puppeteer behind Willie.
WCAU was then deluged with complaints from concerned parents,
whose children had discovered that Willie wasn't all he appeared
to be.
After the Willie The Worm show finished in Philadelphia, Wright
moved on to Indianapolis, eventually becoming the manager of the
city's first public broadcasting TV station.
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on the webpage -
Video: Willie The Worm Interview From 1951
--
It's a big old goofy world. - John Prine