Captain Chesapeake
"A shipwrecked sailor found himself
in a plight. Lost at sea he was really a sight. He
swam and swam 'til he thought he'd die, when a wonderous sight appeared
to his eye. A derelict boat that saved his life and put an
end ot his watery strife."
When
Channel 45 came on the air in 1970, one of the first local programs
produced was for children. Royal Parker had been approached
by the station's program director, veteran broadcaster Bill LeFebvre,
about hosting the show. But ultimately George Lewis was
hired. "Captain Chesapeake was the moniker given to the
Atlanta native who grew up in Baltimore during the 1930's and '40's,
where he graduated from the old Baltimore Polytechnic High on North
Avenue. Enrolling in Johns Hopkins University, Lewis decided
one day that radio was his calling. So one morning instead of
going to Homewood campus, he drove until he found a job at a station in
North Carolina. George returned to Baltimore in 1950 to do
the morning show on WCBM, then moved on again to a station in Atlantic
City. Later, Lewis went into television in Lexington, KY, and
by 1957 was anchoring news at WSAZ-TV in Huntington, WV.
Asked one day to replace an ailing kid's show host, Lewis came up with
the character "Steamboat Bill," and soon after gave up his news duties
entirely to concentrate on children's programming.
In the beginning, "Captain C" wore a turtleneck, blazer, captain's hat,
and a pair of sunglasses. The shades were discarded shortly
after production began at WBFF's original facility on Parkdale Avenue
and Druid Park Drive, at the foot of Television Hill, which they shared
with WFMM-FM (now WPOC). The captain's ship was called "The
Television Hull," and nautical scenes appeared behind him on a blue
screen. "Stumblin'" was the theme music, and Lewis appeared
in live action segments with sidekicks Mondy the Sea Monster,
Andrewclaws the Lion, and the unseen and incredibly irritating Bruce
the Bird. Wrapped around the live action were cartoons, Our
Gang, and The Three Stooges, not to mention plenty of live commercials
for Drink-Me-Pop Stops and, early on, Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. |
