Monday, August 01, 2005

"Sailor Bob" Griggs...

I imagine most of you remember Captain Kangaroo or the Bozo show. But when I was small, the Richmond Area had it's own TV personality called Sailor Bob...

One of the station's most popular personalities occasionally reported weather as a secondary assignment. His primary job was host for daily cartoon and science programs aimed toward seven to twelve year-olds. Sailor Bob was a skilled cartoonist who embellished his cloud charts
with assorted characters that displayed smiling or sad faces depending on conditions outdoors. No suitable weather seer was on the staff around the time of transition to WWBT management


I was crazy about this guy. Would have married him in a minute (if I hadn't been seven).
His real name is Bob Griggs. And from what I hear, he's still around. In 1994 he was President of Southside Builders Supply in Richmond and now he's retired.
We had a picture of me sitting on his lap at the State Fair of Virginia... but my mom is even more disorganized than I am... so who knows if I'll ever see it again.

Sailor Bob Haiku:
Captain was a friend
to many a young child, but
Sailor Bob was mine
~
HAH! When googling for "Sailor Bob" ... I found this classified ad:

Married couple seeks young people willing to pretend to be our children. We have no kids of our own to abuse and would love to abuse you! Emotional, physical, sexual, we love it all. You must be willing to wear Bo Peep or Sailor Bob costume. Respond to Box 8743 c/o this paper.


geez!

11 comments:

Ole Blue The Heretic said...

That is wonderfull. We had Pollu Carp and Buckskin Bill in the Louisiana area.

Peggasus said...

Bozo was filmed in Chicago, and it was awfully hard to get tickets. I did have some friends that went; one of them even played the Grand Prize Game. But then people started writing in for tickets before their kids were even born.

I never had crush on him, though. He was also a weatherman on the local news.

And....ewwwwww. That ad is way creepy. They're looking for people who want to be abused by a children's show star? That's kinda sick-o. I bet they find someone, though.

peg said...

At one point, I guess there was a Bozo show filmed all over. We had one here and I was on it with other kids at a friends Birthday Party. I remember being scared shitless!

Anonymous said...

ye aint been scared missy til'ye been scared o'the likes of tidewater's Poop-Deck-Pappy, Channel 10 I believe. Plus we also had the ubiquitous "Bungles".

That freakin clown could kick the shit out of Bozo, woulda been fun to watch tho...

Saw sailor bob live in williamsburg.

peg said...

Hey there Bop!
Well he was called Bozo after all! I think Barney coulda beat the shit outta him.

peg said...

Thanks for the kind words Anonymous... I checked out your site. I don't know much about Corvettes but it looks like you have a wealth of info there. A friend of mine recently bought a 'vette and LOVES it. I've asked him to check out your site too.

Anonymous said...

aggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Joe Friday said...

Wow! this brings back memories. I met Sailor Bob at the Urbanna Oyster Festival when it was a fun place to go and there were plenty of oysters. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Anonymous said...

I remember both Sailor Bob and Buckskin Bill, having grown up in Virginia, and then in Baton Rouge.

Does anyone remember Dandy Beagle and Superdog? Not a bad show, but just couldn't top Sailor Bob.

And Buckskin Bill, I could REALLY use a Monday Morning March this week!

The ad is mondo creepy. Sends shivers down your spine. I'm sure there's a Twilight Zone episode in there somewhere. "Submitted for your approval. Or in fact, DISapproval."

Norrin2 said...

Sailor Bob actually came on twice a day -- at 10 in the morning and again at five in the afternoon. I know cuz I watched every episode and marveled at his artistic abilities.
I also remember Dandy Don Beagle and Super Dog -- not as much personality as Sailor Bob, but they showed these $1.98-animation-Marvel Super Hero cartoons.

Anonymous said...

Hi, for some reason I was thinking about Sailor Bob today and wondering where he might be. I live in the Richmond area also and had a crush on him as a child of 11 or 12. Not only was he cute, but I loved his drawing. Being an artist myself that was a plus. I even knew where he lived, because a friend of mine was his neighbor. I figure he has got to be in his mid to late 60's by now, maybe early 70's. I was a fan of all of the stars you mentioned, but he was my favorite.