JOYVILLE DISPATCH

I mentioned the puppets from Joyville, Ct., as seen on the old 'Hap Richards Show' from Hartford's WTIC-3, in an earlier post......

By the time the 15 minute series ended in the early 70's, there were seven puppets, two of them female. Frankly, I don't remember them, but I would have been in school by the time the show aired, I think.

For me, there were always the basic four, Dandy Lion, Dooley Lucius O'Toole, an Irishman who's name I may be mis-remembering, Brian the Dragon - again, I may not have the name right. (I think his last name was Althorp?) And my favorite was Oliver Orbit, whom I always thought was a robot. But I caught some video of the show today, and I guess he's really an alien. What was really cool - and creepy for a little kid - was that Oliver's body was basically a glove. That way he had four arms, as all the puppeteer's fingers were utilized.

It could also be that if Oliver is an alien, he shouldn't even be considered a puppet. Like 'ALF' and 'Jonny Jupiter', maybe he is simply as he appears, an alien species.

The picture above is of Oliver and Brian. This next one has them joined by Mr. O'Toole and Hap Richards, the show's host and the Mayor of Joyville: As for the female puppets, I only know that one of them was something of a beauty named Marilyn Monrovia.

And here you'll find two articles from back in the day about 'The Hap Richards Show', which are showcased on a great website about the old WTIC (now known as WFSB):

http://www.wticalumni.com/people/richards1.htm

http://www.wticalumni.com/people/richards.htm

BCnU!
Toby O'B

If any fellow Nutmeggers who grew up with Hap Richards can help fill in the blanks of my faulty memory, leave a comment, thanks!