Before Sesame Street, before Mister Rodgers moved into the neighborhood, there was Romper Room, the first television show specifically aimed at the pre-school set.
The brainchild of TV producer Ben Claster and his wife, Nancy Terrell, the show was also unique in that it was offered in two different formats. Major market TV stations would cast their own local hostess and produce their own Romper Room, while smaller markets would broadcast a national version of the show, hosted by Nancy Terrell
Beginning In 1953, both the national and local versions broadcast Monday through Friday and worked from scripts provided by the Clasters. That way, the content would be the same no matter where the show aired. The format simulated a kindergarten class. 4- and 5-year old boys and girls played games, participated in exercises and were taught lessons in good behavior by the hostess, who was always referred to as “Miss [WHATEVER HER NAME HAPPENED TO BE].” The hostesses were required to either be trained pre-school teachers or have a background in dealing with small kids.
While the show is best remembered by the Baby Boomers, it actually ran on stations around the country through 1994 (being renamed Romper Room and Friends in 1981).
The two sequences best remembered by those who started their TV life with Romper Room were the lessons in manners taught by Mr. Doo-Bee and Mr. Don’t-Bee and the Magic Mirror sequence that concluded every episode. Before signing off, the show’s hostess would hold up her “magic mirror” (really an ordinary hand-held mirror with the glass removed) and chant mystically, “Romper, stomper, bomper, boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic Mirror, tell me today, Did all my friends have fun at play?”
Then, she would pretend she could somehow see all the boys and girls watching at home. However, she was careful only to mention them by first name. Most of us would make sure we were front & center in front of our TV screens hoping for that shoutout by our local hostess.
Here’s hoping you’re still being a Do-Bee should Miss Nancy still be employing her magic mirror in the Great Beyond!
