CAPTAIN 11

CHRIS WEDES - "CAPTAIN 11"
JIM LANGE - "CAPTAIN 11"

"Captain 11" was a 1950's children's science fiction afternoon show hosted by "Captain 11" with Jim Lange playing the Captain from 1954 until 1955, and Chris Wedes as the Captain from 1955 until 1957. The show was aired on WMIN-TV channel 11 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The show aired on weekday afternoons and featured old movie serials such as Buck Rogers and The Lost Jungle. According to channel 11 director Al DeRusha, the set was made of parts from old pinball machines with flashing lights. They made use of sound effects such as roaring rocket engines. Jim Lange as "Captain 11" From Minnesota Kidvid Captain 11 was originally played by Saint Paul native Jim Lange, who started in radio, winning a local contest while still in high school. He studied broadcasting at the University of Minnesota and served three years in the Marines. He left channel 11 in 1955 and moved to California where he became a popular disc jockey at KGO and later KSFO. In 1965 he begain hosting the popular game show, The Dating Game, continuing for 17 years. He worked in radio until his retirement in 2005. Chris Wede as "Captain 11" From Minnesota Kidvid Chris Wedes took over the role following Jim Lange’s departure. Chris was a man of many hats at channel 11, playing Joe the Cook on the Casey Jones show and his own program, as well as Chuck Wagon Chuck alongside Wrangler Steve, and eventually taking over J.P. Patches from Daryl Laub. Chris left Minneapolis in 1957 to work in Seattle where he hosted the long running J.P. Patches show until 1983. He continued to make personal appearances through 2011.

One of Wede's later roles was as a mad doctor in "Science Fiction Theater".
For more information on the mad doctor, click of the below link:

Children could write into "Captain 11" and receive the "Captain 11 Rocket Ranger Kit", which contained: An official photo of Captain 11, with a printed inscription says "To all my Rocket Ranger Pals, Captain 11" An official Rocket Ranger membership card An official membership certificate Martian and Venus credits Saturn credit coins and A secret message decoder. There are no know clips from the show. Below is some audio with Chris Wedes. "Captain 11" - Chris Wedes audio with photos from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.

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