THE PROFESSOR'S SF & HORROR HOST TOME

THE MAJOR MUDD SHOW
SKIDDLE ALLEY

EDWARD THOMAS MCDONNELL - "MAJOR MUDD"

"The Major Mudd Show" was a hosted children's show with Edward Thomas McDonnell as host "Major Mudd".

Excerpts from "Kurt's Historic Sites":
McDonnell played the fictional astronaut during the height of space age fever — and beyond — from 1961 to 1974, on WNAC-TV Channel 7, broadcast from Boston. The bumbling Mudd commanded a spacecraft — the Nervous 1 — and his duties included participating in skits, interacting with the audience of kiddies, and introducing cartoon segments. Like Bozo the Clown and Rex Trailer.

For a time, The Major Mudd Show also rebroadcast Three Stooges short subjects, which were produced by Columbia Pictures from 1934 to 1959. McDonnell and other local television hosts from around the country who helped share the laughter of the comedy trio with the children of the 1960s were given roles in the Stooges' 1965 feature film, "The Outlaws is Coming!" McDonnell portrayed Bat Masterson.

For the first decade of The Major Mudd Show's run, WNAC-TV was an ABC affiliate. In 1972, control of the station reverted to its pre-1961 parent, CBS, and Major Mudd underwent major changes. The program was renamed Skiddle Alley and aired once a week, on Saturday mornings, beginning on June 30, 1973. It was described by TV guide as a “magazine-format variety show for children with the emphasis on educational games and activities.” McDonnell would not grace the small screen for long in this new hour-long format, though, as his health was in decline. He went into semi-retirement in 1974, but still made appearances at children’s hospitals and other locales until his infirmities prohibited it.

EDWARD THOMAS MCDONNELL
Edward Thomas McDonnell was born on 30 September 1926 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA and passed away on 30 October 1979 in Jamaica Plain, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA.

His parents were John Carroll McDonnell and Kathryn Helen Teehan. McDonnell was a veteran of World War II. He served in the U.S. Army as a Technician Fifth Grade. He married Margaret Elizabeth Huber on 15 November 1954, in Pennsylvania, United States; having six children Debra Anne, Edward Francis, Gary Patrick, Matthew Thomas, Sean Joseph, and Siobhan Lorraine.

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Below is a tribute to Major Mudd.

"The Major Mudd Show" - tribute from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.

The theme music for "The Major Mudd Show" -
"Parade of the Clowns" by David Rose.

Play Clip