It was a show that taught children about friendship, how all sorts of adventures could be found in books, and how to love and care for animals. Captain Kangaroo never preached to his audience, but his beliefs in creative educational entertainment for children made his show an exceptional one.

I learned some things I didn’t know about Captain Kangaroo from reading an article in The Washington Post recently that said:

"Bob Keeshan was born in Lynbrook, NY. in 1927. He became a page at NBC while he was in high school. He joined the Marine Corps in 1945. For three years, he attended Fordham University, and years later, Fordham was one of at least 14 colleges that gave him an honorary degree. He was working as a "cue-card boy" for "Buffalo Bob" Smith of "The Howdy Doody Show" when he walked in front of the camera by accident. The producer said that if Keeshan was going to be on camera, he should be in a costume, and the only costume available was a clown outfit. Eventually, the character evolved into Clarabell the Clown who didn’t speak, but honked horns and sprayed seltzer all over the host. Keeshan played the role for five years. He later played Corny the Clown, host of a noontime cartoon program in New York, and Tinker the Toymaker on ABC in 1954. Captain Kangaroo was a name often attributed to the pouch like pockets in his jacket, but Keeshan insisted that he decided on it because the words sounded good together. The show debuted October 3, 1955, and Keeshan was 28 years old. He also created a year-long show on CBS, "Mr. Mayor", and produced a CBS Afternoon Playhouse show, "Revenge of the Nerd." He did radio commentary in the 1980s and wrote and edited books for children. In 1987, he and former governor Lamar Alexander co-founded Corporate Family Solutions to provide day-care programs to businesses. His wife of 40 years, Jeanne, died in 1990. Survivors include three children, Michael, Laurie and Maeve, and six grandchildren.