'Wonderama,' beloved TV children's show, still believes that 'kids are people too'

The real wonder of "Wonderama" is how host David Osmond can still have a smile on his face.

It is 97 degrees (real feel, 105) in midtown Manhattan, at 4 p.m. on this particular Thursday. Osmond had been filming outdoors for seven hours straight.

This is, in the special language of the show, "wackadoo."

"We're gonna rock out in Times Square," Osmond announces before bringing the cast of Broadway's "Rock & Roll Man," including Wyckoff native Constantine Maroulis, onto the outdoor stage to perform a few numbers.

Normally, there would be a live audience of kids — a key component of "Wonderama" since 1955, when the original version made its debut on New York's WNEW (Channel 5). Back then, every children's show, from "Howdy Doody" to "Winchell-Mahoney Time" had its "peanut gallery" of cheering small fry. But on this afternoon, temperature being what it was, the kids were dismissed early.

"It would have been criminal not to," says executive producer Chuck Armstrong.

Kids, of all ages

So Maroulis and company, and later the Jazz Arts Collective Ensemble of Lincoln Center (all teens), performed for the grips and the camera operators. The audience shots could be edited in later — when the show aired in its regular 6 p.m. Sunday slot on WOR-TV Channel 9.

Every year, in Times Square, "Wonderama" shoots its season of 26 episodes in one week — one after the other. The new season begins Sunday, Sept. 17.

"There's so much happening in Times Square all the time, it's so much fun to do the show right here!" Osmond says to his invisible studio audience.

But behind the barricades, a real audience has gathered — passers-by in the crowded theater district, wondering what the commotion is about. On hearing the name "Wonderama," faces light up.

"When I was a little kid, I would watch 'Bozo the Clown,' 'Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse,' 'Mighty Mouse' — and then this would come on," says one local, watching the shoot. He's 57, homeless, known in the vicinity as "Uncle." But he remembers "Wonderama."

"This here is amazing, it takes me back," he said.

"Wonderama," through various WNEW affiliates, used to air nationally. But it has a special place in the hearts of those who grew up in the metro area, where the show was filmed, in the 1960s and '70s.

Every Sunday morning, kids would tune in to the marathon three-hour show to enjoy the jokes and the songs, watch the studio kids play games like "Snake in a Can" and "Guess Your Best," and to see the incredible guest appearances: The Jackson 5, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, KISS, Dick Van Dyke, Billie Jean King.

"The talent they would have on there was amazing," Uncle said.

Back in time

"Wonderama" may be one of the very oldest TV franchises — surely the oldest children's show — still in production. The original incarnation ran from 1955 to 1977. It was revived for seven years in 1980.

The newest, half-hour, version launched in 2016 — and has been filming, since 2021, in midtown, thanks to the Times Square Alliance.

Host David Osmond is following in the footsteps of literally a dozen other "Wonderama" emcees, including Al Hodge and Sandy Becker (creator of the show, and later the host of the much-loved "Sandy Becker Show"). The two hosts that Boomers and Gen X'ers are most likely to remember are Sonny Fox, who hosted from 1959 to 1967, and Bob McAllister, who took over until 1977.

"Kids are people too, wackadoo, wackadoo, wackadoo," McAllister would sing.

Also: "Does anybody here have an aardvark? Does anybody here have an aardvark? Everyone here has a right and left ear, but does anybody here have an aardvark?"

As he warbled the tune, McAllister would go through the audience, asking kids what they brought with them.

"I've been stopped by so many New Yorkers for a decade who are still in love with the original show," said Osmond, the current host.

"Bob McAllister, the host in the 1970s, was like Mr. Rogers for a lot of these kids," he said. "Before that, Sonny Fox, who I spoke to before he died. Before that, Sandy Becker in the '50s. It was a New York staple, but it reached kids across the county. Every kid in New York apparently always wanted to be on 'Wonderama.' "

Chip off the block

Osmond has some big shoes to fill, but he may be uniquely suited to do so.

He's the son of Alan Osmond, the oldest of the original singing Osmond Brothers. A singer in his own right, entertainment is in his DNA. So is empathy — his own battle with MS is something that could inspire any kid.

"I come from a large entertainment family," he said. "I thought every kid's dad did this thing called show business. As I got older and understood what kind of cool family I was in, I realized there are so many kids out there who just need a place to explore and feel validated and listened to."

"Kids are people too" remains the mantra of the show, though the actual song has been retired. It survives in the word "wackadoo" — used by host and guests to signify anything crazy, way out.

"We go out and ask people, 'What's wackadoo to you? What's your wackadoo moment?" Armstrong said. "We just had a lady from South Africa say that what was wackadoo for her is going through the streets of New York and almost being hit by a car. And we had a kid say it was when the chandelier crashed in 'Phantom of the Opera.' He had just gone, he didn't expect it. What a crazy moment. It's a great icebreaker for the kids."

The old snake in the can gag has also turned up from time to time. But the main thing that "Wonderama" retains, from its earlier incarnations, is the stress on education and empowerment.

"Our philosophy is never talk down," Armstrong said. "Always talk to, or up."

Helping kids help themselves

The sweet spot, for the "Wonderama" viewing audience, is ages 8 to 16. Kids who are older than tots, but not quite teens. "Tweens," in a word. Boys and girls who are just starting to wonder what they might do in the world, who they might model themselves on, how they might achieve their dreams.

Many of the segments in "Wonderama" speak directly to these issues. The show might bring on a construction worker or restaurateur to explain what it is they do, why the career is fun, how to prepare for it.

Or they might bring in talented kids, a little older than those in the audience. Jazz Arts Collective Ensemble of Lincoln Center, for instance, did a bang-up rendition of Horace Silver's "Sister Sadie" — with an implicit message: "If we can do it, you can do it, too."

"It's all about showing kids all the different possible and cool things that are out there," Armstrong said. "It's about empowering kids. Here's how you can be the maker of positive change in your own life."

The show, which will soon be offering previous episodes for free on Roku and Apple TV+, is also partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to provide information on the various careers highlighted on the show. They call the online program "Wonderama U."

"We want kids to feel they can be masters of their own fate," Armstrong said.

Bringing it back

Neither Armstrong nor Osmond grew up with "Wonderama." The original show didn't make its way to Utah, where Osmond hails from, nor New England, where Armstrong began his entertainment career.

But they heard about it.

"I had been doing a show in New England called 'Community Auditions — Star of the Day,' " Armstrong recalled. "Kind of like 'American Idol.' It was a New England tradition, it goes back before 'The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour.' So I revived it, starting in 2006. Somebody said, 'This is great — but "Wonderama" is the show you ought to revive.' I said, 'What's that?' And they said 'Only the greatest show ever.' That was the common answer."

So he got the rights to the "Wonderama" brand. Finding a host was more difficult.

It so happened that Armstrong, through his TV work, had come to know Jimmy Osmond — youngest of the original singing Osmonds. And Jimmy just happened to know the perfect candidate.

"I give credit to my uncle," David Osmond said. "He said, 'You know who you should look at? My nephew David. He's been in show business all his life.' ”

Feeling included

David Osmond had indeed been around. He sang as part of Osmonds 2nd Generation, and toured as the lead in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" after his uncle Donny became ill.

But his real education for "Wonderama" came from Donny and Marie themselves.

Oddly, the Osmonds, unlike the Jacksons, never appeared on the original "Wonderama." But they knew TV.

“They told me years ago that the secret of television is that when you look out there at that camera, and you see that lens, you’re not talking to millions of people," Osmond said. "You’re talking to one person. You’re having a conversation. With all the stuff we do, we want to make it entertaining, engaging and exciting — but in a conversational way."

That's more than just good television. It's key to "Wonderama" — a show where kids, today as in the 1950s '60s and '70s, feel listened to.

"It's just like the old days of the show," Osmond said. " 'Kids are people too.' They're part of the conversation."

For more information, visit wonderamatv.com or rox40.com (Wonderama Radio).

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Classic kids TV show Wonderama is still wackadoo