TIME FOR BEANY AND CECIL

After World War II, many thousands of veterans came home to their wives and their happy reunion was celebrated in such a way over a period of several years that it resulted in the phenomenon since referred to as the "baby boomers," of which I am a proud member. I was born in 1949, when televisions with their rounded screens and many tubes encased in wooden boxes were becoming commonplace in American homes. My generation was the first to grow up with TV.

My first memory of television was in 1952 while visiting my oldest sister in California, when I was three. Time for Beany came on, and I was completely fascinated. It was the puppet show, televised live, and I remember asking my sister what show it was, and she responded, "Oh, just some cartoon." This was prophetic, for years later Bob Clampett, the creator of Time for Beany, would produce an animated TV series with the same characters--the cartoon: Beany and Cecil. Watching the DVD collections of these old shows today, I realize they contained a lot of clever adult humor I never caught as a kid. It's obvious that Bob Clampett was influenced by the beat generation; both the puppet show and the cartoon could be called hip. And come to find out, most of the music in Time for Beany was provided live by Korla Pandit, who is also one of my favorites.

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