"It's a Howdy Doody World" song manuscript and typed letter signed by composer Edward Kean, circa 1949

New York: Children's Songs, circa 1949. Original manuscript and typescript for "The Howdy Doody Show" theme song "It's a Howdy Doody World," created by and belonging to the song's composer Edward Kean, INSCRIBED by Kean in the margin: "From Edward Kean / to / the very special Scott Petersen man!," and further annotated by Kean in manuscript ink.

The listing also includes a typed letter signed from Kean to the manuscript's recipient, in which he writes that of the 51 songs in his collection that he wrote for the show ("most while taking showers"), only a dozen or so were manuscript originals as opposed to photostat reproductions, with "It's a Howdy Doody World" being one of the few that he "really liked." Also included is a modern photocopy of a 1953 biography of Kean written for NBC that states "he hopes to see his name in lights on Broadway," to which Kean has affixed a manuscript note reading "TACO BELL made it, but I didn't," plus a couple of other typescript and manuscript marginalia from the composer.

"The Howdy Doody Show" was a groundbreaking and much beloved children's television program, starring Bob Smith as Buffalo Bob, joined by Howdy Doody and their other puppet friends. It ran from 1948 through 1960, with reruns continuing through the early 1970s, and was one of the first television shows to be filmed in color, with Edward Kean writing over 2000 episodes and 99 songs. "Howdy Doody" touched generations of children, spawned Canadian, Cuban, and Mexican spinoffs, influenced future children's shows such as "Pee-wee's Playhouse," and is seen in countless other cultural references. A humorous look into the trials that even successful composers face in show business, and a significant artifact of arguably one of the most well-known songs in children's television history.

Single page side stapled manuscript 12 x 9.5 inches. Typescript letter 9 x 6 inches, and two-page annotated NBC biography 11 x 8.5 inches. All materials Near Fine or better.

[Book #144587]