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Cowboy Bob finds current state of kids' TV 'abominable'
For nearly 20 years, Cowboy Bob Glaze entertained, educated and engaged central Indiana youngsters in hosting an afternoon cartoon show on WTTV Channel 4, Indianapolis.
But like Janie of "Popeye and Janie" fame and Sammy Terry of "Nightmare Theater," characters like Cowboy Bob have gone the way of the dinosaur on local television these days.
And like the children who embraced those souls in their Hoosier living rooms, the 71-year-old Glaze despises the current alternative that finds kids glued to programming like "SpongeBob Squarepants" and "Family Guy" that are no more intended for a young audience than those Winston cigarette commercials Fred and Barney puffed through during "The Flintstones" 40 years ago.
So what does Glaze, who began his Cowboy Bob TV career in January 1970, think of the current state of children's television?
"Abominable," the showman said during an interview Saturday at the "Taste of Delts" Delta Theta Tau sorority fundraiser at Greencastle Christian Church.
From 1970 through 1989, Cowboy Bob, with a group of regulars that included his dog, Tumbleweed, interspersed introductions to some rather innocuous cartoons with bits of kid-friendly information. For example, Tumbleweed might execute the proper "drop, stop and roll" technique as Glaze advised children what to do if their clothes ever caught fire.
You won't find Squidward or Peter Griffin doing anything like that these days.
So would Glaze do a kids' show nowadays if so offered?
"Yes, indeed," he smiled as fellow Culver Military Academy graduate and current rowing crew partner Bob Evans of Greencastle nodded his agreement. "I would love to do some of that same shtick."
Glaze, who also did a cable show before retiring three years ago, stays active with public appearances like Saturday's event, along with parades and meet-and-greets while occasionally getting a guest shot on TV or radio.
At the root of his long-running show -- "Chuckwagon Theater" and later "Cowboy Bob's Corral" -- were a few basic ideals, he shared.
"We tried to embrace humanity and humility and the humane treatment of animals," Glaze noted.
Without such programming these days advocating safety and civility and spurring children to get involved, Glaze is appalled by the lack of social engagement and physical activity he witnesses.
"So many kids today are slaves to their computers and their cell phones," he said, shaking his head so characteristically you might have thought Tumbleweed was going to bark in acknowledgement of his observation.
Meanwhile, reminiscing on the start of his TV career, Glaze said he had no previous experience at all as a TV performer, although he had been Sammy Terry's producer-director, a position he held for 20 years at WTTV.
"When I started (in front of the camera) in 1970, I was so green I couldn't hide in short grass," Glaze laughed. "But I'm a ham. I call myself a 'ham on wry.' But I knew what I would like as a kid, and that's something upbeat and fun, not preachy, and with some information snuck in the back door."
That formula must have worked because everywhere he goes, legions of longtime fans want to see and talk to Cowboy Bob.
"Most of the 'kids' that come to my appearances are 40 something now," he said. "They'll say, 'We grew up with this guy,' and I respond, 'That's good because I never grew up."