Strollerderby
80s TV Flashback
A friendly tipster emailed and asked if anyone remembered an educational segment that ran in the 1980′s called “Dear Alex and Andie.” I immediately recalled the song, or at least the part with the title in it. Jen Chaney gave the correct title (“Dear Alex and Annie”) and the full set of lyrics:
“Dear Alex and Annie … What should I do? … Dear Alex and Annie … I’m desperate … Dear Alex and An-nieee!”
So I did a little digging. Here’s what I found out:
- According to Yahoo!, “Dear Alex and Annie” aired on ABC, popping up during their Saturday morning cartoon block, sort of like the better-known Schoolhouse Rock. The show answered, “child-related problems, submitted by viewers, through specially written songs.”
- A bit of trivia: the songwriter for “Dear Alex and Annie” appears to be Lynn Ahrens, who went to be a Tony Award-winning Broadway lyricist (Ragtime, Once on This Island). The name is spelled “Lyn Aherns” but that appears to be a mistake.
- Further digging turns up a listing on IMDB that says the 5-minute segments aired as part of a larger show called “Kids Are People Too“. Wait a minute, I remember that one. More digging: Bob McAllister of Wonderama was the host, at least for part of the show’s run. Michael Young took over at some point (information is a bit spotty).
- JumpTheShark has more info on “Kids Are People Too“, including discussion of various guests that appeared on the show. These include Patti Smith – yes, that Patti Smith – and none other than Kiss, who introduced Eric Carr as a member of the band. (Considering Gene Simmons’ most recent screen appearance, I think it’s safe to say that he’s a multi-faceted entertainer who can appeal to all age groups – just not at the same time.)
Now comes the good part: video! YouTube has the Patti Smith and Kiss appearances, which you can see below.
Thanks to the email tipster for sending me on a trip down Saturday Morning TV Memory Lane. Anyone have any favorite forgotten kids’ shows?
image: tvhistory.tv
Patti Smith sings “You Light Up My Life”
Kiss – Kids Are People Too: Part 1
Kiss – Kids Are People Too: Part 2
Go Back To Strollerderby
1 Comment
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI remember Alex and Annie, but I’ve also been trying to find the name of the show that had these actors playing out funny stories kids wrote. I remember one was “Eddie’s Disco Bar” and another one about a martian. One guy always said, “and if you hear a funny word, well it was probably spelled that way.” I’ve been trying to find it but don’t remember the name of the show it was on, so it’s been a dead end. Sound familiar?
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.