Rare Treats: Little Orley (1940's)

Well before he became Bob Keeshan's right hand man as Mr. Green Jeans on Captain Kangaroo, Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum had appeared on radio on Fred Waring's show during the 1940's. Brannum, as Uncle Lumpy, spun short yarns of a little boy named Orley, backed by Waring & the Pennsylvanians. 

Brannum actually had his own show, Uncle Lumpy's Cabin, a New York children's show, in 1951, 4 years before Captain Kangaroo. However, that series appears to be lost.

For now here's Orley and "The Cap":

Aside from a few tweaks (i.e. substituting "Indians" with Native Americans), there is a good chance these stories could be brought back for today's audience with a different narrator.

Rating: B.