Edward Kean, who served as chief writer for NBC’s The Howdy Doody Show and also helped write the show’s theme song, passed away on August 13th at the age of 85. Kean is said to have written some 2,000 episodes of the long-running children’s show, which premiered on December 27th, 1947. He left in 1955 but the show continued for another five years; the final episode aired on September 24th, 1960. In addition to his scriptwriting duties, Kean was heavily involved in other levels of production. He co-wrote the show’s theme song with “Buffalo” Bob Smith and helped develop many of the characters (but not the actual puppets). He also invented the word “cowabunga” (he spelled it with a “k”) as a greeting for the character of Chief Thunderthud.
Here’s the first portion of Kean’s 2005 interview with the Archive of American Television:
Obituaries can be found at The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
