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Mr Squiggle turns 50!

Australia's longest-running children's TV character Mr Squiggle apparently turned the big 5-0 yesterday.

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squiggleOh my, Miss Jane*, how did we all miss this one?

Australia’s longest-running children’s TV character Mr Squiggle apparently turned the big 5-0 yesterday.

According to the Brisbane Times, his creator, Norman Hetherington said the beloved pencil puppet enjoyed the day, “at his home at 3 Crater Crescent, the moon.”

Squiggle and Hetherington, a former cartoonist for The Bulletin, debuted on the ABC in 1959 with “only a week’s notice and without any auditions.”

Hetherington’s wife, Margaret, wrote the scripts for the show and his daughter, Roxanne, was one of several co-hosts. The show finished in 2002. There are no plans for a television return but the Hetherington family and Mr Squiggle still make special live appearances and are popular at science-fiction conventions.

And while we’re at it congrats too to Blackboard, Gus the Snail and Bill the Steam Shovel even if they may have followed later.

* also Miss Gina, Miss Pat, Miss Roxanne and Miss Rebecca.

Source: Brisbane Times

8 Responses

  1. James is correct. Roxanne’s last name is “Kimmorley” and she is not Norman Hetherington’s daughter.
    Also Roxanne did not have the name “Miss Roxanne” – the “Miss” title was dropped during the 80s – so she was simply known as just “Roxanne”.
    I always liked Roxanne though – as she was the host of Mr Squiggle when I was a kid (I’m now in my late 20s).

  2. I for one would like to see a Mr Squiggle revival, surely the Freeview campaign which features early B/W footage of Mr Squiggle, may remind people of a simpler time.

    I would think that should Mr Squiggle return (at least in re-run format, to gauge the audience for any revival) it should be fitting for the launch of ABC3, with one of the ABC’s icons (alongside Play School and 4 Corners) that have stood the test of time…

    Mr Squiggle for the Logies Hall Of Fame!

  5. Mr Squiggle, Fat Cat, Humphrey B. Bear, Mr Doo Bee – all great characters that two generations of Aussie kids grew up with, but the kids of today have no one like that to idolise. Hi 5 and The Wiggles are great, but they’re just not the same (and Hi 5 isn’t even recognisable any more).

    Happy Birthday, Mr Squiggle 🙂

    Wasn’t the host in the 70s/early 80s Miss Jane or am I getting confused with Romper Room?

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