Howdy Doody was the name of a 27-inch, big-eared, freckle-faced, wooden puppet. Howdy appeared in a starring capacity on an immensely popular children's television show of the same name that ran on NBC from 1947 to 1960. It was broadcast live from 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

The Howdy Doody Show was the creation of Robert E. Smith (1917-1998), a former radio personality, who appeared along with his wooden counterpart at first on a weekly basis and later five days a week from Monday through Friday, starting at 5:30 in the afternoon. Howdy, clad in a red bandanna, dungarees, and a checkered shirt, would exchange banter with Smith, whose on-screen persona was that of Buffalo Bob Smith, and interact with the colorful denizens of Doodyville, among whom were the following: Phineas T. Bluster, the crusty mayor of Doodyville; Flub-a-Dub, a zoological pastiche comprised of...