Smith, Bob

Smith, (Robert) “Buffalo” Bob

(1917– ) puppeteer, producer; born in Buffalo, New York. A vocalist and pianist on local Buffalo, N.Y., radio in the 1930s and 1940s, he started a children's show on WNBC radio in New York (1947) which became the Howdy Doody show (1947–60). One of the first children's television shows, it featured a freckled-faced puppet. He returned with a short-lived revival in 1976.