Did You Know??? Clarabell the Clown never spoke on camera until the very last episode. While large amounts of money were offered by advertisers to have him say the sponsor’s name or product, all offers were refused. After the closing credits of the very last episode, a drumroll was played, and Clarabell, holding back tears, softly said, “Goodbye, kids.” The Howdy Doody Show was the first nationally televised children’s television show and was also the first NBC show to air five days a week. In addition, it was the first show ever to air more than 1000 continuous episodes. In addition to Howdy Doody, the cast of marionettes included: Flub-a-Dub, a creature made up of seven animals in one, whose favorite food was meatballs and spaghetti; Dilly Dally, a baseball-capped boy who could wiggle his ears; Mister Bluster, villainous mayor of Doodyville (the fictional location of the show); Inspector Fadoozle, forever peering through his magnifying glass, who billed himself as “America’s number one private eye”. On 11 August 2009 the US Postal Service issued a pane of twenty 44¢ commemorative postage stamps honoring early USA television programs. A booklet with 20 picture postal cards was also issued. The stamp honoring “The Howdy Doody Show” (which began as “Puppet Playhouse”) has a picture of Howdy Doody’s head.