Lost Twin Cities 2: Axel and His Dog

For children, the biggest change in the fifties had to be television, that electronic miracle which became a fixture in our homes. Everyone remembers their first television set, with its small fuzzy picture and big rabbit ears, appearing in their living rooms -- it opened up a whole new window on the world. And here in the Twin Cities, that window was provided by a few frontier stations: KSTP led the way in 1948 with their first broadcast transmitted live from the Prom Ballroom. But soon enough, the airwaves were crowded with competition. Over on channel 9, a young Verne Gagne and All-Star Wrestling topped the ratings. At WCCO-TV, Walter Cronkite turned down the anchor position, and the job went to a kid named Dave Moore.

And not far behind came the Twin Cities educational TV station, KTCA, which hit the airwaves on September 16, 1957. Channel 2's programming was, well, not always the most rivetting stuff. But with such things as daily piano lessons, there was generally something of educational interest and the station found its niche.

But if you were a kid in the fifties, there was one show you ran home from school to watch. It was the wonderful world of "Axel and His Dog."

The man behind the striped shirt, the funny mustache, and the twisted "Scandihoovian" accent was Clellan Card, and his was by far the most popular children's show of its day. Not even National shows could touch "Axel and his Dog", which enjoyed a twelve year run on channel 4. Bob Pratt, a child in 1960, remembers the situation this way: "There was Captain Ken on channel 9 and Casey and Roundhouse on channel 11, and they were great, but for whatever reason, to me Axel was the one who seemed most like he was my friend."

Axel's companions in the treehouse were Towser the dog and Tallulah the cat, both of whom remained unseen except for their paws. The show relied on the children to use their imaginations to fill in the rest. Actor Don Stolz played both "aminals" and he and Card quickly became an effective comedy team, entertaining to adults and children alike with humor that was live and unrehearsed. It was an unusual job, but a good one says Stolz: "I never felt any embarrassment at all about being nothing more than a paw... I loved it."

Before switching to TV, Card was an established radio star, famous for his crazy characters, including Grandma Sykes, Jessica Jigglebustle, and Teakwood Torgeson, who was an early variation of Axel. It was on radio that he first recited his rendition of "The Night before Christmas," which became a yearly tradition.

But as Clellan made the switch to television, tragedy seemed to change the course of his career. In September of 1952, his oldest son Peter was killed in a plane crash. Then just four months later, his second son John was killed in a car accident just a few blocks from his home. To Clellan Card biographer, Julian West, this dark turn of event in Clellan's life was symbolic: "I don't think it's a coincidence that for the rest of his life, he devoted his career to children."

The character of Axel became a local phenomenon and in great demand for personal appearances. When WCCO sponsored an "Axel Day" at the Excelsior Amusement Park, over 12,000 kids showed up to see their hero.

There was plenty in Axel's clothes, jokes, expressions and other zany antics that made folks laugh; but what usually got to people the most was just the sound of his voice. He had a way with words that made moms and English teachers cringe.

Axel's biographer Julian West notes how "Axel often would say the first thing that would pop into his head, and sometimes it was maybe not the best idea." A similar incident was shared by Don Stolz, who played the paws and sounds of Tallulah the Cat and Towser the dog on the show: "One time he said, 'Well, now you know kiddies, we've been up now for at least an hour, and I bet your mommy and daddy are still in bed, so why don't you go get a glass of water and go into the bedroom and throw it in their face and say, " Good morning! It's time to get up!'"

In the fall of 1954, Card had taken ill suddenly and a substitute was needed on short notice. Director Harry Jones recruited Mary Davies, a local singer and entertainer, and "Carmen the Nurse" was born. She continued to fill in as a guest host and soon kids came to think Carmen was taking care of Axel when he was sick. "I never knew why he opted to have me around as long as he did. But I think it was because he struck me funny. He just loved to see somebody crack up! Most of the time I'd just lose it. It was very hard to keep...and I think that's what he loved."

Few people outside the station knew that Card had battled cancer for quite some time. He kept working as long as he could, putting off a hospital stay as long as possible. The disease took its toll and on April 13, 1966, Clellan Card died. The next day Carmen the Nurse went on the air and told the children Axel would not be coming back. "I just remember saying something about how he might want us to go on meeting together on Magic Island and he did have to go. I didn't want to say to the...you don't want to tell children that somebody they've loved like that died..."

Young Bob Pratt remembered the event this way: "See, I never had anybody close to me at that point in my life die. When somebody died, it was somebody they didn't know, and as such, it was an experience that I really couldn't identify with very much. But when this happened, it was like, ooo, Axel's gone. This is a guy who I was friends with, and he's not coming back."

Bob Pratt and many other youngsters like him scraped together any money they could - often just a few coins taped inside an envelope - and sent it off to The Clellan Card Memorial Fund created by WCCO. Of the $5600 that was raised, about half had come in in the form of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

In an interview, Don Stolz had this to say in eulogizing Clellan Card: "If I've given the impression that he was a remarkable man, then I'm glad, because he was. Talented in a strange and unique way. He was a striking man, an impressive man, and a ridiculous man with a moustache."

Every show ended with the birdie:

Birdie with the yellow bill....think this is Mary, Christmas?
What did you do when you sat on the bed, spring?
What did you do after you ate the ginger, snap?
What's the trouble with the baby, buggy?
What was your boyfriend's name Jesse, James?

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