Captain Kangaroo-The Banana Man

[@synchronic1]

To be able to see the banana man after all these years is truly wonderful. I laughed till I cried. No wonder I remember this skit 50 years later. The Captain was a large part of ny very happy childhood.

[@schlesmail1]

The Banana Man! One of my very favorite TV characters--his antics held me spellbound in front of the screen.

[@Dave_Munkhoff]

Wow!, I was born in 1952 and haven't seen the Banana Man since the late 50's on Captain Kangaroo. I can't believe the old guy was still doing it in 1969. Thank you so very much for stirring some memories!

[@asijohns]

I loved the Banana Man when I watched him on Capt Kangaroo and love it still. I heard Tim Bedore mention the Banana Man on the Bob and Tom Show yesterday and thought I needed to check KZbin to see if I could find him. So glad I did. Still love the act. Have a great day.

[@kariswg1]

Thanks for posting this. I sent the link to my friend, who is the same age:59. We used to watch Captain Kangroo, and as adults talked about the Banana Man. You tube rocks.

[@LenHummelChannel]

The banana man was DEFINITELY just about the coolest kind of crazy there ever was or is ! ... the Captain was pretty great too. loved 'em.

[@lesliecaffey7935]

I HATED the banana man lol - scared to death of that creepy guy! :D

[@educatexan]

Oh, the memories that this brings back! Vaudeville is the perfect way to describe what the Captain did. I miss those times. For me, nothing today reaches that level of humor.

[@maggie94306]

I have been looking or this for YEARS! My memory of Banana Man is intense...the first of a life long fascination with the eccentric and strange. Thanks to whomever found and posted it....

[@JDPelzy]

This was always a favorite segment of Captain Kangaroo for me as a child. Loved the Banana Man but freaked by the Town Clown. I watched them all. Through measles and mumps the Captain seemed to make everything better.

[@RanetkiFan]

1969>?? He was still on then? I remember him from the mid 50s He came on every now and then, never a regular, when he came on I used to race from the kitchen to the living room screaming for my sister to come in and YELL BANANA MAN!! u never knew when he had hiding in his jacket!! good memories, thanx for posting

[@kathleenowen1470]

My Sister and I too!!! 🤣😂💗

[@LaughClub]

Great find - great memories! Thanks

[@mskathy0724]

Me too! Even my sister who used to watch with me didn't remember the Banana Man. After searching I found out the original died before I was born but I remember this one on Captain Kangaroo!

[@shadowchasinut]

I SO remember the banana man!! What an awesome video!! Thank you from the botttttttom of my heart!!

[@3pieceflute]

I had also thought that I was the only one! It was frustrating because for a long time there was almost nothing online and none of my friends remembered him. Its great to finally see the old videos! In '99 I wrote a song about him (at MySpace Music under "gazinkus"). It turns out that there are a lot of banana-heads out there (and a web site!) and its easy to find articles about this icon. What a-peel he has!

[@dougm4nn]

That WOAH that he sung with every discovery has stuck in my head all these 65 years. The you tube was priceless to share with my grown up son.... Cracked him up!

[@996mrg]

Thank you so much for putting this online. Feels surreal in the truest sense of the word. Great memory with just a touch of creepiness -- true to my memory. How cool. Thanks again!

[@inkey2]

yes showmesue, I too remember the banana man. I am almost 55 years old and I remember him showing up on various TV shows. The act is totally unique and originated in Vaudeville (i believe). I can't remember the man who originated this BUT I read that he franchised it out to at least one other person. He also did his routine in a few movies as well. To say this guy was talented would be an under statement.

[@kidtexaus1]

The Banana Man began as a vaudeville act, before radio, much less television. By the time the 50's got here his act was too dumb for adults but for kids he was a sober, surreal high. I found him hypnotizing, and up until KZbin, something of a myth to anyone who had never actually seen him. Can you spot any other comics inspired by him, e.g. Curly Howard?? What a trip. Thanks for the post.

[@TheCountAlucard]

I can still recall the feeling of being creeped out by the sound of the banana-man while watching the Cap't. before school in late '50's. I just got the same feeling. I think it was the sound of his voice - if that's what it is.........I wish that I never watched this U-tube.

[@sprygeoffreya17]

So nice to see my brother and I weren't the only kids in the late fifties-early sixties who loved and, were a little creeped out by this wonderful man !

[@katieo100]

I have been telling people for years about the Bananna Man and they thought I was nuts. Now I have proof HE LIVED!

[@maineyor5343]

Me too Kate!! I have thought about him over the years and was THRILLED to see this video!!!!

[@kathymurphy9281]

Same for me, but friends said I was pervert!

[@alanlapayover6637]

absolutely the same here. I was beginning to think I was crazy. WOW!

[@Ayumiessence]

Kaptain Kangaroo used to wake me up every morning for kindergarten in the 1960's. Loved seeing him again. thx

[@HomefrontwDonZeman]

I loved the Banana Man! He always made me laugh...and the train got longer. I loved Captain Kangaroo.

[@TR8thetoy]

Big time Flash Back! I loved the Captain. The Banana Man was my first hero. The Captain was our baby sitter..

[@misharyutubbee]

I watched CK in the 1960s and don't remember the Banana Man. Don't think I would forget something like that...

[@afhickman]

Thank god for ocular proof! I've been telling people about the banana man for years, and they wouldn't believe me.

[@Gilemena]

I am planning to use a coat like that to pack for my next airline trip so I don't have to pay extra for a carry on bag.

[@finylvinyl66]

Was this the birth of performance art? Genius. (And probably why I'm so messed up after watching this fifty years ago.)

[@misospecial]

i dream of the banana man, one of the lost pleasures of my childhood. this is incredible. thanks!

[@mrsbrown333]

no one ever believed me when I told them about the Banana man. Now, they will.thank you.

[@turtletoes716]

My favorite character from Captain Kangaroo, the show that got me through childhood... and then some LOL No doubt the inspiration for Tiny Tim.

[@mskathy0724]

Thanks to my daughter, I found Banana Man! Every time I'd asked someone who remembered the Captain Kangaroo show if they remembered Banana Man they thought I was crazy!

[@bobbyfrancis8957]

NO, you're not crazy - I always enjoyed the Banana Man since I was a little kid in the 1960s...seeing this again, now I KNOW I'm old.

[@finylvinyl66]

Carrot Top wishes he could be this good!

[@RobinJM24]

Quite possibly the oddest act of daytime children's television. Utterly memorable..and creepy. I can imitate BM's sounds fairly decently and have endured blank stares for years. Everyone thought I was nuts. Until now. No..it wasn't my nightmare. You Tube proves this actually penetrated network television, big time, in the 60's. Saw this at least 4 times, never in color. CK always gave it a several day lead up..."And in a few days...The Banana Man!"

[@CarlsBarkley]

His singing and that odd circus music creep me out. LOL It is strangely fascinating to watch. It does remind you of Carrot Top, Curly from The Three Stooges and maybe Itchy & Scratchy from The Simpsons. Though this guy's act is probably as old as The Three Stooges' act, it's hard to tell who borrowed comedy bits from whom.

[@kathyfowler8247]

the March of the wooden soldiers

[@mark1952able]

Brings me back to 5 yrs old....great!

[@GasCityGuy]

Guess we have Bob and Tom to thank introducing us to Banana Man. lol Just saw them talking about it on their TV show this evening

[@dianemom503]

I remember the Banana Man, from the late "50's". He was good, I always watched him, to see all the bananas and watermelons, he had. I always wondered what his name was, in real life.

[@Enofrappini]

.....haven't seen the banana man since I was maybe 10, I'm 57. My brother would freak!

[@JoeySunB]

WE WERE CRAZY! I loved the Capt . -and l am a BIG fan of Frank Zappa . ( Do you think green genes was an accident ) Banana Man's responses to questions are DIFFERENT /his music was funny . We were little kids in the '50's & we were being taught to CONFORM -- he was weird/cool . getting your hair cut in the 1950's /1960's --- pre - Kennedy & pre -Beatles --- You had 2 choices : WET or DRY !. I always remembered & loved the Bman as much as Green Jeans or Mr. Moose ! Capt K 4ever

[@Curtiz2008]

I first saw the Banana Man about 1955. Definitely one of the oddest acts I remember from early TV.

[@leescarbrough2621]

Looked forward to him every year back in early 60s really something

[@johnrunion5357]

i can recall when i was a little kid in at least one of the banana man's appearances on the captain he used a bunch of way over ripe bananas and for some reason they almost made me throw up.

[@MikeyParks]

My memory of the Banana Man goes back to circa 1952. I think there was a show called The Big Top with circus acts and this guy used to come out in a little car, which at the end he'd fold up into a suitcase and walk off. Or vice versa. I loved the guy!

[@kathymurphy9281]

Yes! No background; black and white tv; just pulling out bananas and making that high-pitched sound. We LOVED him and laughed like crazy,

[@TooleManTV]

I vaguely remember being scared by the Banana Man when I first saw him, but later enjoying his bizarre shtick. Seems to me he delivered a watermelon from "down there," like it was a baby, with an especially loud "Hah hah, WOW!"

[@CarlsBarkley]

@zachsplep I don't think he had anything in his mouth. I believe it's the audio distortion in this old video. I don't know if he could open his mouth wide enough to sing and laugh and keep such a device in his mouth.

[@josiemax]

The Banana Man remains one of the most disturbing memories from my childhood!

[@maineyor5343]

lol josie!!!!

[@BenitaStuart]

I remember this guy but nmot from Capt. Kangaroo.I remember him from an ad for banana Maypo.

[@TeamInferno81]

Wow that is an oldy!

[@mxylpx]

He was so wonderfully weird...we loved him. Long may his train ride! Wow!

[@Mr.snamor]

What voice? On Captain Kangaroo, he didn't speak except to say "Wow" or "Ooh". He blew on a kazoo often. Now, on the Maypo Banana cereal commercial, he came on singing "la la la lala la la banana man" and then the narrator went into the spiel to sell the cereal.

[@daviddilley4885]

If you actually remember watching this you are much older then you are telling people ... like me :p

[@fredbaumann4472]

Yup. I'm 64 and I remember seeing this in about 1960 or so...

[@kathleenowen1470]

64 going on 65... 😆

[@MsPandaRosa]

Oh may all the stars bless you, I thought I was the only one.

[@inkey2]

@opticalguy1954 one way to get the stench out of a a coat is to hang it outside in cool weather like in october and november for like 3 days....all the negative ions etc are pretty good at stench removal

[@NBachers]

I remember The Banana Man. From some alternate vaudeville universe he entered our reality to reflect us to ourselves. I'll take the Banana Man over the tea baggers any day.

[@comedyfunguy]

He was an original..never been anything like this.

[@haroldjenkins494]

Just read Kage Baker's story "The Catch," which explains that this fellow was a time-traveling, dimension-shifting immortal cyborg, responsible for both the Tunguska Event and the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. (When another immortal cyborg agent of the company that created him attempts to apprehend him, he opens his coat and transports him 600,000 years in the past.)

[@SILENTLY9]

This was so funny ,, the Captain show in the 50s ,, no shows like this one on Tv today . T V sucks to day , no kid shows at all . The Banana Man was my first hero. The Captain was our baby sitter..

[@bergiebits]

Waddayano! The illegitimate father of Carrot Top!

[@myeckwaters]

Oh, they'll still think you're nuts. Now they'll know the cause.

[@kathyfowler8247]

I also read in the book somewhere that there was an SS Captain that had Chuck McCann in it.It woud have been around 1960.anyone?

[@ihearbeetles]

Me too!I had someone who worked for me say that I was out of my mind. Watching it now though, there's something sort of creepy about it.

[@whispersignal1]

The original Carrot Top. I cannot stand either, but appreciate the apparent vaudevillian roots of the Banana Man.

[@pir0kunn]

totally worth my time

[@scottdelong1]

Wow, haven't seen that since I was five. Creeped me the fuck out back then. Still does come to think of it.

[@zwitter689]

Me too, I used to have nightmares about this, the Banana Man would pull a giant dagger out of his pockets and chase me around. I still think of that.

[@telsport]

This is growing on me. Lord have mercy. Tom

[@Jim5150jvc]

2:46 Hey, Banana Man's playing "Eruption"!

[@SenorZorrozzz]

The Banana Man from 1969 in color? I remember him in the50s!

[@Strider1954]

I remembered this guy was a goof but after watching this all I can say is OMG!

[@JDSquire]

I remember as a kid liking Banana Man but his "voice" always freaked me out.

[@kathyfowler8247]

the Homan family I loved but could never understand why Captain became Mr Mayor/you have a video of this?

[@MeIancholyMan]

DAMN THAT'S A LOT OF BANANAS!!!! hehehe

[@bobbybrady8]

now that was entertainment!

[@shermanhirsh274]

A documentary on Vaudeville gave his name as G. Austin. Anybody know any more?

[@jameskerler5211]

The Banana Man prepared me for Monty Python!

[@allexx123]

I remember the Bananaman so well. I think he might have also been on the Ed Sullivan show too.

[@jman12351]

The way intelligent people see Ray Comfort.

[@joanneschullo]

my 26 year old daughter would look at me like i was crazy when i would tell her about this guy. glad there's evidence now.

[@leescarbrough2621]

I always try to imitate him and have so much crap in my clothes they would fall off

[@danielmartinez3210]

The original carrot top.

[@xylfox]

In the background"March of the toys" from "babes in toy-land

[@finylvinyl66]

I barely remember seeing Banana Man on the good Captain's show. Although I think B.M. was great, that so many baby boomers saw his act on TV at a young age might explain why we screwed up the world as bad as we have.

[@SamuelVarg]

So this is where Ray Comfort got his idea?

[@TheACapMan]

What's the name of the song in the background? I've heard it before but I forget the name

[@johncordora4941]

watched this in the 1060's WOW !!!!!!! lol

[@GoblinGoodfella]

A cool magician!

[@Riker-ER]

Banana Man Rocks😎

[@goldaism]

Me too.

[@rentatrip1videos]

This is a second generation Banana Man- The First Banana Man dates back to around 1919 ? - Vaudeville Performer - All these "gags" are a copy of the original -

[@MsPandaRosa]

@TheCountAlucard You are not the only one.

[@ursanbear]

Not to worry, this is not the same Banana Man from the 1950s

[@ursanbear]

J. Chapman It is. The original Adolf Proper, died in the very early 1950s. This man took over the act after Mr. Proper's passing.

[@3dpprofessor]

I can not for the life of me find any videos of the original.

[@puntagordy]

And I thoght Shakes the clown was bad!

[@urariotalice]

OPENED THE DOOR TO PEEWEE

[@MrBigangry]

MAn is a genious

[@jefbretschneider1607]

Documented!

[@mindyourstate]

creepy then... creepy now....kitschy, but creepy.

[@allexx123]

LOL actually the Banana Man just got back from shop lifting at his local food store.

[@MsPandaRosa]

@EZO411 Banana man porn? No doubt someone just got a horrible idea...

[@bebillious]

bring him back to save america