Winky Dink and You, Winky Dink and Me

[@denisepaul7274]

I wanted that screen so much! I remember crying when my dad said there was no way he would ever let me draw on the TV set. The crazy part is I was only 2 years old in 1957. But it must have made a huge impression because I was given a kitten for my 5th birthday and immediately named him Winky. He was white with brown spots down his back. My mom recalls that dad complained about cat hair on his dark pants and said he hoped the cat would die soon. But Winky had the last laugh and lived for 18 years. I know this doesn’t make my dad look very good, but he was a kind, caring man and a wonderful father and I miss him very much

[@kkloskklos]

After a while, we noticed that Winky always made it across the river or ravine without needing us to draw him a bridge. It was more fun than drawing on the TV...( "will he make it across without needing a bridge?... oooh, I guess so!") I also recall Jack Barry stating ON THE WINKY DINK SHOW that he hadn't done anything dishonest on "21". He LIED TO INNOCENT LITTLE KIDS... yikes... shades of Richard Nixon yet-to-come...

[@vogue2222]

I put wax paper over the t.v. screen and drew on it with crayon. It was difficult but it worked. We were too poor to afford a magic screen.

[@kimizuka464]

Glad that I'm not the only one who "helped Winky out on the t.v, without the Magic Screen!"...I tried crayons but got in trouble and then just drew on the t.v with my finger! How sad is that! Thanks for the clip!

[@supadupahilton6848]

Why did this suddenly pop into my brain after MORE than half a century??

[@MrUnidyne]

Winky Dink probably destroyed more TV sets than both the Plasmatics and Nam June Paik combined!

[@kimberlysmith579]

Life was soooo simple then❤

[@CaptBill1947]

Maliwyoming that puts you at the same age as me. I got one of those kits, think it was the Deluxe Kit. A little research shows me the Deluxe kit was $2.95 in stores. You figure in inflation and that is almost $25 in today's money. I remember the plastic was fairly thick and had a greenish tint. It just barely covered our 21 inch black and white Motorola TV

[@WhiteCamry]

Jack Barry hosted this show in 1953. He was also host of the quiz-show "Twenty-One," which became the center of a rigging scandal in 1958. Though Barry didn't actually rig the show, he later admitted to helping in the cover-up.

[@GHLIII]

Yeah, that's how I got my WInky Dink Kit too, drawing on the screen without the plastic. I had both the version they sent from the studio -- thing took FOREVER to arrive, but I still remember the thrill when it did -- and the snazzier version they sold in stores. My childhood, man. Jack Barry should have stuck with Winky Dink; when he moved on to "21" the scandal ruined his national career.

[@charlesnash4809]

Mom and Dad sent me to Grandma’s for the summer when I was around 8. I put that green plastic on Grandmother’s black & white TV and forgot to take it off. She called the TV repairman and told him the TV had a green picture! He knew she didn’t have a color set and he was puzzled. He came out and messed around for awhile before he figured it out.

[@wakepi]

didn't you guys know that Saran Wrap worked?

[@terrancebigham6765]

Comedian Gabe Kaplan did a routine on “Winky Dink” on his album “Holes and Mellon Rolls” (that also gave rise to Kaplan’s popular TV series “Welcome Back, Kotter”).

[@georgestrum3478]

Jack Barry whose real name was Barache grew up in my hometown of Lindenhurst N.Y. His family had a hardware business which they sold to my father. We were very proud of our hometown son but unfortunately he got embroiled in the tv quiz show scandles.

[@hpylori7]

This must have been one of the first TV shows that I had ever seen. I can not recall if I ever used or sent for the magic screen.

[@101dak]

OK, How many of you remeber this one. I had the Magic screen and the whole works. I totally forgot about it until a conversation with sister in law.

[@Juliaflo]

I had the magic screen, and I knew NOT to draw directly on the television set; I drew on the magic screen. What memories, and don't figure out my age, LOLOLOLOLOL.

[@NewYawkahBroad]

Only the 'rich' kids could afford the screen.....I was so deprived...lol

[@herbrampe]

How many of us got beat for drawing on the screen with crayons? Just following orders. lol

[@monateegs]

I'm not sure what jack Barry is drawing in this video, baller. It looks like a clock but the letters say TVDB. As for the drawing on TV, if I recall correctly, it was like connect the pieces: the TV had, let's say, a hand and a shoulder and we at home would draw the lines (the arm) to connect the hand and shoulder. Somehow there were little stories involved also. Maybe someone else remembers more.

[@SteveCarras]

Boy, Bullwiinkle, Soupy, even something innocent like Winky Dink...looks like no end to the corruption LOL [btw only Soupy riled me with hi actions at all, the money incident-Bullwinkle innocentl;y told kids to retrieve thoseTV set knobs but later after critcism said, "Now, children, kindly put the knobs back"LOL..] Call me blasphemous but I also remember the late 1960s Winky Dink cartoon.

[@KlandestinosProducciones]

The tune used in this video is a '90s cover of the '60s "Winky Dink" theme; probably, made for the website Toon Tracker (webmastered by Ron Kurer).

[@chinzebo]

EEEEEK...I remembered the song!!!!!!!!!! I also had that "screen."

[@dylanakent]

Thumbs up for drawing on the TV!

[@monateegs]

Funny.

[@podiumman2]

OMG, It's RED JOHN!! Someone call Patrick Jayne!

[@dybbuk4640]

that music is not the original

[@monateegs]

lol.