All Children Of Philadelphia Remember The Al Alberts Showcase
Yesterday someone sent me a link to an amazing clip from an old local Philly kid's show called The Al Alberts Showcase. I had never seen it before, and according to YouTube stats, neither has the internet, so I asked one of my friends from Philadelphia to explain. This is what he said:
This was a variety show that ran in Philadelphia for like 20 years and I believe it aired on Saturday mornings before the cartoons would start. Even when I didn't know what "creeped out" meant, I was totally creeped out. You should see the joke portion of the show where these terrified little girls tell "Uncle Al" knock knock jokes.
So here are some videos from The Al Alberts Showcase. Judge for yourself whether they're "creepy." (Just kidding: they are, but in that "The '80s were a much more innocent time." kind of way.)
Al serenades a group of befuddled, crying little boys with a song about little boys crying because Johnny won their marbles or something. That's the best I can do:
Joke Time: A little girl tells a racist-ish joke, and a little boy, well, totally bombs and Al isn't shy about saying so (in fact, he never laughs at their jokes -- it's kind of funny.):
Al Alberts was an entertainer prior to Showcase, and there's a lot of information about him on Wikipedia, if you're interested. (Personally, I'm just interested in strange, out-of-context creepy YouTube videos of ancient children's TV, of course.) (First video via Philebrity.)
Posted by Lindsay at 1:00 PM in Children's Television, Nostalgia
Tags: Al Alberts | Children
JESUS I wish 6AM would hurry up and get here so I can watch Dear Ol' Captain Noah and Chief Halftown instead of this crap
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Don't those faces knock you out?
Half the time I'm not listening to what they're saying, I'm just lookin at their faces!
That pretty little gal lit up my youtube screen.
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It's true. We all do. it was the price we paid for ABC's (otherwise solid) Saturday morning lineup.
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This kinda reminded me of the old New England talent show, Community Auditions, even though the contestants tended to be a little older, like a low-rent Star Search.
You might recognize this famous comedienne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVlxW3jW_y8
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"Because they had reservations" is only racist-ish, while gangsta Fresh Prince is deemed racist? Did you guys fall and break your cultural-sensitivity bone? That little blond girl is full-on Prussian Blue!
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Wow, am I crazy, or does that second video open with "Billy Jean" on the piano? Just to make it even crazier.
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Lindsay wrote this article, while Gabe wrote the one on Freshest Prince.
We've all got different standards of racism
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Did all Philadelphias children of the 80's have horrible speech impediments?
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I cant believe you wrote about this!!! In the early 90's I would go to dance competitions and perform a tap solo. Every competition I was at there was the boy named Joel who was one of Uncle Al's favorite kids on the Al Alberts Showcase. He would always beat me and essentially became my arch nemesis when i was 6 years old. He used to sing duets with his little sister and Al Albert used to LOVE it. Needless to say Uncle Al & Joel boiled my blood every Sunday morning until it went off the air finally. Now I look back and thank god that my mother never hated me enough to push me on local tv and tell an old man un-funny jokes. Joel if you're out there... I hope you're still singing horribly offkey duets with your not so cute little sister. Keep the dream alive man.
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I was on The Al Alberts Showcase in Feb of 1976 as part of a tap dancing group with Rita Rue. I would love to know if it would be possible to request a copy of this footage as my familyywould be THRILLED if they could see this again and retain it for posterity. We would be willing to pay whatever you are asking if it were obtainable. Let me know if this is possible and if so, what we would need to do or who we would contact.
Thanks a bunch!
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I was on The Al Alberts Showcase in Feb of 1976 as part of a tap dancing group with Rita Rue. I would love to know if it would be possible to request a copy of this footage as my familyywould be THRILLED if they could see this again and retain it for posterity. We would be willing to pay whatever you are asking if it were obtainable. Let me know if this is possible and if so, what we would need to do or who we would contact.
Thanks a bunch!
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I was on The Al Alberts Showcase in Feb of 1976 as part of a tap dancing group with Rita Rue. I would love to know if it would be possible to request a copy of this footage as my familyywould be THRILLED if they could see this again and retain it for posterity. We would be willing to pay whatever you are asking if it were obtainable. Let me know if this is possible and if so, what we would need to do or who we would contact.
Thanks a bunch!
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Al Albert's Showcase aired on Sundays during the 1970s. I know this because I was born & raised in Philly and we used to watch this after coming home from church (St. Veronica in North Philly) This show ran much longer than 20 yrs. At some point & time, the show was aired on Saturdays but I know for sure that wasn't during the 1970s. Maybe in the 1980s it was changed. It wasn't creepy at all. Just a local, talent show type of thing. Wow, I can still here that Frosty Acres jingle in my head and that snowman dancing to it!
We all enjoyed it. By the way, Andrea McArdle went to Cardinal Dougherty H.S with my brother back in 1977.
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