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Home > Index > Children's Show Hosts > Chief Traynor Halftown
       
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Chielf Ora Traynor HalftownChief Halftown - Chief Traynor Ora Halftown was a full-blooded Indian who hosted Philadelphia's longest running kiddie show CHIEF HALFTOWN (aired on WFIL and later WPVI) from the 1951 to 1999. Traynor O. Halftown grew up in Buffalo about 25 miles from the Senaca reservation. On camera, he always dressed in full Indian costume which included a full feathered chief's hat, buckskin, beads and bangles. Part of the program (once sponsored by "Bosco" Chocolate syrup) featured lessons about tribal customs, folklore, sign language, chants, and crafts. Last seen on Saturday mornings at 7:00 A.M. on Channel 6 WPVI-TV, his classic trademark catchphrase was (phonetically) "Eeees dah-sah-suss-a-way" which according to the Chief's friend Sally Starr, a fellow children's show host in Philadelphia, means "Let's get started." Off camera, the Chief was a consummate performer who loved to appear at schools, churches, hospitals, parades and other sites in the area like Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA.  The Chief was also  a successful  night club singer and a spokesperson for Brunswick Bowling Company (he loved to bowl and sponsored the Chief Halftown League). He even got his own Colorforms Toy kit in 1957 and a trading card (#40) in 1959 on a Fleer Gum Company Indian trading card series. Sadly, TV pioneer "Chief" Traynor Halftown died in Brigantine, New Jersey from diabetes complication on Saturday, July 5th, 2003. He was 86 years old. Happy Trails, Chief. Happy Trails to you. TRIVIA NOTE: The Senaca tribe was an Iroquoian tribe in Western New York, the most powerful of the Five Nations which included a confederation of Mohawk, Oneida, Onandaga, Cayuga and Senaca-later joined by the Tuscarora. Chief Halftown - Sally Starr Web Site  Chief Halftown - TV Party  1959 Fleer Gum Company Card

 
     
 
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