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 Romper
Room Magic Mirror -
Large hoop with a handle that was
used by the various hostesses of the popular syndicated children's
program ROMPER ROOM. From the 1950s through the 1990s,
the Romper Room hostess ended each program by reciting the
show's signature
magical chant:
"Romper, bomper, stomper,
boo.
Tell me, tell me, tell me
do.
Magic mirror, tell me
today.
Did all my friends have
fun at play?"
With the chant
spoken, the Romper Room hostess gazed through the empty mirror
frame and recited the names of the lucky children whom she pretended
to see watching the program (a different list of names each
day). For example, "I see
Tommy and Susan and Hannah and William and Mary and all you boys and girls out there." Of course, the
hostess really couldn't see the children, but to the kids at
home, as they listened for their name to be mentioned, they knew that they were
someone special, at least in the World of Romper Room.
TRIVIA NOTE: Former Romper Room hostess Mary Ann King (in Los
Angeles from 1966-76) was mugged in the parking lot of a
Hometown Buffet in the City of Industry on December 17, 2003.
The encounter gave King, 70, a broken arm, rib and punctured lung.
Besides her injuries, the thieves stole a black taffeta bag that
contained the original Magic Mirror (white plastic mirror
frame) used on the Romper Room program so many years. King
began carrying the magic mirror around with her to satisfy the
wishes of people who confronted her with the allegations "you
never said my name." In the case of the criminals who stole
the item, King confessed "I'm sure those
hoodlums who did this just looked at the mirror and said,
'What in the world is this,' and just discarded it."
"Miss Nancy"
(Nancy Rogers Claster) created the idea for Romper Room with her
husband, Bert Claster. Nancy (who died in 1997 of
cancer at age 82 ) hosted the nationally syndicated show first
in Baltimore and then in Chicago. In 1964, Claster's daughter,
"Miss Sally" (Sally Claster Gelbard) replaced her mother as the
national host of the show. Other cities around the country
hired their own female counter parts to host the show in their
market areas. See a short list below of some Romper Room
hostesses and the towns where they aired on TV.
"Pop goes the
weasel, and the Jack-in-the-box jumps out of his house, and
that means it's time for the Romper Room school."
-- Opening line to Romper Room
|
Name |
City
|
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Miss Anne (Shadbolt) |
Washington, DC |
|
Miss Annette |
Evansville, IN |
|
Miss Barbara (Plummer) |
Cleveland, OH |
|
Miss Barbara |
Washington, DC |
|
Miss Beverly (Marston) |
Chicago, IL |
|
Miss Bonnie (Newnan) |
Waterloo, IA |
|
Miss Connie |
Washington, DC |
|
Miss Jan (Replaced Miss
Susan) |
Colorado Springs, CO |
|
Miss Jane (Hooper)
|
Birmingham, AL |
|
Miss Jean |
Moline, IL
|
|
Miss Jean (Harrington) |
Boston, MA |
|
Miss Joan |
Richmond, VA |
|
Miss Louise (Redfield) |
New York, NY |
|
Miss Lynn
(Marlyn Johnson) |
Winston-Salem, NC
|
|
Miss Lynn |
Washington, DC |
|
Miss Molly
(McCloskey Barber) |
New York, NY |
|
Miss Mary Ann (King)
|
Los Angeles, CA |
|
Miss Mary Ann |
New York, NY |
|
Miss Nancy (Susan Gifford) |
Tulsa, OK |
|
Miss Peggy |
Moline, IL
|
|
Miss Rosemary (Rapp) |
Chicago, IL |
|
Miss Sally |
Washington, DC |
|
Miss Sandra (Hart) |
Pittsburgh, PA (KDKA) |
|
Miss Soco (Socorro Serrano) |
Los Angeles, CA |
|
Miss Susan (Susemihl) |
Colorado Springs, CO (KKTV
Channel 11) |
|
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