Friends, earlier this week after a Watch Party on the Diary of An Arcade Employee Facebook page I was able to chat with one of the friends to the podcast. The subject matter turned to some of the earlier TV series of our youth – at one point my friend asked if remembered a show entitled Gigglesnort Hotel – which I admitted didn’t sound familiar so I quickly looked it up. During my nearly decade of writing for the Retroist there was a program I couldn’t remember the name of, just that it took place at a hotel and had a colorful collection of puppets that worked there. Wouldn’t you know it – the show was none other than Gigglesnort Hotel, a 1975 WLS-TV program created by the beloved Bill Jackson. The host of a handful of children’s television programs but perhaps best known for The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show – which aired on WFLD from 1968 until 1973 for a total of 1, 311 episodes. That was not the end of the series though as for one more year it was produced and broadcast on WGN-TV – actually more than a few characters from this earlier series would make the jump to Gigglesnort Hotel in ’75!
I am under the impression that I caught Gigglesnort Hotel on WTBS which would mean it had be around 1978 – when the series was syndicated after winning at least a couple of Chicago Emmy Awards. Now due to Bill Jackson sporting a mustache in the children’s show, in my mind I thought it was actually WTBS’ Bill Tush – but as soon as I watched the intro it all came back to me. In particular I fondly recalled watching this at my Aunt’s house when my Grandmother would take me with her to visit during Summer breaks.
Characters such as Dirty Dragon, which I’ve read online was based off of an old co-worker of Jackson’s when he was working at a local TV station in Indianapolis, as well as Old Mother Plumtree, Weird, the Old Professor, and of course the Blob showed up in Gigglesnort Hotel. Jackson himself played B.J. and was the titular hotel’s desk clerk – dealing with the antics of both it’s residents and his fellow staff – all puppets of course.
What about you though, do you remember the fun of Gigglesnort Hotel?
Yes, Gigglesnort Hotel! It’s perhaps the only TV show I can recall from my childhood. I’d love to revisit some old episodes of it and appears Bill Jackson was selling DVDs on his now defunct website up until a few years ago. I’ve setup keyword alerts on eBay just in case someone decides to sell theirs someday. Thanks for the article. Cheers!
Darren, that would be absolutely fantastic to say the very least – if somehow they were able to officially release the series on DVD… or even online!