“Put your toys away, don’t delay. Help your mommy have a happy day!

Nostalgia runs deep in our community for the Uncle Al show, a popular children's TV show broadcast from 1950 to 1985 on WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.

Recent Facebook posts asking for memories generated 108 responses and nearly 60 comments from community members who watched and had the opportunity to appear on the live show. Cincinnati news outlets call appearing on Uncle Al a regional rite of passage for Boomers and GenX.

"Uncle Al" Lewis and his wife Wanda, “Captain Windy” entertained children for 35 years, broadcasting more than 14,000 episodes, and built a following of two generations of fans.

Thousands of children from all over the region had the opportunity to get tickets to appear on the show. Before every live episode, they would take a photo, a cherished memento still held by many.

According to WCPO-TV, Uncle Al was one of the longest running local children’s shows in U.S. television history. Al Lewis died in 2009 at 84 and Wanda lived to be 94, dying in 2020.

Community Memories

Many community members shared fond memories of their appearance on the show.

Linda Sexton - I was born in 1960 so I was on the show around 1966. I remember putting my hands together and swinging to an elephant song.

Jami Stewart-Smith - My brother and I were on it twice! I got to be the circus leader once! I will never forget that! So much fun!

Mary Wells - Captain Windy pushed me in the Birthday swing and I got a dress play set with plastic heels and a fur stole, and jewelry

Michaelle Howard Lightcap - My brother Mark and I were on the Uncle Al show in 1969. Mark played in a skit as a shoe salesman, and I got to ride an elephant. I was only 4 years old, but I remember it well.

Jeannie Stiver - Was on the show when I was like 4. Don't remember much my mom had pictures of me there

Some had more colorful and maybe uncomfortable memories of Uncle Al.

Jane Lewis - I was on the show when I was little. I just remember lots of kids, lights and the itchy wool skirt I was wearing

Gretta Harper Judd - I was on the Uncle Al show. Funny story…there was probably a lot of kids that got chickenpox from that show. When I left the house, I had a spot on my stomach assuming it was some kind of bug bite. After being under the hot lights on the show, I come home, and was covered in chickenpox. 

Aliya DalRae  - I was on the show once. Because I was a bit taller than the other kids they kept shoving me to the back. Both Uncle Al and Captain Windy yelled at me (and other kids too. I wasn't being singled out.) I got the impression they didn't much like kids. And I never got my marshmallow cone, which was the thing I was most looking forward to.

Part of TV History

By 1983, the Uncle Al show was taped once a week for episodes that aired on the weekend. The show ended in May 1985 due to the changing world of children’s TV and station decisions.

This 2022 documentary by WCPO includes interviews with Al and Wanda and various station managers at WCPO, along with great clips of the show and their early use of special effects.

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