Rootie Kazootie (1952– ) User Reviews

A true classic that needs to be preserved on DVD

[FishIM · 6/10 · 10 December 2006]

My mother used to annoy me by crooning the Rootie Kazootie song (she was never a smooth singer) but it stuck with me and over the years, bits and pieces of Rootie Kazootie history floated slowly into my consciousness. I feel that all the original TV shows from the 50's both good & bad should be preserved as these were an important hallmark of history. These were some of the first televised images ever seen and would probably have the same impact as discovering life on other worlds to some. We take it for granted now, but TV was revolutionary in the 50's. It was a HUGE leap forward from the telephone. It truly saddens me that so many of these shows are lost due to poor preservation at the time, but even sadder is the lack of interest in corporations to try to market & preserve our rich history because they feel so much falls short of todays standards in entertainment or general lack of interest. I for one feel a great sense of personal loss.

early children's television programming

[briefcase119 · 9/10 · 21 June 2006]

I distantly remember this show from my childhood, along with Howdy Doody, The Shari Lewis Show, and other puppet-based programs that were the mainstay of early television for children. I used to drive my sweet mother crazy, running thru the house shouting ROOTIE KAZOOTIE! I don't recall the exact nature of its appeal, other than it was a program just for kids, and that was pretty special back then. It was first broadcast in black & white. Color came when the competing Howdy Doody arrived on the NBC "Live and in Living Color". We had all of 3 stations then, and usually only one got decent reception, because there was no cable then either. It was entertaining television that slowly gave way to the cartoons, hosted by Bozo the Clown, and later to the action dramas like Roy Rogers, Sky King, and Tarzan.

Characters on Rootie Kazootie

[tfennelly · 28 July 2017]

I watched Rootie at 6 PM on NBC, right after the much-superior Howdy Doody Show. Rootie had a Dalmation pup named Gala-Poochie. The pup spoke like "Rrr Rrr Rrr Rrr." And Rootie was the only one who could translate him. Poochie had a friend, "El Squeako" the mouse, who spoke in squeaks and Poochie was the only one who could translate *him*. The dog and the mouse had a common nemesis in the cat. I don't remember ever seeing the cat. Rootie's girl-friend, Polka Dottie, wore braids and a polka dot dress. The mustachioed villain, Poison Zumac, had his name changed to Poison Zanzaboo in time. Maybe they were afraid kids would touch real poison sumac, thinking they were getting involved with the character. Poison Zumac was always trying to con Rootie by disguising himself and asking for help. Trying to trick Rootie out of his magic Kazootie. Rootie would ask the audience "Is this really really a poor old car?" "No!", the kids in the audience would holler, and Rootie would beat the villain off the puppet stage. "Take that! And that! And that!" In one episode Zumac stole the white line from the center of the road so people would lose their way. "Who is the boy who is full of zip and joy. He's Rootie Kazootie. Who is the lad who will make you feel so glad. He's Rootie Kazootie. I'm the leader of the Rootie Kazootie Club. And with me there is (woof-woof) Gala Poochie, the pup. So let's all hear, a Rootin Kazootin cheer for Rootie Kazootie." Rootie would make his entrance tearing open a paper with the show's logo and begin every show singing a popular song. I remember "It's a Barnum Bailey world" and "I've got the world on a string." He also sang "Polka Dottie" to the tune "Pretty Baby". "Big Todd Russell" was the human who stood in front of the puppet stage and kept the action going. The only other human was "Mr. Deedle Doodle" a policeman dressed like an old-fashioned London Bobbie and just came in, blowing his whistle, and ran out again. Naomi Lewis was the actress credited as the voice of Rootie and Dottie. But I could only find one other credit for her on IMDb, a one-time appearance on an early-fifties radio program. If Ms. Lewis ever did another broadcast or appeared in a film or on Broadway, she did it under another name. Some old Rootie footage is available on You Tube! Tony Fennelly

I too remember Rootie Kazootie

[jayphelan · 4 November 2009]

I know I watched this show regularly, but can't come up with a single note of the theme song. For some reason, I think the show was originally called "Rootie Tootie", but was quickly changed to Kazootie for whatever reason. I'm not sure this can be confirmed, but if possible I'd like some confirmation that I'm not imagining it. Maybe "Tootie" had some nasty (for that time) connotations, but they were beyond my 9 yr. old brain to comprehend.

I don't remember much, if anything, about the other characters in the show or what the running plot line was.

If anyone knows, or thinks they know, chime in!

Jay

He was Rootie Tootie

[doggydaddy71 · 8 May 2019]

In the beginning he was called Rootie Tootie as a previous poster mentione and my recollection of the change from Tootie to Kazootie was explained in one of the shows as his attempt to fool the evil Poison Sumac into thinking Rootie was someone else. That didn't work for long as Sumac quickly discovered the ruse and continued to plague poor Rootie with his evil plans. For some reason the name of the show just popped into my head the other day and got me to wondering if anyone else out there remembered this show as none of my contemporary ( I'm 76 ) friends remembered the show and thought I was making it up. Thanks IMDB for proving that I'm not crazy after all ( at least in regard to this show ).