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23 January 2004
and the name that he gives is Cuddley
I just found out that Ray Rayner died of pneumonia this past Wednesday. You don't grow up in the 60s or 70s in Chicago and not absolutely adore Ray Rayner. You watched Ray every day before going to school. He'd give you the news, the weather report, and the school closings.
He'd feed lettuce to his duck, Chelveston. And he tried to make things out of popsicle sticks and glue that never seemed to turn out quite right. (That was probably the best part and probably why I'm drawn to building things today.)
He'd give you the sports scores while wearing a two-billed cap: one side was the front of a Cubs hat, the other the front of a White Sox hat. If one team won, they'd be shown up front. If both team's lost, he'd wear the hat sideways. (I loved that.) I'm not sure what happened when both the Cubs and Sox won: it probably didn't happen all that often.
He did a weird thing with an Advent calendar, counting down the days to Christmas. I was young, but it didn't seem religious at all. Just Ray being goofy. Exactly what you wanted before trudging off to grade school.
Once a year, I think around Christmas, he'd hold a Jelly Bean contest where he kept a giant jar of jelly beans on his desk and if you wrote in with the correct count you won. I don't remember what you won. Maybe you got to eat the beans?
But my all-time favorite was Cuddley Dudley, a giant stuffed dog that Ray would visit with every morning at Cuddley's dog house to, essentially, read viewer mail. And Cuddley was not terribly kind in responding to the viewers. That made it even better for some reason.
It's funny how you remember a kid's song from 30 years ago, but you do. I've seen a couple of variations on the web. Here's the way I remember it:
We're off to Cuddle-y Dudley's house
He's cute as he can be
With his hair of gold and his nose so cold
He's cuddle-y as can be
Oh, the riddles and jokes
and the fun that he pokes
are never aimed at me
Here's the place that he lives
and the name that he gives
is Cuddley
When I talk with friends who didn't grow up in Chicago, I'm amazed that their home towns had no real sense of fun kids programming. When I tell them about Ray's show or that Bozo the Clown was done live every morning at WGN, they just look at me and shrug. That's too bad. For me, WGN in the morning in the 70s was a very special place indeed.
Thanks Ray.
The Ray Rayner Show
Ray Rayner - Chicago Television's Busiest Man (great Cuddley pics)