Engineer Bill

[volleybri02]

my dad used to watch this when he was a little boy.

[PassatDoc]

@mrtimetime: Engineer Bill (aka Cartoon Express) was a television program in the afternoon (after school) for children. The theme was model railroads. Sometimes kids would bring an engine or decoration that they had built themselves. One or two children would serve as guests who sat next to the host. Cartoons would be shown in addition to the dialogue between Engineer Bill and the guest children.

[PassatDoc]

I saw this show from San Diego. A rooftop antenna in a flat topographic area (no hills/mountains) could pull in signals from LA, 120 miles away, and long before cable arrived. What always puzzled me, as a three year old viewer, was why none of the guests on the show ever came from San Diego. Always from LA or its suburbs. I probably had only a vague notion of where LA was, nor did I appreciate that most parents wouldn't want to drive their children three or four hours to LA just to be on a show.

[roblimo]

Wow. Takes me back. Engineer Bill was the first TV show I was on, along with my older half-brothers Greg and Eric, who were visiting from Bremmerton, WA. I must have been about 4. Later I was also on Sheriff John and then, while in first grade at Clifford Street Elementary School, I hit the L.A. kiddie show big-time: Art Linkletter. Many years later, when the Bill Cosby "Kids Say the Darndest Things" show was on the air, I was invited - but the kinescope from my appearance wasn't usable. :(

[mrtimetime123]

is this a movie or tv show ?? thanks

[Keleigh3000]

I loved this show as a kid. My mother used to have a favorite Italian restaurant in North Hollywood who's owner/chef loved to dote over all the kids that came in. He had 'Engineer Bill' on the jukebox and would always play it for me, after the appropriate amount of feigned reluctance, of course.

[iwait4u]

Doodling drawin or painting, when ever i come across some random squiggles and marks, the Engineer Bill drawing exercise is never far behind them. I have lived to be five years old  11.8 times since back then

[braindead891]

My sister won an Ant Farm from Engineer Bill. I remember I let the ants out. Thank you so much for posting this!

[podiodi]

"You sissies take your fingers out of your ears...."

That's classic!

[1979cl1]

Boy this brings me back the good old days!! I lived in Lawndale CA and watched that show back in the 60s!! Thanks for posting the video!!!

[Californiawagelawyer]

Used to go to his house for Halloween in the 60's. He lived off of Santa Rita St. in Tarzana.

[Riffster68]

I remember at age 8 watching the show,and Engineer Bill read my name on the air as a winner of tickets to.....Santa's Village! My mom use to say my face turned white.

[YaHashaWha]

You are right it was KHJ #9 not KCOP#13

[SANCHEZinMONTEBELLO]

Correction to Joshua Kemp and YahashaWha:

KCOP was Channel 13.

Channel 9 (Where Engineer Bill's Show was telecast) was KHJ-TV.

REMEMBER 9-ISLAND???

[Petemonster62]

Athearn announced recently that they are discontinuing their line of HO scale car kits. Those kits helped make model railroading affordable for me on paper route money! I have heard that the Ulrich car kits were good models too!

[Petemonster62]

@Petemonster62 Athearn did discontinue making the freight car kits but they are still available at train shows. Classic Toy Trains magazine did an article on Engineer Bill. He first brought in some of his HO scale trains when he started the show. Bill wanted to get larger trains that would show up better on TV. He first contacted Lionel about sending some O gauge trains, but they declined. Bill had a friend at a hobby shop furnish the American Flyer S gauge train layout.

[Gr8fulrocker]

Anybody remember when he did supermarket appearances and you would pull a lever on a cigarette machine like thing to win a prize or lose, my bro did that when I was about 4 or 5 years old.........OMG!

Good times, innocence and predictability that your Dad would always have a job and the American dream!

Thanx

[26478me]

OH MAN!!! I Was Not Able To Remember The Name Of This Show!! THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH I USED TO LOVE THIS SHOW!!! THANK YOU RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT..I Would Wait For The Light So Long My Milk Was WARM!

[26478me]

OH MAN!!! I Was Not Able To Remember The Name Of This Show!! THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH I USED TO LOVE THIS SHOW!!! THANK YOU

[Mmewster]

I was on there in 1960

[rentatrip1]

I'll Bet Engineer Bill Could Beat the Crap out of Mister Rogers ...

[baguayo1]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful video. It brings back many great memories - I was born in L.A. in 1960 and remember playing the red light / green light game w/ Engineer Bill every morning. We had it pretty good in L.A. with all the great show hosts of the 50s & 60s. Bill

[tvfats]

What a great time it was in the 50's and 60's in LA ....We had so many super kids TV hosts...Bill Stulla rode herd over the roundhouse at channel 9...Years later I worked in the building on Melrose...He was long gone by then but many of the announcers were still in the house..."Freight Train Wayne" was so gay...but he had a nifty English cab that the drove to work...My Dad knew Bill's wife who ran a travel agency in Toluca Lake in the valley...Born after 1970 you missed some really "KEWL" TV...

[suecando53]

red light....green light and drink that Boscoe!!!

[IssyCam]

I remember the "Red Light, Green Light" milk drinking as a kid. Thanks for posting this and bringing back happy memories!

[halbie71]

Does anybody remember the kids show back in the early 1960s called "The Magic Land of Allakazam"?

[143AC]

Dear Halbie, Yes! I remember watching:"The Magic Land OF Alakazam"

on Saturday mornings on CBS TV and later on ABC TV> The magic was wonderful..and so were the characters on the show. Ms.Darnell was beautiful..but the best remembered character was and still"Rebo The Clown".

[halbie71]

Not very many people remember that show. Rebo The Clown lived about 2 blocks away from my house at the time the show was on the air.

[143AC]

Dear Halbe, Yes! I remember"Beachcomber Bill"Biery..Although I didn't see his local kids tv show on KCOP TV Ch.13 in L.A.,Cal. I did see"The Beachcomber Bill Show"/"The Bill Biery Show"on WPIX TV Ch.11 in NYC from 1964 to 1967.

[halbie71]

143AC yes Beachcomer left L.A., Ca. for New York City back around that time.

[143AC]

Dear CSM,  Tom Hatten's "The Adventures Of Popeye"/"The Pier Five

Club"aired on KTLA TV Ch.5 in L.A.,Cal.

[boomer93455]

I remember watching Engineer Bill. In the 5th grade our somewhat sarcastic teacher made all of us write a letter to the show. My name was picked but unfortunately I missed that show. The next day at school one of the girls told me about it and I don't think I believed her but shortly there after I received a hopper car in the mail to build for the show, I never got to go though and I think that scarred me for life somehow (lol). We lived in PicoRivera at the time just Pico then.

[CSM159]

I remember watching Engineer Bill on KHJ Channel 9 and drinking milk during Red light, Green light; Bill use to drink his milk to fast and get headaches; I use to spill it aways and mom would get mad; It was fun listening to Bill talk with his camera guys and producer; he always was wanting to know if his contract was renewed; it seem he wasn't sure if he'll be on the air the next day; Tom Hatten KTTV channel 5 or 11 not sure had the Popeyie cartoon show; Ah Southern Calif during the 50s & 60s

[BoronBobcat]

@CSM159 Tom Hatten (with his squiggles) was on KTLA 5

[rbeattie123]

How cool! None of my friends from other parts of the world have ever heard of my childhood favorite. Mr. and Mrs. Stulla lived near my family in Tarzana. They always gave out the show's sponsors' products at Hallowe'en. Bit o' Honey!

[Zoomdock]

Hey "rbeattie123." Where did you live. The Stullas lived on the corner of Beckford and Santa Rita. My family lived four doors down on Beckford. Bill Stulla had a small train set (not a model train) in his backyard. He used to give the neighborhood kids rides on occasion. PWP.

[rbeattie123]

Thanks for the comment, PWP. I remember that train. We lived on Beckford between Redwing and Linnet, in a house my parents built, when I was born in 1951. We moved to Vanalden in 1955. It seemed like a hike up to Santa Rita but that neighborhood was good trick or treating! Later, neighbor.

[goldtrail49]

Holy Cow! You're bringing back memories from so many years ago I don't even want to say.

Red Light! Grean Light!

Don't spill your milk!

Steve

[sparkiblue]

Thanks for posting this. I was born in LA in 1955 and and was plugged into ALL the channels on TV. KHJ KCOP KTTV KTLA I watched a lot. It really was paradise in a lot of ways back then with everything from the cultural revolution exploding on TV and Radio. I had a RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT GLASS !!

[55squaredancer]

Me too! I was a TV-holic during those years. I finally got to meet Engineer Bill in 1996 at a toy train convention in Long Beach while wearing my conductor's uniform from the Orange Empire Railway Museum. He was just as sweet a guy as ever. I was able to attend his memorial in Westlake Village last year and meet his daughter.

[adordunio1]

I was on this show when I was about 7 when I won The Big Whistle. Show was shot at 1313 N. Vine Street in Hollywood!!

Lots of fun, and the get well bell was huge and deafening!!

[vinn52]

I he still alive

[JosephR4570]

He passed away in his sleep last year. He was 97.

[wadayathink]

Engineer Bill was just TOO cool! My mom used his show to get me to give my baby bottle. :) Sweet memories. Thanks Bill!

[GonebabieAngle]

my brother watched this and his name was on the get well wish callers

[psphotographer]

I was on Engineer Bills show in 1957. I remember the railroad and how nice he was. I also remember he hat that was way too big for my head. I had that hat for years.

[YuriShedyenko]

Corky, you lucky dude! I watched Engineer Bill, Sheriff John, Skipper Frank, The Popeye Show (with Tom Hatten), all of them, but actually appearing on one of these shows was a distant dream. Thanks so much for sharing! Oh, and HAPPY HIGHBALL, ENGINEERS!

[oceanstreat]

Well, it actually happened for me! Really! I was sitting at home, with my mother, and a friend, when my name was pulled from Casey's mail bag. More excitement than I can describe! I built a model train car, brought it in, played "red light, green light", etc. Quite exciting. The next day, I got to describe it in front of my first grade class. I was a celebrity for a little while in my class. I was very fortunate.

[halbie71]

Does anybody remember Beachcomer Bill?

[55squaredancer]

Yes I do! He was on KCOP back in 1963.

[halbie71]

Do you remember the theme song?

[55squaredancer]

Yes I do! It was " The Baby Elephant Theme "

[halbie71]

55squaredancer is that your final answer?

You are absolutely correct!!! Didn't Beachcomer Bill show Wally Gator cartoons?

[55squaredancer]

You are correct on that one again. He also showed Lippy the lion and Hardee-har-har.

[halbie71]

LOL

[zbestwun2001]

Memories,

Steve Fischler

Fischler Artist Promotions

[raydog699]

Green light:suck! Red light: swallow! Yellow light: taste!

[cornermoose]

Sorry folks, but KCOP was channel 13. This was on KHJ-TV, channel 9, now KCAL. I was a loyal engineer in those days, in fact, when they introduced a special glass for playing Red Light, Green Light, my grandfather took me all over the San Gabriel Valley looking for a Mohawk gas station so I could have one. Never found it.

I was a guest on Bill Stulla's morning show, Parlor Party, a birthday show, on my 4th birthday, Jan. 9, 1952, but I never got to see him in his engineer suit.

[barflewk]

Didn't Engineer Bill freak out and quit the show by getting mad and walking off ?

[cornermoose]

I don't think so. He continued on after they abandoned the train motif, and acted as a dispatcher for a space-age outpost called Nine Island. I remember him coming on after President Kennedy's funeral to give a few words of comfort that we kids could understand.

[jonahbegone]

Gentle humor, in-jokes, crew involvement and not a hint of cynicism anywhere. How enchanting - and how utterly different from today's jaded programming...

[oneandatwo]

Too bad the engineer in Chatsworth wasn't a guest on this show when he was a kid...

[cannobeens]

does anyone remember the stop motion animation films he'd show? There was one with these circus performers where jumping on I think like a teeter tauter to flip another into the air. And they flipped this little african kid so far into the air, he flew through the circus tent and into space. He got stuck on a planet and the rest of the circus had to go rescue him. He played alot of really tripped out stuff like that on his show. I'm trying to find them.

[bapes41]

By the way, Sheriff John and Hobo Kelly clips are also on Youtube. Man! L.A., in my opinion, was really a paradise back then growing up, wasn't it? We need another EB, SJ, and HK; etc; Maybe with the economy going in the toilet like it is, we'll have no choice but to go back! (just day-dreamin'!)

[PassatDoc]

Thanks for the clarification Joshua. I had seen some website with a history of the show and it mentioned that the only extant film belonged to the family of a boy who appeared on the show...and that the boy's father was in the tv business, which enabled him to obtain a copy.

I understand Bill is in his 90s and going strong.

Growing up in San Diego, we could watch KCOP but no local kids appeared on the show, we were too far away in those pre-Interstate 5 days.

Peace out.

[PassatDoc]

Just about anyone aged 45-60 who grew up in Southern California used to drink milk under the "red light, green light" system.

My understanding is that this video is the only existing footage of "Engineer Bill". The father of the boy (Corky Kemp) was an employee of the station (KCOP Channel 9) and he obtained a permanent kinescope copy of his son's appearance. The film remained in the family and now can be seen on the internet for all to enjoy.

Jim

born 1956, San Diego, California

[YaHashaWha]

My dad did not work for KCOP , He had his own business caled Telaview recording service in Hollywood and disributed content for all the TV stations in the country. He had his friends over at KCOP that gave him the 2" video which he tranferd to film. I have donated the original full copy to the UCLA film Arcives for preservation of the Golden Days of TV in Los Angeles. I called Bill up a few years ago and he still rememberd me.

Aloha Joshua Kemp aka Corky

[PassatDoc]

Joshua, do you know the year in which you appeared on the show?

[YaHashaWha]

It was a raining day in October or November of 1960.I was on about every show in LA at that time. I use to hang out with Sheriff John on the set as my Dads offices were on the KTTV lot which now I hear has been turned into a High School. There is alot of old Hollywood that is not there anymore. It was alot of fun growing up in that culture and they are some of my best memories.

Joshua Kemp

[PassatDoc]

Wow, I would have been four years old and I was in the prime viewing demographic at the time! Chucko the birthday clown recently died but I don't honestly remember him. I remember Sheriff John, Skipper Frank, and Popeye (Tom Hatton?). We were in San Diego but could receive the LA stations. I remember the big fire in LA in 1961, it wiped out some tv towers and we went without our cherished LA host-cartoon programs for about two weeks. San Diego had a local version "Shane in Wonderland", it was ok

[ccreptilelord]

@YaHashaWha

I just found this. Can't believe it. I was on the show. They sell a video of classic tv shows. Do you know anything about these? I wonder if the show with me in it is around. Any suggestions. kathy

[BoronBobcat]

@PassatDoc Actually, KCOP was Channel 13. Channel 9 was KHJ and was the station that aired Engineer Bill. I was one of the kids on the show one time. And I still like milk.

[BoronBobcat]

@PassatDoc Actually, KCOP was Channel 13. Channel 9 was KHJ and was the station that aired Engineer Bill. I was one of the kids on the show one time. And I still like milk.

[przip]

@PassatDoc Channel 9 was KHJ-TV. (KCOP would be channel 13.) I still drink my milk! Steven+

[PassatDoc]

@przip I went on to suffer lactose intolerance in college, and today use Lactaid milk in my coffee and morning oatmeal or cereal. No more milk in a glass. What's odd is that the generation below us has heard something about a "green light-red light" milk drinking game, but of course have no idea where it came from. It's a shame that so little survives of Engineer Bill, but I'm grateful to YaHashaWha for having shared the one existing episode preserved by his father.

[PassatDoc]

@przip PS I remember the Bel-Air fire in c.1961 that destroyed some of the tv transmitters in the hills and took about a week to repair. Living in San Diego, I remember being shut out of Channels 5, 9, 11, and 13 for about a week. The major network stations (2, 4, 7) may also have been affected, but we had local affiliates for the three networks in San Diego. What was missing were the kids' shows!! (Skipper Frank, Engineer Bill, Popeye/Tom Hatton, etc.). Took about a week to restore service.

[Pauken11]

@PassatDoc Yup, I remember going to the kitchen to get my glass of milk to play "red light, green light." Good times.

Jim, now 61, born in Pasadena

[halbie71]

Red light, green light. Thanks for posting this video!!!!!!!!!!!!

[xxBoldxx]

I didnt grow up with watching this show, but we defeinetly need more kid show host like Engineer Bill.

[KOCETV]

I met Enginner Bill once at a appearance at Builders Emporium, he gave me a Clark bar...

[jhecht424]

Many Thanks for posting this video it brings back some many memories. I was fortunate to meet Enginner Bill...just a wonderful man. God Bless you Engineer Bill, we need so many more like you.

Dennis

[ceesty]

Travel well Engineer Bill....it's green light all the way from here!

From (little) Cindy Stoddard of Los Angeles, CA

[thelosthills]

Happy Trails, Engineer Bill and thank you to You Tube contributers for the memories. I don't this would entertain kids today...I know it wouldn't but it was a treat for us in simpler times.

[LuvvyDuck]

Cool!!! I don't remember if we had that show or not, but it looks familiar.

[blogward]

Amazing. The interplay with the crew, the unselfconsciousness...today most's childrens' show hosts' goal is self-promotion.

[Sandguy99]

RIP Engineer Bill.

[Toppercat]

Engineer Bill, Boxcar Bond, et al....R.I.P

Because of this show, I still have all my Lionel trains.....

[dickypot]

Sadly, Bill Stulla passed away this week at age 97.

[DV5100Z]

WOW....what a blast from the past! I was on the show as a kid in 1962....what I wouldn't give to see that show!! As I never did see it....just my friends did !! Thanks!

[YaHashaWha]

This is the only copy of the show. I am the kid called Corky on this show. Back then they produced these shows on video tape and would record over them as the tape was expensive. This kiniescope is from 1960

[DV5100Z]

Thanks...still have the stock car??? LOL

[ceesty]

Thanks for posting this. I have sent it to all my sisters (all over the world). We were Engineer Bill fanatics. I still have a red light green light glass. May Bill Stulla travel well. Thanks again Corky!

Cindy Stoddard

Born 1954 in Los Angeles, CA

[fajfred]

WOW!!! At age 5,I use to sit in my little rocker with the little bell attached to the bottom rockin back and forth with my finger in my mouth, sittin so close that I started wearing glasses at age 6. Engineer Bill was the red light green light of milk drinking champions.

Thanks for posting. You made my year.