A Few Minutes With Captain Chesapeake

[Mrbrbusby]

Someday RFKJ is going to remember Capt. Chesapeake and our beloved Maryland, and we are going to have a Republic of laws again. Long live Ft. McHenry and dear old Baltimore.

[yinzjagoffs]

I'm pretty sure this was the same guy back in the early 80's who did a show in Pittsburgh called Captain Pitt.

[chuckclose1]

does anyone remember what years this program run from in baltimore?

[chuckclose1]

wow this brings back some memories of cartoons in baltimore

[turnertalking]

Channel 45 WBFF and Channel 20 WDCA were GREAT ! I sort of miss when they would shut off the channel as well. GO FIGURE.

[chuckclose1]

@turnertalking i fondly remember those days when the world seemed to go to sleep with ya!

[mplumes]

He was a wonderful man. My mom worked with his wife and I was honored to have met him. What a memory and he came to my classroom to talk with my kids and taught me a trick with corks. I still can do it. Thank you so much, Captain Chesapeake!

[BetamaxBabe]

AHOOOOOY CREW MEMBERS! God, the memories! If it hasn't happened already, I'm surprised some ironic hipster hasn't co-opted the Capt. Chesapeake opening yet.

[ArianWhite]

I grew up in Howard County in the 60's- early 70's before we moved to the Deep South and I remember Captain Chesapeake on Ch.45 and Captain 20 (WDCA?) Drink-Me Pop, Esskay hotdogs, TastyKakes... What a magical time!

[Bakubabe29]

i still have my crew member's card and and a hand written letter from him great memories

[antoinec822]

I REMEMBER COMING HOME AFTER SCHOOL JUST TO WATCH HIM....CHILHOOD MEMORIES

[wiznips3]

Wow!!! What a trip down memory lane!!! Did not know he had passed :(

[springloadedchicken]

folks, let's have some classic captn eh?

[seafood360]

what a great guy he was rip

[mulehead126]

It's 4 bells...time for the Stoo Threeges! I was too old for this show, but that was the only way to see the Three Stooges where we lived. Watching this interview was great the way Cap't C said he didn't talk down to the kids, etc.

Anyone else remember a similar character and format from WTTG channel 5 in DC, Captain Tugg?

[gherinquad]

Exactly right about not talking down to the kids. As a kid I knew that Mondy the Sea Monster wasn't real (really horrible blue screening even for the 80s) but it was still all fun. I miss The Captain, may he rest in peace.

[robtsee]

I used to come in every day after school to watch Mr. Lewis as "Mr. Cartoon" on WSAZ Huntinton, WV. I never knew his real name or what happened to him when he left; until now. I was researching local TV stations, saw a link and followed it to here. Man! Those were the days! (choke ...)

[askew1911]

I still have my crew member card in my wallet.....priceless !!!!!!!!!!!! It's seven bells....time for speeeeeeed racer !!!!!!!!!!

[graymaddermom]

Ahoy! I was a card carrying crew member - very nice guy when I got his autograph. It was the Capt,, Speed Racer, and Legos afterschool with my best friend. Carefree days indeed. Thanks for posting!

[pillsburysbest]

thanks for posting

[rodneyhackenflash]

After Capt Chesapeake went off the air in Baltimore he went to Pittsburgh and became Capt Pitt on Wptt channel 22 for about 5 years ! Another BPconnection!

[dpeab11370]

@rodneyhackenflash lived in Pittsburgh until 1984 and remember Capt Pitt and then moved to Baltimore and they still showed episodes of Capt Chesapeake!  I was sooo confused!!!! IT WAS THE SAME GUY!! LOL!!

[83conway1]

I like this. Those were the days when you used your mind.

[zackgreer]

I miss the stee throoges, uh, the stoo threeges, er, I mean our three nutty friends.

[htime2007]

Captain Chesapeake took me back to my childhood. Wow, what great memories! That man is still cool.

[megatron0357]

God Bless Capt. Chesapeake. He helped make my childhood special. I loved watching him...amd bruce the bird..and mony the sea monster..wonderful memories

[AgdrAgon999]

@megatron0357 - those were the days when television was still somewhat wholesome, when men like Capt. Chesapeake still had control over the content. Since then it's devolved by such a large degree that it's all (television in general) begun to remind me of that Mike Judge film, Idiocracy :(

And yes, God bless Capt. Chesapeake. I wish there had been more men like him around when all of us were growing up.

[JTKiser1022]

HMMM...April 7, 1971 was on a Wednesday...

[CrabCityKidsTV]

Mr. Lewis misspoke...

According to page A-28 of Broadcasting (Magazine) Yearbook 1972, WBFF TV45 debuted on Sunday, April 11, 1971.

[JTKiser1022]

Yep...in the video he said Sunday, April 7th of '71...

No big deal!

[KevinR38]

I grew up just outside of D.C. in Riverdale (near College Park) so channel 45 came in pretty poorly most of the time so a lot of what I watched as a kid in the 70's was channel 20 or channel 5.

But there were times when channel 45 could come in well enough with a little playing with the knob and antenna. I hadn't though about Capt Chesapeake in a lot of years. Good memories from the 70's for sure. Back when we only had Channels 2, 4 (NBC), 5 Fox, 7, 13 (ABC) , 9, 11 (CBS), 20 and 45.

[frightfan1]

Horror hosts and kiddie show hosts made local TV fun back in the day. The local TV we grew up with no longers exists today and that's a shame. Watching cartoons and movies of all kinds made those times very special. I miss them. Great clip!!!!

[kurtlockwood]

Great post. So true.

[beautifulboy33]

Wow !

[tpasa]

Thanks for sharing this. it brought back a lot of great memories from my childhood.

[ClintonSr]

I'm so glad you posted this. My friends and I will always remember him. He's another of the great kid TV legends. :)

[rayakroc]

Where was I at when this show was on tv? Never watched it but that's too bad because George Lewis seems like an okay guy I don't care what anybody says about him.

[zice39]

oh no, the thick baltimore accent was only schtick!

[Heatheranne88]

This is awesome! I too grew up waiting for 3 p.m. and the Captain Chesapeake show to begin! Many fond memories of a kinder gentler time:) Thanks for posting this!

[MDATVRIDER]

The organ jingle intro brought back so many great memories... and "Ahoy crewmembers.."  WOW its awesome to see that again,,, Rest in Peace George Lewis

[JonesphoYT]

Great memories.... I still have my Captain Chesapeake Crewmember card.

[SkeebWilcox]

I had a Captain Pitt membership card. At age 22. Just behind Paul Shannon, this...my friends...was "The Man"...

[citythatbreeds]

wonderful video.

[jeff60626]

I grew up watching him...my favorites were speed racer and lost in space

[uwiwithanuzi]

Captain Chesapeake is dead? Darn. I was hoping that if I ever got married, I could have the wedding on Captain Chesapeake's boat with him officiating.

Anybody know if Cap'n Crunch is still available?

[ValiantBastion]

I miss this show. I'll always be a crew member at heart!

[maximushuts]

It's 8 bells, time for Ultraman!

[ProAdopt]

YAYYYY CAPN C! I recently tried to explain this show to my seven year old. She was laughing really hard when i told her moandee looked like a trashbag with a paper mache head lol

[Squirrel3D]

WTF....was that Macross at the end!?? *faints*

[rachelandsharon]

i live in glen burnie 2 i wish i could have watched captain chesapeake but im 2 young

[madamex129]

I miss those days in front of the TV. Those were the days when parents didn't have to monitor what kids watched as much. I don't recall the lineup when I watched, but Ultra Man and Speed Racer were my favorites. Does anyone remember the sponsors? I craved Geotz caramels everyday thanks to Capt. Chesapeake. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember the name of the icecream soda/syrup that was also featured. Thanks so much for the memories.

[MaxGenus]

@madamex129

I finally found the name of the soft drinks that came in the returnable bottles that I remember as a regular sponsor: Drink-Me-Pop! Oh, and let's not forget Holsom bread. ;)

[thomasdr28]

Six bells! Time for Speed Racer!!!!!

[pxzzz77]

Thank you for posting the interview along with the infamous introduction! I remember growing up watching "Captain Chesapeake" each weekday after school. My favorite lineup was "Scooby-Doo" at 3pm, "He-Man & The Masters of the Universe" at 3:30pm, "G.I. Joe" at 4pm, "Transformers" at 4:30pm, and "Fat Albert" at 5pm and believe me nobody went outside until that line up was over LOL

[pxzzz77]

Thank you for posting the interview along with the infamous introduction! I remember growing up watching "Captain Chesapeake" each weekday after school. My favorite lineup was "Scooby-Doo" at 3pm, "He-Man & The Masters of the Universe" at 3:30pm, "G.I. Joe" at 4pm, "Transformers" at 4:30pm, and "Fat Albert" at 5pm! and believe me nobody dare go outside until that line up went off you'll be outside by yourself IF YOU DID LOL

[peterwulfy]

I was fortunate to meet Capt. Chesapeake in Joppatowne in the late 70's. Unfortunately my autographed picture was lost. Thank you for the video. I forgot the intro song until now.

[upinflamezzz]

That was a great share. Monee the sea monster. LOL. Bruce was a smartass. I remember watching Felix the Cat, Little Rascals, Volton all on 45. The was a little squared number clock in the left hand corner I kept my eye on to know what time I had to leave to get to school in time. I even sent my picture in to Captain Chesapeake for the birthday's announcement.

[scotteb1234]

ROCK ON CAPT- If you all do to a orioles game they play the song for this show during pitching changes. I just saw it this past Sat night.

[XBOX39]

I remember watching the Capitan and trying to get my parents antena to face the right way. This is before the days of cable and all we have today. I grew up in Glen Burnie Md and me and my buddy would make a bee line for a tv thanks for the memmories.

[thomasdr28]

I lived in Glen Burnie before we moved out to Carroll County. It was REALLY hard to pick up 45 out there until we got one of the rotating TV antennas. G-Force, Speed Racer, all that stuff, I'll never forget that show as long as I live!

[Inkyabyss]

This is a great find for those of us who grew up along the Chesapeake Bay in the 1970s. I was especially fond of Ghost Host, which--cheesy as the static opening and cardboard sets were--helped indoctrinate me into a love of vintage horror cinema. I can still hear George's intro:

"Good evening. This IS your Ghost Host, inviting you to watch IF YOU DARE...."

Nice memories and a super share. Many thanks.

[CrabCityKidsTV]

Thanks for the kind words...

You can view three clips of George Lewis as "Ghost Host" on YouTube. Simply look for them among the "Related Videos" along the right-hand column, or put the name "robatsea2008" in the YouTube search box.

[bbbrobo]

He grew up in my neighborhood and went to my swimclub. Moandee(sp?) was named after his daughter Ramona who was a year older than me.

It's funny, the background was Loch Raven until they changed it to the Inner Harbor.

Ah, to be a kid the 70's.....no cares in the world and plenty of cartoons to watch with Captain "C"

[tomcrean25]

This is worth more than anything to me! More clips please. 4 bells kids, what's that time for? Miss those days,, after 5 or 6 it was get smart , gilligans island or hogans heros and gomer pyle... God bless the captain. Tv sucks now.

[PoPoNellie]

I lived in the DC area during the last decade of his show and I will never forget his kindness and enthusiasm for kids programming. Long after Captain 20 went off the air we still had Captain Chesapeake in the Maryland/D.C. area. I think its also cool you got a little snipet of Robotech. Channel 45 was the channel that exposed me to Robotech first and I will never forget those years.

[Nadav34]

Can someone tell me where I can find ghost host and captain chesapeake re-runs or programs? Also, I am interested in known why WBFF-45 decided to change their logo from the TV logo with 45 WBFF-TV BALTIMORE to a Fox logo? Also, does anyone have any info on who the announcer was who did the sign off of WBFF-45 back then after Ghost Host?

[CrabCityKidsTV]

Except for a few "snippets" that were preserved on home viewers' VHS recorders, all of the Ghost Host inserts were lost. Each week's inserts were erased by the TV station in order to use the same tape again. (Tapes were expensive, so this was the normal procedure for TV stations.)

Independent WBFF-TV became Fox45 in 1987.

The original WBFF-TV sign-off voice was the late Bill LeFevre.

Contact me if you learn of ANY surviving tapes of WBFF45 shows or Baltimore or DC originated kid shows.

[xpandergt]

I still remember when I got my crewmember card in the mail. I was five years old when I sent away for it.Capt Chesapeake represented a different era in our society. Back then a kid could just be a kid and enjoy it. It was such a simpler time back then. Oh I so miss it. Thanks Captain

[kurtlockwood]

I used to watch Captain C on WBFF-TV Channel 45. It was one of the golden memories I have of being over my Grandma's house. Thanks!

[NinjaGhostScorpion]

Being from the DC area, I remember that show, as well. (I had good reception where I lived.)

[lifesaver72]

I hope someone can answer this for me. Is there any way to buy a DVD full of all the Captain Chesapeake shows? I would love to see them all again.

[CrabCityKidsTV]

I wish I had better news for you.

Except for a few "snippets" that were preserved on home viewers' VHS recorders (like this one), all of the Captain Chesapeake programs were lost. Each day's show was erased by the TV station in order to use the same tape again the next day. (Tapes were expensive, so this was the normal procedure for TV stations.)

Please contact me if you learn of ANY surviving tapes of Captain Chesapeake (or any other Baltimore or DC originated kid shows.)

[lifesaver72]

Oh wow!!! I didn't know that's how they did it back then. Well, thanks for answering my question and showing this clip. Even though it wasn't an entire show, a "snippet" looks great. If I discover any "lost" Captain Chesapeake tapes before you do, I will definitely let you know.

[christophlorida]

I always thought that it was pronounced "Moanee" the sea monster. Thanks for posting a great Baltimore memory

[harrisonicus]

Awesome! My kid sister watched Captain Chesapeake all the time! YAY!

[goldiewarren]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU CrabCityKidsTV!! I can't believe it! Captain Chesapeake! Watching this actually had me tear up...I remember getting my bowl of cereal at 5 years old, getting my blanket and waiting for Captain Chesapeake. "Ahooooy Crewmemberssssss!" This man was just the sweetest most patient man and he was just so right for the part. I NEVER missed an episode, and couldn't wait for him to show my drawing I would send in, or read my riddle. This was so nice.

[Terry1256]

This man made alot of kids my age so happy . It was so great to see and here him again ! Thank you to who ever put this on You Tube . So many memerys I can't count . ALL GOOD ONES ! Terry1256

[Siberfang]

what was really cool is he also did ghost host

at night on sat night horror movies

[Nadav34]

Anyone know of any surviving ghost host series?

[Squirrel3D]

Did I just see an intro for robotech at the end??? Are you telling me 45 used to show that??

[KineticRic]

Just hearing his voice brings back memories.

Anyone know the kids show during the early to mid 80's about some kind of roller coaster?

What was that shows name?

[lifesaver72]

It was the "Great Space Coaster".

[morbidious]

Captain Chesapeake was something of a childhood icon for me growing up.... His TV show on WBFF TV 45 defined the daily ritual of my entire childhood growing up in Snydersburgh, Md. I'll miss you cap'n.

[RogueFTW]

"Be somebody important, be yourself."

Rest in Peace Captain.

[ClassicRocker61]

Showing my age. Spending summers in NE Maryland watching him on WBFF-45

[ravenmccloud]

Ahoy crew members, welcome aboard!!

[cwcpr]

Andrewclaws the Lion!!!!!!

[CrabCityKidsTV]

Learn more about George Lewis, Captain Chesapeake, and other Baltimore kids' TV favs at the CrabCityKidsTV dot com web site.

If you grew up in the DC area, visit the KaptainKidshow dot com web site.

[143AC]

Good advice from a real pro!

Are you listening Peggy Charren?!

[JEH78]

Many memories watching him.

[bfnputz]

He was Captain Pitt on WPPT-22 in Pittsburgh for years, same characters and all.

[lifesaver72]

Oh my god!!! I am reliving my childhood. I loved Captain Chesapeake!! I used to "break my neck" to get home from school to watch it everyday. Thanks so much for posting this. You've made my day!! :-)

[CrabCityKidsTV]

Pijazardite commented on September 25, 2007:

An afternoon with Captain Chesapeake wouldn't be complete without the commercials... search Jhoon Rhee and you get the best commercial of all time.

Thanks for the memories

[CrabCityKidsTV]

Dagon commented on 06/24/2007:

I remember not being able to pronounce Captain Chesapeake's name properly...ended up calling him Captain Cheapskate!!!

[CrabCityKidsTV]

sixstringsup52 commented on September 05, 2007:

Whoa! I met him way back in 1958, whe he was 'Steamboat Bill' in Huntington, WV! My folks had taken my brother, sister and I to the TV studio and were actually on TV. My 15 minutes of fame!

[explodee3]

Grew up in Glen Burnie Park.Watched everyday after school at 3:30.Stoo 3ges..3 stooges.

[optioncoach54]

He was Captain Pitt before going to Baltimore..I remember watching him in Pittsburgh in the 70's

[skooternjanelle]

so who has actual show footage to post?

...it's 10 o'clock, do you know where you children are?

even in amish country pennsy, we watched the good captain faithfully!

[troubleman245]

Captain Chesapeake + ROBOTECH = Heckava good time!

RIP Captain!

[Greenie007]

Wow, what memories!!! I tried to stump him with my favorite riddle at Golden Ring Mall back in the mid 80s and he knew it... it was kind of a dirty joke, too. Good stuff...

[wgsk17]

Thank you for posting the interview along with the infamous introduction! I remember growing up watching "Captain Chesapeake" each weekday after school. My favorite lineup was "Scooby-Doo" at 3pm, "He-Man & The Masters of the Universe" at 3:30pm, "G.I. Joe" at 4pm, "Transformers" at 4:30pm, and "Fat Albert" at 5pm!

[jizzo225]

OMG!! I watched him for years after school growing up in Baltimore!! I think he was also the guy who played the mad scientist host on WBFF's "Ghost Host Theater", which aired on Saturday nights at 11:00 pm back in the 70's and 80's...Wow, brings back a memory or three!

[Neuroslicer]

Ahoy Crewmembers! Thanks for such good viewing when I was a kid Cap'n C!

[drbotanus]

What year was this? Fat Albert was on 45 from 1984-86. The interviewer is the guy who did the voice of Mondy the Sea Monster.

[PoisonClan73]

Thanks for posting this. It really takes me back, especially the end.

[SterlingSolomon]

HELLO BALTIMORE! I wonder if WBFF still has the tapes. Prob they were bulk erased monthly. Aren't they now the WB? Perhaps I'll call em up! Anbody else remember BILL LA-FEVER? Colored guy gave me the willies!

[tyedyeblue1]

oh my gosh this takes me way back thanks for the video

[kahel1974]

Wow. Talk about taking me back. Thanks.

[JGordonSUX]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I grew up with the Captain, I caught the chicken pox from Mondy (I had them at the same time that Mondy did on the show) and it brings back a flood of memories. Like getting sick on my sit and spin! Thanks again!

[smoothvirus]

We used to get this on cable as far south as Fredericksburg.

[jizzo225]

OMG!!! I can't BELIEVE there's a video with him!! I watched him as a kid growing up in Baltimore.

[GunPoor]

Crewmember number 0499 checking in here, awesome post, and straight into Robotech at the end!

[kaptainkidshow]

Learn more about George Lewis, Captain Chesapeake, and other B-more kids' TV favs at CrabCityKidsTV dot com

Grew up in the DC area? Visit KaptainKidshow dot com

[mistyrow]

brings back memories!!!

[pdubs410]

I would kill for a sweet Moanie the Sea Monster clip. Anybody???