51     September 30, 1953
Bill, Jayne, Henry, Ann Rutherford

Special Guest Zippy the Chimp 
Zippy had a stage act in New Orleans in the early 50s where he was discovered by "Buffalo Bob" Smith and other producers of the  Howdy Doody show .  They signed him to a contract and took him to New York where he became a popular feature of their children's show.  Soon, Zippy was making appearances on a variety of other shows, including seven on Secret alone. Garry in particular seems unusually enamored of the barely-trained animal act, who typically would end up just running around the stage creating havoc.  Books and toys bearing Zippy's name and image inevitably followed.  Other chimps over the years would carry on the "Zippy" name, though details are scarce and many owners and trainers are associated with the Zippy line.  In the eighties, one such Zippy would gain attention for appearances on Late Night With David Letterman, usually "operating" what Dave called the Monkey-Cam.  A brief clip from this 1953 episode appears on the 4th anniversary show [ E192 ], and also on next week’s program [ E52 ].