A new initiative is inviting the public to share their stories and questions for exploration. One intriguing inquiry involves Becky King and her potential appearance on a nostalgic Austin children’s television program.
“The Uncle Jay Show” was a beloved fixture on KTBC, airing from 1953 until 1977 during a time when the station was Austin’s sole television provider. Becky King recalls her childhood experience with the show, stating, “When I was little, there was just one channel of TV.” Memories of the program, particularly a host in a jumpsuit and a segment for celebrating birthdays, remain vivid yet elusive for King.
While she believes she may have been featured on the show around the early 1960s, specific details have faded with time. “I’m not positive because it’s been so long,” she admitted, reflecting on her childhood memories of sitting on bleachers with a small treat in hand.
The Early Days of Television
The Uncle Jay Show, hosted by UT journalism alumnus Jay Hodgson, premiered long before the likes of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, at a time when only half of American households owned a television. Initially intended to fill programming gaps, the show quickly became a staple for local children.
Elizabeth Hansen, managing director at the Texas Archive of the Moving Image, noted that KTBC often lacked sufficient cartoons to fill the broadcast schedule, leading to Hodgson stepping in to host the children’s show. “They needed somebody to fill that in-between time,” she explained.
The show revolved around Uncle Jay, who provided sound advice to young viewers, and his comedic counterpart, Packer Jack, who often set a poor example for the children, much to their amusement. “He was the guy who didn’t have good hygiene and didn’t follow rules,” Hansen remarked, highlighting the relatable humor that endeared Packer Jack to the audience.
For more than two decades, the show was broadcast live, with only a few segments recorded. The majority of its content has since been lost to history.
A Search for Evidence
In the pursuit of any footage featuring King, I visited the Austin History Center, where I discovered an invaluable resource: a 1977 article chronicling the show’s history. This piece led me to contact author Catherine Rips, who wrote it nearly five decades ago. “It was 49 years ago, Sean,” she recalled, expressing regret over her hazy memories of the time.
Rips’ article unveiled details about the show’s format, including Uncle Jay’s use of puppets, such as a donkey and a one-eyed duck named Theopolous P. Duck. Uncle Jay also had a chihuahua named Princess who regularly appeared on the program.
As the show was live, unpredictability often reigned. One memorable incident involved a monkey that, while being introduced, unexpectedly swung around and urinated on Uncle Jay, a moment vividly remembered by Mary Strickland, a former floor manager of the show.
Strickland, tasked with managing the live broadcast, recounted a particularly chaotic incident involving Packer Jack and the monkey, which ended with the monkey biting him and resulting in a two-week hospitalization. “You cannot invite little kids to a show and then have them be attacked,” she noted, underscoring the challenges of live television.
Fragments of the Past
Uncle Jay’s birthday book, which reportedly contained names and photos of children who had been on the show, could have potentially confirmed King’s appearance. However, Strickland recalled no such record existing, as meticulous archiving was not a priority at KTBC during that era.
In an effort to gather more information, I reached out to Jay Hodgson’s children, hoping they might possess memorabilia from the show. Their response was modest, with Denise Hodgson mentioning, “We have a coffee cup.” The Hodgson children, who witnessed their father’s impact on the community firsthand, shared that their father’s presence was well-known throughout Austin. “Everybody knew who our father was,” Wayne Hodgson recalled fondly.
Though the Uncle Jay Show has become a memory with only fragments remaining—about thirty minutes of footage, some photographs, and a brief article—the impression it left on countless children endures. “That’s a section of your life that you put up on the shelf over here, and you go by every couple of years and look at it or think about it,” Wayne reflected.
Jay Hodgson passed away in 2007, but he often told his children that there would always be an Uncle Jay. “I didn’t understand that at first when he said that,” Wes Hodgson admitted. “But now as an adult, I realize what he’s saying, and that’s the truth. He lives in the memories of the children in that era.”
While I was unable to confirm whether Becky King appeared on The Uncle Jay Show, our live ATXPlained event in the spring aimed to recapture the spirit of the past. The Uncle Sean Show premiered at Bass Concert Hall, featuring a pony and a lighthearted pie-in-the-face moment, where question asker Becky King even had the opportunity to sign the birthday book.
