1950's Twinkies Commercial with Howdy Doody's Buffalo Bob

Beloved Buffalo Bob Smith mixes up his own batch of Hostess Twinkies LIVE on the air on an episode of Howdy Doody from the 1950s.

1950s Howdy Doody Twinkies Commercial

Buffalo Bob Smith (birth name Richard Schmidt) was an enormously talented musician and a popular radio personality before co-creating the Howdy Doody show, which combined puppets, music and a live-action cast. It soon became one of the highest-rated shows on on television and, perhaps, the most fondly remembered children's television show of the 1950s.

So in demand was Smith that he appeared on additional radio and television programs while continuing his five-day-a-week Howdy Doody duties. His heavy schedule resulted in a near fatal heart attack which kept him off the show for nearly a year, though a small television studio was constructed in his home's basement and he would often join the program by remote broadcast.

After the show was cancelled in 1960, Smith was in semi-retirement until he began touring the college circuit in the 1970s. This resurgence led to a revival of the Howdy Doody in the syndication market in 1976. Though much in the spirit and format of the original series, one of television's most iconic figures of the 1950s found the television market had changed substantially in the 1970s and the show was cancelled after one season.

Photo of 1950s Hostess Twinkies Ad with Buffalo Bob Smith is a screen capture from the original video done by Mark.