Hoosiers lost an old friend last Friday when Cowboy Bob Glaze rode off into the sunset for the last time. Over the past half dozen or so years, I’m happy to say that Bob Glaze was a friend of mine. In late 2010, the Irvington Ghost Tours sponsored events starring Cowboy Bob, Janie Hodge and Hal Fryar (a.k.a. Harlow Hickenlooper) at the Irving Theatre and old Village Theatre in Greenfield. It was a great walk down memory lane complete with Sourdough the singing biscuit, Gilroy Gopher and pies in the face. I’m proud to say that we had a great time bringing those children’s TV legends back to the eastside. The passing of Cowboy Bob makes those memories all the more precious to me and everyone else who attended.
Like many of you, I was stunned at the news. After all, Bob Glaze was one of the most physically fit men I have ever encountered. He was a world class rower, accomplished sailor and didn’t look like he’d aged a day since we all watched him on WTTV-4. Bob sent me regular e-mails updating me on he and Gail’s adventures and would often rely on me to post pictures on Facebook (one of the few mediums he hadn’t mastered) for his legion of fans. It kept me connected and I was happy to do it.
Above all else, he was always Cowboy Bob. His e-mails were peppered with corny jokes and western colloquialisms like garsh, pardner, wrangler and buckaroo and I was always “kid,” never Al. His last e-mail came August 22 and read in part: “Spent the day allowing a strong Sunday NW wind to blow “Rocky T” , Gail & me around Eagle Creek aboard the ‘Giefen Delight’ for several hours today. We followed that with a tasty on-board griller while floating at buoy. We just arrived home…have set the anchor/light & are now ready for ‘lights out’.” I didn’t answer that e-mail but now I sincerely wish I had. So, I decided to rerun a story I wrote in December of 2010. I hope you enjoy it.
“Yee-Haw! The hitchin’ post is waitin’ round the bend. My weary ride is coming to an end. Gonna stop and wrap myself around, the best rib tickilin’ in this town. Where laughin is in style, I think I’m gonna stop awhile and smile. It’s time for Cowboy Bob’s Corral. Do-do-do-do-do. Out where a pal is a pal Do-do-do-do-do. We’ve got good times for you and lots of things to do. So come along my cowboy buckaroo-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.” Okay think kazoo and you’ve got it. That’s the opening of the famous “Cowboy Bob’s Corral” TV show on WTTV-4 that made its debut on January 7, 1970.
If you’re over the age of 25, you should have fond memories of the Channel 4 TV show that starred Bob Glaze as “Cowboy Bob” whose job it was to come into our homes every weekday at lunchtime and entertain us with songs, jokes, skits and cartoons while we watched in awe. Cowboy Bob’s “Chuckwagon Theatre” made its debut 40 years ago this week. I made a trip down to Cowboy Bob’s southern Indiana home before Christmas to speak to the man who influenced so many Hoosier youngsters during his quarter century career. Bob Glaze answers his e-mails using phrases like;”Howdy Pardner,” “Bloomin’ Good,” and his frequent TV show closing line, “Don’t forget to take your nap!” (Turns out that a viewer wrote in to the show asking Bob if he would tell her son to take his nap, and it stuck when other parents wrote in saying it was working for their kids too.)
His home, located on the Johnson/Morgan county line near Martinsville, is exactly what you’d expect. A beautiful 10 acre piece of wooded land with a ranch style (what else would Cowboy Bob have?) home atop a winding driveway set back away from the road, offering a stunning view of trees, slopes and waterways worthy of a T.C. Steele landscape. Nestled firmly in the heart of southern Indiana horse country, the sound of dogs greets each visitor, immediately harkening them back to Cowboy Bob’s pal “Tumbleweed” (the dog) from his TV show.
His bio, as found on his official website (www.cowboybobscorral.com) reads: “Bob Glaze (aka Cowboy Bob) born in 1942, first appeared on WTTV in 1963 on Jack Noel’s (Bloomington) Happy Valley Show. He joined the WTTV staff on June 6, 1966 as a camera operator on the Bloomington-based Bob Cook’s RFD-4 and The Bernie Nicolei Breakfast Show where he also appeared. His first appearance in Indianapolis was with Mary Ellen Reed when he played Harley Slarp, her boy friend on “Popeye’s Diner”. He was known as “Mountain Dew Bob” on Janie’s show when they did a Mountain Dew jingle together. That lead to a Parade with Janie in Columbus, Indiana where he was actually deemed “Cowboy Bob” by a local businessman. Don Tillman hired him to replace Mary Ellen Reed’s Lunch Time Theater and his show premiered at noon on January 7, 1970. Chuckwagon Theater was born!”
Although the website offers the reader a suitable synopsis of Cowboy Bob’s career, it does not prepare you for meeting this Hoosier television legend today. “C.B.” opens the door and looks as if he’s somehow discovered the fountain of youth. If one were to place a cowboy hat on the head of Bob Glaze today, you’d quickly see that he has not lost a step from his first appearance 40 years ago. No trace of gray can be found in his shock of dark brown hair and the years have not left any tell tale “worry lines” on his face. It turns out that Bob Glaze is a fitness buff with a full sized swim spa, inversion chair and gym equipment accenting the modernized addition to his custom home.
We sit and talk for awhile in the workout room that generously offers a panoramic view of the Morgan County hillside in full glory as the dogs run and play behind us. Bob Glaze is sharp as a tack and his capacity to entertain has not at all diminished with the passage of time. Bob entertains us with stories from his years spent on WTTV-4, answering every question with a flourish and style sadly lacking in central Indiana TV personalities of today. It is somehow comforting to know that the man looked up to by generations of Hoosier youth proves worthy of their admiration and richly deserves the wholesome reputation projected by his television alter ego.
Bob Glaze points out that all five of the dogs in the back yard (as well as the dogs that appeared on the show) are all rescue dogs. He dotes over them with the same loving care a parent would shower on their children. He even cares for the wild barn kittens that seem to pop up every season by making sure they are regularly taken to the vet and kept updated on their shots. Although he points out that they are “sometimes hard to catch” for transportation to the clinic.
We begin our talk about his TV shows with a discussion about his horses. How many did he have on his 19 year show? CB mentions a favorite Palomino named “Clyde” by its owners but renamed “Windjammer” by the fans after a show contest. In 1979 CB’s second horse, a retired Sheriff’s mount named “Perfection’s Lassie” was introduced to viewers and renamed “Skye” by the kids after another TV show contest. C.B. states “But the trivia contest horse was a paint named Freckles who was only on the show for a few weeks at the start.” It turned out that the spotted Appaloosa didn’t photograph well for B&W TV and was quickly replaced.
Asked about his theme song, Bob proudly recalls writing, scoring and performing it himself after fashioning it from a Bloomington area restaurant ad jingle he had written years before. He amusingly recalls how he joined the WTTV-4 staff on June 6, 1966 (yes 6-6-66) as a camera operator. He appeared as “Mountain Dew Bob” on Janie’s show when they did a Mountain Dew jingle together. That appearance quickly led to his own show, Chuckwagon Theatre, which premiered at noon on January 7, 1970. That show later became “Cowboy Bob’s Corral” until it went off the air on December 27, 1989. In case you’re wondering, Bob Glaze counts former TV pal Janie (Hodge) among his closest friends. When asked, he touches a closed fist to his chest and says, “Well, she’s my heart.”
Perhaps the most recognizable relic from the Cowboy Bob show was his sidekick “Sourdough the Singing Biscuit”. So pervasive was the little animated fried critter, that a modern day rock band today claims the name as its own. When asked how Sourdough came about, C.B. explains how in 1972, after dropping a left-over Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) biscuit on the studio floor he was forced to quickly improvise. The scripted bit called for the audio tech to hit a glass breaking sound effect, but he hit the theme music button instead. The kids loved the idea of a singing biscuit so “Sourdough” was born. “I took out a sharpie and drew a pair of eyes and a mouth on the front and used that biscuit for about seven years,” CB explains how it eventually “morphed” into a much larger hand puppet. “We took the old KFC biscuit off the air for two weeks and told the kids that Sourdough was out on vacation bulking up for his return.”
The show also featured “Cookie” the cook, who you never saw, but whose voice was oddly familiar (Bob Glaze perhaps?). And of course viewers can’t forget “Moo-nerva”, the “Choc-ola” Cow. Without question, Cowboy Bob’s most significant lasting impact was as one of the first on air personalities to make PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) an important part of his TV show. C.B. taught his dog Tumbleweed how to do the “Stop, Drop and Roll” fire safety drill by rolling over to extinguish clothing fires. He also taught the dog how to crawl beneath smoke to escape buildings. Who knows how many children (and adults) lives were saved by pioneering those fire safety messages?
Today Cowboy Bob Glaze still makes many appearances around the Hoosier state with his dog, “Mr. T. Rusty O’Toole” (heir apparent to “Tumbleweed”) and regularly updates his touring schedule on his website. He also has two CD’s for sale and available on that same website. One is a compilation of songs recorded by Cowboy Bob from 1960, ‘62, ‘68, ‘76 & ’94 titled “Bridges.” The other is a Christmas album of five traditional favorites and two original songs sung by Janie and Cowboy Bob. Bob confesses that while he “became heir” to a mint condition unopened copy of the original 1960s era album a few years back, he was compelled to change the photo of himself from the album cover. “Janie looked great, as usual, but I was wearing this awful Nehru jacket that looked so outdated,” Bob confessed. C.B. is working on a DVD of clips from his old shows and is in the process of writing a book of his recollections from a lifetime spent in the entertainment industry.
Most of the Cowboy Bob TV shows were shot live and therefore not much footage exists. He is often asked for copies of old shows by fans, but sadly doesn’t have many to choose from. If you happen to have any personal recordings (VHS, 16 mm, still photos, anything!) of Cowboy Bob made from the TV show, concerts or personal appearances, or if you’d just like to share your experiences with “Ole C.B.” just e-mail Bob from his website at www.cowboybobscorral.com.
Of course, in keeping with the “spirit” of my columns, I asked Bob Glaze about the haunted reputation of the old WTTV-4 studios building that was located for years on Bluff Road on Indy’s near Southside. The building has stood empty for many years and has gained a haunted reputation. “Well, you know,” he says with a deadpan stare, “I’ve gone on record as saying that there are many ghosts in those old studios.” Cowboy Bob Glaze then flashes that trademark toothy grin as if to say…”Tune in next time kids, same time, same station.” And don’t forget to take your nap!
I created a companion “Youtube” video for that article titled “Cowboy Bob WTTV-4.” You can Google it if you wish. Personally, over the last 48 hours or so, every time I think of Cowboy Bob, Don McLean’s song “American Pie” plays as the backing track. It is somehow strangely appropriate I think. Although it was written about Buddy Holly, it can easily be applied to Bob. Buddy was gone long before I was born but, like many of you, Cowboy Bob was a part of my childhood. Although I will always smile when I remember Bob Glaze, I realize that Indiana will never seem the same without having Cowboy Bob Glaze around.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest book is “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
