The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show, also called Cartoon Town, was a Chicago children's television program that aired on WFLD and later WGN-TV from 1968 to 1974. It starred Bill Jackson (the BJ of the title) and his puppets.
Jackson had a program called "Clown Alley" on WBBM-TV which though critically praised did poorly in the ratings due to an early time slot. However, officials at WFLD, then an independent station, were impressed enough to offer Jackson a time slot opposite WGN's popular Garfield Goose and Friends. Jackson brought along many of his puppets from Clown Alley, including the most popular, Dirty Dragon, a gruff creature who snorted smoke and who was based on an old co-worker of Jackson's in Indianapolis.
The premise of the show was that Jackson was the mayor of the fictional Cartoon Town and the puppets were all residents of the town. Dirty Dragon was the postmaster, but ended up eating most of the mail. A large blob of clay called the Blob was the town monument, he spoke in a strange distorted voice only Jackson could understand. Jackson would, at the Blob's request, manipulate him into whatever seemed appropriate that day.
The show is credited with helping to spur the market for UHF-compatible televisions in the Chicago area.