Reviews

Actually the program was called "Lunchtime Little Theatre" and I and thousands of other grade school children were devoted to watching Johnnie Jellybean during our lunch hour at home. He was the wackiest, most imaginative person and had a great crew to support him. Another character on the show was Toomie the Duck played by Bill Merrill, who later became Vice-President of Programming at CFCF TV in Montreal. There was the "Squawk Box" that Johnnie would whack with a wooden mallet and most days destroy. He would receive mail that sometimes would get thrown at him and one day unknown and unseen by the viewers when he opened the door there was a woman without a top on. We only ever saw his expressions which were a riot ( and now we know why ). My favorite part of the show ( besides him ) was when he had these contraptions where he would drop a ball bearing and it would go through flippers and sand buckets etc. to get to the bottom of the maze. They were fascinating. We all loved Johnnie Jellybean and his whirly hat and striped jacket. We wish now that the TV station had saved the episodes so that we could have enjoyed them in later years. I was very saddened to hear of his passing and still wish that I could have thanked him for the many hours of enjoyment he gave to us over the years!!