The Cinnamon Bear program was produced by TRANSCO, the Transcription Company of America and is specifically designed to be listened to between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It was first broadcast between Friday, November 26, and Saturday December 25, 1937. The story focuses on Judy and Jimmy Barton who must venture from their home to the enchanted world of Maybeland to recover their missing Silver Star that belongs on top of their Christmas tree. Helping on this quest for the missing star is The Cinnamon Bear, a stuffed bear with shoe button eyes and a green scarf. They meet other memorable characters on this quest, including the Crazy Quilt Dragon, the Wintergreen Witch, Fe Fo the Giant, and even Santa Claus. The show was created by a group of merchants as an advertising promotion, and was recorded in a hurry in just a few weeks.
STARS: Buddy Duncan, Verna Felton, Barbara Jean Wong, Joseph Kerns,
Hanley Stafford, Howard McNear, Elvia Allman, Elliot Lewis, Lou
Merrill, Frank Nelson, Cy Kendall, Gale Gordon, Ted Osborne, Ed Max,
Joe DuVal, Martha Wentworth, Dorothy Scott, Bud Thompson
NARRATOR: Bud Heistand
WRITER: Clanville Heisch
MUSIC: Felix Mills
Name Role Other Info
Allman, Elvia Noted Role Penelope the Pelican
Allman, Elvia Cast Member
Barthelo, Rosa Noted Role Queen Melissa
Barthelo, Rosa Cast Member
DuVal, Joe Noted Role Fe Fo the Giant
Duncan, Buddy Noted Role The Cinnamon Bear
Duncan, Buddy Cast Member
Felton, Verna Noted Role Mother Barton
Gordon, Gale Noted Role Weary Willie the Stork and the Ostrich
Heisch, Elizabeth Director
Heisch, Glanville Director
Heisch, Glanville Writer
Hiestand, John ‘Bud’ Noted Role Narrator and others
Hiestand, John ‘Bud’ Cast Member
Kearns, Joseph Noted Role Crazy Quilt Dragon
Kendall, Cy Noted Role Captain Taffy the Pirate and the Indian Chief
Lewis, Elliott Noted Role Mr. Presto the Magician
MacHarrie, Lindsay Noted Role Wesley the Whale and others
MacHarrie, Lindsay Cast Member
MacHarrie, Lindsay Director
Max, Ed Noted Role Assistant Blotto Executioner
Max, Edwin Cast Member
McNear, Howard Noted Role Samuel the Seal and Slim Pickins the Cowboy
Merrill, Lou Noted Role Santa Claus
Mills, Felix Musician
Nelson, Frank Noted Role Captain Tin Top
Osborne, Theodore ‘Ted’ Noted Role Professor Whiz the Owl
Osborne, Theodore ‘Ted’ Cast Member
Scott, Dorothy Noted Role Fraidy Cat
Scott, Dorothy Cast Member
Stafford, Hanley Noted Role Snapper Snitch the Crocodile
Stafford, Hanley Cast Member
Wentworth, Martha Noted Role Wintergreen Witch
Wong, Barbara Jean Noted Role Judy Barton
Episodes:
“PADDY O’CINNAMON” 1 11-29-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy write letters to Santa.
The Silver Star Christmas ornament is
missing and the kids go up to the
attic to find it. They meet Paddy
O’Cinnamon (The Cinnamon Bear) who
tells them the Silver Star was taken
to Maybeland by the Crazy Quilt
Dragon. Christmas Program
“WEARY WILLIE” 2 11-30-37 :15:00 Paddy O’Cinnamon shows Judy and Jimmy
how to de-grow so they can follow the
Crazy Quilt Dragon to the Lollipop
Mountains. They climb into Paddy’s
Soda Pop Airplane and fly through the
tunnel. Christmas Program
“CRAZY QUILT DRAGON” 3 12-01-37 :15:00 Feeling remorseful for drinking their
Soda Pop and stranding them in Looking
Glass Valley without fuel, Weary
Willie has the Stork fly them out on
his back. They catch Crazy Quilt but
he drops the Silver Star in the Root
Beer Ocean. Christmas Program
“THE INKABOOS” 4 12-02-37 :15:00 While they try to find the Silver
Star, they are captured by the
Inkaboos. King Blotto is insulted and
sentences them to die in the Immense
Inkwell. Christmas Program
“WEASLEY, THE WAILING WHALE” 5 12-03-37 :15:00 Crazy Quilt comes to the rescue, and
they escape to the Root Beer Ocean and
see the Silver Star floating on the
Root Beer Ocean. Christmas Program
“SAMUEL SEAL” 6 12-04-37 :15:00 Wesley, the Wailing Whale swallows the
Silver Star. Samuel Seal recovers the
Silver Star from Wesley, the Wailing
Whale only to have Penelope, the
Pelican carry it off. Christmas
Program
“PRESTO, THE MAGICIAN” 7 12-05-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy meet Presto, the
Magician who pulls Penelope, the
Pelican from his hat, but she had
dropped the Silver Star on the Island
of Obi. Christmas Program
“CANDY PIRATES” 8 12-06-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy are captured by Captain
Taffy and his Pirates. They take the
kids to the Magic Island and loan them
a rowboat. Christmas Program
“ROLY-POLY POLICEMAN” 9 12-07-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy are on the Magic
Island, where the Roly-Poly Policeman
has taken their Silver Star for his
uniform. But before the kids can get
to him, Crazy Quilt Dragon runs off
with the Silver Star again! Christmas
Program
“PROFESSOR WHIZ” 10 12-08-37 :15:00 Paddy O’Cinnamon, the Cinnamon Bear
has disappeared. Judy and Jimmy are
chasing Crazy Quilt Dragon to get
their Silver Star. Professor Whiz
tells them about the Wintergreen
Witch. They follow Crazy Quilt into
the Picture Forest, where they meet
Fraidy Cat. Christmas Program
“FEE FOO, THE GENTLE GIANT” 11 12-09-37 :15:00 Fee Foe, the Gentle Giant shows Judy
and Jimmy the Goody-Goody Grove and
invites them for lunch. They start to
follow Crazy Quilt when it suddenly
gets very, very dark! Christmas
Program
“RHYMING RABBIT” 12 12-10-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy meet up again with
Crazy Quilt, who says the Wintergreen
Witch forced him to steal the Silver
Star. While trying to find their way
back to the Wintergreen Witch’s house,
they encounter the Rhyming Rabbit.
Christmas Program
“THE WINTERGREEN WITCH” 13 12-11-37 :15:00 The Wintergreen Witch tries to take
Judy and Jimmy’s Silver Star and
change the kids into mice, but they
get away. After their hurried flight,
Crazy Quilt sits on the Silver Star
and breaks it. Christmas Program
“QUEEN MELISSA” 14 12-12-37 :15:00 Crazy Quilt suggests that they all
visit Melissa, the Queen of Maybeland,
who can tell them how to fix the
Silver Star. Christmas Program
“SNAPER SNICK, THE CROCODILE” 15 12-13-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy learn that they can
only read Queen Melissa’s magic
instructions in total darkness, which
only occurs in the Wishing Woods. On
the way there, the kids meet Snapper
Snick, the Crooning Crocodile, who
swallows the magic instructions.
Christmas Program
“OLIVER OSTRICH” 16 12-14-37 :15:00 Snapper Snick explains that he reads
by eating and that’s how he is able to
read in the dark. Judy and Jimmy
learn that the magic instructions
direct them to the the Wishing Well.
On the way, they meet Oliver Ostrich
who eats alarm clocks. Oliver directs
them to the Wishing Well and Paddy
O’Cinnamon, the Cinnamon Bear falls
in. Christmas Program
“MUDDLERS” 17 12-15-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy use their one wish,
given by the Wishing Well, to get
Cinnamon Bear out of the Wishing Well,
and now they can’t fix their Silver
Star with the Wishing Well’s magic.
While trying to get out of the Wishing
Woods, they encounter the Muddlers and
the River of Mud. Christmas Program
“COCKLEBUR COWBOYS” 18 12-16-37 :15:00 Slim Pickens and the Cockleburr
Cowboys of the Purple Plain come to
the rescue of Judy and Jimmy, Cinnamon
Bear and Crazy Quilt, pulling them
from the mud. Christmas Program
“WOODEN INDIAN” 19 12-17-37 :15:00 Judy and Jimmy are being chased by
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, a wooden
indian who wants Crazy Quilt’s pelt
for his girlfriend Many Happy Returns.
Judy trades her looking glass to him
instead. After he leaves, they
encounter the Wintergreen Witch again
in the Golden Grove. Christmas
Program
“FLYING HAT” 20 12-18-37 :15:00 The Grand Wonky arrives in the nick of
time to banish the Wintergreen Witch
to Looking Glass Valley. While
searching for the Singing Tree, they
find the Flying Hat and it has a
mysterious note attached. Christmas
Program
“SNOWMAN” 21 12-19-37 :15:00 The mysterious note invites the crew
inside where they find chairs just the
right size for all of them. The
Flying Hat carries them to the Land of
Ice and Snow to get the Silver Star
fixed. They ask the Snowman how to
find Nicki Froodle, as Queen Melissa
told them. Nicki turns out to be an
Elf, and he takes them to see Santa
Claus. Christmas Program
“SANTA CLAUS” 22 12-20-37 :15:00 Santa Claus welcomes Judy and Jimmy
and introduces them to Jack Frost who
repairs the Silver Star only to have
it vanish again. Christmas Program
“THE BAD DOLLS” 23 12-21-37 :15:00 The Bad Dolls have stolen the Silver
Star. Santa orders out the Tin
Soldiers to capture the Bad Dolls and
return the Silver Star. Christmas
Program
“THE PARADE” 24 12-22-37 :15:00 The Wintergreen Witch appears again
aiding the Bad Dolls in defeating the
Tin Soldiers. Santa orders out
reinforcements while Judy and Jimmy
watch the Christmas Parade. After the
Parade, Captain Tintop brings back the
Silver Star. Christmas Program
“CAPTAIN TINTOP” 25 12-23-37 :15:00 Captain Tintop tells how they defeated
the Wintergreen Witch and then the
group goes to a grand banquet hosted
by Santa Claus. After the banquet,
Crazy Quilt runs off with the Silver
Star once again. Christmas Program
“NORTH POLE” 26 12-24-37 :15:00 Crazy Quilt heads for the North Pole
with Santa Claus, Judy, Jimmy, and
Nicki Froodle in pursuit. They catch
Crazy Quilt and tackle him to recover
the Silver Star. Then they wake up in
the attic just in time to decorate the
Christmas Tree. Christmas Program