Zippy Beginnings...
"It
all started with a psychology professor at Loyola University in
New Orleans.
The professor owned a chimp and referred to him during class. One of his
students, became fascinated and set about finding a chimp of his own."
This is how Carole Womack's recounting
of the saga of one of the most memorable television personalities of the
1950's begins.
While still in her teens, Carole found herself immersed in the
brand-new medium of commercial TV...
The early days of TV?
The Howdy Doody Show, Captain
Kangaroo,
The Gary Moore Show (Gary is pictured above with Zippy),
Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers,
Ed Sullivan, Tarzan movies, classic award-winning TV commercials,
and, of course, The Zippy Show
...get the picture?
At this point (March of 2004), Carole is still 'shopping' her book idea to publishers in the USA, and has a very well-developed draft which she was kind enough to share with me. The first-person insight into the medium we all take for granted today is precious and deserves a wider audience.
Carole and her husband, Don Womack,
have been consistently involved with animal training for over two decades.
They treat their animals with love and kindness as is evident in their
current efforts, reflected on their website:
http://alfiecockatoo.tripod.com/alfie/index.html
You can contact Carole through the web link above.
