Dennis Hasty of Cincinnati has graciously allowed us to display photos of his Uncle Al memorabilia collection on WCPO.com.
Dennis answered the following questions to satisfy our curiosity.
1. What inspired you to collect Uncle Al stuff? (It looks like your
collection includes other children's' show items as well...)
I always loved watching Uncle Al with my two brothers, I remember my older
brother was in his teens and still watched Al, I loved Ringo Rango the cowboy
and Lucky The Clown, those great Barq's and Mama's cookies commercials, I
started collecting in 1980 or so, I found an old record album at a yard sale and it
got me started.
2. How long have you been collecting?
Like I say, about 23 years now, I also collect any Cincinnati TV or radio
items, I loved Paul Dixon, Nick Clooney and Bob Braun.
3. Tell me about your collection:
- Do you buy on eBay/how do you obtain new items for your collection?
- What's your favorite item in your collection?
My collection is very large and includes items like TV guides, photos, records, contracts, toys, posters, postcards and any thing else I can find, I have very rare items like Bob Braun's original 1961 contract to do Dick Clark's American Bandstand, a Ruth Lyons Kahn's ham can, Captain Windy cape and more! I get a few things on ebay but most comes from dealers that I have known for years who look for items for me.
I guess my favorite item is my Uncle Al toy store
sign or a Paul Dixon knee tickler that he gave to women on the show, in all my
years of looking for items, it's the only one I've ever seen and I bet he
gave away hundreds of them!
Thank you again for allowing me to share my collection with everyone.
