Sailor Bob Children's Television Programming

Sailor Bob was a children's television program produced by WRVA (then the Richmond, Virginia, NBC affiliate) that aired from 1959 through 1969. The program, built around Popeye cartoon segments, was hosted by "Sailor Bob" (Bob Griggs), a former cameraman for WRVA who had studied commercial art at the Richmond Professional Institute. Various puppets designed by Griggs himself, including Gilly Gull, Squeeky Mouse, Captain Paddles, Sparkey and Mr. Bluebird, starred alongside the title sailor. When he was not conversing with these puppets or showing Popeye cartoons, Sailor Bob would often draw his own cartoons on camera for the audience. Although the program's broadcast was confined to the central Virginia area, Sailor Bob built a substantial viewership, receiving as many as 8,000 fan letters per month.