A young Bob McAllister, after making a small name for himself as a magician and ventriloquist in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, went to New York with his favorite vent-figure, Chauncey, and through sheer talent and determination, landed himself on "The Today Show" with Dave Garroway. Bob's act was so good that Garroway got him an audition for Ted Mack of CBS-TV's "Original Amateur Hour" where Bob won second place.
In 1954, after a brief stint in college, Bob eventually won a job at TV station WVEC in Norfolk, Virginia, where he worked at several jobs, including programming director. When the station needed a children’s TV program for their weekday morning schedule, they hired Bob to host "Ranch House Tales" for $50.00 a week.
In 1956, Bob joined WTAR-TV in Norfolk, Virginia where he hosted “The Bozo Show" (as Bozo!), and "The Bob And Chauncey Show" (pictured above). It was during these early years that Bob created most of his memorable puppet-characters including "The Nudnicks" which were made out of wooden plungers!
