From The Scoop: Polka Dottie

From the July 7 issue of Gemstone Publishing's The Scoop:
Though you're probably more familiar with Harvey's Little Dot, when it comes to characters obsessed with all things polka-patterned, it just so happens that another character emerged with a polka-pointallist's fixation. In 1950, when Rootie Kazootie emerged as a television competitor for Howdy Doody, the four-year-old All-American boy puppet brought along a friend... a girlfriend. Her name was Polka Dottie.

Creator Steve Carlin fashioned Polka Dottie as a sidekick who sang and danced and balanced Rootie's boyish, rough-and-tumble charm with dainty, dress-wearing feminine finesse. The two were practically inseparable and even shared a common nemesis in Poison Zoomack. The moustached miser wanted nothing more than to steal Rootie's magic Kazootie (a kazoo that allowed him to do "anything") and the dots from Polka Dottie's dress.

We're really not sure why he wanted the dots.

Even so, the series has enjoyed a long run and a faithful enough fanbase to spark an eventual character revival. The original show lasted five years (1950-1955). A new version of the show, hosted by Ira G Gallen appeared in 1995 on Manhattan cable channel 35.

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