For anyone who grew up watching Saturday morning cartoon shows in the 1970’s, I can say that without a doubt the ABC network had some freaky-odd things going on. No, I’m not talking about the TV shows themselves – no, I’m talking about what appear to be 30-second or 60-second commercials starring a rotund, spindle-legged song-and-dance man called “Timer.”
Timer, who was voiced by Lennie Weinrib and animated by the good folks at DePatie-Freleng, had a series of 1-minute kid-directed public service announcements. Apparently Timer was a supporting character in two made-for-TV children’s movies about the human body, and ABC decided to add him to their set of “Bod Squad” public service announcements. They were fun to watch the first time you saw them, but ABC ran them OVER and OVER and OVER for TWENTY YEARS!!! And if you see these video clips, you will be yelling at me all day because these song lyrics will get stuck in your head like epoxy.
Take for example, the idea that you are what you eat… from your head down to your feet.
And what kid out there didn’t want to make a “wagon wheel,” a cheese sandwich on round brown bread… especially if they hanker for a hunka cheese…
And maybe some frozen juice treats, with toothpicks as stick handles… and who goes to the local grocery store to get pomegranate juice? Especially in the 1970’s?
And after all those tasty treats, Timer takes time to sing a song about proper dental hygiene.
You feel old now? Good. So do I.
Chuck The Writer 
The frozen fruit treats!!! OMG! I loved this guy. But what can I say, I was a huge fan of Schoolhouse Rock too.
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Lilly – I’ll be posting the best of the Schoolhouse Rock series on Saturday’s blog post, make sure you tune in!
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You should post the clip from family guy when Peter Griffin remembers what it was like to have Timer for a neighbor
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Ok, now I have “Conjunction junction, what’s your function?” stuck in my head…
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