Bob Keeshan, who delighted millions of children and their parents for three decades as television's gentle, patient Captain Kangaroo and before that as the original Clarabelle the Clown on the old "Howdy Doody Show," died yesterday in Vermont, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 76.
No cause of death was announced, but he had had heart problems since the 1980's. Captain Kangaroo, a round-faced, pleasant, mustachioed man possessed of an unshakable calm, was both unique and welcome when his show premiered on Oct. 3, 1955. I guess Captain Kangaroo was the Sponge Bob equivalent for my generation. Rest in Peace Capt. K. You made a difference while you were here. NY Times | Capt. Kangaroo dead at 76 | 
