For kids of a certain age in Northeast Ohio, there was nobody like Barnaby.
Portrayed by Linn Sheldon, Barnaby, whose name was taken from a stagehand’s dog, would show Popeye and Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons from a park bench, wearing a blue blazer, an ascot and a straw skimmer. He’d talk to the kids watching and to his invisible parrot, Longjohn.
Barnaby debuted on KYW-TV (now WKYC) in 1956. He moved to WKBF, a new UHF station, in 1968, and then to WUAB the following year…