Bob Keeshan - Heart Attack and Cancellation

Heart Attack and Cancellation

Keeshan suffered a severe heart attack on July 13, 1981, which pushed the start of a revamped version of his show back to at least mid-August. Keeshan suffered the heart attack just moments after stepping off a plane at Toronto International Airport. He had come to the city to accept a children's service award.

Keeshan underwent triple-bypass surgery and received an estimated 5,000 get-well wishes from fans.

Following the heart attack, Keeshan received three Emmy awards for Outstanding Performer in 1982, 1983, and 1984. Despite these accolades, Keeshan's show was shortened from its hour-long format to a half hour in 1981, to make room for the expansion of the CBS Morning News lineup. The program was retitled Wake Up with the Captain, and was moved to a new 7 AM time slot. At the start of 1982, the show was rescheduled to an even earlier slot of 6:30 AM. In the fall of 1982, CBS installed it as a weekend-only hour offering, and two years later, in the fall of 1984, the show became a Saturday half-hour entry.

Tired of CBS's constant reductions of his show, Keeshan left Captain Kangaroo when his contract with the network ended in December 1984, just nine months shy of the show's 30th anniversary. By 1987, repeats of the show were airing daily on many PBS stations.

Keeshan's show was given a farewell of sorts with Captain Kangaroo and Friends, a prime-time network TV special that aired in 1985.