Howdy Doody himself was a freckle-faced boy marionette with 48 freckles, one for each state of the union at the time of his creation (up until January 3, 1959, when Alaska became the 49th state), and originally was voiced by Smith. The Howdy Doody show's various marionettes were created and built by puppeteers Dawson, Scott Brinker (the show's prop man), and Rufus Rose throughout the show's run. The redheaded Howdy marionette on the original show was operated with 11 strings: two heads, one mouth, one eye, two shoulders, one back, two hands and two knees. Three strings were added when the show returned—two elbows and one nose. The original marionette now resides at the Detroit Institute of Arts. 

It was a pioneer of children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it pioneered color production in 1956 and NBC (then owned by RCA Television) used the show to promote color television sets in the late 1950s.

“No comments from the peanut gallery!” For many Americans who were born in the 1940s or 1950s, this phrase conjures up fond memories of the “Howdy Doody” show. It launched in 1947 as one of the first children’s television programs.

On that show, Buffalo Bob Smith – the host – his marionette sidekick, Howdy Doody, and Clarabell the clown entertained children who sat in bleachers onstage. Each episode opened with the kids singing the “It’s Howdy Doody Time” theme song and were then filmed reacting to the performers’ antics. Buffalo Bob referred to them as the “peanut gallery,” but the term didn’t originate with his show.