by Jeff Stein
In May 1987, Ellett and Floppy and their fans celebrated the duo’s 30th anniversary of entertaining together with a prime-time special on WHO-TV. Sadly, the partnership ended only a month later, when Ellett died of a heart attack while exercising at age 64.
A few years after his death, Ellett’s family placed Floppy and Ellett’s other creations in the care of the State Historical Society of Iowa. A special display honoring the duo was housed at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines from 1994 to 2013 and was one of the museum’s most popular exhibits. Special film festivals were held at the museum in December 2009 and 2010 honoring Duane Ellett’s work; around 1,000 people braved the Iowa winter to attend each year.
When the museum exhibit was taken down in June 2013 and Floppy was put into storage, fans took to social media to protest. A “Save Floppy” Facebook group was established, with 4,000 people joining the group in the first day alone. The uproar was covered extensively in the media, including a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal.
In the wake of the end of the exhibit, Duane Ellett’s son and two daughters turned to social media to thank “the thousands of supporters of Duane Ellett and Floppy who have shared their appreciation and memories during the past few weeks.”
“We have been touched by the show of support for Duane and Floppy and the knowledge of his impact on the lives of so many,” the family wrote.
The afternoon The Floppy Show backdrop took on the feeling of a clubhouse during the 1970s, and as educational requirements began to be imposed on children’s programming, the set included letters and numbers to coincide with the taped segments Floppy hosted. (Courtesy WHO-TV.)
The Sunday morning program during the 1980s was set in a fictional newspaper office. The Floppytown Gazette showcased the full talents of Duane Ellett, featuring no fewer than a half-dozen puppets who were staff members at the newspaper. Segments, including Ellett’s weekly turn at the drawing board, were shot on this backdrop.
As local television stations found it more financially lucrative to schedule syndicated programs than produce local children’s programming, WHO-TV station management decided to cancel the weekday edition of The Floppy Show in September 1984. That led to an impromptu protest outside the station’s studios at 1801 Grand Avenue by children and parents. (Courtesy WHO-TV.)
Ellett graciously acknowledged the efforts of the protestors by meeting with them and granting interviews to other local media outlets, such as KRNTAM, on the topic. (Courtesy WHO-TV.)
A special audience of friends and children of station personnel was invited to witness the taping of the last edition of the weekday edition of The Floppy Show, which aired on September 14, 1984.
The work of Duane Ellett and Floppy enjoyed a revival more than 20 years after their last program through annual rebroadcasts of the classic Floppy’s Christmas Adventure program on WHOTV on Christmas Eve morning and through a series of Duane & Floppy Film Festival events, initially hosted by the State Historical Society of Iowa. That led to a series of compilation DVDs being produced for sale at film festival events and online at www.totallyiowa.com and www.thefloppyshow.com. (Both, author’s collection.)
The staff at The Floppytown Gazette was an eclectic mix. Ellett served as the lone human on the program, with Floppy acting as editor in chief. Other staff members included Stan Dean (serving as Floppy’s “stand-in”), Scary Mary, Uncle Taffy, Inspector Helms, and Matilda the Bookworm (or Snake), one of Ellett’s original creations who also appeared in early editions of The Floppy Show.
Ellett and Floppy pose in the WHO-TV 13 news studio in this photograph from February 1984.
While Ellett’s cartoons were featured to close each episode of The Floppytown Gazette on television, he also penned a weekly comic strip for the local newspaper in Ankeny, where the Elletts made their home.
Duane Ellett is surrounded by his creations in an April 1984 publicity photograph. Ellett himself wrote all the scripts and provided all the voices for each character. He also wrote and sang the show’s theme, accompanying himself on guitar. (Courtesy WHO-TV.)
As the duo’s 30th anniversary on the air drew near, WHO-TV produced a special half-hour retrospective, Thirty Years of Fun, which aired in early prime time in May 1987. This photograph was taken on the special set created for the show at the time it was recorded in April 1987. The program aired again as a tribute following Ellett’s death just days after the 30th anniversary of the duo’s first television appearance. (Courtesy WHO-TV.)
By her own choice, Lois Ellett stayed behind the scenes, preferring to let Duane and Floppy take center stage at up to 200 appearances a year around the state. But the Iowa State Fair was a family effort, and Lois helped with Floppy T-shirt sales. She died six months before Duane, in December 1986.
In 2013, the State Historical Museum decided to remove Floppy from the main floor exhibit space he had occupied for 20 years. Outcry from devoted fans was heard nationwide and was covered by NBC and the Wall Street Journal in a front-page story. After a few limited appearances at the Iowa State Fair and the Iowa Hall of Pride, Floppy took up residence during the summer months at the Ankeny Area Historical Society’s museum, in the town where the Ellett family lived for many years. A special display was created, and the site was where Floppy’s 60th birthday party was held in June 2017.
While generations remember Floppy from their childhood with great fondness, they now, as adults, have a greater appreciation for the talents employed by Duane Ellett in making Floppy come to life. That might explain why even though three decades have passed since the duo regularly appeared on television, the devotion of “Floppy Nation” is as strong as ever. (Both, courtesy WHO-TV.)
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