Were you a little New Yorker in the 1970s with access to a television between one and three o’clock on weekday afternoons? Then odds are you were captivated by The Magic Garden.
It was low-budget local TV at its best. Broadcast on channel 11, the show’s hosts, Carole Demas and Paula Janis (Carole had the dirty blond hair; Paula was the brunette), sang songs, read jokes from the Chuckle Patch, and talked to Sherlock the squirrel puppet. Very trippy, but very entertaining.
Former New York City teachers, Carole and Paula originally met at Brooklyn’s Midwood High School. They still perform together, and DVDs of the original show are now available.
Ephemeral New York 