Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 216

A XT' -v tt: 1 3'" The WTCN contingent on Channel 1 1 in the Golden Era included the late Sev Widman, a disk jockey, who came on TV suited up as Sheriff Sev and ran western films, and versatile Daryl Laub, who served the station on two separate shows, both as a salty sea-dog type, Skipper Dart, and as a clown, J.P. Patches. After the kid-show era ended, Widman went on to a career as a radio time salesman and a station manager and owner before he died in-Florida in 1981. Laub's versatility was compounded when, after a couple of years as Skipper Darl and J.P. Patches, he quit Channel 1 1 and went to work at Channel 5.

The Channel 1 1 management wouldn't allow him to take his TV characters with him to the rival station, but that didn't keep Laub from going over to the competition to serve as both a sea captain and a clown. But now he was known as Captain Darl and T.N. Tatters. He played those roles for seven more years. For the past 18 years Laub has been a sales rep for radio station KQRS.

For a brief time Channel 1 1 also had a resident western villain. One year when it came time for Cannon to take his vacation, a character known as The Black Hand kidnapped Wrangler Steve, held him for ransom Lord knows how many Bosco caps and took over the Wrangler's show. The Black Hand also showed up with Sheriff Sev and other kid-show hosts to chortle villainously about what he had done to the Wrangler. Norm Page, who was the program director of WMIN radio at the time, stepped in as the Black Hand. Later he went on to direct some kid shows; for the past dozen years he has been a time salesman at KSTP-TV.

Chris Wedes was another skilled Channel 1 1 switch hitter. From his family background he drew a Grecian-American accent for a character called Joe the Cook on the Casey Jones show. He also filled in as Captain 1 1 for awhile, after Lange had gone west in search of fame. And when Laub left the station, Wedes took over as J.P. Patches for about a year.

Wedes then went to Seattle, taking the J.P. Patches character with him, and played the clown character daily on KIRO for another 23 years. The CBS station canceled the show in 1981, and Wedes has worked in its production department since then. He still makes personal appearances as J.P. Patches and also does an occasional commercial in that character.

Continued page 11 Versatile Daryl Laub played a number of characters, among them J.P. Patches, top. Today he works for radio station KQRS. Chris Wedes replaced Laub as Patches, and took the character with him when he moved to Seattle. Wedes, Awsumb and John Gallos all attended Macalester College at the same time, along with Walter Mondale, who became a TV star of a different sort..