Crackerjack

[daubers]

i think thats how it was spelt,on every friday evening or saturday morning cant remember now can anybody remember how the song went somthing bout steeple jack,lunber jack,no its crakajack i think

[80s gail]

re crackerjack

I don't remember the song, but I remember at the beginning it always started with it's friday, it's 5 to 5 and it's CRACKERJACK!

[stu]

The song was by Chas and Dave and was for the last season, when it ended in 1984, I always rember the "Its friday its five to five it's CRACKERJACK, and the audiance was always just loads of Cubs and Brownies, and the top prize was a cracerjack pencil, with
Leslie Crowther, and his side kick Peter Glaze, who was saying DOH! years before they made it Homer Simpson's

[ClaudineJones]

Re: crakajack

According to TV Times; Tonight at 7.30pm, ITV 1, The Unforgettable Leslie Crowther. A profile from his early days on Crackerjack to his time hosting The Price is Right and Stars in Their Eyes, with footage of the Crowther family and contributions from his wife and children.

[willpurry]

Re: crakajack

My sister in law was in the Crackerjack audience and has a photo of herself with Leslie Crowther.

[jack r]

Re: crakajack

A bit of info i have just found,
Crackerjack was filmed in front of an audience of mainly children at the BBC Television Theatre (now the Shepherds Bush Empire). The format included competitive games for teams of children, a music spot, a comedy double act, and a finale in which the cast performed a short comic play, adapting popular songs of the day and incorporating them into the action.
One of the highlights of the show was called Don and Pete, being Don Maclean and Peter Glaze in a silent comedy style section lasting maybe five minutes. Shows had them fishing, as sweepers, barbers, at a riding school, on a building site, on a farm, at a circus, window cleaners, bellboys, removals, etc.
One of the most memorable games was a quiz called "Double or Drop", where each contestant was given a prize to hold for each question answered correctly, but given a cabbage if they answered incorrectly. They were out of the game if they dropped any of the items they were holding or received a third cabbage.
It was an accepted unwritten rule that whenever a presenter spoke the word 'Crackerjack', the audience would shout "Crack-er-jack!" loudly. This custom has passed into popular culture.
A standard consolation prize to children who appeared on the show was the Crackerjack Pencil (later upgraded to a Crackerjack pen). These were kept in a special locked cabinet and only handed out to people who had won them and when an official asked for one once, he was refused.
The show was introduced with the phrase "It's Friday, it's five o'clock. . . It's Crackerjack!", and sometimes with "It's Friday, it's five to five. . . It's Crackerjack!".
In the mid to late seventies (c.1977) a talent contest element was added to the show. The strand was called "Crackerjack Young Entertainer of The Year" and featured children from throughout the UK who had successfully passed audition stages, get their shot at stardom on the small screen.
In 1982, in a bid to try and boost flagging ratings, Crackerjack introduced gunge into its games and launched a new game called 'Take a Chance' in which the celebrity guests could score extra points for the contestant they had teamed up with. Failure to answer questions correctly led to Stu Francis and/or the celebrity guest being covered in gunge.
Crackerjack was cancelled in 1984 at the same time as many other long running series. In 1987 Stu Francis hosted Crush a Grape on ITV, a remake of his era of Crackerjack in all but name. It lasted a single series.

[sf1378]

Re: crakajack

Leslie Crowther on The Price Is Right was brilliant. William G Stewart was its Producer and he'd whip the audience into a frenzy so when Leslie'd call your name out with the immortal line:

'COME ON DOWN!' and beckon you down those steps with a twist of his hand and a smile you'd RUN down the steps...I found the music they'd play as they did that really funny. Having found out it was originally a US show the UK one back then was basically identical in every way. Also, Leslie's son in law was none other than...

THIN LIZZIE front man Phil Lynott!

[Richard1978]

Re: crakajack

I remember Bryan Robson & Geoff Capes being non-too-pleased about being gunged in Take a Chance.

[shilton dipper]

Re: Crackerjack

I cringed when they were given the cabbage on Crackerjack...........jeez i hate cabbage

[ann22]

Re: Crackerjack

Aw I loved Crackerjack. I was always happy on Friday evenings....Crackerjack was brilliant.

[Austin Maxi]

Re: Crackerjack

I used to like Crackerjack when I first started watching it during the 'Double Or Drop' era. Some of the contestants seemed to be able to hold huge bundles of toys and games / cabbages.

When Stu Francis took over and gunge became the norm, it was dismal!