Pixanne

Pixanne was a children's television program, created and hosted by singer-actress Jane Norman, that ran from 1960 to 1969 on WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was then syndicated nationally, and ran for another seven years. During the show's run, Norman also wrote and performed in special, holiday-themed shows featuring Pixanne and her Enchanted Forest friends. Pixanne also became the first local children's television show to be filmed at major world events, including at the World's Fair in New York and at Expo '67 in Canada. Beginning The show began when Norman, a onetime child prodigy who had been playing and composing music since she was 3 years of age, contacted one of her professors from Temple University, where Norman was majoring in Early Childhood Education and minoring in Radio, TV and Theatre. In addition to being a member of Temple's faculty, her professor was also working at what was then WFIL and later became WPVI-TV. Norman, who had taught kindergarten at the Shoemaker School in Cheltenham Township after graduating from Temple, pitched a possible children's program featuring a Peter Pan-like character to her former professor. Knowing there were no openings available at WFIL, he suggested that she approach the management of the then-CBS-owned-and-operated station WCAU-TV. Norman walked in with no appointment, described the show to the program director, and, within three weeks, was on the air with her new show, which quickly achieved a loyal following of children and their parents.