Remembering Mr. Squiggle: Surrealist, Philosopher, Creative Mastermind

His name was Jolly. Mr “Jolly” Squiggle. He was a blue-haired man from the Moon with a pencil for a nose who wasn’t really meant for this world. He had one shot – one opportunity – as a last-minute fill-in for a small segment on ABC’s Children’s TV Club on 1 July 1959. No audition. What was meant to be a six-week trial went on to be, at one stage, the longest-running television program in Australia and the longest-running preschool children’s television program in the world.