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Cosmo Allegretti died July 26, 2013, in Phoenix, Ariz. He was 86. Most people won’t know him by name. Allegretti was a jack-of-all-trades on the infamous Captain Kangaroo Show that ran for nearly 30 years, beginning in October 1955.
Allegretti first worked on the show as a set painter, but was soon making and voicing puppets. Crouching behind sets, he commanded the hand puppets Mr. Bunny Rabbit and Mr. Moose, antagonists to the Captain’s straight-man character played by Bob Keeshan. Bunny Rabbit was a mute trickster who nabbed carrots from the pockets of Captain’s coat. “He was awkward, like a child,” Allegretti said. “Small children empathized with him. And he would always get the best of the Captain, and they loved that.”
Unlike Bunny Rabbit, Mr. Moose was outspoken. He cracked jokes in a falsetto voice and set the Captain up for regular showers of Ping-Pong balls. Allegretti also played Dancing Bear in a full-sized costume and inanimate objects, like Grandfather Clock and the Magic Drawing Board. In later years, we finally saw his face as Dennis the Apprentice.