'80s, '90s kids show 'Cappelli and Company' finds new life on TV, online
One of Pittsburgh's most successful locally produced children's shows, the two-time Emmy Award-winning “Cappelli & Company,” has returned to television this month in reruns after an almost 15-year absence.
Creator and host, Mt. Lebanon singer-songwriter Frank Cappelli, 61, a former A&M Records international recording artist, is hopeful the half-hour programs, designed to entertain and educate, will find a new generation of young viewers and their parents.
Episodes are airing at 11:30 a.m. Sundays through Fridays on WBGN-TV. Cappelli hopes the program will have at least a two-year run.
“Cappelli & Company,” which featured Cappelli's original songs and humor for kids, aired on WTAE-TV from the late 1980s to 2001. It was picked up in limited syndication with the Hearst network nationally in the late '80s and, while continuing to air on WTAE, was syndicated to Nickelodeon from 1993 to 1994. It eventually reached a worldwide audience.
Through the years, the program featured hundreds of Pittsburgh-area children as guests.
“It's still not uncommon for young people between 20 and 30 years of age, or their parents, to come up and tell me how much the program meant to them as a child,” Cappelli says. “I have felt well-loved for my work in Pittsburgh.”
Television was not originally on his radar. He had set out to make quality, original recordings for children, and a chance meeting with Joe Heston, then a new program director at WTAE, led to the TV pilot and eventual series.
Cappelli says the programs don't show their age today “because of the genius of WTAE.”
“They thought to make the shows timeless in topic, and we didn't put a time or date in them. The basic things in a child's life are still the same: numbers, letters, seat belts, apple juice, etc.,” he says. “WTAE gave the green light to the producers and directors to make my songs as fun and creative as they could, and they had a blast thinking up wacky things for me to do.”
Cappelli believes it was well received because of the manner in which it was presented: “Very simple, very respectful and, yet, very good entertainment.”
He is grateful that people relate to his music and his singing voice.
“In college, my professors remarked that there was something about my voice that made people feel very comfortable, and something simple about it that would encourage people to sing along,” he says. “In college, I found how my singing connected to very young children. My offbeat sense of humor makes me a natural working with them.”
His personality garnered trust with children and their parents.
One Pittsburgh-area resident, Chad Eckert, thanked Cappelli in a recent note for bringing the shows back to television.
“My two sisters and I loved watching your show,” Eckert wrote. “My mom found a way to have us on the show a few times. I even had the chance to be in one of the segments on fire safety.”
Cappelli's shows demonstrate that “relatability and accessibility are timeless,” says Matthew Davis, station manager of WBGN-TV. “We appreciate all the hard work that Frank has put into ‘Cappelli & Company' over the years. He has a passion for music and teaching, and the show has provided him a way to express himself in numerous ways in the episodes that he has graciously let us share with a new generation of children and adults.”
Now that Cappelli owns the rights to the shows and the songs, he says he can finally market his music and programs through his new website: www.cappelliandcompany.com. Material from all six of his albums is found there, as are all of his television shows, videos and sheet music.
“People can hear and see samples of songs and shows, and buy what they want,” he says. Some of the videos can be seen for free on a “Cappelli & Company” YouTube channel he created.
Cappelli has a Facebook page, too, where photos from the shows can be found and tagged by grown-up children who were guests on the program. “We have also created a fan club that they can join,” he says.
If the opportunity presents itself, Cappelli says he would like to make some new shows.
“If I can make the program good, quality driven, I can only hope there will always be a place for a good children's show,” he says. “Another thing studies have shown is a real person is important for children to see, not a cartoon character.”
Rex Rutkoski is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4664 or rrutkoski@tribweb.com.
