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Operated and "voiced" by Leo Velleman, the puppet character Fignewton Frog came to prominence as star of 1956's A Number of Things, a children's series originating from the St. Louis studios of KETC and nationally syndicated to local educational-TV outlets. In 1958, the character resurfaced as star of another KETC offering, Fignewton's Newspaper. As indicated by the series' title, the amiable amphibian was presented as the publisher of a very small-market newspaper, dispensing entertainment and education in equal doses. Once again, Leo Velleman was the man behind Fignewton, with wife Doris Velleman acting as the series' human cohost. And once again, Fignewton's Newspaper proved popular enough to warrant national syndication, remaining on the public-TV sawdust trail until the early '60s.