Film & TV / Comedy
Johnny Ginger
1934–2026 · television host, comedian
Toledo-born comic who, as Johnny Ginger, hosted WXYZ's Curtain Time Theater (1957–1960) and helped create Detroit's golden age of children's television.
- Born
Toledo, Ohio- Died
Genoa, Ohio
aged 92- Birth name
- Galen Grindle
- Also known as
- Jerry Gale
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1960s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Galen Grindle started out as a teenage stand-up comic working clubs in Toledo, Detroit and across the river in Canada under the name Jerry Gale. He auditioned at WXYZ-TV for an afternoon show built around Three Stooges reruns, got the job, and was renamed on the spot by station executive John Pival after a bottle of Johnny Bull Ginger Beer. From 1957 to 1960 his Curtain Time Theater, always pronounced 'thee-A-ter', was a daily fixture for Detroit kids, alongside fellow hosts such as Soupy Sales, Milky the Clown, Captain Jolly and Ricky the Clown who together built the city's children's programming of the 1950s and 1960s. He later hosted Captain Detroit on WKBD-TV before heading to Hollywood, where he appeared in The Rifleman. He remained a favorite at Detroit nostalgia events and died in Ohio in 2026 at 92.
Highlights
- Hosted Curtain Time Theater on WXYZ-TV, 1957–1960
- Named by WXYZ's John Pival after Johnny Bull Ginger Beer
- Later hosted Captain Detroit on WKBD-TV
- One of the pioneers of Detroit children's television with Soupy Sales and Milky the Clown
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1957–1959
Maccabees Building (former WXYZ studios)
WXYZ-TV's studios when Curtain Time Theater began in 1957; the station moved to Southfield in 1959.
Performed here · 1959–1960
WXYZ-TV Broadcast House
WXYZ's suburban studio complex, where the last seasons of Curtain Time Theater were made.