Weber Roast-A-Rama Show

Waldo Weber image from the Weber website https://www.weber.com/JP/en/blog/behind-the-grill/wheres-waldo/weber-29976.html

The Weber Roast-a-Rama Show was a mobile show that would tour to multiple shops to advertise Weber Grills and show off the proper way to use Weber grills in an entertaining way. Waldo The Animated Talking Weber Wonder Dog (Animatronic) was made by Creative Presentations Inc. sometime around or before 1978 and was sold to Weber to use in these shows.^[1] The show consisted of two chefs cooking to win a contest to see who was the Outdoor Chef Of The Yearhttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-capital-times-cpi-waldo-show/141756976/, and Waldo who provided commentary on the show. Guest commentary was also sometimes given by a character called Howard Roastwell.^[1] While it’s never explicitly stated, it’s very likely Waldo’s movements were given live by an actor so he could hold conversations with guests. Of the two chefs, there was Sammy Scorch who was a barbeque chef who burned everything on an open grill, and Freddie Flavor, who was an excellent chef and only used a 22’ Weber Grill. Each show would run for about 20 minutes.^[2] The show was very entertaining for children who would even stay after the show to talk to Waldo. At the end of each show there would be a drawing for a random audience member to win a Weber Kettle worth $100 (worth $467.30 as of 2024^[3]) so they could also learn the benefits of Weber cooking. Waldo and the Roast-a-Rama show was so popular, George Stephen had hundreds of stuffed “Waldo” dogs made to give away to the children. Later, when these shows were no more, George worked at the Arlington Heights Frontier Days, giving the excess “Waldo” dogs as prizes for the carnival games.^[4]

Images

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel-cpi-weber-show-in-f/141757161/