The show with a duck dropping in when the secret word was spoken was a game show with Groucho Marx, "You Bet Your Life!" No puppets, but a lot of laughs!

Not a duck, a chicken (a ripoff of the gimmick it seems) and it was a kid show (and in color) with kids sitting in either ... a circle, or maybe in some small bleachers on-camera. The host was a much less glitzy version of the character Robin Williams played in 'Smoochy Must Die'.

Somewhere in this disaster zone that I call an office, I have a book that covers locally originated children's television shows. If I can dig it out, I may be able to find these.

Well, I think I have an answer to the live host show, which I got by coincidence from a google book result, probably of the book you have. I'm 90% sure the live host show I'm recalling is The Skipper Chuck Show, which aired out of Miami (which fits, as I was raised in the Caribbean and we'd have to be picking up the US signal from fairly nearby). Now, from what I've just read of his show, I don't think his show had puppets. But I'm going to check that lead further and I'm also going to look into whether the Miami market had a local children's show with puppets.

This forum rocks! I feel re-energized on this search.

It could be.  I grew up in the Tampa Bay area in the early 60s. 

One kids show called the Mary Ellen Show was a local show on Channel 13 and featured puppets, drawings made from the birthday child's initials, Poopdeck the Parrot and 3 cartoons, mostly classic Popeye.  And she would sometimes give live marionette shows. 

Competitor "Uncle Bruce" on Channel 8 did ventriloquism with his wife behind the scenes doing the hand puppets.  Not likely that you saw them, but an indication that there were probably some local shows from Miami, that included puppets.  Good luck on your search.

I remember seeing this show many times when I was a youngster growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida! It was called "Arthur and Company," and it was  produced by WPLG Miami (channel 10 in the local area). It also aired on the Post-Newsweek owned stations during most of the 1970's. Unfortunately, no footage was officially archived. Hopefully, privately recorded footage may one day be discovered.

I was born in the 70's, but I doubt any show made it over the ocean- safe for sesame street, of course.
But I'd like to welcome you anyway!

I remember seeing this show many times when I was a youngster growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida! It was called "Arthur and Company," and it was  produced by WPLG Miami (channel 10 in the local area). It also aired on the Post-Newsweek owned stations during most of the 1970's. Unfortunately, no footage was officially archived. Hopefully, privately recorded footage may one day be discovered.

You're correct! And thank you, and finally someone uploaded on youtube a recording of a christmas special for the show. This is the only copy of these puppets to have surfaced to my knowledge. I forgot so many of the other characters. Jack Metzger (who I mistook for Skipper Chuck) is the host and appears @ around the 3:01 mark

Thank you for posting this video. This show was not a blast from my past, since I grew up in the opposite corner of the U.X in the Seattle area, but it was still kind of nostalgic, seeing the cigarette machine prop around the 5:15 mark. How times change!