# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdH2_CTj_wv
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70299988-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/2e6cf3332d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-10T22:00:05.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

If you grew up in the Valley before 1990, you probably already know exactly what this is. If you moved here later, this is the show longtime Arizonans still talk about.

The Wallace and Ladmo Show premiered on KPHO Channel 5 in 1954 and ran until December 29, 1989, more than 35 years with essentially the same cast.

Bill Thompson played Wallace. Ladimir Kwiatkowski played Ladmo. Pat McMahon played many of the other characters, including Gerald, the spoiled rich kid everyone loved to hate.

It was technically a kids show, but the humor went way beyond that. The show mixed comedy sketches, cartoons, live music and political satire, with Arizona mayors, senators and even Barry Goldwater making appearances.

Then there was the Ladmo Bag.

A brown paper sack packed with candy, snacks and prizes was handed to one lucky audience member, and decades later people around Phoenix still talk about whether they ever got one.

The final episode aired December 29, 1989, and local news stations showed up to cover it.

Ladmo continued making public appearances until he passed away in 1994. At his funeral, Wallace reportedly pulled out a seating chart like he had done on the show thousands of times, and Pat McMahon handed out one final Ladmo Bag.

In 2025, Phoenix installed ceremonial “Wallace and Ladmo Way” signs near 1st Avenue and McKinley, close to the old KPHO studio where the show began.

If you ever got a Ladmo Bag, this is your moment. Tell us. 👀

Send us your Arizona stories to be featured.

#Phoenix #DowntownPhoenix #Arizona #ArizonaHistory #WallaceAndLadmo DownInnaDesert

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 1,300
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- **Comments:** 128

## Tags

arizonahistory, arizona, wallaceandladmo, phoenix, downtownphoenix

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