Andy's Funhouse: The TV special features host and longtime Howdy Doody fan Andy Kaufman conducting a sincere interview with the titular puppet, performed by Buffalo Bob Smith himself.
Full House: In "The Volunteer", when Eddie Johnson tells D.J. "Now, you be nice, Gloria, or I'm not going to let you watch Howdy Doody!", a confused D.J. tells him that Howdy Doody was on before she was born.
In The Partridge Family episode "Don't Bring Your Guns to Town, Santa," Danny lists Howdy Doody as an example of a heroic figure with red hair and freckles.
In Pee-wee's Playhouse, the character of Randy was conceived as an "Anti-Howdy Doody", being a red-headed marionette who acts like a stereotypical 1950s greaser/school bully.
The Tiny Toon Adventures epsiode, "It's Buster Bunny Time" is a parody of the show, with Buster as Buffalo Bob, Plucky as Howdy Doody, and the Elmyra Swarm as the Peanut Gallery.
