in addition to hosting his own tv shows in the boston area, cottle took over as host for the nbc tv show "the ruff & reddy show" in september 1962. the show ran for two more years, at times beating cbs-tv's "captain kangaroo" in the nielsen ratings. cottle appeared for the last time on national tv in the 1964 macy's thanksgiving day parade, which aired on nbc and cbs.