I don’t know where it came from, but the other day at Water Aerobics, someone exercising behind me was explaining the moves to a newcomer. Someone next to me asked what’s that noise, as it sounded more like an echo rather then someone actually speaking. It just came out…it’s coming from the peanut gallery. I surprised myself and started thinking, that expression was used a lot when I was young, and it sometimes was used lovingly but other times could be a negative comment. I picked up a magazine that same day, and there in front of me was an article,  and in it the comment, ” noise from the peanut gallery”.   I remembered somehow that Howdy Doody was involved in the phrase but not sure how.  Also, my memory does tricks on me and it could have had nothing to do at all with Howdy Doody.  Off I went to Google, to get the low down.   It is a vaudeville term from the late 19th Century Theatres.  The seating was Orchestra, Balcony or Gallery, with the gallery being the cheap seats.  Patrons in the gallery would show their displeasure with onstage performers by pelting them with peanut shells… my memory of it being negative,  then in the 1950’s Buffalo Bob Smith dubbed the kid audience of the Howdy Doody Show – The Peanut Gallery. Local live TV kids shows adopted the  term to identify the children who sat in live TV audiences.  Hence, the loving memory.  And also hence, we are the 1950’s  audience,  all grown up  and still  attending  live performances at the Savannah Center, Church on the Square, the Recreation Centers or Katie Belles. All the seats are gallery seats;  in other words no cost at all  or not very  expensive, (cheap).  We loved those live performances then, and we love them now, and we don’t throw peanuts.