Mr. I. Magination

Last updated
Mr. I. Magination
Country of originUnited States
Original release
Network CBS
Release1949 (1949) 
1952 (1952)
Paul Tripp as Mr. I. Magination Paul tripp mr imagination cbs.JPG
Paul Tripp as Mr. I. Magination

Mr. I. Magination is one of the earliest American television shows for children. It ran live as a half-hour weekly show on CBS from 1949 to 1952 and was broadcast from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. [1] [2] [3] It debuted on May 29, 1949, and ended on June 38, 1952. [4]

Contents

The host, Mr. I. Magination (Paul Tripp), dressed as a train engineer, gathered a group of children each week. The same child actors appeared on a rotating basis. Two would be selected to ask about a career, occupation, activity, and such. Tripp would then play a "magic" slide flute, then he and the children would board a train and travel to Imagination Land, where they would meet a professional from each of the two areas for that week's show. [5]

Guests were as diverse as Damu, a lion tamer from Ringling Brothers Circus, and test pilot Scott Crossfield. [6] Ruth Enders, Ted Tiller, and Joe Silver also acted in the show. [7] The show was also a pioneer in using simple, early special effects, such as making it appear as if the opening train ride went through a tunnel to enter Imagination Land, emerging from the smoke from its engine. [6] [8]

Yul Brynner served as the director of the show at times, but did not appear as a performer. The show also featured performances by Walter Matthau, Richard Boone, Joe Silver, Ted Tiller, and Simon Oakland. [6]

Mr. I. Magination also was featured on several RCA records for children, including Billy On A Bike and Mr. I. Magination Meets Rip Van Winkle; there are at least two versions on LP (long playing) record. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Production

The producers were Worthington Miner, Irving Pincus, and Norman Pincus. [4] Hugh Rogers was the director. Tripp and Ray Carter composed music for the show. [14] The show was broadcast on Sundays in time slots that ranged from 6 - 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time to 7:30 - 8 p.m. E. T. [7]

Critical response

A review in The New York Times called the program "a thoroughly rewarding half hour for viewers, both young and old". [14] The review said that Tripp's personality created an "infectious enthusiasm" on the show while avoiding "any trace of embarrassing precocity". [14] It also described the overall production as being "of a high professional order". [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Serling</span> American screenwriter (1924–1975)

Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.

Hollywood Screen Test is an American talent show that aired on ABC from 1948 to 1953. This program holds the distinction as the first regularly broadcast television series by the American Broadcasting Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morton Gould</span> American composer and pianist (1913–1996)

Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanne Dru</span> American actress (1922–1996)

Joanne Dru was an American film and television actress, known for such films as Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, All the King's Men, and Wagon Master.

<i>The First Hundred Years</i> Television series

The First Hundred Years was the first ongoing TV soap opera in the United States that began as a daytime serial, airing on CBS from December 4, 1950 until June 27, 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry (Hank) Sylvern</span>

Henry "Hank" Sylvern was an American keyboardist, composer, conductor and arranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Television Network</span> Former American television network

The Paramount Television Network, Inc. was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s. The company-built television stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago; it also invested $400,000 in the DuMont Television Network, which operated stations WABD in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV in Pittsburgh. Escalating disputes between Paramount and DuMont concerning breaches of contract, company control, and network competition erupted regularly between 1940 and 1956, culminating in the DuMont Network's dismantling. Television historian Timothy White called the clash between the two companies "one of the most unfortunate and dramatic episodes in the early history of the television industry."

Celebrity Time was an American game and audience participation television series that was broadcast on ABC in 1949 - 1950 and on CBS in 1950 - 1952. The original host was Douglas Edwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Tripp</span> American musician, author, and actor

Paul Tripp was an American children's musician, author, songwriter, and television and film actor. He collaborated with a fellow composer, George Kleinsinger. Tripp was the creator of the 1945 "Tubby the Tuba", a piece of classical music for children that has become his best-known work. He authored several books, including Rabbi Santa Claus and Diary of a Leaf.

They Stand Accused is an American dramatized court show broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 11, 1949, to October 5, 1952 and again from September 9 to December 30, 1954.

<i>Suspense</i> (American TV series) American anthology TV series

Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962.

Blind Date is an American television game show which aired on ABC, NBC, and then DuMont after many years on radio.

The Black Robe is a weekly 30-minute American docu-drama anthology court show based on actual police night court cases that was broadcast on the National Broadcasting Company from May 18, 1949, until March 30, 1950. Its creator was Phillips H. Lord.

This Is Show Business is an American variety television program that was broadcast first on CBS and later on NBC beginning July 15, 1949, and ending September 11, 1956. It was CBS-TV's first regular series broadcast live from coast to coast. It was originally titled This Is Broadway.

Mohawk Showroom is an American musical television program that debuted on NBC on May 2, 1949 and ended on November 23, 1951. It was sponsored by Mohawk Carpet Mills Inc. In 1951, the program was one of several NBC-TV shows selected to be shown to United States military personnel overseas via kinescope recordings. The same title was also used for a similar radio program in 1951.

Saturday Night Review is a live American variety television series that was broadcast on NBC in 1953 and 1954 as a summer replacement for Your Show of Shows.

54th Street Revue is an American variety television program that was broadcast on CBS from May 5, 1949, through March 25, 1950. The program was a "showcase for up-and-coming professionals", originating from a theater on 54th Street in New York City.

Inside U.S.A. With Chevrolet is an American television revue-style variety program that was broadcast on CBS September 29, 1949 - March 16, 1950. The program was not related to the book with that title or the Broadway revue of the same title.

Lights Out is an American television anthology series that featured dramas of thrills and suspense. Broadcast on NBC from July 12, 1949, until September 29, 1952, it was the first TV dramatic program to use a split-screen display.

The Aldrich Family is an American television situation comedy that was broadcast on NBC from October 2, 1949, through September 12, 1953. Adapted from the radio program of the same name, which was based on Clifford Goldsmith's Broadway play What a Life (1938), it was the first successful situation comedy on NBC television. The program was also broadcast in Canada.

References

  1. "I. Magination" To Get Col. Wax. Billboard. 8 July 1950. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  2. Life Tours the Children's TV Shows. Life. 24 December 1951. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  3. Hollis, Tim, ed. (2001). Hi there, boys and girls!: America's local children's TV shows. University Press of Mississippi. p. 361. ISBN   1-57806-396-5 . Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  4. 1 2 McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 558. ISBN   0-14-02-4916-8.
  5. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 341–343. ISBN   0-8108-1651-2.
  6. 1 2 3 Honan, William H. (1 September 2001). "Paul Tripp, 91, Early Children's TV Host". New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  7. 1 2 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 671. ISBN   0-345-42923-0.
  8. Gould, Jack; Gould, Lewis L., eds. (2002). Watching television come of age: the New York Times review. University of Texas Press. p. 266. ISBN   0-292-72846-8 . Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  9. Mr. I-Magination Meets Rip Van Winkle. Billboard. 3 March 1951. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  10. Spaceship to Mars (with Mr. I-Magination). Billboard. 22 November 1952. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  11. TV and Disk Springboard For Greatest Number of Acts on Way to Stardom. Billboard. 8 July 1950. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  12. Columbia Hypos Kidisk Etchings. Billboard. 15 July 1950. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  13. Columbia Adds to Kidisk Line. Billboard. 16 August 1952. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Gould, Jack (May 29, 1949). "Programs in Review: 'Mr. I. Magination' — Songs by Downey — 'Blind Date' — A Variety Revue" . The New York Times. p. X 9. Retrieved August 6, 2024.