Mr. Peepers
Encyclopedia
Mr. Peepers is an American
television
sitcom
that aired on NBC
from July 3, 1952 to June 12, 1955.
as Jefferson City's junior high school science teacher Robinson J. Peepers. Others in the cast included Tony Randall
as history teacher Harvey Weskit; Georgann Johnson as Harvey's wife, Marge; Patricia Benoit as county nurse Nancy Remington, later married to Peepers; Marion Lorne
as often confused English teacher Mrs. Gurney; Jack Warden
as athletic coach Frank Whip and Ernest Truex
and Sylvia Field
as Nancy's parents.
The series was an early situation comedy that featured some physical humor as well as humorous situations. In one show, Peepers is playing basketball by himself and somehow gets stuck in the basket. There is no one available to help him out of the basket. This dilemma means that he is unable to serve as speaker at Mrs. Gurney's flower club that evening as promised, nor at a chess match that Mr. Gurney wants him to participate in. Peepers's solution is to have both the chess match and the flower club meeting take place in the gymnasium, where he talks about potting soil to the ladies and wins the chess game against another high school's champion from his perch in the basket.
Running jokes tended to involve Peepers coping with misbehaving inanimate objects and with acutely embarrassing moments. In a typical moment, Peepers sees a hopscotch grid chalked on a sidewalk and, thinking himself alone, plays the game with abandon, only to discover that his girlfriend Nancy has been silently watching the entire time.
The actors in the series lent appeal to the show. The dithering principal's wife, Mrs. Gurney, played by the incomparable Marion Lorne, is kind and gracious but absentminded. In one episode, Peepers injures his finger with a hammer, and Mrs. Gurney solicitously bandages up his finger to at least five times its actual size. When she leaves the room, he points out to Nancy that she has actually bandaged the wrong finger. Tony Randall's role as Harvey Weskit is that of the handsome ladies' man who befriends Peepers. The confident and popular Weskit is a foil to the timid, bespectacled Peepers, and their friendship is incongruous. In one episode, Weskit points out a packet of unopened love letters that women have sent him, complaining that he is always getting them. He begins to look inside Peepers' locker to see the stack of similar letters he expects to find there, and Peepers quickly closes the locker door, commenting that he has to keep the door closed so that they won't all fall out. Patricia Benoit as Nancy Remington is Peepers' "love at first sight," although she seems unaware of his attraction to her at first. Peepers' bumbling attempts to approach her add charm and humor to the plot and leave the viewer waiting for their next encounter to see whether any progress will occur with their relationship. The episode in which Peepers married Nancy was, for 1954, a blockbuster ratings event, but it also marked the beginning of the series' slide in popularity.
Mr. Peepers was aired live
, on stage before an audience at the New Century Theatre
, 932 7th Avenue, New York City—preserved in the form of 16 mm kinescopes.
Wally Cox was somewhat typecast by the role of the mild-mannered Peepers, but continued on to a long career in movies and television. He later starred in a comedy/adventure series, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday
, and is remembered as the voice of the cartoon superhero Underdog. He is best remembered by game show fans as a regular panelist on The Hollywood Squares from 1966 until his death in 1973. He also wrote and published a novel,
Mr. Peepers (1955),
based on scripts from the televised adventures of the character.
in the decades since. Reportedly, 102 episodes of Mister Peepers survive, of 127 broadcast.
, were released on DVD
by S'more Entertainment. In November 2008, the second boxed set of Mr. Peepers was released by S'more Entertainment. The tagline at the bottom of the box reads: "America's Favorite Science Teacher, Underdog and All-Round Nice Guy." The Underdog comment likely references Cox's later role as the voice of the title character in the Underdog cartoon.
Mr. Peepers began as a summer replacement series in 1952 for the Ford Motor Company
on Thursday nights. After becoming popular, it returned to the airwaves in late October of that same year to replace a floundering new Sunday evening sitcom named Doc Corkle by its sponsor, the Reynolds Metals Company. The first DVD set, titled simply Mr. Peepers, contains the 1952 summer episodes as well as those from October 1952 to March 1953 partway through the first season. The "Mister Peepers - Season 2" DVD sets picks up chronologically where the first left off, containing episodes from the remainder of the first season and part of the second season, from March 1953 to November 1953.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from July 3, 1952 to June 12, 1955.
Overview
Mr. Peepers starred Wally CoxWally Cox
Wallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
as Jefferson City's junior high school science teacher Robinson J. Peepers. Others in the cast included Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
as history teacher Harvey Weskit; Georgann Johnson as Harvey's wife, Marge; Patricia Benoit as county nurse Nancy Remington, later married to Peepers; Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne
Marion Lorne MacDougall was an American actress. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television...
as often confused English teacher Mrs. Gurney; Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
as athletic coach Frank Whip and Ernest Truex
Ernest Truex
Ernest Truex was an American actor of stage and film.-Career:...
and Sylvia Field
Sylvia Field
Sylvia Field was an American actress whose several-decades-long career encompassed performances on stage, screen, and TV, where she was best known for playing the understanding Mrs...
as Nancy's parents.
The series was an early situation comedy that featured some physical humor as well as humorous situations. In one show, Peepers is playing basketball by himself and somehow gets stuck in the basket. There is no one available to help him out of the basket. This dilemma means that he is unable to serve as speaker at Mrs. Gurney's flower club that evening as promised, nor at a chess match that Mr. Gurney wants him to participate in. Peepers's solution is to have both the chess match and the flower club meeting take place in the gymnasium, where he talks about potting soil to the ladies and wins the chess game against another high school's champion from his perch in the basket.
Running jokes tended to involve Peepers coping with misbehaving inanimate objects and with acutely embarrassing moments. In a typical moment, Peepers sees a hopscotch grid chalked on a sidewalk and, thinking himself alone, plays the game with abandon, only to discover that his girlfriend Nancy has been silently watching the entire time.
The actors in the series lent appeal to the show. The dithering principal's wife, Mrs. Gurney, played by the incomparable Marion Lorne, is kind and gracious but absentminded. In one episode, Peepers injures his finger with a hammer, and Mrs. Gurney solicitously bandages up his finger to at least five times its actual size. When she leaves the room, he points out to Nancy that she has actually bandaged the wrong finger. Tony Randall's role as Harvey Weskit is that of the handsome ladies' man who befriends Peepers. The confident and popular Weskit is a foil to the timid, bespectacled Peepers, and their friendship is incongruous. In one episode, Weskit points out a packet of unopened love letters that women have sent him, complaining that he is always getting them. He begins to look inside Peepers' locker to see the stack of similar letters he expects to find there, and Peepers quickly closes the locker door, commenting that he has to keep the door closed so that they won't all fall out. Patricia Benoit as Nancy Remington is Peepers' "love at first sight," although she seems unaware of his attraction to her at first. Peepers' bumbling attempts to approach her add charm and humor to the plot and leave the viewer waiting for their next encounter to see whether any progress will occur with their relationship. The episode in which Peepers married Nancy was, for 1954, a blockbuster ratings event, but it also marked the beginning of the series' slide in popularity.
Mr. Peepers was aired live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
, on stage before an audience at the New Century Theatre
New Century Theatre
The New Century Theatre was a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 932 Seventh Avenue at West 58th Street in midtown Manhattan.The house, which seated 1700, was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp for the Shuberts, who originally named it Jolson's 59th Street Theatre after Al Jolson, who...
, 932 7th Avenue, New York City—preserved in the form of 16 mm kinescopes.
Wally Cox was somewhat typecast by the role of the mild-mannered Peepers, but continued on to a long career in movies and television. He later starred in a comedy/adventure series, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday
The Adventures of Hiram Holliday
Adventures of Hiram Holliday is a 1939 novel by Paul Gallico, later adapted to a TV series, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday, a half-hour filmed comedy/adventure series which ran for 20 episodes on the NBC Television Network and is now better known than the literary original.-Broadcast dates:The...
, and is remembered as the voice of the cartoon superhero Underdog. He is best remembered by game show fans as a regular panelist on The Hollywood Squares from 1966 until his death in 1973. He also wrote and published a novel,
Mr. Peepers (1955),
based on scripts from the televised adventures of the character.
Episode status
In the early days of television, shows were often performed live. Very early shows were not even recorded, and of those that were, some either were not saved or have been destroyedWiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
in the decades since. Reportedly, 102 episodes of Mister Peepers survive, of 127 broadcast.
DVD release
In 2005, the first 26 episodes of Mr. Peepers, which had been preserved by the UCLA Film and Television ArchiveUCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
, were released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by S'more Entertainment. In November 2008, the second boxed set of Mr. Peepers was released by S'more Entertainment. The tagline at the bottom of the box reads: "America's Favorite Science Teacher, Underdog and All-Round Nice Guy." The Underdog comment likely references Cox's later role as the voice of the title character in the Underdog cartoon.
Mr. Peepers began as a summer replacement series in 1952 for the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
on Thursday nights. After becoming popular, it returned to the airwaves in late October of that same year to replace a floundering new Sunday evening sitcom named Doc Corkle by its sponsor, the Reynolds Metals Company. The first DVD set, titled simply Mr. Peepers, contains the 1952 summer episodes as well as those from October 1952 to March 1953 partway through the first season. The "Mister Peepers - Season 2" DVD sets picks up chronologically where the first left off, containing episodes from the remainder of the first season and part of the second season, from March 1953 to November 1953.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Winner | Peabody Awards | ||
| 1953 | Nominated | Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
Best Situation Comedy | |
| 1954 | Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Situation Comedy | |
| Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Series Supporting Actress | Marion Lorne Marion Lorne Marion Lorne MacDougall was an American actress. After a career in theatre in New York and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television... |
|
| Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Series Supporting Actor | Tony Randall Tony Randall Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer... |
|
| Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Male Star of Regular Series | Wally Cox | |
| 1955 | Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Written Comedy Material | James Fritzell & Everett Greenbaum |
| Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Regular Series | Marion Lorne | |
| Nominated | Emmy Award | Best Situation Comedy Series |