Explaining the mysteries of science for nearly forty years, Mr Wizard became the most recognisable science teacher in the USA.
Don Herbert was a B-24 bomber pilot in World War II (earning the Distinguished Flying Cross) and a radio and television actor before he gained his greatest fame as Mr Wizard. Herbert sold his concept to WNBQ-TV, the Chicago outlet for NBC, and the series premiered on 3 March 1951 with Herbert as the Wizard and Bruce Lindgren as the first of his young assistants.
The 30-minute show was targeted at pre-teens and initially broadcast on Saturdays from 4:00 to 4:30 pm. Within four months, the series had climbed to third place among children’s programs in ARB ratings, and its audience was growing. Within two years, hundreds of schools were using the series as required homework.
Presenting over 10,000 experiments during his career, Mr Wizard covered everything from air travel to sound speed to chemical reactions and much, much more.
Sometimes, the experiments went awry or didn’t do anything, which could have been a cause of major embarrassment on live TV.
But Mr Wizard never got discouraged. He would repeat the experiment week after week until it behaved as he knew it should.
Part of the show’s success was the fact that everyday household items could be used to conduct the experiments. Instead of using a beaker or flask, for example, Mr Wizard used a milk bottle.
The idea was to show that science was something tangible and accessible to everyone. The philosophy worked, and many people over the years have credited Mr Wizard with their career choices in science and electronics.
Since Mr Wizard was a teacher, he needed students, and so the show gathered a group of “neighbourhood kids,” who were actually young actors hired to be inquisitive.
Although Mr Wizard had file cards with one-word reminders on them, most of the dialogue was improvised, although the audience could always count on at least one “Gee, Mr Wizard!”
Herbert moved production of the show from Chicago to New York in 1955 and Watch Mr Wizard continued to run on NBC for fourteen straight seasons before it was eventually cancelled by the network on 5 September 1965.
A one-season revival ran in 1971 but Herbert’s old leisurely pace of the 1950s seemed outdated now, and the show left the air again on 1 September 1972.
The show came back in force as Mr Wizard’s World in 1983 on the fledgeling Nickelodeon cable network. Seven new seasons were produced, stretching Mr Wizard’s legacy into its fifth decade.
After his time on television, Herbert continued his educational work by writing a series of books on his favourite subject. He died on 12 June 2007 of multiple myeloma. He was 89.
Mr Wizard
Don Herbert
Tommy
Hugh Dunne
Susan
Pamela Fitzmaurice Bruce Bruce Lindgren Alan
Alan Howard Jimmy
Stanley Crochowski
Mike
Ralph Robertson
Buzz
Bruce Podewell
Betsy
Susan Levin
