Don Herbert
Encyclopedia
Donald Jeffrey Herbert (born Donald Jeffrey Herbert Kemske; July 10, 1917 – June 12, 2007), better known as Mr. Wizard, was an American
television personality. He hosted two television
shows about science
aimed at children.
major at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (then called La Crosse State Normal College) who was interested in drama. His career as an actor was interrupted by World War II
when he enlisted in the United States Army
as a Private
. Herbert later joined the United States Army Air Forces
took pilot training and became a B-24
bomber pilot who flew 56 combat missions from Italy with the 767th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group of the Fifteenth Air Force
. When Herbert was discharged in 1945 he was a Captain and had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal
with three oak leaf cluster
s.
where he acted in children's programs such as the documentary health series It's Your Life (1949). It was during this time that Herbert formulated the idea of Mr. Wizard and a general science experiments show that used the new medium of television. Herbert's idea was accepted by Chicago NBC
station WNBQ
and the series Watch Mr. Wizard
premiered on March 3, 1951. The weekly half hour show, co-produced by Jules Power, featured Herbert as Mr. Wizard, with a young boy and girl who watched while Herbert performed interesting science experiments. The experiments, many of which seemed impossible at first glance, were usually simple enough to be re-created by viewers. Each show ended the same way: with an experiment that somehow displayed the letters "FCMBB", which Mr. Wizard reminded us stood for "Fruit, Cereal, Milk, Bread and Butter, the five elements of a healthy breakfast." The show was very successful. 547 live episodes were created before it was canceled in 1965. Herbert won a Peabody Award
for his work on the program in 1953.
In the mid 1950s Herbert also appeared on the General Electric Theater
as the "General Electric Progress Reporter" and would introduce spokesman Ronald Reagan
and his family to the viewing audience. In some episodes he would appear alongside Reagan and demonstrate to the audience how General Electric
was helping people to, "Live better electrically."
After his show was canceled Herbert produced films for junior and senior high schools, wrote several books on science and in 1969 developed a Mr. Wizard Science Center located outside Boston
, Massachusetts
. (The center no longer exists.)
The show was briefly revived in the 1971–1972 season as Mr. Wizard, produced in Canada by CJOH-TV
in Ottawa
; this series was seen on NBC as well as CBC Television
in Canada.
In 1982, Don Herbert was a guest on the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman
.
In 1983 Herbert developed Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of his show that was shown three times a week on the cable channel Nickelodeon
. The show ran until 1990 and rerun
s were shown until 2000.
In 1993 children's science show Beakman's World
paid homage to Herbert by naming its two penguin puppet characters "Don" and "Herb" after him.
In 1994 Herbert developed another new series of 15-minute spots called Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard. The spots highlighted individual elementary science teachers and their projects. The series was sponsored by the National Science Foundation
and was shown on Nickelodeon.
In 1999 Stephen Gordon
(founder of company called Restoration Hardware
) teamed up with Renee Whitney
(general manager of a toy company called Wild Goose) to recreate the chemistry kits marketed by "Mr Wizard" in the past; however, they found most of the items in it are now illegal to sell and the resulting product they ended up marketing only contained just 5 chemicals ("including laundry starch, which was tagged with an ominous warning: HANDLE CAREFULLY. NOT EXPECTED TO BE A HEALTH HAZARD").
Herbert died of multiple myeloma
on June 12, 2007, four weeks before what would have been his 90th birthday, at his home in Bell Canyon, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television personality. He hosted two television
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
shows about science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
aimed at children.
Early life
Herbert was a general science and EnglishEnglish studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
major at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (then called La Crosse State Normal College) who was interested in drama. His career as an actor was interrupted by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when he enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
. Herbert later joined the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
took pilot training and became a B-24
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bomber pilot who flew 56 combat missions from Italy with the 767th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group of the Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
. When Herbert was discharged in 1945 he was a Captain and had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
with three oak leaf cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
s.
Mr. Wizard
After the war Herbert worked at a radio station in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he acted in children's programs such as the documentary health series It's Your Life (1949). It was during this time that Herbert formulated the idea of Mr. Wizard and a general science experiments show that used the new medium of television. Herbert's idea was accepted by Chicago 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...
station WNBQ
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
and the series Watch Mr. Wizard
Watch Mr. Wizard
Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of the show developed by Don Herbert, was shown three times a week on the then rising kids cable channel Nickelodeon. Once again, the revival was produced in Canada . The show produced 78 episodes from 1983 onwards, and continued to run thereafter as...
premiered on March 3, 1951. The weekly half hour show, co-produced by Jules Power, featured Herbert as Mr. Wizard, with a young boy and girl who watched while Herbert performed interesting science experiments. The experiments, many of which seemed impossible at first glance, were usually simple enough to be re-created by viewers. Each show ended the same way: with an experiment that somehow displayed the letters "FCMBB", which Mr. Wizard reminded us stood for "Fruit, Cereal, Milk, Bread and Butter, the five elements of a healthy breakfast." The show was very successful. 547 live episodes were created before it was canceled in 1965. Herbert won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for his work on the program in 1953.
In the mid 1950s Herbert also appeared on the General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
as the "General Electric Progress Reporter" and would introduce spokesman Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and his family to the viewing audience. In some episodes he would appear alongside Reagan and demonstrate to the audience how General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
was helping people to, "Live better electrically."
After his show was canceled Herbert produced films for junior and senior high schools, wrote several books on science and in 1969 developed a Mr. Wizard Science Center located outside Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. (The center no longer exists.)
The show was briefly revived in the 1971–1972 season as Mr. Wizard, produced in Canada by CJOH-TV
CJOH-TV
CJOH-DT is a television station serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the surrounding region. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network....
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
; this series was seen on NBC as well as CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in Canada.
In 1982, Don Herbert was a guest on the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
.
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. The show ran until 1990 and rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
s were shown until 2000.
In 1993 children's science show Beakman's World
Beakman's World
Beakman's World is an educational children's television show produced by ELP Communications, Columbia Pictures Television, Universal Belo Productions, and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution....
paid homage to Herbert by naming its two penguin puppet characters "Don" and "Herb" after him.
In 1994 Herbert developed another new series of 15-minute spots called Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard. The spots highlighted individual elementary science teachers and their projects. The series was sponsored by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and was shown on Nickelodeon.
In 1999 Stephen Gordon
Stephen Gordon
Stephen Gordon, Steven Gordon or Steve Gordon is the name of:*Stephen Paul Gordon , Security Specialist, class of 1977*Stephen J. Gordon , English chess grandmaster*Stephen P...
(founder of company called Restoration Hardware
Restoration Hardware
Restoration Hardware is an American furniture chain of home furnishings, bath fixtures and bathware, functional and decorative hardware and related merchandise. The company defines its wares as classic and authentic American. Restoration Hardware, Inc. sells its merchandise offering through its...
) teamed up with Renee Whitney
Renee Whitney
Renee Whitney , was an American actress. She appeared in 53 films between 1928 and 1936.-External links:...
(general manager of a toy company called Wild Goose) to recreate the chemistry kits marketed by "Mr Wizard" in the past; however, they found most of the items in it are now illegal to sell and the resulting product they ended up marketing only contained just 5 chemicals ("including laundry starch, which was tagged with an ominous warning: HANDLE CAREFULLY. NOT EXPECTED TO BE A HEALTH HAZARD").
Herbert died of multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
on June 12, 2007, four weeks before what would have been his 90th birthday, at his home in Bell Canyon, California
Bell Canyon, California
Bell Canyon is a census-designated place in Ventura County, California. Bell Canyon is a residential unincorporated community located near West Hills and the western San Fernando Valley in the Simi Hills. Although only minutes from the Los Angeles city limits, Bell Canyon is a Horse Community. ...
.
Awards
- Herbert won a Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for his work on Watch Mr. Wizard. - Three Thomas Alva Edison National Mass Media Awards
- In 1991 Herbert received the Robert A. Millikan award from the American Association of Physics TeachersAmerican Association of Physics TeachersThe American Association of Physics Teachers was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members that reside in over 30 countries. AAPT publications include two peer-reviewed journals, the American...
(AAPT) for his "notable and creative contributions to the teaching of physics." - 1994 James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting ChemistryJames T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting ChemistryThe James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public is awarded on a yearly basis by the American Chemical Society. The Award recognizes outstanding reporting on chemistry, chemical engineering, and related chemical fields...
from the American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical SocietyThe American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
External links
- Mr. Wizard Studios, official Mr. Wizard website
- Watch Mr. Wizard
- MP3 interview with Herbert on the public radio program The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
- TV's Mr. Wizard profiled in a 2006 Voice of AmericaVoice of AmericaVoice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
broadcast - Video interview with Don Herbert, Archive of American Television, January 2005; 2 hours