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Remember
The Electric Company?
Watch
the introduction.
Watch
the 1st intro (I didn't even know this existed)
I
was never a big Sesame Street fan but give me a half
hour with "HEY YOU GUYS!!!" and I was mesmerized.
Then the theme started and
I was out of my head.
The
big names I remember coming out of that show was Morgan Freeman
as, among other characters, Easy Reader ("...that's
my name, I say, uh, uh, uh, easy readin', that's my game...")
and for some reason, his Dracula character comes to
mind.
Although
I never saw her in anything else, Rita Moreno was the other
big star to emerge. She also provided the famous "HEY
YOU GUYS!!!" that signaled the show's start and would
send me scrambling into the living room.
There
was Letterman (who tore the letter from his varsity sweater...(I
always thought it was "... from the vest of his sweater..."))
to foil the the Spellbinder.
 
The
Electric Company also had a live version of Spiderman
who, in hindsight, was as gay as Liberace's diamond encrusted
black book. But the tune
was catchy.
Bill
Cosby showed up every once in awhile, too.
While
researching around the net, I came across certain aspects of
the show that I forgot completely about. Remember the two silhouettes
that would say parts of words that would come out of their mouths
and then they would repeat the whole word, all to some little
tune?
Or
how about the grouchy guy? I never would have remembered him
unless I saw his face and then it all came back to me.
One
of the things that makes me smile now is that it was an educational
show but we watched it completely oblivious that we were learning
anything. The thing I remember most about it is how I noticed
at such a young age how fast the ½ hour would fly by.
I have vivid memories of being astonished when the ending came
and I couldn't fathom how it could have been a ½ hour
since the show began.
I
had plans to do some research and find out what the cast looked
like. But I ran into a huge brick wall and got frustrated. Here
is all I found:
| Name |
Then |
Now-ish |
Comments |
Bill
Cosby
Role: Hank; the Milkman; Ken Kane; the Ice Cream Man (1971-1972)
|
|
|
Of
course, everyone knows who he is now. Also did Fat Albert
voices. |
Morgan
Freeman
Role: Mark, Easy Reader, Mel Mounds - the DJ, Vincent the
Vegetable Vampire, Mad Scientist, The Cop |
|
|
Easily
my favorite on the show and I STILL see "Easy Reader"
even now when he's in modern films. Also starred in two
of my top ten favorites of all time: The Shawshank Redemption
and Lean On Me. |
Rita
Moreno
Role: Carmela; Otto the Director; Pandora the Little Girl;
Millie the Helper |
|
|
She
seemed older to me even when she was on the show, Kind of
motherly. Maybe it was my Mexican blood talking. |
Gene
Wilder
Role: Voice of Letterman (1972-1977) |
|
|
I
HAD NO IDEA!!!! You mean Willy Wonka is Letterman!?! This
guy defined my entire childhood! To a lesser degree as Young
Frankenstein and and even less in the Stir Crazy
flicks but that's because I don't care much for Richard
Pryer. |
| Mel
Blanc: additional voices. |
|
|
Of
course he is best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny and just
about every other Loony Toon character. |
Irene
Cara
Role: Michelle; member of the Short Circus (1971-1972).
|
|
|
I
don’t remember her on the show but she went on to
find fame in, well, Fame, and then singing the
epic Flashdance theme. |
Mel
Brooks
Role: Blond-Haired Cartoon Man. |
|
|
I
THINK I remember the character. If I’m right, he had
a straw hat and a cane, like a circus announcer guy. |
Joan
Rivers
Role: Narrator of 'The Adventures of Letterman'
(1972-77) |
|
|
Did
not know this. But after relistening to an episode, yep,
it's her. This may result in therapy. |
Denise
Nickerson
Role: Allison; member of the Short Circus (1972-1973) |
|
|
Played
Violet in Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory. That's two people from the
cast who went on to the Factory. |
Judy
Graubart
Role: Winnie; Jennifer of the Jungle; Julia Grownup; the
Witch.
|
|
|
I
have to admit I had the biggest crush on this lady when
I was a kid. She was kind of goofy but I thought she was
pretty and it’s evident that my brunette preference
was there even as a kid. |
Jimmy
Boyd
Role: Andy; J. Arthur Crank; Paul the Gorilla; the Blue
Beetle; the Wolfman; voice of Loreli the Chicken |
|
|
There
seems to be some discussion on the Web about this guy. There
is another famous Jimmy Boyd who was a musician and it seems
the two get mixed up. |
Zero
Mostel
Role: Spellbinder, Letterman's nemesis. |
|
|
What
a wonderfully evil voice he had. Died of a heart attack
in 1977. |
June
Angela
Role: Julie; member of the Short Circus. |
|
|
I
vaguely remember her. She was the Asian girl in one of the
early examples of getting a spectrum of different nationalities
on a cast. It WAS an educational show, after all. |
Hattie
Winston
Role:
Sylvia; Valerie the Librarian (1973-1977) |
blank |
|
Nope,
another one I don’t remember unless I saw a skit. |
Danny
Seagren
Role: Spiderman (1974-1977) |
blank |
blank |
I
couldn’t find a picture but he also was the original
voice for Big Bird. |
Gregg
Burge
Role: Dwayne; member of the Short Circus (1973-1975) |
blank |
|
I
don’t remember but found out he died in 1998 of complications
due to a brain hemorrhage. |
Stephen
Gustafson
Role: Buddy; member of the Short Circus (1971-1975) |
blank |
|
No
memory. |
Janina
Mathews
Role: Gail; member of the Short Circus (1975-1977) |
blank |
blank |
No
memory, no picture. |
Rejane
Magloire
Role: Samantha; member of the Short Circus (1975-1977) |
blank |
|
Didn’t
find much on her but there is an opera singer with this
name that I think was in Technotronic. No pics
of her as a kid. |
Rodney
Lewis
Role: Charlie; member of the Short Circus (1975-1977) |
blank |
blank |
Nothing. |
Melanie
Henderson
Role: Kathy; member of the Short Circus (1971-1975) |
|
|
Again,
someone I might recognize if I saw a skit but likely just
one of the kids in the group. That's Irene Cara standing
next to her. |
Bayn
Johnson
Role: Kelly; member of the Short Circus (1973-1975) |
|
|
These
are the only pictures I could find of her. I vaguely remember
a blond girl in the Short Circus. |
Todd
Graff
Role: Jesse; member of the Short Circus (1975-1977) |
blank |
|
He's
a famous filmmaker now but couldn’t find a kid pic
of him. |
Lee
Chamberlin
Role: Brenda; Vi; Madame Rosalie; Gladys the Glow-Worm (1971-1973)
|
|
blank |
I
remember her showing up in a lot of skits. This is the only
picture I could find. |
Luis
Avalos
Role: Roberto; Dr. Doolats; Igor; Pedro (1972-1977) |
|
|
I
loved this guy, he played so many "good guy"
characters and I have very fond memories of him. I'd love
to meet him and let him know how much he affected my childhood
memories. |
Skip
Hinnant
Role: J.J.; Fargo North, Decoder; Frankenstein; Supper Man;
Clam; Boy, in Love of Chair |
bl ank |
blank |
Nothing.
But I'm told this is definately not him in the picture. |
Ken
Roberts
Role: Announcer (1971-1973) |
blank |
blank |
Nothing |
Douglas
Grant
Role: Zach; member of the Short Circus (1971-1973) |
blank |
blank |
Nothing |
I
also found this pic from the cover of The Electric Company's
2nd album and can identify some of them:
Top:
Bulb
1: Judy Graubart as Jennifer of the Jungle in the outfit
I remember most vividly, probably because she was wearing it
in the intro.
Bulb
2: Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader.
Bulb
3: I don't know who this is and don't remember her. I'm told
it is Rita Moreno but it doesn't look like her. Then I heard
it was a character called Madame Rosalie.
Bulb
4 : I recognize this guy and would love to find out which of
the actors he was. He was a short blond guy who was a main actor.
Update: I'm told it's Skip Hinnant as Fargo North Decoder.
Bottom:
Bulb
1: Jimmy Boyd as Andy; J. Arthur CranK
Bulb
2: I don't know if this is Lee Chamberlin or Hattie Winston.
I'm told it's Hattie Wilson.
Bulb
3: My man, Luis Avalos
Bulb
4 : Jimmy Boyd as Paul the Gorilla (although, come on, anyone
could play it)
Anyone
remember A Very Short Book?
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