Mr. Piper

WE DISCOVERED THIS unusual, low key and genteel series quite accidentally. My brothers, Jim & Bob Ryan had paper routes in our Chicago Southside Neighborhood of West Englewood and I, the older brother, would often help them to finish early. Then after a 7:00 or 8:00 AM Mass at St. Theodore Church, the rest of Sunday morning was free.

AS WAS OFTEN the case, there was not anything else to do. So, depending on the Midwest's ever-changing Meteorological conditions (that's Weather, Schultz), That meant that we had early sessions with our living room B & W TV.

BEING THAT Sunday mornings were a low viewer participation period with the local stations, it was an excellent time to unleash and unload a Lion's share of those Public Service Announcements and those community oriented programs of Brotherhood, be it Religious or secular in nature.

ODDLY ENOUGH, AT an hour when most faithful Churchgoers, regardless of faith or denomination, were not even at their chosen place of worship, here we were viewing a most unusual kiddie show. And although we did not realize it at the time, but this was really an "import";eing that it was produced in Toronto, Canada.

SO IT CAME to pass that the Ryan household discovered MR. PIPER. Being that there was nothing much else in the way of competition on, we often watched. If for no other reason that it was a curiosity piece, we were familiar with this series and hadn't thought about it for some time. Until just today, while surfing the web, we stumbled onto a video of it on Youtube.com.

WHAT IT WAS in essence was that sort of show that was aimed at young kids and was intended to subtly and ever so gently instruct their young minds in good judgment, good manners and a consideration for others. This is the same sort of role that people such as Miss Frances (DING DONG SCHOOL), Bob Keeshin (CAPTAIN KANGAROO) and Fred Rogers (MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD) had long advocated.

ONE THING THAT was impossible to ignore was the opening that was sung by Host/Mr.Piper (Alan Crofoot). It was obvious that his was a classically trained, operatic voice.

THIS WAS CLEARLY evident, even to some Southside Irish lads in Chicago.

Accoring to the IMDb summary of this show "Mr. Piper" had Teletunes which were narrated fantasy stories. Somehow at least 11 of these Teletunes have been available in the American public domain for years. These include: Ali Baba, The Kind Hearthed Girl, The Story of Brave Molly and The Tin Soldier. These Teletunes are drawn with very crude, limited animation. Yet somehow with Alan Crofoot's narration, fanciful stories and good voicing, they are enjoyable enough. Alan Crofoot makes a likable host, the Teletunes are enjoyable stories and one can only wonder what the rest of the program was like.

I have read some sources that say that while this program was syndicated mainly in Canada and Britain it did have some very limited release in America. WGN-TV archival site lists this show on it schedule in 1965.

10 of the 11 available "Mr. Piper" Teletunes are available on a dollar DVD called "Herman and Friends" and The Tin Soldier is usually included in some Christmas Cartoon collections.

I stumbled upon a program called Cartoon Classic, on the Bridges TV Channel, and saw several episodes of Mr Piper. As a child of the 60's I found the show fascinating, and enjoy watching them. It's a shame that it never aired in the United States when it ran. I think it would have been a hit. Shame he ended his life early. Rest in peace Mr. Piper. The Cartoon Classic show can be seen Tuesday and Thursday at 10am, and again at 3pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 12pm. They show cartoons from the 30's to the 60's. They show cartoons such as some of the very first Popeye cartoons, Harvey Toons (The Talking Magpies, Little Audrey, Little Lu Lu, Baby Huey, etc), Betty Boop, the old MGM cartoons, that are absolutely hilarious. There were cartoon that I had not seen in over forty years. The show is a blast to watch.

This strange cartoon show from the 60s is very crudely animated and disturbingly weird. One episode is about a kid whose dad remarries a witch in disguise who sends the stepdaughter to her sister's house to be eaten. Yep, you heard that right. Nothing at all makes any sense when a little bird tells her to hold onto certain things she'll need on her journey. These items do end up saving her life, but in truly bizarre ways which will end up only making your kids scratch their heads and ask strange questions.

If my parents had sat me down in front of this shoestring budget animation back then, I think I would have had nightmares. Seriously! Don't let the high rating fool you. Avoid this drivel and instead take your kids out for a day at the playground.

. . . featured a "Crofoot Elementary School." I remember wishing that my home had been in THAT district, so that I could have gone to this neat-sounding facility. Perhaps watching Mr. C. (aka "Mr. Piper") is the next best thing.