Camp Runamuck

"Camp Runamuck" follows the antics of a boys summer camp and its neighboring girls camp, Camp Divine, across the lake. Running Runamuck is Commander Wivenhoe (Arch Johnson) and Senior Counselor Spiffy (Dave Ketchum, "Get Smart"). Assisting the zany camp is Counselor Pruett (Dave Madden), Doc Joslyn (Leonard Stone), and Camp Cook Malden (Mike Wagner). Overseeing Camp Divine is Chief Counselor Mahala May Gruenecker (Alice Nunn) and attractive counselor Caprice Yeudleman (Nina Wayne). Tensions between the rival camp adults and summer camp incidents/mishaps are the driving force behind the sitcom. When things get out of hand, the sheriff (George Dunn) steps in to try and keep the peace. The series ran for 26 episodes across one season (1965-66) with poor reviews and ratings leading to its cancellation.

Reflecting upon the series, "Camp Runamuck" is geared for younger audiences with zany sound effects and far-fetched plot points. However, if you don't expect much and take it as it comes, its a fun, madcap show. Nevertheless, it can insult one's intelligence with the lack of believability at times (hunters thinking men in rabbit costumes are actually big rabbits, man with feathered wings mistaken for a large bird, etc.). Some episodes struggle with plot and flow, but more often than not, episodes are worthwhile watches.

The concept of the childlike summer camp antics and mischievousness carried out by adults is a nice switch that creates some truly funny moments. Camp Runamuck's penny-pinching, stern owner, Commander Wivenhoe, has a mutual dislike for children and is usually at odds with the adults, too. Spiffy is the one who keeps the camp going with schedules and solutions to problems that arise. Doc and Camp Cook Malden concoct and assist in schemes with the men. So, too, does Counselor Pruett who spends his free time dating lovely Caprice, a counselor from the rivalrous girls camp across the lake. It is run by the vengeful Mahala May who has eyes for Wivenhoe. The sheriff becomes a recurring character later in the series.

Running gags include Pruett shaking with a rattling sound effect when he thinks of Caprice, Camp Divine sending messages to Camp Runamuck via arrow that damages something of the men's each time, and Wivenhoe's chest whistling when agitated after having swallowed a whistle early in the series. Aside from the absurdity, there are two episodes that have some heart. In the two-parter "Spiffy Quits", the senior counselor learns a lesson on appreciation. In "Malden Falls in Love", Malden learns a lesson on love.

This series is all about the wacky adults that run the two camps, as the campers are relegated to background action and talking points. Norton does appears in a number of episodes as a minor character, and has a large role in "Wivenhoe's New Car". A second episode that centers around a camper is "Tomboy", starring a young Maureen McCormick. In the latter third of the series, the campers almost disappear entirely with them leaving to start four consecutive episodes. A theme of the series is that the adults have a childlike mentality. It's very appropriate that the series ends with an episode where the men wonder if they can truly outsmart the boys.

I remember Dave Ketchum as one of the counselors. There was an episode when the whole staff had to go on a diet. Hungry, they broke into the commissary through the roof. Dave was hung upside down with a rope to spray whipped cream into the burglar alarm and ended up spraying himself in the face. Somehow I cannot get that memory out of my mind.

The show's theme song was whistled, similar style as "Bridge over the River Kwai."

I remember this show being on just before "Hank," about the young man working his food wagon to get through college.

CR was a hilarious show!

I found it odd that this sitcom was mainly about the adult camp staffers/counselors and we seldom saw any children/campers on most episodes. ☺

My brother and I loved both this show and HANK, but hardly anyone else watched them. We didn't understand this, because CAMP RUNAMUCK was wacky and hilarious! It was always the girls against the guys, but I don't recall one single child actor, if there were any it's news to me now. This show was about the adults! Arch Johnson was the head counselor and his staff always seemed to be unprepared and hung over, while each morning the over-achieving girls' camp across the lake would wake up the boys' camp singing "Good morning, to you, good morning, to you!!!" Alice Nunn was a formidable adversary for the men, and every time she'd get that look of revenge in her eye, Nina Wayne would breathily say "Ohhh, Mahala May!" Ketchum and Madden were a riot, and yes, every time Madden saw Nina Wayne (or any dishy woman), he'd shake, rattle and discombobulate, and Kethcum (or some one) would actually smack him and Madden would say "Thanks, I needed that!" Man, it sure sounds silly, but it was fast-paced and I think we kids thought all the lousy adult behavior was the funniest thing on earth, well every Friday night, that is, until they canceled it, which was pretty quickly. Would love to see this again!

To be honest, it's been so long since I watched this show that I have no idea if it was actually any good, but I remember liking it as a kid.

I also remember this show as one of a number of very short-lived sitcoms, from that same decade, which caught my attention as a youth, but which didn't survive past the first season: Besides "Camp Runamuck" (about a summer camp), there was also "Hank" (about a young guy trying to be a "drop-in" at college, rather than a drop- out), "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster" (about two carpenters, one of them Marty Ingles), "It's About Time" (about two astronauts who end up back in the caveman days), and "McKeever & the Colonel" (about the antics of a young cadet at a military school (which had a "Leave it To Beaver" feel to it).

I'm not sure why these shows stuck in my head as a unit, but if I happen to recall one of them, the other four always come to mind.