Paul Tripp(1911-2002)
- Actor
- Writer
- Music Department
Paul Tripp was born on NYC's Lower East Side on February 20, 1911.
Originally he wanted to be an actor and singer in grand operas, but he
had to lower his sights and perform in comic operas at local functions
instead. He went to college and studied education. He graduated with a
Master of Education degree. When he was unable to find any teaching
jobs, he worked as a performer, scriptwriter and producer in legitimate
theater, radio, nightclubs, vaudeville and burlesque. After a stint in
the US Navy Signal Corps during WWII, Tripp returned to NYC, where he
and his wife Ruth Enders Tripp did volunteer work for "Christian Dora
House" settlement project. There the pair engaged the children in
original plays that would utilize their imagination. This unique
concept of teaching kids through music, stories, acting and discovery
came to the attention of a talent agency. The agency heads were looking
for someone to host a new children's TV show. Impressed with their
educational concept, the agency heads took the show to CBS TV producer
Irving Pincus, who bought the show and
Mr. I. Magination (1949)
debuted on the CBS TV network on Sunday night, April 24, 1949. Writing,
producing and hosting the show, Paul Tripp and his wife got a child
actor and/ or child actress to recreate the lives of famous persons or
had them perform in the Tripp's own variations of popular fairy tales.
Often "Mr. I." (Mr. Tripp) and his cast of regulars:
Simon Oakland,
Joe Silver,
Ted Tiller and
Richard Boone interviewed guest
inventors who showcased the latest devices created to help mankind.
Mr. I. Magination (1949)
moved to Saturday mornings in l951, where it remained on air until the
series was cancelled on Saturday morning, June 28, 1952. On Saturday
morning, June 5, 1954, Paul & Ruth Tripp succeeded
Allen Ludden as the second hosts/performers
and instructors of CBS TV's kids TV news magazine
On the Carousel (1953). The
Tripps and Ted Tiller engaged their viewers
in craft making, hobbies, songs, dramatizations, stories and interviews
with guest performers, personalities and high school scientists and
musicians.
On the Carousel (1953) won
the 1956 NYC Emmy award for "Best Children's Educational TV Show".
Tripp compared a Saturday Night Magic TV Show for a family audience. He
performed magic tricks with the top illusionists of the day.
It's Magic (1952) was seen
Saturday nights on the CBS TV Network from Saturday July 31, 1955 to
Saturday, September 4, 1955. Tripp succeeded
Ginger McManus as the second
host/performer of WOR TV Ch. 9 NYC's: "Looney Tunes Show" weekday
evenings from Monday, January 12, 1959 to Friday, July 10, 1959.
Following his departure from the station, Tripp left NYC for Hollywood,
California to play character parts in TV dramas and sitcoms. He made
two memorable guest appearances on CBS TV's
Perry Mason (1957) as a villain
and as an unfaithful boyfriend of "Sally Rogers" on
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961).
But soon the character roles dried up and The Tripps returned to NYC,
where they began hosting their last children's educational TV series:
Birthday House (1963). Seen
Monday to Saturday Mornings on WNBC TV Ch.4 in NYC,
Birthday House (1963) engaged
a birthday boy and/or girl and their friends and the viewers in games,
songs, stories, craft making, informational segments, puppet plays and
interviews with guest performers and personalities. Paul and Ruth Tripp
co-hosted Birthday House", with actresses/singers/TV educators, Jan
Lara and Kay Lande. Puppeteer/Puppet-maker and pantomimist, Tom
Tichenor also served as the show's puppeteer and as "Strawtop, the
Silent Scarecrow Doll".
Birthday House (1963) was seen
on WNBC TV Ch.4 in NYC from Monday, April 1, 1963 to Friday, September
8, 1967. Following its cancellation, Tripp's TV appearances have been
limited to occasional character roles on TV dramas. He has also made
guest appearances on TV talk shows:
The Mike Douglas Show (1961)
and on Bob McCallister's version of WNEW TV Ch.5 NYC's long-running
comedy/variety kids TV show,
Wonderama (1955). He has also
written, produced and narrated a feature length animated adaptation of
the children's musical story that Tripp has co-authored with composer
George Kleinsinger:
Tubby the Tuba (1975). It debuted
on the Home Box Office (HBO) cable TV network in 1981. Tripp has also
written a number of children's books, including "Rabbi Santa Claus" and
"The Scarecrow Who Smiled by Mistake". In recent years, he has also
written, directed, produced, and performed in plays and musicals
overseas.
