Don Herbert taught science on television to kids on the 1951-1964 series Watch Mr. Wizard. I was a little young to remember that show, but I do remember watching him when the show was revived in the 1980s as Mr. Wizard's World. There was also another version of the show in Canada titled Mr. Wizard that ran from 1971-1975, and a short-lived ABC Saturday morning show in 1971 called Curiosity Shop.
The science shows weren't the only TV shows that Herbert was on. He started as an actor in the 1950s and appeared on General Electric Theater. He was also a guest on the very first episode of Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. There have been many parodies of Mr. Wizard over the years, including skits from Bob and Ray and the police lab guy on Police Squad!
Herbert died of bone cancer near Los Angeles on Tuesday.
[via Best Week Ever]















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-12-2007 @ 10:56PM
Egan Foote said...
First commenter! Does that mean I'm the new Mr. Wizard?
Egan, out.
Reply
6-12-2007 @ 11:53PM
Richard Yokley said...
I LOVED this program. Science for kids that entertained adults
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6-13-2007 @ 2:32AM
Melissa said...
No! When I was little I thought that he and Patrick Stewart were the same person, which made me love him more.
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6-13-2007 @ 10:33AM
Meredith said...
He wasn't filming the show anymore when I was young , but I did get to watch reruns everyday. I loved that show. It really sparked my love for science. That was the only subject that I really excelled at.
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6-13-2007 @ 11:06AM
KMF said...
I loved Mr Wizard's World! I still remember all the cool experiments. He made science fun and easy understand without dumbing it down. He was awesome!
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