I little piece of your childhood just passed away.
Dick Wilson has died at the age of 91. He played Mr. Whipple on the long-running series of commercials for Charmin bathroom tissue. He would lurk around corners in the grocery store waiting for some hapless housewife to pick up a package of and squeeze it, then he'd come up to them and say "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!" Then he'd squeeze the tissue himself. It seemed like Whipple didn't do anything else for that grocery change except watch out for people who might come down that aisle and squeeze the Charmin, but it's one of the more memorable ad campaigns in TV history. He made over 500 commercials from 1964 to 1985! He also appeared in many TV shows, including Bewtiched, Maude, The Bob Newhart Show, Quincy, M.E., Adam-12, Hogan's Heroes, The Partridge Family, and I Dream of Jeannie.
Godspeed Mr. Whipple. Two classic ads after the jump!















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-19-2007 @ 3:39PM
Karen said...
Geeez, he must have been a bajillionaire on residuals alone.
My dad and I always loved him as the constant drunk on "Bewitched." Sigh. My dad's gone, too. R.I.P., guys.
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11-19-2007 @ 3:45PM
Tele-Toby said...
I always remember the one where he was bitten by the parrot who squawked "Don't Squeeze The Charmin!"
That bit was unrehearsed, obviously(!) and the camera freezes right when the parrot bites him.
That's because the parrot bit right down to the bone!
Dick Wilson literally spilled his blood to bring us a memorable TV character.
Rest in peace, sir.
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11-19-2007 @ 10:51PM
stewartwallace said...
His daughter Melanie played Mark Linn-Baker's love interest on Perfect Strangers.
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