The Letter People (KETC TV Series)
| The Letter People | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Sally Conroe Jack Rogers Maria Graves Terrance Miller Deana Martin Eddie Ray |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) | Happy Feet Studios, St. Louis, Missouri |
| Release | |
| Original network | KETC |
| Original release | December 14, 1977 – present |
| External links | |
| [{{#property:P856}} Website] | |
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While thousands of children are learning about the Letter People in school, thousands of others were being exposed to them through the television series based on the program. The show is produced by PBS member station KETC in St. Louis, Missouri, and the show first went into production in 1972. The show is extremely popular with children, and it quickly spread to other television stations across the country, via syndication, mainly to PBS and educational stations. The television series premiered in the 1970s.[1]
The Letter People consists of 94 episodes. In each 15-minute installment, the Letter People (relatively primitive puppets) undertake various adventures in Letter People Land, a dark, featureless place populated by strange people and creatures. Episodes usually focus on introducing new Letter People or new sounds forming by combining two Letter People together (such as /TH/ or /OU/). Other episodes take the Letter People to more exotic (though still featureless) locales such as outer space (eventually, the show can include more standard scenery, like cityscapes, meadows, Miss O's opera house, etc.), while a few highlight the characters' conflicts over various sounds (such as Mister C fighting Mister K for his sound). Another common feature of the show is the Catching Game, which is a game show hosted by Monty Swell (who is a character based on Monty Hall) where the Letter People must form words by positioning themselves correctly side-by-side.
Opening and closing sequence[edit]
A little dog is minding his own business when various figures (including a female figure carrying a bunch of helium balloons) enter the gates of Letter People Land as the song plays:
- Come and meet the Letter People
- Come and visit the family
- Words are made of Letter People
- A, B, C, D, follow me
Episode guide[edit]
Availability[edit]
The show continued to air reruns on PBS stations. It is rumored that PBS was ordered to destroy the show's master tapes on behalf of the newer program, given that the original program's characters depicted negative imagery. Prior to this, NDE released the show's episodes on a 5-tape VHS set of Letter People "Learning Advantage Videos" as part of the Letter People curriculum in the 1990s; on the other hand, fans have preserved the episodes on many VHS recordings taped off of TV while the show was still on the air, and various DVDs having the episodes preserved can be found from time to time on auction sites such as eBay.
Creative Team[edit]
- Thomas K. McDonough – producer, director, writer
- Jeffrey Jones – producer, director, Writer
- Don Jeffries – executive producer
- Gary Twitchell – director
- William F. Bailey – director, writer
- King Hall – Head Puppeteer, Set Designer, Puppet Designer
- Tom Ray – Assistant Head Puppeteer, Puppet Designer
- Alan Pratt, Ph.D. – Curriculum Consultant
- Ruth Lerner Perle – editorial Supervisor
- Gayle Waxman – writer
- Harry John Luecke – writer
- Patrick Clear – writer
- Ron Cohen – writer
- James Scott – writer
- Ralph St. William – writer
- Ralph DiGuglielmo – writer
- Peter Bretz – Technical Producer
- John Muench – Technical Producer
- Filmgrafik International – Animation
- Vic Atkinson Productions – Animation
- Computer Image Corp. – Animation
- M-K Inc. – Animation
- Joe René and Jacquelyn Reinach – Music and Lyrics
- Clayton Frohman – Theme Song and "The Squoosh"
- Miles Goodman – Music
- Tom Tichenor – Puppet Designer
- Art FitzSimmons – Photography
Puppeteers and Voices[edit]
- King Hall – Mister M, Nardo (sometimes), Various
- Tom Ray – Mister W, Various
- Patrick Clear – Mister H, Mister J, Mister R, Nardo, Various
- Lynn Cohen – Miss I, Various
- John Cothran – Mister N, Mister L, Various
- Allan Trautman – Mister C (voice), Mister K, Various
- Gregg Berger – Mister Z, Mister T, Mister V, Various
- Don Boevingloh – Monty Swell, Various
- Cheryl Brown – Various
- Jane Deeken – Miss O, Various
- Pam Dunn – Various
- John Erickson – Mister C, Various
- David Herzog – Mister T (sometimes), Various
- Bert Hinchman – Various
- Bob Kramer – Mister F, Various
- Nancy Swet – Miss A, Various
- Genevieve Bierman – Miss U, Various (voice)
- Sally Eaton – Various (voice)
- Shelley Heeley – Various (voice)
- Joneal Joplin – Mister S, Mister G, Various (voice)
- Barbara Marentette – Miss A (sometimes), Various (voice)
- Nancy Margulies – Miss U (sometimes),Miss E (voice),Miss A (sometimes)
- Thomas K. McDonough – Various (voice)
- Bob Miller – Mister B, Mister D, Various (voice)
- James Scott – Mister P, Various (voice)
- Willy Shaw – Mister Q, Various (voice)
- Gail Simmons – Various (voice)
- Simon O’Connor – Mister X, Various (voice)
- Ken Monroe – Mister C (sometimes), Various (voice)
- Dick Teneau – Mister Y (sometimes), Various (voice)
- Gayle Waxman – Mister Y, Various (voice)
