Jules Power, a Producer of 'Mr. Wizard,' Dies at 87
Jules Power, who helped break the mold of cartoonish children’s shows in the early days of television by producing programs that entranced youngsters with basic science and allowed them to roam the world from their living rooms, died on Friday in Baltimore. He was 87.
The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his son, Bob, said.
Mr. Power was a co-producer of the long-running “Mr. Wizard” on NBC, and then executive producer of “Discovery” on ABC.
His mission was “to expand young minds and fill a void in afternoon children’s programming,” George W. Woolery wrote in his 1983 book, “Children’s Television: The First 35 Years, 1946-1981.” Children’s shows had been dismissed as little more than “time wasters” in 1961 by Newton N. Minow, then chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the book noted.
No time was wasted during the Saturday-morning broadcasts of “Mr. Wizard” (first broadcast as “Watch Mr. Wizard” in 1951), with Don Herbert, Mr. Power’s co-producer, in the title role. Mr. Wizard would already be setting up some experiment in his home when a child from the neighborhood would stop by to join the fun.
The experiments were usually simple enough to be recreated by viewers, and by 1954 there were hundreds of Mr. Wizard Science Clubs around North America. The program, which ran through 1965, was cited by the National Science Foundation and earned a Peabody Award.
Mr. Power left “Mr. Wizard” in 1961 to become director of children’s programming for ABC. There he created “Discovery,” a children’s show that examined science, history, art, music, current events, travel and hobbies. In 1963 the show explained the birth process to children — a breakthrough in sex education.
In its nine-year run, mostly on Sunday mornings, “Discovery” visited more than a dozen countries, including the Soviet Union, Kenya, Israel, Japan, Germany and Australia. American viewers were exposed to historic sites, chess clubs and an elementary school in Moscow, where their counterparts were learning English.
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The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his son, Bob, said.
Mr. Power was a co-producer of the long-running “Mr. Wizard” on NBC, and then executive producer of “Discovery” on ABC.
His mission was “to expand young minds and fill a void in afternoon children’s programming,” George W. Woolery wrote in his 1983 book, “Children’s Television: The First 35 Years, 1946-1981.” Children’s shows had been dismissed as little more than “time wasters” in 1961 by Newton N. Minow, then chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the book noted.
No time was wasted during the Saturday-morning broadcasts of “Mr. Wizard” (first broadcast as “Watch Mr. Wizard” in 1951), with Don Herbert, Mr. Power’s co-producer, in the title role. Mr. Wizard would already be setting up some experiment in his home when a child from the neighborhood would stop by to join the fun.
The experiments were usually simple enough to be recreated by viewers, and by 1954 there were hundreds of Mr. Wizard Science Clubs around North America. The program, which ran through 1965, was cited by the National Science Foundation and earned a Peabody Award.
Mr. Power left “Mr. Wizard” in 1961 to become director of children’s programming for ABC. There he created “Discovery,” a children’s show that examined science, history, art, music, current events, travel and hobbies. In 1963 the show explained the birth process to children — a breakthrough in sex education.
In its nine-year run, mostly on Sunday mornings, “Discovery” visited more than a dozen countries, including the Soviet Union, Kenya, Israel, Japan, Germany and Australia. American viewers were exposed to historic sites, chess clubs and an elementary school in Moscow, where their counterparts were learning English.