The Electric Company (1971–1977)

A comedy variety show that teaches basic phonetic and grammar concepts using live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes.

Stars:

Jim Boyd, Morgan Freeman, Judy Graubart

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jim Boyd	...	Andy (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
Morgan Freeman	...	Count Dracula (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
Judy Graubart	...	Jennifer of the Jungle (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
Skip Hinnant	...	Clam (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
Rita Moreno	...	Carmela (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
June Angela	...	Julie - Member of the Short Circus (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
Mel Brooks	...	Blond-Haired Cartoon Man (780 episodes, 1971-1977)
Luis Avalos	...	Dr. Doolats (650 episodes, 1972-1977)
Zero Mostel	...	Spell Binder (650 episodes, 1972-1977)
Hattie Winston	...	Sylvia (520 episodes, 1973-1977)
Melanie Henderson	...	Kathy - Member of the Short Circus (520 episodes, 1971-1975)
Steve Gustafson	...	Buddy - Member of the Short Circus (520 episodes, 1971-1975)
Danny Seagren	...	Spider-Man (390 episodes, 1974-1977)

Storyline

"The Electric Company," aimed at children ages 7 to 10, was designed to teach basic reading concepts to its young viewers. Skits featuring the show's regulars, cartoons, vignettes, and regular features revolved around sound clusters (such as -ly, sh-, oo-) and punctuation marks. On occasion, a fun song was played with the audience challenged to supply the lyrics during the second sing-through. Through the years, different features were added including "Love of Chair" (1971-1973, a spoof of "Love of Life"), "The Adventures of Letterman" (added in 1972), cartoon segments featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (1973), and Spider-Man (1974).

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Plot Keywords:

spider man | reading | scanimate | part animation | vaudeville | 

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Taglines:

For the graduates of "Sesame Street."

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Genres:

Family | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Official Sites:

Sesame Workshop

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Reading Program

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Children's Television Workshop (CTW)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min 28 min (780 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul the Gorilla was named after original head writer Paul Dooley.

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Goofs

During the song "Apostrophe S" (sung by Lee Chamberlin), after Lee sings "the hat is Jim's and that's that", a white-sleeved arm appears briefly at the bottom right of the screen.

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Quotes

Narrator, "Love of Chair": And what about... Naomi?

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Connections

Spin-off Out to Lunch (1974)

User Reviews

What a blast from the past...

...this show was!!

I remember this show so vividly, and thanks to the Noggin Network, old memories have now surfaced!!

My favorites on the show were when either Skip Hinnant (JJ) or Jim Boyd (Andy) would get themselves in a mess. J. Arthur Crank was a hoot!! Favorite one-liner..."somebody stole steal!!" ...but here's Harry...high in the sky...having his lunch..."Harrrrrrry...you forgot your lunch!!"..."A Peck on the Neck"..."House" (animated musical number)..."SpiderMan" (always was terrified of the Tickler because my sister would say she would get him on me or she would tickle my feet...what can you say for a naive eight-year old at the time?)..."Letterman" (there's where I get my nickname "Rolling O" from)..."Love of Chair"..."Bleached blonde Blanche blinked in the blinding blizzard"..."SuperGuy is a meatball"..."Tilt" by the Short Circuit ("stop playing pinball with my heart")..."My Name is Buddy, Buddy is my Name"...Paul the Gorilla with Jennifer of the Jungle..."A Very Short Book"...I could go on for hours...and at my age then, I would have LOVED to have met Denise Nickerson (Allison) in person!! She was downright cute...and still is today!!

Wow...the Electric Company...a true blast from MY past!!!