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Lorraine Goodman shares with us a wonderful find, an episode of Birthday House from February 1966 starring Paul Tripp, TV's first child educator. As the producer and star of the critically celebrated Mr. I. Magination program on the CBS network from 1949 until 1952, he influenced and predated Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street and every children's program that followed.
Similar in tone to Romper Room but with a birthday party theme, the broadcast was a smash hit with kids and parents alike thanks to the exemploray talents of Tripp and his spouse, co-host Ruth Enders Tripp. A creative team since the pioneer days of television, they were masters of the intimate, seat-of-your-pants nature of live broadcasting. Each day one, two or three lucky youngsters were selected from the New York / New Jersey viewing area to attend a birthday celebration with their friends on television. The WNBC studio could only accommodate a dozen or so children at a time so naturally tickets were highly coveted. NO VIEWER LEFT BEHIND
Notice Tripp stays completely connected with the kids who eagerly recite the lyrics by heart, singing and dancing to songs like "Hi Mike" like it was the happiest time of their lives. The "Mike" they were singing to, by the way, was the microphone.
Tom Tichenor designed, manipulated and voiced the many cheerful puppet characters and portrayed Strawtop the silent scarecrow doll; Jan Lara and Kay Lande also appeared in character roles. In 1964, WNBC Channel 4 received a special citation for Birthday House at the NYC Emmy Awards
In this found episode, Paul and his puppet pal Felicia the mouse play around with a couple of gerbils before Paul strolls to a fish tank where he ad-libs as the camera lingers on the exotic fish swimming about. This is representative of what the NBC flagship station offered for the morning hours in the nation's number one television market, part of a steady diet of quality kidvid available around the dial - all day long - with top talent that included Chuck McCann, Sandy Becker, Officer Joe Bolton and a legion of other virsatile performers who instilled in their viewers a sense of fair play, virtue and a love for education.
Paul produced an all-star version Tubby the Tuba for HBO in 1976 that aired in 1980 (he co-created Tuby in 1942 and recorded one of the best-selling LP versions). His last TV appearance was on 50 Years Together - Channel 2 and You on July 10, 1991. Paul Tripp died on August 29, 2002 at the age of 91; his wife Ruth Enders Tripp passed away in 1999. This notice appeared in the New York Times July 29, 1999: "TRIPP-Ruth Enders. For her love of beauty-her capacity for happiness-her love for us. Thank you, dearest Ruth. Husband Paul, children, Suzanne Jurmain and David Enders Tripp and grandchildren, Sara and David Jurmain. Good night, sweet Ruth."
Paul
greets the kids The
Birthday march, the Spelling Bee, the gerbils and Ruth Another
of the tunes and one of the puppets
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More on Paul Tripp and Mr. I. Magination on TVparty!
DID
YOU KNOW: Alton Alexander, Lester Lewis, Paul and Ruth Tripp were producers and co-creators of Birthday House. Paul turned up in dozens of dramatic roles on Perry Mason, Route 66, Checkmate and Ben Casey and even played the heel on an early Dick Van Dyke Show episode (he was Sally's slimy boyfriend in 'Sally is a Girl'). In Mr. I. Magination, Paul Tripp played a magical train engineer who could make dreams come true as children travelled with him to Imagination Town to learn about the world and history. In 1966, Paul and Ruth Tripp took some time off from Birthday House to act in a movie with Sonny Fox. That same year, he was writer, director, singer, songwriter and actor (he played Sam Whipple) for The Christmas That Almost Wasn't live action film.
Everything you're looking for is here: MORE
ON BIRTHDAY HOUSE Prior To Birthday House going off the air on WNBC TV Ch.4 in NYC, Tom Tichenor's puppets appeared on The Hank Stohl/ Bill Biery version of WPIX TV 11's Sunday morning kiddie comedy show Let's Have Fun during the 1966/1967 TV season. Child actor Robert Broderick and "Doakey the Clown" (played by my dear friend and fellow performer the late Mr. Ed Alberian also appeared on the show. When Birthday House debuted on WNBC 4 on Monday morning April 1, 1963 the kids didn't appear at the front door of the House with Mr. Tripp when the show opened for that first broadcast. Instead, the show began with Mr. Tripp talking to the children at home and read invitations to the party that were in his mail box near the front door. He would then starting counting and the camera would fade out - when the camera faded back in, Paul Tripp was inside the Birthday House. He would then introduce the characters, after which the birthday kids would appear on camera. He then would ask the kids in song, 'How old are you today?' The kids told him their ages and the Birthday Parade would begin. The tradition of the kids coming to the front door of the Birthday House where the Tripps would sing 'Shake Hands and How Do You Do!' didn't happen until later in the series' run. In fact, Mrs. Ruth Tripp didn't appear on those first shows; she appeared on the show with her husband and regulars Ms. Lara, Ms. Lande and Mr. Tichenor later on in the series' run. There were two Birthday House TV soundtrack records - the first disk was titled 'Paul Tripp Presents Songs and Music from Birthday House' and the second disk was titled 'Paul Tripp Presents More Fun at Birthday House'. Both records were produced and released by Musicor Records, Inc.; they produced with Mr. Tripp "Mr. I. Magination Meets Rip Van Winkle' and 'Billy On A Bike.') There were two Birthday House song books printed and distributed by Musicor Records. |
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It
might be hard to believe but forty years ago New Yorkers tuned in every
morning to a toddler's birthday party complete with sing-a-longs, animals
and staring into a tropical fish tank. For the time, this was big city
daytime TV at it's finest - and it was surprisingly entertaining, better
than The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, that's for sure.
Birthday
House aired live on WNBC 4 Monday through Saturday mornings from
April 1, 1963 until September 8, 1967; it was nationally syndicated for
a while and two best-selling soundtrack albums were released with songs
from the show.
In
the excerpts below, Paul and Ruth demonstrate their nurturing technique;
teaching through songs with the help of a live pianist on set (the show's
musical director Ray Carter). 
Viewer
Lisa Winston tells us, "I got to celebrate my 5th birthday on Birthday
House and remember singing 'Hi Mike,' which must have been the scourge
of existence to any kid named Mike for the next 10 years. It went, 'Hi
Mike, Hi Mike, I like to say, Hi Mike, Hi Mike, Hi Mike, I like you very
much.'"
The
underlying focus of Birthday House was on learning, however simple
the lesson; this was accomplished with segments like Buzzy the spelling
bee, kids drawing together at a chalk board and a milk drinking game to
encourage good nutrition.
After
Birthday House ran its course in 1967, Paul and Ruth turned up
on locally produced programs like The Mike Douglas Show and Wonderama.
There was talk of revival in later years but Birthday House was
the Tripp's last television series.
Here
are some video clips 
Paul
Tripp created and developed the catchy, fanciful songs with Ray Carter.
