The Magic Cottage (TV series)

Did You Know?

• A kinescope of one episode is held at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
• Another episode, dating from December 28, 1950, is held by the Paley Center for Media.
• An additional episode may survive as part of the Peabody Award collection.

Broadcast history

The Magic Cottage, an American children’s program, aired on the DuMont Television Network from 1949 to 1952. Its host was Pat Meikle, an artist and actress whose full name was Mary Patricia Meikle. Each episode featured Meikle telling a story while drawing with charcoal sticks on a large sketch pad set on an easel. From these drawings, fairy tale characters would come to life, transforming into live actors who performed the adventures. Recurring characters included Larry the Leprechaun, Maxwell the Mouse, and Wilmer the Pigeon. Meikle herself would turn into a princess and join the story, with the drawings appearing to ripple into live action, accompanied by a harp strum. The series was produced by her real-life husband, Hal Cooper. It was a spin-off of their earlier show, Your Television Babysitter, which aired weekday mornings from 8:30 to 9 a.m. ET on DuMont starting in November 1948. The Magic Cottage targeted slightly older children who had just started school, airing weekday evenings from 6:30 to 7 p.m. ET. The production was low-tech, relying on Meikle telling stories and drawing, as well as chatting with visitors like Oogie the Ogre. The set depicted a cozy cottage interior with a window and a Dutch half-door at the back. Meikle sat center stage, speaking directly to the camera until the action shifted into the day’s story. According to the book The Forgotten Network, both series were well received. Variety praised Meikle, noting that her method of not talking down to her young audience was likely a mother’s prayer answered, and she was being called a new TV star. The Magic Cottage continued on DuMont’s flagship station WABD until 1955, and Meikle kept working there after both shows ended. Other regular cast members included Don Hastings, known for playing the Video Ranger on DuMont’s Captain Video and later Dr. Bob Hughes on the CBS soap As the World Turns. Because the show was produced in New York City, veteran stage actors often appeared, such as Ruth White, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actress who played librarian Bessie Bookbinder.