Captain Noah and His Magical Ark
A Philadelphia children's show with puppets, cartoons, and songs.
Captain Noah and His Magical Ark was a children's television program broadcast primarily in the Philadelphia area from 1967 to 1994. Created by Lutheran minister W. Carter Merbreier and produced by the Philadelphia Council of Churches, it starred Merbreier as Captain Noah and his wife Patricia as Mrs. Noah. At its peak, the show was syndicated to 22 U.S. stations and drew a larger local audience than Sesame Street and Captain Kangaroo combined.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's television series
- Starring
- W. Carter Merbreier as Captain Noah; Patricia Merbreier as Mrs. Noah
- Opening theme
- "Overture" from the 1958 film Windjammer, composed by Morton Gould
- End theme
- "I Can Sing a Rainbow" by Arthur Hamilton
- Composer
- Larry Ferrari
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Company
- Philadelphia Council of Churches
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Carter Merbreier and Patricia Merbreier had one daughter, Pamela.
- In October 2014, Carter Merbreier published a book titled Captain Noah and His Magical Ark about his experiences as a children's television host.
Background
The program began as a religious-oriented show in 1967 before becoming a daily children's program in 1970. It aired from 7:00 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays and for 30 minutes on Sunday mornings, leading out of ABC Sunday-morning cartoons and into the Al Alberts Show. Each weekday episode included four cartoon shorts featuring Gumby, Popeye (1960s made-for-TV cartoons only), Porky Pig (pre-1940 and post-1947 episodes), and Bugs Bunny (post-1948 episodes). In 1975, when ABC launched Good Morning America, WPVI-TV chose to preempt it in favor of Captain Noah. Starting in September 1976, WPVI ran the 7:00 a.m. hour of Good Morning America and reduced Captain Noah to the 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. slot, keeping the same format. Captain Noah, a former Lutheran minister, served as the main host, while Mrs. Noah handled puppetry and sang. Larry Ferrari, a well-known Philadelphia entertainer, provided the music. Popular puppets included Maurice the Mouse, Mumwup the Monster, and Wally the Walrus. In 1978, after Popeye and Warner Brothers cartoons moved to other local stations, WPVI dropped the weekday edition and began airing Good Morning America in full. Captain Noah continued as a weekend program, running an hour on Saturday mornings and 30 minutes on Sunday mornings before Kids Are People Too. For a time, a 15-minute edition was inserted into Kids Are People Too. In 1983, the show was reduced to 30 minutes on Saturday mornings, with no cartoons, and continued in that form until 1994. The theme song was "I Can Sing a Rainbow" performed by Andy Williams, and another regular song was "Send Your Pictures to Dear Old Captain Noah." Celebrity guests included Elvis Presley, Charles Barkley, Jon Stewart, Jim Henson, Martina Navratilova, and Frank Perdue. The Phillie Phanatic, mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies, made its public debut on the show in 1978.
More in American Television Shows Featuring Puppetry
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