(Almost) Everything You Always Wanted To Know About
"Off To See The Wizard"
by Dr. Mark Hill
Broadcast on ABC, Sept 9, 1967 to Sept. 20, 1968, Friday nights from 7:30pm-8:30pm
This was intended to be ABC/MGM's version of THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR (Disney). A family-oriented TV series, produced by MGM, in which animated versions of the "Wizard of Oz" characters were used as wrap-arounds to introduce various family-oriented films from the MGM library, nature documentaries, busted TV pilots like ALEXANDER THE GREAT and original programming, most notably the Emmy-nominated "Whatever Happened to Mother Goose?," featuring an all-star cast as various Mother Goose characters. Many of these were IVAN TORS productions.
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD was on opposite WILD, WILD WEST on CBS, which was followed by GOMER PYLE USMC and on NBC, we had TARZAN, followed by STAR TREK!
Chuck Jones was executive producer with Abe Levitow as Producer. After years at Warner Brothers, working on Bugs Bunny and Road Runner shorts, Jones had produced HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966) and the TOM AND JERRY updated TV cartoons for MGM, and would soon be working on the MGM feature-length PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH (1970). Both had worked on the animated feature, GAY PURR-EE (1962)
The WIZARD cartoon character voices were Daws Butler (Scarecrow), June Foray (Dorothy), with Don Messick as The Wizard.
Each broadcast showed the Oz characters going off to the Emerald City to see the Wizard; when they arrived there, he showed them a feature movie suitable for family viewing. NOTE: Some of these animated “bumpers” can be found to view, deep in the menu of the Warner Brothers 1999 WIZARD OF OZ dvd.
There were a few known tie-in toys and products: 1. There was a Mattel talking OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD hand puppet. Similar in style to the Mattel “Monkees” puppet, with each finger being a character. 2. OFF TO SEE “jiggler” figures- formed in wobbly rubber and sold on pegged cards. 3. OFF TO SEE hand puppets with rubber heads and vinyl bodies were given away as advertising premiums with tubes of toothpaste.
CLARENCE THE CROSS-EYED LION (1965) (*Broadcast Date below)
09-08-1967
09-15-1967 - CLARENCE - part 2
09-22-1967 - “RHINO” - part 1
09-29-1967 - “RHINO” - Part 2 (unconfirmed)
10-06-1967
10-13-1967 - “WHO’S AFRAID OF MOTHER GOOSE?”
10-20-1967 - “LILI” - Part 1
10-27-1967 - “Lili” - Part 2
11-03-1967 - “UNTAMED WORLD” - (documentary)
11-10-1967 - “ISLAND OF THE LOST” - part 1
Our friends at Toontracker.com have this to sell- with all the WIZARD segments
Watch as an anthropologist and his family become shipwrecked on a strange island where they encounter prehistoric tigers and gill sharks. Along the way they meet a young native boy who has been left to fend for himself as a test of manhood by his tribe. The movie was produced by Ivan Tors, directed by Richard Carlson and John Floria, and stars Richard Greene, Mark Hulswit, Jose De Vega, Robin Mattson, Irene Tsu, and Luke Halpin. // In the 1980s, Robin Mattson was best known as "Heather" from the soap opera GENERAL HOSPITAL. Mattson, a Madonna look-alike, was a former child star. She began her career, appearing in many Ivan Tors productions: ISLAND OF THE LOST, FLIPPER, GENTLE BEN, NAMU THE KILLER WHALE. Later she appeared in BONNIE’S KIDS, CANDY STRIPE NURSES and PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE. She had her own Lifetime cooking show, c. 1996 and now, she’s back on GH.
11-17-1967 - “ISLAND OF THE LOST” - Part 2
11-24-1967 - “HELL CATS”
Coming to the aid of a beautiful woman, 3 pilots attempt to recover money left to her by her father, who lived on a remote South American Island. // Look at that cast! An early production from Aaron Spelling, who later made CHARLIE’S ANGELS. A television series lead was in the offing when John Craig was awarded a starring role in The Hellcats with George Hamilton and Warren Berlinger. The series revolved around three barnstorming pilots, and was a sort of Route 66, but with three guys flying around the country and putting on aerial shows with vintage World War I airplanes. Beautiful Barbara Eden and voluptuous Arlene Dahl gave the show plenty of sex appeal, yet only a pilot program was shot and the series never got off the ground. Filming turned out to be extremely expensive, and since the series never took off, the MGM project was dubbed the "Cleopatra" of TV pilots, in reference to the expensive 20th Century-Fox film of 1963 that helped cause a financial crisis at the studio.
12-01-1967
01-05-1968 - “MIKE AND THE MERMAID” - aka “Silver Springs”
From IMDB: Originally broadcast on "Off To See The Wizard". It was also seen twice as a "Weekend Special" in the 1970's. Many of the programs on WIZARD were released as 16mm rental films for schools and libraries, so this film may be available in this format as well. This film was probably a pilot for a potential television show, because it focused all too briefly on the characters meeting and beginning friendship, leaving the impression that there were more stories to tell. Most of the film centers on Mike's efforts to catch/meet the very elusive/shy mermaid. He finally accomplishes this, but only after shooting her in the tail with a spear-fishing gun. He immediately regrets this action and takes care of her during her recovery. They then become good friends. The film featured two teenage leads who portrayed their characters with a noticeable enthusiasm for one another. This film is definitely a must see for mermaid fans and collectors. // Here’s another GENERAL HOSPITAL cast member! Rachel Ames was long-time GH cast member, Nurse Audrey March Hardy. Since 1963 and for many years after! And there IS a connection, as Selmur Productions, was producing both GENERAL HOSPITAL *and* OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD! The Selmur company also made: Combat, Garrison’s Gorillas, Shindig and the movies: Smashing Time!, Charley, Candy and Hell In The Pacific.
01-12-1968
01-26-1968 - “ALEXANDER THE GREAT”
This was actually shot in 1964, but it was deemed to be unairable, so it was shelved for four years until Adam West and William Shatner had each reached a certain level of fame to get respectable ratings for the show. At the time of this aired West was in the throws of Batman-mania from the success of his show, and Shatner was the star of Star Trek. One of the most famous of unsold TV pilots, Alexander the Great, stars William Shatner in the title role. Nine months in the making, this lavish 60-minute drama recreates the battle between the Greeks and Persians at Issus (filmed near St. George, Utah). Hoping to attract as wide an audience as possible, producer Albert McCreery included an elaborate orgy sequence, with Alexander consuming mass quantities of wine as dancing girls undulate all around him. According to costar Adam West, it was this element that lost Alexander the Great several potential sponsors. The film gathered dust for four years after its production, then was given a single showing January 26, 1968, as an installment of the ABC anthology series Off to See the Wizard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide. // The www.agony.com link has more than you'll ever want to know about it (6 pages), but I'd like to see it. After reading the description of the adult themes, it seems it musta been cut down quite a bit(?) for broadcast on WIZARD.
02-02-1968- No Listing. */* (also on TV that night: FRI- CBS- MOVIE: THE APARTMENT.)
02-09-1968
02-16-1968- “WILD WORLD”- (documentary)
02-23-1968
03-01-1968
04-05-1968
05-03-1968 (no listing)
06-07-1968
07-05-1968
08-02-1968
09-06-1968
*_*_*
... and one WIZARD episode that didn’t make it, with an interesting back-story: “HIGH JUNGLE” (c.1967). Actor Eric Fleming drowned while filming a live-action segment for this series in a Peruvian jungle.
Eric Fleming filmed THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT for MGM in 1965 and in mid-1966, contracted with MGM-TV to film a television movie that would be shown as part of ABC's OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD, an anthology series of adventure films. “High Jungle” (aka. “Selva Alta”), which starred Fleming and Anne Heywood, was to be shot on location in Peru with Fleming playing a nineteenth century U.S. naval officer who rescues lost explorers in the Amazon jungles. On August 17, Fleming arrived in Lima with long-time female companion Lynne Garber and shooting began. During the shooting of location shots on the Huallaga River on September 28, 1966, Fleming dove from a dug-out canoe after paddling it beyond the rapids. His body was lost in the turbulent water and was not recovered. Both Fleming and Minardos were signed to two separate contracts - one covering the two-part television series and the other for the foreign release of the film version. Both were guaranteed ten weeks work and $25,000 salary, with a remaining 14-week schedule of pro-rated remuneration. Only one-half of the film had been completed.
*_*_*
NOTE: 14 weekly episode of WIZARD dates filled in. 6 other feature films listed without dates, x2. (Each was probably shown in 2 parts.) So at 25 episodes total, that adds up to one more than 25. No titles/dates known for any reruns or pre-emptions.
If readers have any other episode dates or memories of OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD, please feel free to contact us at KiddieMatinee or Mark Hill
Kevin Butler adds the following correction and updates:
The page on "Off To See The Wizard" lists the actor doing the voice of The Wizard as Don Messick. Actually, Daws Butler did the voices of "The Wizard", "The Scarecrow" and"The Tin Man". Mel Blanc was the voice of "The Cowardly Lion" and the barking of "Toto The Dog". My dear friend, June Foray performed the voices of "Dorothy" and "The Wicked Witch Of The West".
...and three interesting footnotes:
* In regards to the many versions of Baum's famous children's fantasy stories, there was a filmed version of a stage play of "The Wizard Of Oz", which was presented on The Sonny Fox edition of WNEW TV, Channel 5's "Wonderama", during the 1960s. I don't recall the actors who played the characters (although the actor playing "The Scarecrow" resembled Will B. Able's "Checkerboard Squarecrow"), but it was an interesting interpretation of the story.
* Also, during the 1970s, ABC-TV screened Filmation's feature-length animated musical film, JOURNEY BACK TO OZ, in prime time. Comic actor and storyteller Bill Cosby appeared as "The Wizard" as an on-camera host/performer/narrator. Mr.Cosby's hosting efforts were aided by a talking parrot puppet, and two kids, a black boy and a white girl, who played two "Munchkins" named "Sprig &Twig". ABC TV aired the film twice with Mr.Cosby's hosting segments, then dropped the film from their prime time schedule.
JOURNEY BACK TO OZ reappeared on TV in syndication a few years later, via the film's new owner, SFM Distribution Inc. The hosting segments for the film were handled by Milton Berle (Berle did the voice of "The Cowardly Lion" in the film). SFM aired the film in syndication for a few years (NYC-based WNEW TV, Channel 5 aired the film during the Easter Holidays) before they lost the rights to the film.
* In the early 1960's, LILI would be revamped as the Broadway musical "Carnival" starring Anna Maria Albertgetti as Lili, Jerry Orbach as Paul, the Puppetmaster, Pieere Olaf as Jacoqut, Kaye Ballard as Roslie. Puppeteer Tom Tichenor (who would later become Paul Tripp's head puppeeter and comedy asistant on Tripp's last NY-based educational kids show, "Birthday House!") was the show's puppet maker and technical consultant. "Carnival"was produced by legendary showman David Merrick.
25 episodes
MGM FEATURE FILMS
These MGM feature films were shown on, “Off To See The Wizard”, presumably in
2 parts, over 2 consecutive weeks. Most of these were also released to theaters as,
“MGM Children’s Matinees.”
LILI (1953) (*Broadcast Date below)
No Dates Available:
FLIPPER (1963) Later an MGM series
FLIPPER’S NEW ADVENTURE (1964)
THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (1960) (See illustration)
THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955) Cinderella musical with Leslie Caron
ZEBRA IN THE KITCHEN (1965) Family comedy with Jay North and Marshall Thompson
GYPSY COLT (1954) C-72m. Donna Corcoran, Ward Bond, Frances Dee, Lee Van Cleef, Larry Keating. Tender little film of faithful horse who returns to mistress after parents have sold it to racing stable. A remake of LASSIE COME HOME
A week-by-week listing of
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD episodes:
“CLARENCE THE CROSS-EYED LION”- PREMIERE!- Part 1
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (ABC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). Animated cartoon characters based on The Wizard of Oz will introduce child-oriented movies, beginning with Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (MGM, 1965) and the pilot for the CBS series, DAKTARI. Premiere. */* (On TV that same night: FRI- NBC- THE HARDY BOYS (NBC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.) Pilot of a possible series based on Franklin W. Dixon's boys' books, starring Tim Matheson, the voice of JOHNNY QUEST.)
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (ABC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). A 1964 Ivan Tors-produced feature film. Filmed at the Umfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa, "Rhino" recounts the capture of two rare white rhinos and other veldt-roaming wild beasts in danger of extinction. Starring: Harry Guardino, Shirley Eaton and Robert Culp. Music by Lalo Schifrin. */* (On TV that week: FRI- CBS 9pm- MOVIE- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance / SUN- ABC- HOLIDAY ON ICE- hosted by Jonathan Winters / SUN- ABC- MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY / WED- NBC- CHRYSLER PRESENTS A BOB HOPE COMEDY SPECIAL. Jimmy Durante, Phyllis Diller, Kaye Stevens and Jack Jones join Old Ski Nose for his first show of the season. / WED- CBS- HE & SHE.)
aka. Whatever Happened To...?
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (ABC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). Cast: Maureen O'Hara (Mother Goose), Peter Gennaro (Jack B. Nimble), Frankie Avalon (Jack), Nancy Sinatra (Jill), Margaret Hamilton, Dick Shawn, Fred Clark (William H. Berry), Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, Steve Martin (Pieman), The Three Stooges (3 Men In A Tub), Joanie Sommers. Music: Sherman Edwards, Lyrics: Ruth Batchelor. Choreography by Peter Gennaro. // Maureen O'Hara, as Mother Goose, leads the gaggle in a musical gander at the pedagogical values of old nursery rhymes. When a school administrator tries to ban Mother Goose books from classrooms because he feels the characters set poor examples. Mother Goose herself appears and turns him into a child. She then takes him through her stories to meet the characters, proving they are not so bad. The musical score is by the composers of the Broadway play, 1776. This was nominated for an Emmy Award. Rowan and Martin would have been under contract to MGM during this period. They were soon starring in THE MALTESE BIPPY, released in 1969. Filmographies list elements of this program as 2 different shows- 1 as a CBS musical- but I believe this has the correct information, and that it’s just one show. */* (On TV that week: WED- NBC- KRAFT MUSIC HALL- George Burns hosts "Tin Pan Alley Today," with Guests Dionne Warwick, Dick Cavett, the Harper's Bizarre, Tony Tanner, Nancy Ames, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66.)
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (ABC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). The first half of Lili (1953), starring Leslie Caron, Kurt Kasznar, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Mel Ferrer. An MGM feature film release. Tune in next week for the conclusion. // The author remembers: Until I was researching this, I forgot that WIZARD was where I first saw the movie LILI and that after viewing the part when the puppets came to life and became life-size, it gave me nightmares! I was just 8 and had a lot of puppets in my room to play with. */* (On TV that week: WED- NBC- KRAFT MUSIC HALL- Host Lorne Greene gets assistance from the Baja Marimba Band, Jerry Van Dyke, Barbara Eden, Lou Rawls and Bobby Van to show "How the West Was Swung," a song-and-dance tale of the frontier and its rough-'n'-ready folk.)
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (ABC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). Andrew Duggan narrates "Untamed World," a documentary on the primitive peoples who still exist in far-off corners of the globe. Among them: the Eskimos in Northern Canada, the Pygmies in the Congo, natives of Melanesia and New Guinea, and the Indians of the Xingú River in Brazil. */* (On TV that week: SAT- CBS- MOVIE: Alfred Hitchcock’s “Marnie”.)
Directed by John Florea. Starring Richard Greene, Luke Halpin (also in MGMs FLIPPER), Robin Mattson. An IVAN TORS production. Not known if this was a theatrical release in the US, but it has been out on video and sold by numerous VHS distributors- without the WIZARD segments.
Starring: Ripple: Warren Berlinger, Bugs: John Craig, Melinda: Barbara Eden, Arlene Dahl, Lee Ragdon: George Hamilton, El Primero: Nehemiah Persoff. Directed by Don Taylor. Writers: Tony Barrett, W.R. Burnett Executive Producer: Aaron Spelling.
12-08-1967
12-15-1967
12-22-1967
12-29-1967
Rachel Ames- Nellie Malone/ Kevin Brodie- Mike Malone/ Med Flory- Jim Malone/ Jeri Lynn Frazer- Mermaid (as Jerri Lynn Fraser)/ Don Tomkins- (as Dan Tompkins)/ Producer: Rudy Abel.
01-19-1968
Directed by Phil Karlson. John Cassavetes- General Karonos/ Joseph Cotton- General Antigonus/ Simon Oakland- Attalos/ Cliff Osmond- General Memnon/ Ziva Rodann-
Ada/ William Shatner- Alexander the Great/ Adam West- General Cleander.
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD (ABC, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). Hal Holbrook narrates "Wild World," which takes a look at the golden eagle, bison, baboons, octopuses and other animals in their native habitats. // */* (Also on TV that night: FRI- NBC- MOVIE: THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT.)
03-08-1968
03-15-1968
03-22-1968
03-29-1968
04-12-1968
04-19-1968 (no listing)
(Note: Sat 04-20-1968 NBC- THE WIZARD OF OZ- Annual Broadcast)
04-26-1968
05-10-1968
05-17-1968
05-24-1968 (no listing)
05-31-1968
06-14-1968
06-21-1968
06-28-1968
07-12-1968 (no listing)
07-19-1968
07-26-1968
08-09-1968
08-16-1968
08-23-1968
08-30-1968
09-13-1968
09-20-1968 (last broadcast)
09-27-1968 (a new series premiered in this time slot - "Operation: Entertainment", a variety show produced by Chuck Barris.)
(09-25-05)
