Mr. Wizard dead at 89

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Don Herbert, ‘Mr. Wizard’ to Science Buffs, Dies at 89

 

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN

Published: June 13, 2007

Don Herbert, who unlocked the wonders of science for youngsters of the 1950s and ’60s as television’s Mr. Wizard, died yesterday at his home in the Bell Canyon section of Los Angeles. He was 89.

 

The cause was bone cancer, his son-in-law Tom Nikosey told The Associated Press in confirming the death.

 

Mr. Herbert held no advanced degree in science, he used household items in his TV lab, and his assistants were boys and girls. But he became an influential showman-science teacher on his half-hour “Watch Mr. Wizard” programs, which ran on NBC from 1951 to 1965.

 

Millions of youngsters may have been captivated by Howdy Doody and the Lone Ranger, but many were also conducting science experiments at home, emulating Mr. Wizard.

 

“Watch Mr. Wizard,” which was aimed at youngsters between 8 and 13, received a Peabody Award in 1953 for young people’s programming. More than 100,000 children were enrolled in 5,000 Mr. Wizard Science Clubs by the mid-1950s.

 

After his children’s program went off the air, Mr. Herbert remained a presence in TV science programming with general-audience shows like “How About” and “Exploration.” NBC revived “Watch Mr. Wizard” for one year in the early ’70s. In the 1980s Mr. Herbert reprised his children’s shows with “Mr. Wizard’s World” on the Nickelodeon cable network. He became something of a TV celebrity beyond his lab as a guest of Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Regis Philbin and a panelist on “Hollywood Squares.”

 

Working in shirtsleeves on his TV laboratory set, Mr. Herbert aroused the curiosity of children in an informal way that turned sometimes arcane scientific conceptions into fun. “What was really remarkable about Mr. Wizard was that he talked to the kids as if they were real people,” said Frank Wilczek, a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, N.J., in a 1990 interview while recounting informal approaches to teaching science.

 

During the 1960s and ’70s, about half the applicants to Rockefeller University in New York, where students work toward doctorates in science and medicine, cited Mr. Wizard when asked how they first became interested in science.

 

Donald Jeffry Herbert was born in Waconia, Minn. He took part in dramatic productions at La Crosse State Teachers College of Wisconsin. After graduating in 1940 with a degree in English and general science, he acted opposite Nancy Davis, the future Nancy Reagan, in summer stock.

 

After service as a bomber pilot in Europe during World War II, he worked as an actor, model and radio-show writer in Chicago, then developed “Watch Mr. Wizard,” which made its debut in 1951 on WMAQ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Chicago. The program later originated in New York and was eventually carried by more than 100 stations.

 

Although Mr. Herbert had some scientific knowledge from his college studies, “everything on the show I learned by doing it,” he once said. He accumulated 18 file cabinets filled with notes.

 

His hallmark was the use of common objects to illustrate scientific principles. He cut out sections of paper plates to illustrate an optical illusion, ran smoke through a soda straw to make air currents visible and shined a flashing light to represent the strength of radiation.

 

“If you used scientific equipment that’s strange to the child, it’s not going to help him or her understand,” Mr. Herbert told the Voice of America’s “Our World” program in 2006. “So we used everyday equipment.”

 

Mad magazine and the comedic pairing of Bob and Ray spoofed Mr. Herbert, to his delight. In fact, his experiments sometimes did go awry.

 

“Once I was supposed to pour two colorless fluids into a glass, and by the count of five the fluid was supposed to turn black,” he once recalled. “It was a complicated experiment in which many factors, like temperature and acidity, had to be just right for the fluid to turn black. Well, I think I counted to 20 before it changed. But even when things went wrong, we would always explain why.”

 

Mr. Herbert continued to spread knowledge of science in his final years, reprising his original shows on DVDs.

 

He is survived by his wife, Norma, and six children and stepchildren.

 

Mr. Herbert was complemented by the youngsters he recruited to help with the experiments. One of them, Rita McLaughlin, Mr. Herbert’s sidekick at age 14, became a soap-opera actress.

 

“What really did it for us was the inclusion of a child,” Mr. Herbert told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2004. “When we started out, it was just me up there alone. That was too much like having a professor give a lecture. We cast a boy and a girl to come in and talk with me about science. That’s when it took off.”

 

Mr. Herbert once said in an interview how “all the kids were just terrific, but they ideally had to be around 11 or 12. Once they got beyond 13, they became know-it-alls.”

 

Asked why he didn’t use his own children on his programs, Mr. Herbert replied, “Because then I couldn’t fire them.”

 

 

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Mr. Herbert once said in an interview how “all the kids were just terrific, but they ideally had to be around 11 or 12. Once they got beyond 13, they became know-it-alls.”

 

I thought that the program was hilarious for this reason. Mr. Wizard explaining his theories and the kids could do nothing but nod in agreement with an occasional "wow."

[alexgaddis]

If he was such a great science wizard, why didn't he cure his own cancer?

[irish]

If he was such a great science wizard, why didn't he cure his own cancer?

 

 

Not nice!!

[rocknrobn26]

That was a great show and there never was another like it.

RIP

[SheikYerbuti]

That was a great show and there never was another like it.

RIP

 

 

Although not as long running as Mr. Wizard, I thought Bill Nye the Science Guy was far superior. Packed with content and more entertaining.

[rocknrobn26]

Although not as long running as Mr. Wizard, I thought Bill Nye the Science Guy was far superior. Packed with content and more entertaining.

 

 

Never hoid of him.

Remember I prolly saw his first show!

[skylive5]

If he was such a great science wizard, why didn't he cure his own cancer?

 

 

 

What is your f'n problem? You think you are funny? No wonder the Tailgate is dying with comments like that being posted.

[skylive5]

Although not as long running as Mr. Wizard, I thought Bill Nye the Science Guy was far superior. Packed with content and more entertaining.

 

 

 

For the era it was on it was fantastic. Got a tremendous amount of people interested in science. Bill Nye was a different era with a different knowledge base to work with. Both superior to anything else dealing with science for the masses.... both good for their time.

 

But then maybe you had to be there for both of them to appreciate Mr. Wizard.

[AtomicCEO]

I used to watch him on Nick. I learned how to take Vinegar and Baking Soda and make a hugh f'ing mess.

 

He was great. I seem to remember a lot of balloons and beakers.

[AtomicCEO]

[Clubfoothead]

For some reason I always confuse Mr. Wizard with the King Biscuit Flower Hour. I have no idea why.

[Chargerz]

That was a great show and there never was another like it.

RIP

 

+1

[rocknrobn26]

I used to watch him on Nick. I learned how to take Vinegar and Baking Soda and make a hugh f'ing mess.

 

I seem to remember a lot of balloons and beakers.

 

And fire! I love fire!

 

 

 

 

Man, if they have the originals also, I'm buying!

[untateve]

For some reason I always confuse Mr. Wizard with the King Biscuit Flower Hour. I have no idea why.

 

 

I think if you examine your use of Josh Gordon, you will begin to understand why.

[Gonkis]

Mr. Herbert once said in an interview how “all the kids were just terrific, but they ideally had to be around 11 or 12. Once they got beyond 13, they became know-it-alls.”

 

 

I never saw the show, but that line is great... still true in 2007.

[Savage Beatings]

I never really watched the show myself, but I think my kids would love it... I might have to check out the DVDs. I bet Mr. Wizard has done more to inspire young minds than most of us could ever hope for.

[DemonKnight]

I used to love that show. I think of it every time I put ice in my cup and fill it to the brim. RIP.

 

P.S. Mr. Wizard pwns Bill Nye even from the grave.