Don Herbert

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American educational television host (1917–2007)

title: "Don Herbert" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1917-births", "2007-deaths", "people-from-waconia,-minnesota", "military-personnel-from-minnesota", "american-science-journalists", "nickelodeon-people", "deaths-from-bone-cancer-in-california", "deaths-from-multiple-myeloma-in-california", "united-states-army-air-forces-bomber-pilots-of-world-war-ii", "united-states-army-air-forces-officers", "university-of-wisconsin–la-crosse-alumni", "peabody-award-winners", "recipients-of-the-distinguished-flying-cross-(united-states)", "recipients-of-the-air-medal", "20th-century-american-journalists", "21st-century-american-people", "20th-century-american-male-journalists"] description: "American educational television host (1917–2007)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Herbert" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American educational television host (1917–2007) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameDon Herbert
imageDon Herbert 1971.JPG
captionHerbert in 1971
spouseMaraleita Dutton (1939–1972); Norma Kasell (1972–2007; his death)
birth_nameDonald Herbert Kemske
birth_date
birth_placeWaconia, Minnesota, U.S.
death_date
death_placeBell Canyon, California, U.S.
occupationTV host
alma_materLa Crosse State Teachers College (BS)
known_forMr. Wizard television programs
::

| name = Don Herbert | image = Don Herbert 1971.JPG | caption = Herbert in 1971 | spouse = Maraleita Dutton (1939–1972); Norma Kasell (1972–2007; his death) | birth_name = Donald Herbert Kemske | birth_date = | birth_place = Waconia, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Bell Canyon, California, U.S. | occupation = TV host | alma_mater = La Crosse State Teachers College (BS) | known_for = Mr. Wizard television programs Donald Jeffry Herbert (born Donald Herbert Kemske; July 10, 1917 – June 12, 2007), better known as Mr. Wizard, was an American television host. He was the creator and host of Watch Mr. Wizard (1951–1965, 1971–1972) and Mr. Wizard's World (1983–1990), which were educational television programs for children devoted to science and technology. He also produced many short video programs about science and authored several popular books about science for children. It was said that no fictional hero was able to rival the popularity and longevity of "the friendly, neighborly scientist". In Herbert's obituary, Bill Nye wrote, "Herbert's techniques and performances helped create the United States' first generation of homegrown rocket scientists just in time to respond to Sputnik. He sent us to the moon. He changed the world."

Early life

Born Donald Herbert Kemske in Waconia, Minnesota, Herbert was a general science and English major at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (then called La Crosse State Teachers College) who was interested in drama, graduating in 1940. His career as an actor was interrupted by World War II when he enlisted in the United States Army as a Private. Herbert later joined the United States Army Air Forces, took pilot training, and became a B-24 bomber pilot who flew 56 combat missions from Italy with the 767th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group of the Fifteenth Air Force. When Herbert was discharged in 1945 he was a Captain and had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters.

''Watch Mr. Wizard''

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Mr_Wizard.JPG" caption="As Mr. Wizard in 1961"] ::

After the war Herbert worked at a radio station in Chicago where he acted in children's programs such as the documentary health series It's Your Life (1949). It was during this time that Herbert formulated the idea of Mr. Wizard and a general science experiments show that used the new medium of television. Herbert's idea was accepted by Chicago NBC station WNBQ and the series Watch Mr. Wizard premiered on March 3, 1951. The weekly half-hour live television show, co-produced by Jules Power, featured Herbert as Mr. Wizard and either a boy or a girl with whom Herbert performed interesting science experiments. The experiments, many of which seemed impossible at first glance, were usually simple enough to be re-created by viewers.

The show was very successful with 547 live episodes created before it was canceled in 1965. The program won a Peabody Award in 1953. Marcel LaFollette notes that, "At its peak, Watch Mr. Wizard drew about eight hundred thousand viewers per episode, but it had an even wider impact. By 1956 over five thousand "Mr. Wizard Science Clubs" had been established, with total membership over a hundred thousand. Teachers incorporated program themes into their classes, and "Mr. Wizard" science kits, books, and other product tie-ins filled the holiday gift lists of countless children." The show was briefly revived for one season in 1971-72 as Mr. Wizard, produced in Canada by CJOH-TV in Ottawa; this series was seen on NBC as well as CBC Television in Canada.

Cory Buxton and Eugene Provenzo place Mr. Wizard in a 19th-century tradition of "hands-on kitchen science" associated with Michael Faraday's popular science lectures and Arthur Good's collection of experiments for children, La Science Amusante (1893).

Subsequent career

In the mid-1950s, Herbert also appeared on the General Electric Theater as the "General Electric Progress Reporter" and would introduce spokesman Ronald Reagan and his family to the viewing audience. In some episodes, he would appear alongside Reagan and demonstrate to the audience how General Electric was helping people to "Live better electrically."

After Watch Mr. Wizard was canceled in 1965, Herbert produced eight films in a series titled Experiment: The Story of a Scientific Search; these aired on public television in 1966. In the same year, Herbert produced the Science 20 series, which were 20-minute films of experiments that were designed for classroom use; a student would record and analyze data based on the film. In 1977, he began producing a series of How About episodes about scientific topics. These were 90-second films that could be used in news programs; by 1986, he produced 536 films.

In 1969, Herbert opened a Mr. Wizard Science Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts; the center no longer exists.

In 1982, Herbert was a guest on the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman.

''Mr. Wizard's World''

In 1983, Herbert developed Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of his show that aired three times per week on the cable channel Nickelodeon. The show ran until 1990 and reruns were shown until 2000.

In 1993, children's science show Beakman's World paid homage to Herbert by naming its two penguin puppet characters "Don" and "Herb" after him.

In 1994, Herbert developed another new series of 15-minute spots called Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard. The spots highlighted individual elementary science teachers and their projects. The series was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and was produced at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, and shown on Nickelodeon.

Death

Herbert died on June 12, 2007, of multiple myeloma at his home in Bell Canyon, California. In Herbert's obituary, Bill Nye wrote, "If any of you reading now have been surprised and happy to learn a few things about science watching Bill Nye the Science Guy, keep in mind, it all started with Don Herbert." Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, principals of the television program MythBusters, have been described as being "reverent" of Herbert's work as Mr. Wizard. Five months after Herbert died, MythBusters aired a two-hour episode entitled "Special Super-sized Myths" "Dedicated to Mr. Wizard".

In popular culture

Awards

References

References

  1. "Don Herbert".
  2. Gilkey, George R.. (1981). "A History of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, 1909-1979". The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse Foundation.
  3. Rindfleisch, Terry. (June 14, 2007). "A life remembered: 'Mr. Wizard' let kids experience science". [[La Crosse Tribune]].
  4. (2013). "Science on American television : a history". University of Chicago Press.
  5. (2015). "On the Air". Chemical Heritage Foundation.
  6. Hevesi, Dennis. (15 October 2009). "Jules Power, 87, a producer of 'Mr. Wizard' on TV". [[The New York Times]].
  7. McLellan, Dennis. (June 13, 2007). "Don Herbert, 89; TV's Mr. Wizard Taught Science". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  8. Goldstein, Richard. (June 13, 2007). "Don Herbert, 'Mr. Wizard' to Science Buffs, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  9. LaFollette, Marcel C.. (September 2002). "A Survey of Science Content in U.S. Television Broadcasting, 1940s through 1950s: The Exploratory Years". Science Communication.
  10. (2004). "Mr. Wizard's Biographical Timeline". Mr. Wizard Studios.
  11. "John J. Sullivan, Jr., 80". Wicked Local Walpole.
  12. (20 May 2015). "The Verge".
  13. Nye, Bill. (June 15, 2007). "Teaching science with a big 'poof!'". Los Angeles Times.
  14. Bentley, Rick. (April 23, 2008). "Show finds, shatters the mything links". [[The Columbus Dispatch]].
  15. (November 14, 2007). "Special Super-sized Myths".
  16. "George Foster Peabody Award Winners". University of Georgia.
  17. "Robert A. Millikan Medal". American Association of Physics Teachers.
  18. "James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public". American Chemical Society.
  19. (June 18–26, 2007). "H. Res. 485". Congressional Record.
  20. (2007). "Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach". Sage.
  21. LaFollette, Marcel Chotkowski. (2008). "Science on the Air: Popularizers and Personalities on Radio and Early Television". University of Chicago Press.

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1917-births2007-deathspeople-from-waconia,-minnesotamilitary-personnel-from-minnesotaamerican-science-journalistsnickelodeon-peopledeaths-from-bone-cancer-in-californiadeaths-from-multiple-myeloma-in-californiaunited-states-army-air-forces-bomber-pilots-of-world-war-iiunited-states-army-air-forces-officersuniversity-of-wisconsin–la-crosse-alumnipeabody-award-winnersrecipients-of-the-distinguished-flying-cross-(united-states)recipients-of-the-air-medal20th-century-american-journalists21st-century-american-people20th-century-american-male-journalists