Mister Peepers (1952–1955) User Reviews

a great cast for a small little sit-com

[jockdad · 8/10 · 7 May 2006]

i, too, loved this series when i was a kid. In 1952 i was 5 and my family always watched this show. My favorite character was the one played by Marion Lorne as a rather stuttering, bumbling and very lovable "aunt" type person. i can still recall her "ubba bubba um um" type comments as she would try and say something important. And then when she came back and played Aunt Clara in Bewitched it was great casting!

It was the first time that i can remember seeing Walter Matthau whose career i followed as a fan for many many years.

i have a question if anyone can verify: was the title or end credits music the "Swedish Rhapsody" by Hugo Alfven? Every time i hear it played on my classical radio station here in Southern California it brings back memories of the image of Mr. Peepers walking away with his back to the camera. i'm not even certain if this image in my mind's eye is correct.

A Great Real People Show

[sataft-2 · 11 March 2002]

Back in 1952, I was only 12 years old, and television was in it's infancy. In New York City, we had a bare four channels available, and with the exception of the "Late, Late Show" which showed movies, and the pioneering "Jerry Lester Show" which was the raw beginnings of the late night variety format, television for the most part went off at 10:00 PM and did not come on again until 7:00AM the next day. But in between those hours, seven days a week, there was great "experimentation". The Mister Peepers" show was one of those experiments that worked.

Unlike the almost perfect characters that were to come in the "Ozzie and Harriet Show" and the "Leave It to Beaver Show" in the mid to late 1950's, this show dealt with the inner anxieties and insecurity the common person deals with in a not too perfect, everyday world world. And the late, great Wally Cox was the perfect actor to epitomize the 'everyday real person'. In fact, he was magnificent at the part and within the role itself. Unfortunately, it was role that would typecast him for the rest of his acting career.

In fact, it wasn't that Cox looked like a soft spoken, shy milquetoast sort of person (horn-rimmed eyeglasses and all), he was that person. And he was aptly able to, realistically, portray a 'real person' who, despite this inability to rise above his ordinary appearance and manner, managed to meet life's constant challenges and to succeed.

The main character, Mr. Peepers, was a high school science teacher who took pride in his profession. He genuinely cared for others more than for himself, and was able to instill pride and the quest for achievement in his students, while gaining their respect. And at the end of the series, he manages to marry the girl of his dreams.

No, this was not a 'goody-two' shoes sort of show. The comedy was always there, and it was done at a slow enough pace that we had time to understand its true meaning. For when Mr. Peepers was embarrassed, so were we the viewer. But when he triumphed, be it ever so mildly or ungamly, we cheered as much for ourselves as for the character; for in many ways, Mr. Peepers was representative of the majority of us.

This was an excellent show that, unfortunately, is almost all gone now. The crude Kinescope recordings of this series, like many others produced at the dawn of television, have either been lost or destroyed. Too bad. There is much today's television audience could learn from this past comedic-dramatic gem. The series was proof positive that, when well done, pathos and comedy can go hand in hand.

Mr. Peepers memories

[plynky · 10/10 · 22 June 2006]

I must have been only 11 when Mr Peepers started. It was a must see for the whole family, I believe on Sun. nights. Repeating gags were Rob opening his locker (he had to use a yardstick or pointer to gage the right spot on another locker and do some other things, finally kicking the spot whereupon his door would open), and taking pins out of a new shirt(at the start of an episode he would open up a package with a new dress shirt and for the rest of the show be finding one pin after another that he missed when unwrapping the shirt, timing was everything and the pins got lots of laughs.) I remember an aunt that drove a Rio like Jack Benny and always wanted "Sonny" to Say something scientific. He would think and come up with "semi permeable membrane" or osmosis causing her to say how brilliant he was. (you had to have been there). Marion Lorne stole the show every time she was on screen. Why they didn't continue the series from her POV when Wally quit (he was afraid he was being typecast but by then it was way too late)I'll never know. I saw somewhere that the 1st TV wedding (big one anyway) was Tiny Tim on the Carson show. Horsecocky. It was Rob and Nancy (did I ever have the hots for her) and I remember it made the cover of TV Guide and got press in all the papers and major magazines. A trip to the Museum of Broadcasting in NYC years ago was disappointing in that they had very few episodes then and those might be gone now. I still remember it as wonderful and wish I had been a little older.

First 26 episodes available on DVD

[indrasnet · 10/10 · 16 December 2006]

I've just finished viewing the 1st disc in a 4-disc (26 episodes) collection created in conjunction with the UCLA Film & Television Archive (S'More Entertainment, Inc.). So far (aside from the 1st episode), the image quality is quite good. The DVD box is shown on the title page here on IMDb.

"Mr. Peepers" is just as charming as when I first saw it (5-years old at the time) and Wally Cox is truly endearing in this role. If you're in the mood for quiet comedy that sneaks up on you, as opposed to hitting you over the head, you'll treasure this chance to experience all the wonderful characters you might remember from your childhood. Although some of the gags are a bit corny, most are ingenious and well-executed...and even the corny ones are fun. This is one TV series that lives up to my early childhood memories of it.

Outstanding

[aimless-46 · 9/10 · 27 February 2008]

The 100 black and white half-hour episodes of the early situation comedy "Mr. Peepers" were originally broadcast from 1952-55 on NBC. Like a lot of baby boomers this and "Ding Dong School" are my earliest memories of television. Since both ran later in syndication it is hard to tell how many of these memories are actually tied to the original broadcasts.

"Mr. Peepers" is worth checking out for more than its nostalgia value. It represents a very different style of situation comedy than shows like "The Honeymooners" and "I Love Lucy". The genre could have gone in two different directions in those days and ended up taking the loud abrasive path of those two shows; which is probably why they still seem contemporary.

"Mr. Peepers", which was differentiated by its intelligent restrained tone, may appear slow and dull in comparison. But it's really more a matter of adjusting to the different style. Once you get into the characters it will win over most intelligent viewers. Credit should be give to the show's producer, Fred Coe, a key figure in early television whose dramatic anthologies are also worth checking out ("Philco Television Playhouse", "Lights Out", "Playhouse 90", "Producers Showcase", "Playwrights 56", "Fireside Theatre", etc.) even on kinescope.

"Mr. Peepers" offered a much more gentle style with Wally Cox (to be the voice of "Underdog" a few years later) in the title role, Robinson Peepers, a mild-mannered high school science teacher. His glasses were his trademark and a symbolic link to his name and role as a passive observer.

The series provided Cox with an outstanding supporting cast. Tony Randall played his brash best friend, history teacher Harvey Weskit. Jack Warden played Frank Whip, the loud gym teacher whose mild bullying gave the show most of its conflict elements.

There is some love interest competition involving the school's nurse, Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit), with viewers quickly aligning with Mr. Peepers who seems a much better match for the gentle Nancy. Their on-screen marriage near the end 1953-54 season captured national attention, an early version of the "Who Shot J.R.?" frenzy.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Full Release Needed!

[hmcrabtree · 9/10 · 19 May 2020]

Mister Peepers ran from 1952-55 on NBC, and has many episodes on DVD, sadly around 25 are lost and the last season has not been released onto DVD. The episodes are kinescopes, films of the monitors as the show was aired. The quality is bad to acceptable on many of them, sound can be off, but this is the best that can be done. Thank goodness for kinescopes or we would have none. Wally Cox played a science teacher, Tony Randall was his best friend on the show, another teacher, and Bewitched's "Aunt Clara," Marion Lorne, was the English teacher. Peepers married in May of 1954 in one of the most watched episodes in TV history, sadly that episode is lost. I have a few negatives from photos taken of that episode. The series is held by UCLA Film and Television Archives but I have never received any answer from them as to coming out to view the episodes they have not released on DVD. The company that released them, S'mores, told me it was too expensive to recoup the cost to release the final season. Cute show, a little slow moving, might bore some kids, but Peepers' slapstick and getting himself into mischief is fun viewing for people who like classic/early TV and children.

One of the best comedy series ever, and that's not just nostalgia talking.

[meadowlark · 1 October 2002]

I was about 13 or 14 when the series began and about 17 or 18 when it ended. One of the best comedy series ever, and that's not just nostalgia talking.

Just look at that cast---Wally Cox, Tony Randall, Arthur O'Connell, Jack Warden, and the inimitable Marion Lorne. Randall and Cox played off each other perfectly, Randall as the worldly, man-to-man advisor to Cox's shy, soft spoken, science teacher.

Cox was perfect in every way for his role, and Randall played his self-consciously masculine character with a subtle irony that perfectly expressed both their relationship to one another as human beings and their relationship to the world as types. Consequently, the viewer could identify with them both and on both levels.

Great writing, and not a mean syllable in it.

Mr. Peepers,A great show!

[cervantes1547 · 5 January 2006]

I recently bought a DVD of the Mr.Peepers show- that long forgotten TV show which ran from 1952-1955. When I was a child I do not remember anything about this show and it was never in reruns. But in 2006 the DVD appears.

Wally Cox who died on February 15,1973 at the age of 48 was a shy little man who was very soft spoken.He was a science teacher in Jeffrson City (Missouri?)and all of his students loved him for his intelligence and caring attitude.I am also a teacher (34 years and counting) and I truly admire Mr.Robinson J. Peepers. The late Tony Randall was also part of the show as Mr.Peepers' friend.Their chemistry worked very well together and led the show to run very smoothly.

Wally Cox is gone now as well as his long forgotten show but it will live on with the DVDS and the memory of what television was in a nicer time on this earth.Thank You Robinson J.Peepers!

VOLUME 2 IS COMING OUT VERY SOON!

Take a Peep at Mr. Peepers!

[mlevans · 2 May 2005]

Somewhere during my adolescence, in the late 1970s, I saw an episode or two of Mr. Peepers. Apparently it was briefly in syndication at that time. I finally got a chance to see an episode as an adult this week, when I found it and three other "forgotten" 1950s sit-coms on a CD at a used bookstore.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the show was even better than I had remembered. Unfortunately, the video seemed to have been copied from badly deteriorated kinescope images. I assume these are all that survive of this show and others. (Too bad more people didn't get Desi Arnez's idea of paying to have the shows put on real film!) Despite the condition of the film, it is still a great joy to watch. The cast's artistry shines through, despite the sometimes jerky film movement.

Of course Wally Cox was born to play Mr. Peepers, the mild-mannered junior high science teacher. A young Tony Randall was entertaining as a co-teacher, as was the wonderfully eccentric Marion Lorne, who would later gain fame as Aunt Clara, the senile witch on Bewitched. Jack Warden wasn't in the episode I watched, but I'm sure he was perfect as the coach. Veteran character actress Ruth McDevitt was hilarious in this episode as Mr. Peepers' doting mother. (I knew I recognized her; I knew her as elderly Miss Emily on Kolchak: The Night Stalker 20 years later!) Despite the ragged condition of the old kinescope images, the comedic timing is apparent. Cox patiently zips and unzips pouches in an attaché case on the first day of school, only to have his mother insist he double-checks to be sure he packed his toothbrush. As Peepers and his sister (Jenny Egan) leave amidst Mom's continued "You'll miss your bus!" exhortations, they see her mouth something from the window. Unable to make out what she wants, they go back to the door and wait for her to open it. "Hurry! You'll miss your bus!" was what she wanted to say (again)! Lorne had already perfected the scatter-brained, "senior moment" mannerisms of Aunt Clara. In this episode, she informs the class that she will recite a poem she wrote and that she had recited to her classes on the first day of school every year for 30 years. After the first line, it becomes apparent that she cannot remember the poem. After several hilarious false starts and finally a stammering fluster, she tells the class to busy themselves while she finds the written copy.

Other than the poor image quality, the only other things that might bug a modern viewer are the old-fashioned opening and closing (ala George Burns, Dobie Gillis, etc.) and the canned laughter. Overall, the show is still a winner and ought to be picked up by TV-Land or someone.

Well-liked comedy from TV's "Golden Age"

[Tom-207 · 7 March 2002]

One of the first TV shows I remember was "Mr. Peepers." I saw it between the ages of five and eight. The details of the program escape me, save for mental images of Wally Cox, Tony Randall, and Marion Lorne, and for some reason, the quirky theme song which I can still hum. I also recall the impression that it was good-natured and that my parents really liked the show. The kinescopes (16mm films of live TV taken off a picture tube)have evidently deteriorated badly. That's sad, because I'd love to see those. If you do run across them, resurrected, they're worth seeing.

An early childhood memory of Mr. Peepers.

[vldiaz · 7 February 2006]

I have a vivid memory of a Mr. Peepers episode when I was about seven years of age. Mr. Peepers had been invited to some woman's house for dinner along with others. She was very insecure about her cooking and was anxious to please everyone there with her skill.

Wall Cox, playing Mr. Peepers, being a small, thin man was soon completely filled up from the first helping of food. She enthusiastically offered Mr. Peepers an enormous second helping, which he politely refused. She became very upset, almost hysterical, when he refused to start on a second plate, thinking that Mr peepers hadn't liked her cooking at all.

My account may seem ordinary but I remember it clearly as hilarious. The live audience at that time laughed uproariously as the scene closed, showing Mr. Peepers quickly tearing into the enormous second plate of her cooking in an attempt to stop her crying.

Gone but never forgotten

[timmauk · 28 June 2001]

Wally Cox made a name for himself in this show about a shy school teacher named Mr. Peepers. He was very smittened by another of the teachers played by Patricia Benoit. My mother said that when they finally got married on the show, it was a big TV event.

This show was also the springboard for a bigger star of film, television and the theater. His name, Tony Randall. From here it was straight up for him.

Sadly, this show does not exist any longer. It was filmed in Kinescope back in the early days of TV. Alot of these Kinescope taped shows fell apart after several years. I have only seen bits and pieces of this show. I have always wanted to enjoy watching it like my parents did. It was one of the top shows back then. If you have seen this show back when it was on, please make a comment about it.

Happily, at least one episode still exists

[Zeke20035 · 5 October 2005]

I have found a DVD containing a rare episode of Mr Peepers starring Wally Cox. Classic TV Hits, comedy volumn 2 has this series along with Jackie Gleason's Life of Riley, Trouble With Father, and I Remember Mama. Cox is brilliant in the lead role. Tony Randall shines in a supporting role. The show was filmed live and it is rather grainy today but thank goodness it still exists. One can easily see why this series was so popular in it's day. It is a sweet and tender show. It is very well acted and well written. Thanks to the Classic TV Hits series this show is available to us all to cherish for years to come. The actress who plays the elderly teacher later went on to play Aunt Clara on Bewitched. As with all the show's performers she is excellent!

Does anyone recognize this storyline?

[yaleschwartz · 4 February 2006]

I remember a romantic/comic situation that I associate with Wally Cox, either in a movie or the TV show, Mr. Peepers. He'd been told that there was a secret way to make someone fall in love with him and that was to look into her eyes and concentrate, thinking the words, "I love you madly with all my heart and soul." This sure-fire method worked all too well when he practiced it on women he didn't really care for, just trying it out before he'd use it on the girl he really loved. When he finally got the chance to use it on his lady love, it had no affect. In the final scene when he goes back to complain to whoever told him about this secret, he's told, "It only works on women who don't care for you. It has no affect on the person who already truly loves you." And then the show ends with an astonished look on Mr. Peepers' face.

I was quite young when this show aired, but it made a lasting impression. So much so, that I used the technique myself years later and it worked exactly as described. In my own experience, after extricating myself from a few practice relationships, I found the lady it didn't work on (the one who already truly loved me) and I married her.

Does anyone recognize this storyline?