Way Back Wednesday: The Electric Company

By Annmarie Dean

In 1971, PBS debuted a new children’s program, “The Electric Company.”  The program was broadcast three times daily- noon, 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.- and WNED-TV was one of 200 public television stations that carried the program.  “The Electric Company” ran for six season (1971- 77) and was revived in 2009 (seen on WNED-TV Monday through Friday at 2 p.m.) 

The mission of the program was (and still is) to help children develop grammar and reading skills. The 1970s program even featured characters such as “Easy Reader” and “Fargo North, Decorder,” word detective. 

After coming across a photo of the original cast, I was shocked to see so many famous faces!  The original cast included: Lee Chamberlin, Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant and Morgan Freeman.  The series also featured an animated short, “Letterman,” which used the vocal talents of Zero Mostel, Joan Rivers and Gene Wilder!  Talk about a cast, huh?

Did you watch “The Electric Company” as a child?  Have any fond memories or a favorite segment from the show?  Feel free to comment below!