''Pinocchio'' is a 90-minute musical adaptation of

Carlo Collodi Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (), was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''. Early life Co ...

's classic 1883 book. It aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on December 8, 1968, as part of the ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in ...

'' series. Peter Noone, lead singer of

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK ...

, played

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

and

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

was cast as

Mister Geppetto Geppetto ( , ), also known as Mister Geppetto, is an Italian fictional character in the 1883 novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collodi. Geppetto is an elderly, impoverished woodcarver and the creator (and thus 'father') of Pinocchi ...

. Walter Marks wrote the songs, and the script was adapted by

Ernest Kinoy Ernest Kinoy (April 1, 1925 – November 10, 2014) was an American writer, screenwriter and playwright. Early life Kinoy was born in New York City on April 1, 1925; his parents, Albert and Sarah Kinoy (formerly Forstadt), were both high-school ...

Cast

— Geppetto * Peter Noone — Pinocchio *

Anita Gillette Anita Gillette ( Luebben; born August 16, 1936) is an American actress. She had numerous roles on Broadway, American television, and in feature films. She also made many appearances as a celebrity guest on television game shows. Early life Gil ...

— Blue Fairy *

Mort Marshall ''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...

— Cat *

Jack Fletcher Jack Fletcher is an American voice actor, casting director, writer and voice director. He has done voice acting and directing for anime and video games. He has been the English voice director for the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, starting wi ...

— Fox *

Ned Wertimer Edward "Ned" Wertimer (October 27, 1923 – January 2, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Ralph Hart, the doorman on the sitcom ''The Jeffersons''. Life and career Early years Wertimer was born on October 27, 1923, in ...

— Farmer Whale *

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms '' Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, ...

— Rosa Whale * Pierre Epstein — Weasel

Production

''Pinocchio'' was recorded on videotape at NBC's Brooklyn Studio. Noone was fitted with a fake nose that initially was problematic for the production staff. Richard Lewine, the show's producer, described the problem to ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'': "Since we didn't want to cheat the audience out of seeing it grow, we hired

Bil Baird William Britton "Bil" Baird (August 15, 1904 – March 18, 1987) was an American puppeteer of the mid- and late 20th century. In a career that spanned over 60 years, he and his puppets performed for millions of adults and children. One of his be ...

to create one. Bil stood behind Pinocchio, out of camera range, holding the end of a rod that attached to the nose. When he pushed the rod, the nose, made from expandable material, lengthened. It worked beautifully," Lewine said. "But when we went on camera, we discovered that you could see the separation between the fake nose and Peter's real one. Two hours of work with the make-up man solved the problem, but it was worrisome," he said.

Broadcast

NBC aired the special on Sunday, December 8, 1968, at 7 p.m.

Eastern Standard Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 U.S. states, states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and ...

. It pre-empted two regular shows on NBC's schedule, ''

The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is an American live-action and animated fantasy television series that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1968, through February 23, 1969. Produced by Hanna-Barbera and based on the classic Mark ...

'' and '' Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color''.

Songs

* "Chip Off The Old Block" * "Wonderful World, Hello" * "Beautiful People" * "Little Bad Habits" * "Walk With Him" * "You Could Get To Like It" * "It's A Dog's Life" * "Too Soon"

References

External links

* 1960s American television specials Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Musical television films Pinocchio films 1968 television films 1968 films 1968 television specials {{US-tv-film-stub