W. Carter Merbreier (August 2, 1926 – August 9, 2016) was an American television personality, ordained

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

minister and former

police chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence a ...

for the Philadelphia Police Department. Merbreier created and co-hosted the long-running syndicated children's

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, ''

Captain Noah and His Magical Ark ''Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'' was a television program for children and was generally broadcast around the Philadelphia area. The series aired from 1967 to 1994. It was filmed and produced at the WPVI-TV, Channel 6 (then called WFIL when ...

'', in 1967. The show aired until 1994. Born to Adolphe and Retta (née Carter) Merbreier, Carter Merbreier (he apparently later added the initial "W.") co-hosted ''Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'' with his real-life wife,

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. The name Patr ...

. He played Captain Noah while Patricia Merbreier played Mrs. Noah and acted as the show's

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...

, beginning with its 13th week on the air. Merbreier originally created the series as a Sunday morning religious program, but switched the format to a children's show in 1970. The Philadelphia Council of Churches produced the show, which was filmed at the studios on

WPVI WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...

(Channel 6). At its peak in the early 1970s, Merbreier's ''Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'' aired in syndication on twenty-two

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

s throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and attracted a larger local Philadelphia audience than both '' Captain Kangaroo'' and ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' combined. Carter and Patricia Merbreier jointly decided to retire and end the show in 1994 after co-hosting approximately 3,600 episodes since 1967. They resided at their home in

Gladwyne, Pennsylvania Gladwyne is a suburban community in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States along the historic Philadelphia Main Line. In 2018, Gladwyne was ranked the sixth richest ZIP code (using 2015 IRS data) in the country in a ...

, following their retirement from the show. In 2001, Carter and Patricia Merbreier were jointly named "Persons of the Year" by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Both insisted that their names be listed as Captain Noah and Mrs. Noah on the award. Carter Merbreier also served on the board of directors for the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Patricia Merbreier died on June 23, 2011, aged 86, following a long illness. Merbreier died at the age of 90, on August 9, 2016, he was survived by his daughter and two grandchildren.

References

External links

W. Carter Merbreier on YouTube
accessed July 25, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Merbreier, Carter 1926 births 2016 deaths American television personalities 20th-century American Lutheran clergy American chaplains American people of German descent People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania