The Classic Electric Company Memories Thread

[Xerus]

Cullen, I'll share something with you that's been dormant for 47 years.
During the first season, Judy and Skip were often paired together. Morgan and Lee were often paired together.
Even Bill Cosby and Rita were paired together quite often.
So my 3-year-old brain used to think everybody in these pairs were married to each other. How great is it this kids show had three couples working together to teach us to read?

Some things only make sense when you're three.

That's true. And these couple had one or two of the Short Circus members as their kids.

 

[Xerus]

Another pretty scary TEC moment was a cartoon about a guy discovering a giant ice cream land, only to find something else giant.

 

[Xerus]

During the first season, Jim's face was not seen on camera (except for one split second when he punched a time clock).
He voiced Lorelei the Chicken and Paul the Gorilla, but his hands got a lot of exposure.
Thanks to the magic of chroma-key, where other cast members looked tiny as a giant pair of hands moved various letters and objects around. It looks like it might be Jim's hand (or maybe Morgan's) squishing a sundae on top of a sundae in Hattie's song.

In season one, it showed Bill Cosby as an army sergeant leading a group of soldiers, and it showed Jim as one of the soldiers, for they needed an extra actor in the lineup.

 

[Xerus]

WITCH AUDITIONS: Does anyone remember this pretty scary skit? We see a director in his chair, played by Skip Hinnant. He was organizing a play and needed someone to play the role of a witch. 2 actresses came in to try out. The first was Judy Graubart dressed in a scary witch's costume, complete with a pointed hat, shaggy hair, and black coat. Skip was impressed and asked Judy to screech an EE sound. Judy let out a scary EE! Then Skip asked Judy to let out her loudest, Tee Hee Hee. Judy cackled out loud, "TEE HEE HEE!" Skip loved her performance and told her to come back later so he could watch the second actress's performance. The second actress was Lee Chamberlain, but she was dressed in a regular purple dress, and she had on jewels and a nice hairstyle. She did not look like a witch at all. Skip asked Lee to let out her scariest EE. Lee only made a quiet sounding ee. Then let out a meek sounding, "tee-hee-hee." Skip finally said, "Sorry, you don't get the part. You're not dressed in a witch's costume, and you can't cackle or laugh scary. No one would possibly believe you're a witch." Lee suddenly got angry. Her eyes glowed red and she cast a spell causing Skip to explode into a piles of ashes. It turned out she was an actual witch who didn't believe in being one of those cackling, pointy hatted, witch stereotypes.

 

[Xerus]

Look what just got posted. Rita Moreno playing 3 different characters, who all share the same classic catchphrase.

 

[fuzzygobo]

WITCH AUDITIONS: Does anyone remember this pretty scary skit? We see a director in his chair, played by Skip Hinnant. He was organizing a play and needed someone to play the role of a witch. 2 actresses came in to try out. The first was Judy Graubart dressed in a scary witch's costume, complete with a pointed hat, shaggy hair, and black coat. Skip was impressed and asked Judy to screech an EE sound. Judy let out a scary EE! Then Skip asked Judy to let out her loudest, Tee Hee Hee. Judy cackled out loud, "TEE HEE HEE!" Skip loved her performance and told her to come back later so he could watch the second actress's performance. The second actress was Lee Chamberlain, but she was dressed in a regular purple dress, and she had on jewels and a nice hairstyle. She did not look like a witch at all. Skip asked Lee to let out her scariest EE. Lee only made a quiet sounding ee. Then let out a meek sounding, "tee-hee-hee." Skip finally said, "Sorry, you don't get the part. You're not dressed in a witch's costume, and you can't cackle or laugh scary. No one would possibly believe you're a witch." Lee suddenly got angry. Her eyes glowed red and she cast a spell causing Skip to explode into a piles of ashes. It turned out she was an actual witch who didn't believe in being one of those cackling, pointy hatted, witch stereotypes.

Holy crap on a stick! I just remembered how it ended. Lee did seem to change into a witch (I remember her long fingernails, and that gap between her front teeth!)
"TEEEEEE HEEEEEE HEEEEEE!!!"

 

[fuzzygobo]

I'll let you know something else, Cullen. During the first season, when Lee had an Afro out to HERE, 3-year-old me thought she was hot!
Season 2 she trimmed it down, but the hots were gone. 8(

During the first season, Rita had extremely short hair, so she had a number of wigs. One moment she has long curly hair down to her shoulders, next she has a short bangs/bob/Beatle cut.
Then there's Pandora's blonde curls.

 

[Xerus]

WITCH AUDITIONS: Does anyone remember this pretty scary skit? We see a director in his chair, played by Skip Hinnant. He was organizing a play and needed someone to play the role of a witch. 2 actresses came in to try out. The first was Judy Graubart dressed in a scary witch's costume, complete with a pointed hat, shaggy hair, and black coat. Skip was impressed and asked Judy to screech an EE sound. Judy let out a scary EE! Then Skip asked Judy to let out her loudest, Tee Hee Hee. Judy cackled out loud, "TEE HEE HEE!" Skip loved her performance and told her to come back later so he could watch the second actress's performance. The second actress was Lee Chamberlain, but she was dressed in a regular purple dress, and she had on jewels and a nice hairstyle. She did not look like a witch at all. Skip asked Lee to let out her scariest EE. Lee only made a quiet sounding ee. Then let out a meek sounding, "tee-hee-hee." Skip finally said, "Sorry, you don't get the part. You're not dressed in a witch's costume, and you can't cackle or laugh scary. No one would possibly believe you're a witch." Lee suddenly got angry. Her eyes glowed red and she cast a spell causing Skip to explode into a piles of ashes. It turned out she was an actual witch who didn't believe in being one of those cackling, pointy hatted, witch stereotypes.

Sorry, I made a mistake. I learned from someone that it was Rita Moreno who played the first witch actress, not Judy. I thought it was Judy at first, especially how she laughed.

 

[Xerus]

I'll let you know something else, Cullen. During the first season, when Lee had an Afro out to HERE, 3-year-old me thought she was hot!
Season 2 she trimmed it down, but the hots were gone. 8(

During the first season, Rita had extremely short hair, so she had a number of wigs. One moment she has long curly hair down to her shoulders, next she has a short bangs/bob/Beatle cut.
Then there's Pandora's blonde curls.

I remember Lee's Afro. And I remember how she sometimes wore a cap too.

Judy Graubart always stayed the same throughout the series. She was my crush back then.

 

[Xerus]

This was a totally scary Letterman episode. Where the Spellbinder creates an evil looking octopus.