The Letter People (TV Series)

**The Letter People** is a television series that aired from December 17, 1977 to December 30, 1979 on KETC and other cable channels in the US. It is an adaptation of AlphaOne's Letter People classroom program.

## Format

In each 15-minute installment, the Letter People (relatively primitive puppets) undertake various adventures in Letter People Land, a dark, featureless place populated by strange people and creatures. Episodes usually focus on introducing new Letter People or new sounds formed by combining two Letter People together (such as /TH/ or /OU/). Other episodes take the Letter People to more exotic (though still featureless) locales such as outer space (eventually, the show would include more standard scenery, like cityscapes, meadows, Miss O's opera house, etc.), while a few highlight the characters' conflicts over various sounds (such as Mister C fighting Mister K and Mister S for his sound). Another common feature of the show is "the Catching Game", a game show hosted by Monty Swell (a character based on Monty Hall) where the Letter People must form words by positioning themselves correctly side-by-side.

## Cast and Crew

### Creative Team

* Thomas K. McDonough – Producer, Director, Writer
* Jeffrey Jones – Producer, Director, Writer
* Don Jeffries – Executive Producer
* Gary Twitchell – Director
* William F. Bailey – Director, Writer
* King Hall – Head Puppeteer, Set Designer, Puppet Designer
* Tom Ray – Assistant Head Puppeteer, Puppet Designer
* Alan Pratt, Ph.D. – Curriculum Consultant
* Ruth Lerner Perle – Editorial Supervisor
* Gayle Waxman – Writer
* Harry John Luecke – Writer
* Patrick Clear – Writer
* Ron Cohen – Writer
* James Scott – Writer
* Ralph St. William – Writer
* Ralph DiGuglielmo – Writer
* Peter Bretz – Technical Producer
* John Muench – Technical Producer
* Filmgrafik International – Animation
* Computer Image Corp. – Animation
* M-K Inc. – Animation
* Joe René and Jacquelyn Reinach – Music and Lyrics
* Clayton Frohman – Theme Song and "The Squoosh"
* Miles Goodman – Music
* Tom Tichenor – Puppet Designer
* Art FitzSimmons – Photography

### Live-Action Actors

* Judy Johnson\* (1953–2009) – Miss Blue

\*deceased or not

#### Puppeteers and Voices

* King Hall – Mister M, Various
* Tom Ray – Mister W, Various
* Patrick Clear – Mister H, Mister J, Mister R, Various
* Lynn Cohen – Miss I, Various
* John Cothran – Mister N, Mister L, Various
* Allan Trautman – Mister C (voice), Mister K, Various
* Gregg Berger – Mister Z, Mister T, Mister V, Various
* Don Boevingloh – Monty Swell, Various
* Cheryl Brown – Various
* Jane Deeken – Miss O, Various
* Pam Dunn – Various
* John Erickson – Mister C, Various
* David Herzog – Mister T (sometimes), Various
* Bert Hinchman – Mister ?, Various
* Bob Kramer – Mister F, Various
* Nancy Swet – Miss A, Various
* Genevieve Bierman – Miss U, Various (voice)
* Sally Eaton – Miss E, Various (voice)
* Shelley Heeley – Various (voice)
* Joneal Joplin – Mister S, Mister G, Various (voice)
* Barbara Marentette – Miss A (sometimes), Various (voice)
* Nancy Margulies – Miss U(sometimes), Various (voice)
* Thomas K. McDonough – Various (voice)
* Bob Miller – Mister B, Mister D, Various (voice)
* James Scott – Mister P, Various (voice)
* Will Shaw – Mister Q, Various (voice)
* Gail Simmons – Various (voice)
* Simon O’Connor – Mister X, Various (voice)
* Ken Monroe – Mister C(sometimes), Various (voice)
* Dick Teneau – Mister Y (sometimes), Various (voice)
* Gayle Waxman – Mister Y, Various (voice)