The Letter People (TV Series)

**The Letter People** is a television series that first aired since December 13, 1977 on KETC (St. Louis' 9 PBS channel) and other cable channels in the US. It is an adaptation of the Letter People classroom program. But in 2002 and 2015, the episodes a got their remake episodes.

## 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.

## Episode guide

 File:Sim teaching-pre-k-8 1974-10 5 2 0001.jpg
### Availability

The show continued to air reruns on PBS stations. It is rumored that PBS was ordered to never destroy the show's master tapes on behalf of the newer program, given that the original program's characters depicted negative imagery. Prior to this, NDE released the show's episodes on a 5-tape VHS set of Letter People "Learning Advantage Videos" as part of the Letter People curriculum between 1995 and 2003; on the other hand, fans have preserved the episodes on many VHS recordings taped off of TV while the show was still on the air, and various DVDs having the episodes preserved can be found from time to time on auction sites such as eBay.

## 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
* Vic Atkinson Productions – 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

#### Puppeteers and Voices

 Thomas K. McDonough Jr.
 Whitney Carter | Various

* King Hall – Mister M, Various (1977–2000)
* King Hall Jr. – Mister M, Various (2001–present)
* Tom Ray – Mister W, Various (1978–2000)
* Tom Ray Jr. – Mister W, Various (2001–present)
* Patrick Clear – Mister H, Mister J, Mister R, Various (1977–2000)
* Patrick Clear Jr. – Mister H, Mister J, Mister R, Various (2001–present)
* Lynn Cohen – Miss I, Various (1978–2000)
* Lily Cohen – Miss I, Various (2001–present)
* John Cothran – Mister N, Mister L, Various (1978–2000)
* John Cothran Jr. – Mister N, Mister L, Various (2001–present)
* Allan Trautman – Mister C, Mister K, Various (1978–2000)
* Greg Trainman – Mister C, Mister K, Various (2001–present)
* Gregg Berger – Mister T (1977)
* Don Boevingloh – Monty Swell, Various
* Cheryl Brown – Various
* Jane Deeken – Miss O, Various (1978–2000)
* Susan Garland – Miss O, Various (2001–present)
* Pam Dunn – Various
* John Erickson – Mister C, Various
* David Herzog – Mister T (1978–2000), Various
* Bert Hinchman – Mister Z, Various
* Bob Kramer – Mister F, Various
* Nancy Swet – Miss A (1978–present), 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 (1977), Various (voice)
* Nancy Margulies – Miss U, 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 V, Mister Y, Various (voice)
* Gayle Waxman Jr. – Mister V, Mister Y, Various (voice)

## Behind the Scenes Gallery

PilotMaybe.jpgBackstage.jpgThe Letter People gathered in Nardo's Office (Meet Mr. Q)
1. ↑ https://archive.org/details/sim\_teaching-pre-k-8\_1975-01\_5\_5/mode/2up?q=%22the+letter+people%22+ketc
2. ↑ The Letter People Learning Advantage Videos 1995 TV advertisement.