''Camp Runamuck'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on NBC during the 1965–66 television season. The series was created and executive produced by David Swift, and aired for 26 episodes.

Synopsis

The series related the wacky goings-on at the titular boys'

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

, and at Camp Divine, its girls' counterpart across the lake. Runamuck was run by Commander Wivenhoe (

Arch Johnson Archibald Winchester "Arch" Johnson (March 14, 1922 – October 9, 1997) was an American actor who appeared on Broadway and in more than 100 television programs. Early years Archibald Winchester Johnson was born in Minnesota in 1922. He serve ...

), a man who couldn't stand kids, and senior counselor Spiffy (

David Ketchum David Ketchum (born February 4, 1928, in Quincy, Illinois) is an American character actor and comedian best known for his appearances in television sitcoms, including ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', '' Camp Runamuck'', and ''Get Smart''. Ketchum s ...

), his assistant of sorts. Helping them out were counselor Pruett (

Dave Madden David Joseph Madden (December 17, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Canadian-born American actor. His most famous role came on the 1970s sitcom ''The Partridge Family'', in which he played the group's manager, Reuben Kincaid, opposite Shirley Jo ...

), Doc Joslyn, and camp cook Malden (Mike Wagner). Eulalia Divine (

Hermione Baddeley Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film, and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Note ...

) was the owner of the girls' camp, which was run by chief counselor Mahalia May Gruenecker ( Alice Nunn).

Nina Wayne Nina Wayne (born September 13, 1943) is a retired American actress. Early years Wayne was born on September 13, 1943, in Chicago. In her hometown, Wayne began taking ballet lessons when she was three years old, and at age 6 she began taking cla ...

(younger sister of Carol) played Camp Divine's curvaceous counsellor Caprice Yeudleman. The competitiveness between the two camps and the incidents and accidents that would normally occur at such summer camps - missing kids, people falling into the lake, food poisoning, and so on - formed the basis of most of the show's plots. The series was scheduled opposite CBS's ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

'' and ABC's ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'' and struggled in the ratings. The series was canceled after 26 episodes, with the last new episode airing on April 15, 1966. Reruns aired on NBC until September 2, 1966.

Production notes

Composer and bandleader Frank DeVol (who also wrote the series' theme song) played the part of Doc Joslyn in the pilot episode, but illness forced him to quit the role, and he was replaced by

Leonard Stone Leonard Stone ( Steinbock; November 3, 1923 – November 2, 2011) was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films. Early life Stone was born in Salem, Oregon, the son of Jewish parents Julia ...

for the actual series. DeVol's original theme song was performed by

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

provided a new theme song and score to the episodes. In April 1966,

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

issued a ''Camp Runamuck'' comic book. Some of the characters on that show were based on some of the names described in the song " Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" by

Allan Sherman Allan Sherman (born Allan Copelon or Allan Gerald Copelon; November 30, 1924 – November 20, 1973) was an American musician, satirist, and television producer who became known as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, '' M ...

, including Joe Spivey.

Cast

as Commander Wivenhoe *

as Senior Counsellor Spiffy *

as Counselor Pruett *

Frank De Vol Frank Denny De Vol (September 20, 1911 – October 27, 1999) was an American bandleader, arranger, composer and actor. As a composer, he was nominated for four Academy Awards. Early life De Vol was born in Moundsville in Marshall County in no ...

as Doc Joslyn (1) *

as Doc Joslyn (2) * Mike Wagner as Camp Cook Malden *

as Eulalia Divine * Alice Nunn as Mahalia May Gruenecker *

as Caprice Yeudleman * George Dunn as The Sheriff

Episodes

Syndication

The series aired in the UK by the BBC on Saturday mornings 10 years after it aired in the United States. (Although this was the first network UK screening of ''Camp Runamuck'', the series was aired by some ITV regional stations in 1969). In the United States, it briefly ran on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

and

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

. Approximately half of the series became available on streaming service Crackle in 2021.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0058793
Behind-the-scenes production photos
Collection of Stephen Lodge. 1965 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings 1960s American sitcoms American English-language television shows Television series about summer camps Television series by Screen Gems Television shows set in summer camps NBC sitcoms