Patricia "Pat" Merbreier (July 12, 1924 – June 23, 2011) was an American

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

and

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. She was best known for playing Mrs. Noah on the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based WPVI syndicated children's program, '' Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'', for approximately 3,600 episodes between 1967 and 1994. Her real life husband, W. Carter Merbreier, who played Captain Noah, created and co-hosted the show. Born Patricia Bosley, she majored in vocal studies at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

. she began singing opera in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

in 1946. Merbreier switched to roles in

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

s as television gained popularity. She also worked as an "industrial show

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

" and a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

, according to an article published by the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' in 1975. Merbreier's husband, W. Carter Merbreier, an ordained

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister, created '' Captain Noah and His Magical Ark'' in 1967 in conjunction with the Philadelphia Council of Churches. It initially started as a religious program, but switched to a children's television format in 1970. Pat Merbreier co-hosted the show as Mrs. Noah alongside her husband from 1967 to 1994. In addition to co-hosting the series as "Mrs. Noah", she also acted as the show's chief

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 the ...

. Funding for the original puppeteer's

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...

ran out during the show's 13th week on-air, so Pat Merbreier took over the role. Some of her more well known puppets included Maurice the

Mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

, Mumwup the Monster and Wally the

Walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...

. The show was syndicated and broadcast to television stations in twenty-two

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

nationwide at its peak popularity. Numerous celebrities appeared opposite Merbreier during the course of the show, including

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

and the Philly Phanatic, who was introduced to the public on the Captain Noah show in April 1978. The Merbreiers decided to retire and end the show in 1994. Patricia Merbreier was a member of the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. In 2001, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia jointly honored W. Carter and Patricia Merbreier as their "Persons of the Year". Both insisted that their names be listed as Captain Noah and Mrs. Noah on their award.

Death

She died at her home at the Shannondell in Audubon, Pennsylvania, after a long illness, on June 23, 2011, aged 86. Her funeral and burial was held at the St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ardmore. She was survived by her husband, W. Carter Merbreier and their daughter, Pam Cowie, as well as two granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merbreier, Patricia 1924 births 2011 deaths American women singers American opera singers American television actresses American puppeteers Oberlin College alumni People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Place of birth missing Singers from Pennsylvania Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century American women Female puppeteers