Camp Runamuck
Camp Runamuck is an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1965–66 [United States network television schedule|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, and at Camp Divine, its girls' counterpart across the lake. Runamuck was run by Commander Wivenhoe, a man who couldn't stand kids, and senior counselor Spiffy, his assistant of sorts.Helping them out were counselor Pruett, Doc Joslyn, and camp cook Malden. Eulalia Divine was the owner of the girls' camp, which was run by chief counselor Mahalia May Gruenecker. Nina Wayne 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 and ABC's The Flintstones 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 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 for the actual series. DeVol's original theme song was performed by Bobby Darin. Hugo Montenegro provided a new theme song and score to the episodes.In April 1966, Dell Comics 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, including Joe Spivey.
Cast
- Arch Johnson as Commander Wivenhoe
- David Ketchum as Senior Counsellor Spiffy
- Dave Madden as Counselor Pruett
- Frank De Vol as Doc Joslyn
- Leonard Stone as Doc Joslyn
- Mike Wagner as Camp Cook Malden
- Hermione Baddeley as Eulalia Divine
- Alice Nunn as Mahalia May Gruenecker
- Nina Wayne 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.. In the United States, it briefly ran on Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.Approximately half of the series became available on the streaming service Crackle in 2021.