Paul Tripp

Paul Tripp (born February 20, 1911 in New York City , † August 29, 2002 ibid) was an American actor , screenwriter , musician and speaker .

Life

Education and theater

Paul Tripp was born on the Lower East Side of New York to Benjamin Tripp and his wife Esther. His father was an actor and singer. Tripp attended the City College of the City University of New York . He initially wanted to become a lawyer and studied law at Brooklyn College . However, he did not complete his studies and instead turned to acting.

In 1936 he made his stage debut with the small role of Second Noble in the comedy verse Cyrano de Bergerac at the Hartford Auditorium in Hartford , Connecticut . He repeated this role in the same year in his New York theater debut on Broadway , in a production by Walter Hampden's Company at the New Amsterdam Theater. In New York he made various children's theater projects in which he tried to get children and young people from socially difficult backgrounds interested in the theater. In 1942 Tripp was called up for military service. There he worked, among other things, as a director for The Army, Play by Play , a US Army theater production . He was stationed with the United States Army Signal Corps in China , Burma, and India during World War II .

Collaboration with George Kleinsinger

In 1940 he took part in the opera Victory Against Heaven by George Kleinsinger (1914–1982). Together with Kleinsinger, he then developed the idea for Tubby the Tuba , a musical fairy tale for children that has often been compared to Peter and the Wolf . It tells the story of a tuba that is the only one in the orchestra that never plays a melody. Kleinsinger wrote the music; Tripp wrote the connecting texts. Completion was interrupted by the events of World War II; It was not until 1945 that Kleinsinger and Tripp completed their work on Tubby the Tuba .

In 1945 the first record of Tubby the Tuba was made with Hollywood actor Victor Jory as the narrator. This opened the way for Tripp to the show business, especially to the then still young medium of television . After Kleinsinger / Tripp's composition Tubby the Tuba , the American short film Tubby the Tuba, shot two years later, was made . Tubby the Tuba was later performed by conductors such as Eugene Ormandy , Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Fiedler . Tripp's subtexts have been translated into over 30 languages. Danny Kaye , José Ferrer , Carol Channing and Peter Ustinov took on the role of narrator . Tripp himself repeatedly spoke the narrator.

Due to the popularity of the work, Tripp and Kleinsinger wrote several other musical stories as a sequel, including The Further Adventures of Tubby the Tuba , Tubby the Tuba Meets a Jazz Band and Tubby the Tuba Goes to the Circus . The Tubby the Tuba stories have also been published as children's books with illustrations. Another cartoon was made in 1976 , with Tripp as the narrator and his wife, actress Ruth Enders , as the arrogant violin ( The Haughty Violin ).

Children's television and works for children

In 1949, Tripp developed the first children's television show on US television, Mr. I-Magination . The show ran from 1949 to 1952 on CBS . He was also a producer, director, screenwriter and leading actor. Every week, the program abducted a group of children from their living room at home to imaginary dream destinations in which they could live out their fantasies. Tripp often combined his stories with episodes from American history, in which he had historical figures such as the US President Abraham Lincoln , the art shooter Annie Oakley or the ringmaster PT Barnum appear. Tripp's partner was regularly his wife, actress Ruth Enders ; Actors like Walter Matthau and Richard Boone had their first roles on television there. Tripp received the Peabody Award for Mr. I-Magination .

From 1955 to 1959, Tripp and Ruth Enders presented another television program for children, On the Carousel ; there was a live performance of Tubby the Tuba on each show . The topics of the show included science , history , art , music and theater . On the Carousel received an Emmy Award .

From 1963 to 1967 he produced and presented another children's program, Birthday House, for NBC .

Tripp wrote over 600 songs and released over 30 records for children including Story of Celeste , Pee Wee the Piccolo, and Good Night, Dear Lord . Tripp also wrote four children's books, including The Strawman Who Smiled by Mistake in 1967 and The Little Red Flower in 1968.

Television, film and late stage theater roles

In the 1950s, Tripp took part in several live recordings of plays on American television, such as The Philco Television Playhouse , Kraft Television Theater and Studio One .

In several German-language fairy tale films of the 1950s, such as Hansel and Gretel , Puss in Boots , Snow White and Rose Red and Snow White , he took on the role of the narrator in the US dubbed version.

In the 1960s he worked in television series such as The Dick Van Dyke Show , Perry Mason and Incredible Stories . He made his late film debut in 1966 in the role of lawyer Sam Hummel in the feature film Santa Claus in Need , for which he also wrote the script and the lyrics; Rossano Brazzi directed this comedy film about Santa Claus who cannot pay the rent and is to be evicted outside of his apartment .

In the 1970s and 1980s Tripp was back on stage, focusing on plays with a historical background. In 1971 he starred in a touring production at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the play 1776 about the life of Benjamin Franklin . In 1974 he went on tour with the one-person piece Will Rogers , USA . In 1980 he starred in the one-person play Edison , about the life of Thomas Alva Edison .

Private

Tripp married the actress and journalist Ruth Enders on August 8, 1943; she died in 1999. The marriage had two children, a son and a daughter. Tripp died in Manhattan at the age of 91 . Natural reasons were given as the cause of death.

Filmography (selection)

actor

• 1949–1952: Mr. I. Magination (TV series, also producer, screenplay)
• 1952: Tales of Tomorrow (TV series, 2 episodes)
• 1952-1957 Studio One
• 1953: You Are There (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1955: The Phlico Television Playhouse
• 1955: Armstrong Circle Theater
• 1955–1959: On the Carousel (TV series)
• 1956: Kraft Television Theater
• 1957: The Alcoa Hour (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1960: Diagnosis: Unknown (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1961: Adventures in Paradise (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1961: The Dick Van Dyke Show (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1962: Incredible Tales (The Twilight Zone) (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1962: Route 66 (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1962: Perry Mason (TV series, 2 episodes)
• 1962: Preston & Preston (The Defenders) (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1963–1967: Birthday House (TV series)
• 1966: Santa Claus in Need (Il Natale che quasi non fu)
• 1976: Tubby the Tuba (speaking role)
• 2000: Maybe Baby - Sex according to plan (Maybe)

Screenwriter

• 1947: Tubby the Tuba
• 1949–1952: Mr. I. Magination (TV series, also producer, actor)
• 1966: Santa Claus in Need (Il Natale che quasi non fu)
• 1976: Tubby the Tuba (story)

Web links

• Paul Tripp in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Paul Tripp (short biography and list of roles)
• Paul Tripp, 91; Father of 'Tubby the Tuba' obituary in Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2002
• Paul Tripp Creator of Tubby the Tuba Obituary in: The Independent, September 16, 2002
• Tubby the Tuba (Official Website)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Birthday House entry on TV Party.com
2. ↑ The Christmas That Almost Wasn't ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cast, review and photos of the scene 
3. ↑ The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (press kit, page 7)