Paul Tripp

Paul Tripp was born on NYC's Lower East Side on February 20, 1911. Originally he wanted to be an actor and singer in grand operas, but he had to lower his sights and perform in comic operas at local functions instead. He went to college and studied education. He graduated with a Master of Education degree. When he was unable to find any teaching jobs, he worked as a performer, scriptwriter and producer in legitimate theater, radio, nightclubs, vaudeville and burlesque. After a stint in the US Navy Signal Corps during WWII, Tripp returned to NYC, where he and his wife Ruth Enders Tripp did volunteer work for "Christian Dora House" settlement project. There the pair engaged the children in original plays that would utilize their imagination. This unique concept of teaching kids through music, stories, acting and discovery came to the attention of a talent agency. The agency heads were looking for someone to host a new children's TV show. Impressed with their educational concept, the agency heads took the show to CBS TV producer Irving Pincus, who bought the show and Mr. I. Magination (1949) debuted on the CBS TV network on Sunday night, April 24, 1949. Writing, producing and hosting the show, Paul Tripp and his wife got a child actor and/ or child actress to recreate the lives of famous persons or had them perform in the Tripp's own variations of popular fairy tales. Often "Mr. I." (Mr. Tripp) and his cast of regulars: Simon Oakland, Joe Silver, Ted Tiller and Richard Boone int…