Wishbone - Behind the Scenes
By Denise Noe
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About this ebook
"What's the story, Wishbone?" was the question asked by the theme song of one of the most inspired children's TV shows ever made. Wishbone was a sort of Masterpiece Theater made just for youngsters — although easily enjoyed by adults as well. On Wishbone, children were introduced to the greats of classic literature as they watched a talented Jack Russell Terrier depict such literary luminaries as Ulysses, Romeo, Sherlock Holmes, and Oliver Twist. This book takes the reader behind the scenes to see how this wonderfully educational program was thought up and then put together. The reader learns how both human and animal actors were chosen and how the special challenges of working with a canine star were met.
Wishbone Behind the Scenes shows how the child actors were able to combine regular schooling and the fun of childhood with the hard work of playing characters in a regular TV series. It discusses the ways human actors played both contemporary roles and classic roles and the special accommodations they made when acting with dog actors. It shows how the stunts were performed and how a few had unexpected "oopsies." Perhaps most of all, the reader learns how many varied individuals worked to create a show for children that entertained and educated in equal amounts.
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Book preview
Wishbone - Behind the Scenes - Denise Noe
Classic Cinema.
Timeless TV.
Retro Radio.
BearManor Media
BearManorBear-EBookSee our complete catalog at www.bearmanormedia.com
Wishbone: Behind the Scenes
© 2022 Denise Noe. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying or recording, except for the inclusion in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This version of the book may be slightly abridged from the print version.
BearManorBearPublished in the USA by:
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ISBN 978-1-62933-914-6
Cover Design by John Teehan.
eBook construction by Brian Pearce | Red Jacket Press.
Table of Contents
What’s the Story, Wishbone?
A Masterpiece Theater for Kids
The Wishbone: A Digression On the History Behind a Name
Back To the Making of a Show
Two Casts Tied Together By One Four-Footed Star
Second Second (that repetition is right!) Assistant Director Allison Graham
Catering To a Canine Star
Wishbone Performers Discuss Their Performances
People Who Got Their Breaks On Wishbone
The Process of Writing Wishbone Episodes
Safety and Protection for Kid Actors
Hair and Makeup
Stunts
When a Stunt Goes Oops!
Real Life Attack on Mary Chris Wall!
Possible Sex Discrimination
Making Music for Wishbone
About Visual Effects
The Work of a Video Assist
Proper Treatment of Props
Awards and Recognition
Of Dogs and Humans, Performers Bipedal and Four-Footed
Wishbone Appendix
References
Dedicated to my friend, film restoration expert Jay Fenton, and to Dorcas Washburn, whose work as my therapist many years ago helped make it possible for me to become a published author.
What’s the Story, Wishbone?
What’s the story, Wishbone?
What’s this you’re dreaming of?
Such a big imagination on such a little dog
What’s the story, Wishbone?
Do you think it’s worth a look? It kind of seems familiar, like the story from a book.
Shake a leg now, Wishbone,
Let’s wag another tale
Sniffing out adventure
With Wishbone on the trail
Come on, Wishbone!
This jaunty song introduces a children’s television show called Wishbone that debuted on March 23, 1995. A handsome and sprightly Jack Russel Terrier is shown running here and there, sometimes with only a dog collar on his neck and sometimes in colorful costumes. The dog is shown standing on a stack of books, running down a street, gazing through a telescope, peering through a window, and looking at a small sculpted version of himself. The canine is seen with wings attached to either side of him, apparently flying through the air. There is a shot of Wishbone vigorously scratching himself as dogs so often do. Dog paw prints appear against a white background. Wishbone appears to trot across a globe.
Each Wishbone episode lasted half an hour and consisted of two separate but linked parts from which it would switch back and forth. There was a realistic, contemporary part of the show that took place in the fictional town of Oakdale, Texas and revolved around a dog named Wishbone, his owner, the teenaged Joe Talbot (Jordan Wall), his widowed mother Ellen Talbot (Mary Chris Wall), and other people in his neighborhood and at his school. There was another part of the show that we saw through what the song called the big imagination
of the little dog. That part told a story from classic literature, myth, fairy tale, or legend. The episode always began in the contemporary segment. The segments were linked through Wishbone who is seen as just a dog
by people in the modern segment but whose thoughts,
voiced by actor Larry Brantley, are heard by the audience. The concept of the show is that the dog is magically familiar with classic stories of various sorts. He thinks about what is going on with Joe, Ellen, and others in the Talbot orbit and is reminded of something from a famous novel, short story, play, fairy tale, legend, or myth. Then Wishbone takes the audience into a segment in which that is acted out. In the fantasy section, Wishbone is in costume and plays a major character — often, but not always, the hero — and the other characters do not see him as a dog, but (usually) as a human, and react to Brantley talking as Wishbone’s classic character talking. There was a segment about African folktales in which Wishbone did not become a human but a legendary spider.
The sight of a dog in a spider costume was a delightful case of cuteness overload! The central plot device of having something in the modern world remind Wishbone of something from a classic helped to underline the perennial relevancy of the classics.
Wishbone was most frequently played by a Jack Russell Terrier named Soccer although there were other dogs of similar appearance who also played Wishbone. The main Wishbone substitute actors were Shiner, Slugger, Bear, and Phoebe. These dogs might perform stunts that Soccer was unable to perform or at which they were just better than he was. For example, Soccer disliked being in water so Phoebe, who took to water well, often did swimming scenes. She loved to swim, jump, and run,
Rick Duffield, the show’s creator, commented. When we needed action, we might go to Phoebe or Slugger. Soccer is more of a close-up dog. He’s a hero if ever there was one.
Although Phoebe frequently took over when a script called for Wishbone to swim, Soccer was well able to dunk his head in water to retrieve items. Shiner, Slugger, Bear, and Phoebe — or a toy dog — were used for rehearsals, saving Soccer’s tricks for the actual filming.
Most commonly, Wishbone was the protagonist of the fantasy segments but he could also be in a secondary or supporting role. For example, he never took the star’s role if it was a story built around a female character. We did not place him in the part of a female hero simply because we felt that might run the risk of mocking a female hero,
Duffield explained. He continued that having Larry Brantley put on a higher-pitched, feminine voice
might be viewed as disrespectful. Thus, in the episode entitled Bone of Arc,
Wishbone did not play Joan of Arc but a friend of hers, Louis de Conte. Wishbone was also unlikely to be cast as the main character if that protagonist was a fool or villain. For example, Wishbone did not play Don Quixote but sidekick Sancho Panza. Similarly, he was not the divided protagonist in the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde segment but his friend, Gabriel John Utterson.
Perhaps it was in homage to the program’s role as an introduction to the great books that, in the contemporary story, Ellen Talbot was given a job as a reference librarian. Several other characters regularly appeared in the contemporary story. Living next door to the Talbots are Joe’s close friends David Barnes (Adam Springfield) and his parents, Nathan Barnes (Alex Morris) and Ruth Barnes (Maria Arita). Something of a whiz kid, David hopes to become a scientist when he grows up. His high-spirited little sister, Emily (played by Jazmine McGill in the first season and Brittany