Mr. Terrific: Stanley the Safecracker

[mannyman007]

WOW! The only people that I know, that remember this show is my brother & 2 sisters. I asked everyone I know in my age group & they all look at me like I'm making this up. I never, ever forgot the theme song. We used to watch Rowin & Martins "Laugh In", & right after Mr. Terrific would come on then after Get Smart would come on. Oh man! The memories!!!

[WEATHER44]

wow! NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE THIS AGAIN, GREAT SITE THANKS.

[38ddkelly]

Do I spy the TV Land logo in the bottom right corner? When did they air this show? All they show now is crap.

[caribja]

I loved this show. Sorry that it didn't last longer.

[andreestes99]

We would roll up "pills" from white bread, eat them, and pretend we were Capt Fantastic at recess in school. Simply times, simple times.

[diddymuck]

TV was IMO trying to squelch the unheard-of popularity of comic books by making comic heroes (or those resembling them) seem stupid.

[diddymuck]

great intro, goofy premise!

[centurionknight]

I loved this show!

[Stllno]

Remembered this show with great fondness. Thanks for posting!

[ftsjr]

A great memory from the 1960s.

[AdmiralCSN]

I haven't seen this show in over forty years! Thanks for posting it!

[250redrider08]

this was so cool to see..I used to watch this before bed time I was only 4 years old but I still remember..I used to imitate him with my big bath towel cape... HA!HA! good memory's Thanks

[gregandsheilah]

I have thought about this series for years -- had no idea of the title. This proves the internet is good for something...

[dynagravitomagnetic]

@gregandsheilah Do you remember the early black and white episodes? When he took the pill there was a disconcerting as his face would contort rapidly in a most grotesque fashion. I think it was done by filming him frame by frame while he grimaced and moved it. The color version eliminated this and just went through tincture shifting. I was about three or four when these were on t.v. and had also forgotten the title!

[brian54970]

I can always remember watching this show, when I was about 6 or 7, but could never remember what it was. So cool, one of life's mysteries is finally solved!!!

[TheMichael1960]

thanks for the memories ,, see he does exist

[Neville6000]

I sense a remake of this property, with the following actor as Stanley: Michael Cera!

[curlymo50]

Everyone says I am making up memories of a show that didn't exist! Now I have proof!haha! I use to stay up late (8:30pm) with my sister and watch!

[ridgerunner721601]

I used to love this show when I was a kid. I remember watching Mr. Terrific and then there was Batman. On Batman, Roddy McDowell played a villain named Bookworm. I always thought he was the guy who played Stanley on Mr. Terrific. They do kind of resemble each other. And when you're 6 or 7 years old you rarely read the credits....LOL.

[MJG956]

You know,I could even envision Robin Williams doing this gig when He first started out. He would have been excellent in this role.

[birdleson]

I have really sketchy memories of watching this and Mr. Nice when I was very young.

[chipsunlimited]

I just can't beleive that I can see Mister terrific again, thanks a lot!

[Caribwoy]

I used to watch that show in Jamaica with my brother and cousins... whenever he popped the pill and that crazy music started we would go nuts... we wore towel capes around our necks and would flap our "wings" and jump up and down on my parents bed!!!

What great memories!! Thank you

[fluid8803]

Does anyone have any more episodes of this show? This was the best for kids that had to go to bed at 8 back in 1967.

[NedNickerson2010]

I remember watching this when I was a kid - it was one of my favorite shows back then.. . 1967? I was 10 years old. Someone needs to get all these little series that ran for a season or two and compile them into a DVD set. Even if they didn't make long runs on tv, they're still fun to watch. Thanks for posting this!

[JubalCalif]

THANKS so much for posting this delightful clip! Had no idea that TVLand had ever showed this short-run 60's show. Spy shows & superhero shows were ALL the rage when I was a kid in the 60's. Some were played for laughs (like this) and others were done in a serious vein (like "Secret Agent Man" & "The Man from UNCLE" - though towards the end of it's run, "Man from UNCLE" did get a bit campy). And I agree that TVLand is crappy comapared to the great lineup of vintage shows they used to have.

[kurtb8474]

I had no idea his face changed colors after he took the pill. That's because color TVs were a luxury item when I was a kid and my parents couldn't afford one.

[POIUYBLUE]

What is this actors name?

[robmarfal]

Stephen Strimpell. He passed away back in 2006.

[galileo1957]

Is this guy on the ultimate steroids or what?

[jason75]

takes me back as a kid

[bboots100]

I had forgotten all about this show until I watched your post! This was back in the day when network television understood the importance of fun escapist programs. Maybe these hard economic times will bring the return of imaginative shows like this one.

[Neville6000]

@bboots100: Don't hold your breath; this show and others like it cost A LOT OF MONEY for the SFX alone-notice how, despite the success of a lot of superhero movies, we haven't seen any attempts at superhero shows on TV (except for Heroes...and that's just 'people with powers'.) A show like Mr. Terrific is even more unlikely, unless a big-screen movie remake can be done in the next year or two (the person I have in mind for the lead role is Michael Cera)-that's the best you can hope for.

[bboots100]

@Neville6000 I think Michael Cera would make a very good Mr. Terrific. Just the right degrees of nerd and hero!!!!

[cree8vision]

I vaguely remember this when I was little. This kind of comedy is so easy to watch. I think that's why I don't find a lot of current comedies that enjoyable.

[Jomei2810]

In Germany On DVD

Release: 17. 07. 2009

Label: UFA/Universum

[europeanstory]

I am from Austria, Europe. In the german speaking countries the title was "Immer wenn er Pillen war". Great stuff!

[JTPolo101]

I was only 5 when this and captain nice weer on the air. I vaguely remember them. And yet I clearly remember watching Batman when it originally aired.

of course Batman was on for years and years in Syndicaton

[realinohio]

Its been so long since I tried to remeber this show I thought it was called Chicken man or something I was 5 years old when I saw it THanks

[ksol1460]

realinohio - Chickenman is real, but it's a radio show, produced by Dick Orkin, who also did The Tooth Fairy. They're very witty and still funny after all these years. Look'em up in google,

[kayAbee]

First time I've seen this in 40 years! I wanted to be him when I was 8 years old! I thought these shows were long forgotten.

[mrsgstd]

Wow! I haven't seen this since it was originally broadcast. Great to see it again. Seems John McGivor was a guest on every show that aired in the 1960s. This one and 'Many Happy Returns' are the only series I remember him being a regular in.

[Minnexyz]

One of my first memories is watching this crap. Years later I would ask people "remember that old show with the pill-popping superhero" and they would just look at you like you were crazy. Thanks to youtube I know I didn't just imagine it.

PS The laugh track sounds exactly like the one they used for "Hogan's Heros".

[userdan54]

Quite a treat to see Stanley Beamish's face change colors after taking his power pill. Last time I saw this was on an Admiral 19 inch black and white TV in 1967.

Good to see the animated Paul Smith and the sterling character actor John McGiver back in action with President Johnson's portrait on the wall. A toast to 'The Great Society.'

[jazzax62]

Loved it. Only broadcast once in Oz when I was about 7 or 8 but still remember the music. Wish they'd play these great and entertaining shows again instead of perpetuating the reality garbage they're obsessed with at present. It was an era when there was an appreciation of the absurd in series like these. Stanley Beamish...what a role model for today's kids!

[grhdanny]

can you possibly post complete episodes from this series..have only seen one since 1967!!..goofy, for sure, but at age 11, then 12, i never missed this, along with Captain Nice, on @8:30 (on NBC)..both started and ended on the same day...hope to see much more..thx..

[SolarTiger]

I remember to this day when he answered the phone and said.."We treat your car like a baby even though it's old enough to smoke..."

one big pill and 2 boosters...gawd, I'm old!!!

[Neuroslicer]

No, it is Dick Gautier, who also played Hymie the Robot on Get Smart (a Buck Henry show), and Robin Hood, on When Things Were Rotten (a Mel Brooks show). All excellent shows! I'm curious to learn how Buck Henry came to recruit Gautier for Get Smart, when in 1967 Buck Henry had another superhero show, Captain Nice, which aired right after Mr. Terrific!

[waltcosmos44]

was that Lou Ferrigno he tapped on the shoulder? The HULK???

[likepatsandGTOs]

no that was Dick Gautier a well-known comic actor. He also played "Hymie" on Get Smart

[thewormster]

I loved that show, when things where rotten. i totally forgot about that show.. I am gonna look it up right now ..thanks for reminding me and thanks for this clip..oh and Hymie was great on get smart wasn't he...

[ladster3]

I remember thinking my parents wouldn't let me stay up to see the premier of this show. I wound up acting like a ridiculously "nice boy" in my lobbying efforts to be allowed to see it!

[steveislove]

This show helped me spell the word action. His boss would always say "I want action A-C-T-I-O-N action"

[drgoofee]

mr terrific was one of my favorite programs as a kid. what a treat to see this clip. thanks for posting.

[ridgerunner72160]

Wow, I was 6 or 7 years old when "Mr. Terrific" would come on prime time TV. Unfortunately you never see reruns because the political correctness commies are afraid some kid will take a horse pill like Stanley did in the series. However, I wish I could find the series on DVD.

[jmen4ever]

I recall sometime in the 1970s,the underdog cartoon,being censered whenever he'd pop his power pill.

[1970sWereTheBest]

Absolutely fantastic !!! This was one of my famous tv-series in the 60's in Germany.Great to see HIM again...nearly 40 years later! I`d like to get the whole series on DVD. 1000thanks for posting it :-)))

[MusikmanPR]

I haven't seen this series since 1967 (I was 5 years old!)... thanks for posting.

[RoyFive]

Whatever happened to Stephen Strimpell?

[lillypad442]

He is alive and I think living in New York. He was also a prominent acting teacher

[krelllabs]

He said in a magazine article (FILMFAX, I think) that McGiver was a miserable man to work with.

[MusikmanPR]

He died on April 10, 2006...

[GeoffLafayette]

Great to see a show I still remember from age 6!

[novice8814]

I also remember this show. Was my favorite when I was 6 or 7.

[HairyOldCopywriter]

Thanks for the up. You forgot Major Matt Mason and "The Time Machine" where you put a square of plastic and it heats up into a dinosaur or weird bug. Lawyers would have a field day with that thing now. Ahhh...the good ol days.

[Neuroslicer]

If you're interested in the entire episode, search for "Mr. Terrific" at Veoh(dot)com

[JABLab07]

Yes, Hal and Hymie were both played by Dick Gautier.

[scarletshade]

Was Stanley's buddy "Hymie the Robot" from the Get Smart series?

[blastingrod]

Like AkiraF, first time I've seen this

since first broadcast...back in 1967.

My family and I loved the superhero shows!

[deblouses]

Hahaha! I'm amazed to see this! This was such a terrific show!!! What a nice guy!!! ;)

[Neuroslicer]

Notice the portrait of LBJ on the wall?

[Freenbean]

That's how you knew it was a top secret US government agency: all TV top secret agenices overlooked the Capitol and had a picture of LBJ on display

[rickynovosad]

@Neuroslicer du he was president then

[Neuroslicer]

When I was in my 20's and 30's, I couldn't find anyone my age who had remembered this show! Captain Nice was a similar sitcom that showed a half hour later than Mr. Terrific. Cartoons had their share of superheroes at the time as well, and my favorites were Astroboy and 8th Man (a few years earlier), Gigantor, The Mighty Heroes, and Frankenstein, Jr. I was also into GI Joes (the 12 inch figure) and a more obscure action figure from Ideal, Captain Action!

[jackalydi]

Hey Neuroslicer! You are the best! Thanks for posting Mr. Terrific! I tried to Netflix it but they didn't have it. I'm 47 and I remember watching this show along with Captain Nice. How did you get these? I know it's gotta be hard to find. I'm into the same stuff 8th Man,Astro Boy, somebody posted Prince Planet and Marine Boy! Anyway thanks so much for your posting!

[AkiraF]

Thanks for posting. I haven't seen that since it was first aired.