Shrimpenstein
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Shrimpenstein was an offbeat children’s television show that premiered on KHJ channel 9 (Los Angeles, CA, USA) in 1966 and became an instant counter-culture hit.
The show was created by Michael Dormer and Lee Teacher at the stylish plastic kitchen table of Dormer’s Ocean Beach home. Their pal at Capitol Records, producer Fred Rice, had suggested that they cook up some cute monster characters for merchandising, but when he saw the first Shrimpenstein storyboard, the fuse was lit. A few days later, Rice, Teacher, and Dormer were pitching a Shrimpenstein television show to KHJ.
Rice had already worked with Gene Moss and Jim Thurman, so Moss was tapped to play Dr. Von Schtick and Thurman to provide the voices.
Shrimpenstein, affectionately known as “Shrimpy”, was a miniature Frankenstein monster, "created" when jellybeans accidentally fell into the Monster Machine. The noted sculptor and puppet-meister Wah Chang brought Shrimpy to life.
Dormer and Teacher wrote all the scripts and the theme song lyrics. Rice and some friends from Capitol Records supplied the music and Moss sang the theme song. Dormer also designed the sets and all the goofy machines.
Milt Hoffman, the genius behind the first “Tonight Show” starring Steve Allen, mentored, produced, and directed.
