“Camp Runamuck”

This subdued sitcom ran for a total of twenty-six episodes on NBC during the 1965-1966 season. Set at summer camp for boys the series not surprisingly focused more on the adults than the kiddies. Scheduled opposite The Wild, Wild West on CBS, Camp Runamuck was clobbered in the Nielsen ratings and soon canceled. Although beloved by some younger viewers, the humor was stilted and the stories benign.

According to a December 23rd, 1964 article in The New York Times, a sitcom pilot called “Camp Runamuck” was one of twenty-two pilots NBC had under consideration for the 1965-1966 season [1]. It would follow the misadventures of a group of counselors at a boy’s summer camp and their interactions with the counselors at a girl’s camp nearby. Val Adams, citing “an authoritative source,” revealed that it was “definite” that Camp Runamuck would be part of NBC’s 1965-1966 schedule [2].

Camp Runamuck

Broadcasting reported in its February 15th issue that David Swift, creator of Camp Runamuck, would write 13 episodes for the 1965-1966 season and likely direct the same number. Swift had executive produced, written and directed the pilot for Screen Gems [3]. When NBC officially announced its schedule in March, the vast majority of its new and returning programs were in color, Camp Runamuck among them (only I Dream of Jeannie and Convoy were to be filmed in black and white) [4].

Camp Runamuck was given the Friday 7:30-8PM time slot, opposite The Flintstones on ABC and The Wild Wild West on CBS. Construction on two camp sets, one for boys and one for girls, began later that month at the Columbia Ranch in Burbank, California [5]. In May, TV Guide reported that actor and composer Frank DeVol was forced to pull out of Camp Runamuck due to illness, although he would stay on as musical director for the series [6]. TV Guide announced in June that Leonard Stone had replaced DeVol [7].

Camp Runamuck premiered on Friday, September 17th, 1965. In the episode, the basic premise of the series was laid out: Camp Runamuck, operated by “Commander” Wivenhoe (played by Arch Johnson), was situated across a lake from Eulalia Divine’s Camp for Girls, better known as Camp Divine, which was by Eulalia Divine (played by Hermione Baddeley); it was Mahalia May Gruenecker (played by Alice Nunn), who oversaw the camp’s day-to-day operations, however. Wivenhoe wasn’t especially fond of children nor was he thrilled at the way the female counselors at Camp Divine interfered with the goings-on at Camp Runamuck, primarily by distracting his male counselors.

The Men of Camp Runamuck

Joining Wivenhoe at Camp Runamuck were Senior Counselor Spiffy (played by Dave Ketchum), Counselor Pruett (played by Dave Madden), Camp Cook Maudlin (played by Mike Wagner) and Doc Joslyn (played by Leonard Stone). Frank deVol played Doc Joslyn in the pilot episode only. Spiffy, despite his bumbling nature, seemed to genuinely care about the kids — at least more than Wivenhoe did. Pruett had a tendency to shake uncontrollably when in close proximity to women.

Over at Camp Divine, Mahalia May and Eulalia Divine worked with the vivacious Counselor Caprice Yeudleman (played by former Las Vegas showgirl Nina Wayne), Counselor Nadine Smith (played by Beverly Adams) and Counselor Ivy (played by Carol Anderson).

Nina Wayne as Caprice Yeudleman (Right)

In the premiere, Wivenhoe’s bathtub, the only one in miles and his only comfort, is stolen by counselors from Camp Divine who only have showers at their disposal. When Wivenhoe discovers the theft, he puts together a crack commando unit to steal it back during a daring night raid. Unfortunately, the commissioner of camps shows up unexpectedly and announces he’ll be revoking Wivenhoe’s license. Eulalia is able to convince the commissioner that the men were bringing the bathtub to Camp Divine, saving Wivenhoe’s hide.

Thus, the groundwork for the feud between the two camps is laid. Maureen McCormick, who would later play Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch, popped up briefly in the premiere as a camper at Camp Divine. She was later featured more prominently during a January 1966 episode in which she disguised herself as a boy in order to join Camp Runamuck. In another episode, Camp Runamuck installs a new swimming pool but won’t let Camp Divine use it. In yet another, the counselors of Camp Divine try to trick the counselors of Camp Runamuck into taking over their duties.

Other episodes involved “Parents Day” at Camp Runamuck, in which the camp is overrun by parents wanting to check on their beloved children, a two-parter in which Spiffy quits, the death of Camp Runamuck’s beloved turtle, an experimental surfboard with a rocket attached to it and Wivenhoe’s brand new car.

The last first-run episode aired in April of 1966, although repeats were shown during the same time period until September 2nd, 1966.

Critical reaction to Camp Runamuck was solidly negative. Rick Du Brow of UPI had this to say:

Of the nine new series that premiered last night, I found only one other worthy of some reflection, NBC-TV’s half-hour comedy “Camp Runamuck,” which is about a boys’ summer camp and a girls’ camp — and the reason for this reflection is that I have never seen a piece of television film that seemed so certain of the low intelligence of the mass audience. It was fascinating to view on this basis.

Whether there was cynicism at work is something the audience will have to decide for itself. Admittedly, “Camp Runmuck” is intended to be slapstick, but it is a show on such an extraordinarily low level that one feels it simply has to be intentional. It just couldn’t be an accident, one muses. You look and you don’t believe it.

You begin to think that perhaps it took its clue from the success of the moronic level of “Gilligan’s Island.” I am an optimist, though, and I like to think that human beings are capable of such clear-sighted commercialism. It is like looking at afternoon cartoons, only with people. Is it “Pop TV?” Is it so far out that it’s in? Will it be a hit? I wouldn’t dare bet against it. [8]

For the record, the other show Du Brow considered worthy of reflection was Hogan’s Heroes. Another negative review came from Ray Oviatt of the The Blade, who called the show “a straining comedy” [9]. Larry Wolters of The Chicago Tribune suggested that the show “makes the Beverly Hillbillies look like intellectuals and Soupy Sales like an egghead” [10]. Hal Humphrey of The Los Angeles Times wrote that it was a “slickly produced abomination” while Barbara Tiritilli of Chicago’s American called it “pointless drivel” [11].

The first two episodes of Camp Runamuck (broadcast on September 17th and 24th, respectively) averaged a dismal 10.9 Nielsen rating, ranking 89th out of 96 programs. Only two NBC shows performed worse: Hank and Convoy, both new entries for the network [13]. Based on the Nielsen ratings for October through December of 1965, Camp Runamuck ranked 94th out of 99 programs with a 9.9 rating, ahead of such shows as ABC Scope, CBS Reports and Slattery’s People [14]. In February of 1966, when NBC’s 1966-1967 schedule was beginning to circulate, Camp Runamuck was not surprisingly nowhere to be found [15].

At one point, creator David Swift was working on a script for a feature film version of Camp Runamuck that ultimately went nowhere [16]. The National Association for Better Radio and Television, in its 1966 “Television for the Family — A Comprehensive Guide to Family Viewing,” called Camp Runamuck “unacceptable for family or children” and referred to its humor as “contrived” and “without creative merit” [17]. Dell released a single comic book based on the series in the spring of 1966.

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Last Updated June 26th, 2008