Magic Circle Club facts for kids

The Magic Circle Club was a popular Australian children's TV show. It won awards and was made in Melbourne from 1965 to 1967. The show was like a live pantomime or a classic fairy tale. It had lots of music, new songs, and dance. Sometimes, male actors played older female characters, just like in pantomimes.

Godfrey Philipp produced and directed the show. John-Michael Howson wrote many of the stories and songs. Max Bartlett also wrote scripts and acted. Bruce Rowland created the music, and Brian Thomson designed the sets.

The show was hosted by Nancy Cato. Later, Liz Harris joined the cast and became the host when Nancy Cato needed to use a wheelchair for a while. In 1966, The Magic Circle Club won the first Logie Award for a children's show. It was recognized for its "Outstanding Contribution To Children's Television."

Meet the Magic Forest Characters

The show's main characters lived in the Magic Forest. They included:

• Fredd Bear (played by Tedd Dunn), who was a quiet bear. Tedd Dunn also designed the costumes.
• Fee Fee Bear (played by John-Michael Howson), a bear with a high-pitched voice.
• Mother Matilda Hubbard (played by Fred Tupper), a feisty character.
• Max (played by Max Bartlett), who was very sensible.
• Curley Dimples (played by Gael Dixon), a character like Shirley Temple. Gael Dixon was also the show's choreographer.
• Crystal Ball (played by Gabrielle Hartley), a beautiful enchantress.
• Hep Cat (played by Nola Finn), Crystal Ball's pet.
• Marlena DeWitch (played by Marion Weir).
• Sir Jasper Crookly (played by Ernie Bourne), the villain.
• Gaspar Goblin (played by Colin McEwan), Sir Jasper's helper.

Other characters sometimes visited the Magic Forest. These included BoBo the clown, Montmorency James Rabbit, Sebastian Bear, and Aunty Vale. Twoddle & Boddle were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Max Bartlett often played other characters too, like Harley Quin or King Size. Even Nancy Cato played a chambermaid named Sweet Nelly in one story.

How the Show Worked

The stories in The Magic Circle Club usually lasted for five days. The Friday episode would finish the week's adventure. At the end of each show, the hostess would sit on a big mushroom with Fredd Bear. They would read letters and show artwork sent in by viewers.

Every day, the show had special segments:

• "Cassius Cuckoo's Corn Corner" featured riddles with Cassius Cuckoo.
• Leonardo de Funbird shared limericks.

Cassius and Leonardo were bird puppets made of wood and felt. Cassius lived in a longcase cuckoo clock in The Magic Cottage. Leonardo lived inside a computer called IKAN (Instantaneous Knowledge Accumulation Network). Later, Leonardo moved to a tree stump in the Magic Forest.

Towards the end of the show's run, stories were shorter, lasting only four days. The Friday show then had a separate story about toys that came to life in a toyshop. Liz Harris played a rag doll, Max Bartlett was a tin soldier, and John-Michael Howson played a sad clown. This clown character later inspired his famous Clown character in Adventure Island.

Magic Circle Club on Stage

In 1965, a special Magic Circle Club episode called "The Stolen Smile" was performed live. It took place at the Tivoli Theatre in Melbourne. In this adventure, Sir Jasper and Gaspar had kicked Clocko the chief clown and Spangles the trapeze artist out of their circus. They also took away Clocko's smile. Many of the TV show's regular actors played their characters on stage.

During one performance, Gabrielle Hartley, who played Crystal Ball, was badly burned. Her cloak touched a hot "flash pot" used for a special effect. She could not return to her role, and the character of Crystal Ball was written out of the TV show.

End of the Show and What Happened Next

After making 555 episodes, The Magic Circle Club was stopped because it cost too much to produce. Another TV channel, ABC TV, wanted to buy the show, but ATV refused. This led to the creation of a similar show called Adventure Island on ABC. Many of the same actors and writers from Magic Circle Club joined Adventure Island.

The Magic Circle Club was filmed in black and white. It was shown again before colour TV officially started in 1975. John-Michael Howson wanted to make the show in colour to sell it overseas, but the TV station didn't want to pay the extra cost. Many episodes of the show are now kept safe at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA).

Tedd Dunn, who played Fredd Bear, continued to work at Channel 0. He played Fredd Bear for two more years as a co-host on Fredd Bear's Breakfast-A-Go-Go. His Fredd Bear costume is now at the NFSA. Cassius and Leonardo, the puppet birds, also appeared on Breakfast-A-Go-Go. Max Bartlett continued to work in TV production and helped create shows like Fat Cat and Friends.

In 2007, Nancy Cato talked about Magic Circle Club on a TV show called The Way We Were.

Archived Episodes

The Australian National Film & Sound Archive has saved many episodes of The Magic Circle Club. These include episodes: 141–146, 150, 151, 155, 157, 160, 166, 168–170, 316, 319, 322, 326–329, 332, 336–339, 342, 343, 345–352, 356, 362, 363, 368, 371, 379, 386, 387, 398, 401, 402, 406–409, 412, 413–416, 419, 421–424, 427, 428, 431–434, 441, 444, 447, 449, 450, 455, 456, 459, 468, 469, 471, 472, 473, 474, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 486, 493–495, 500, 504, 505, 508, 510–516, 518, 519, 521, 525, 526, 527, 533, 538, 451, 544, 545–548, 551, 552, 553, and 555.