(1960-196?)
Created by J. Anthony Ferlaine
Starring Frank Freda, Suzanne Turne, Allen Swift
Wikipedia Entry
Children's TV in the 50s and 60s was weird, partly because it was made on the cheap. Cartoons were considered too expensive,* so quite a lot of shows used puppets or other odd techniques.** And one that always seemed very odd to my eight-year-old eyes as Diver Dan.
Diver Dan was much like Roger Ramjet: a short cartoon marketed to children's shows around the country. But Diver Dan wasn't a cartoon; it was live action with a combination of puppets and people.
The show was about talking fish. Diver Dan (Frank Freda) discovered them while exploring and helped out with their adventures. In addition to Dan, there was Minerva the Mermaid (Suzanne Turner), who the various fish -- Finley Haddock, Doc Sturgeon, Georgie Porgie and many others (most voiced by Allen Swift) -- would turn to for advice against the nefarious schemes of Baron Barracuda and his henchman, Trigger.
The plots were all very simple, and the Baron was about a threatening as a ladybug. One interested effect was that the show was shot through an aquarium, so you would see various live fish swimming into the picture as well as the aquarium bubbles. Dan wore an old-fashioned (even for its time) diving helmet, which obscured his face.***
I noticed one thing right off when I watched the show: for a title character Diver Dan got very little screen time. The show concentrated mostly on the fish and the Baron. And the marionettes didn't look all that impressive. It was tough to keep them from wobbling, even though the only part of them that moved was their mouths.
Here's an example:
The stories were all about the Baron trying to do something mildly nasty, and being thwarted by the other fish, with the advice of Dan and Minerva. His most notable characteristic was an exchange between him and Trigger:
Trigger: What should we do, boss?
Baron: Call me Baron, stupid.
Trigger: OK, Baron Stupid.
This was repeated every episode, with some variation. It was probably a big hit with the target audience.
Like many of these shows, the history is sketchy. It was certainly shown in the New York area, and in outlets around the country in the early 60s and, as stations went from home-grown kid's shows to network versions, the market dried up.**** Diver Dan was quickly forgotten, except in the memories of its fans.
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*Until Jay Ward showed the way.
**Like the exceedingly bizarre Synchro-vox animation used in Clutch Cargo and Space Angel.
***In the early episodes, you could see his face pretty well, but as time went on, it looked more and more like a faceless helmet. Dan also got less screen time.
****Of course, the episodes were rerun constantly, since kids weren't bothered by it.
32 comments:
No, Chuck... not forgotten. I remember Diver Dan. He was featured on the local, Southern California kid's show "Sheriff John." I loved that show, and have fond memories of that time. So much so I just sent for the Diver Dan DVD from Amazon. I would love to know if Suzanne Turner or Frank Freda are still with us. It would be great to get their autographs to go with my Sheriff John autograph.
Jim Wright
Diver Dan was Amazing!, if you were the right age. And I was, back then.
The other odd thing about the plot was that Miss Minerva would haul ass out of there when Diver Dan showed up. I guess she figured he would freak if he ever met a real mermaid. Not like meeting talking fish.
I remember Diver Dan as a young child. I grew up in Bendersville, PA..I always loved this program and no one else seems to remember it! It was among my top 10 favorite TV shows as a kid!
I can't believe I found this...I was beginning to think my mind has been playing tricks on me "cause no on e outside my siblings remembered this. I grew up in Western New York & NYC & it was shown in both places!!!
Over the years I'd ask people my age if they remembered Diver Dan and the puppet barracuda and no one did. So glad I found it. I've spent the last few days searching for all my old favs, I want my Maypo, Joe Jitsu (Dick tracy), 3 Stooges doing "Niagara Fals", Spanky's story, Clutch Cargo-with the funny moving mouths-that's another one everybody thought I made up! Reliving my childhood.
I remember the show from California when I was a kid. As a matter of fact, I got the nickname "Diver" from that show and my sibblings still refer to me as that. My brother is referred to as "Matey", as in Ahoy Diver, ahoy Matey. I believe Dan was part of the "Skipper Stu" kids show on the ABC affilliate in Sacramento, as was Popeye. "Skipper" Stu Nahan was also the sports reporter for the station. He later went on to be a regular on the network show "Wide World of Sports". Hey, nobody has mentioned Diver Dan's friend O. U. Squid.
I loved watching Diver Dan as a kid. I, too, thought I was crazy because none of my friends remember this show. I grew up in Newark, NJ but it was shown in the early evening either on Friday or Saturday night.
I am now 58 and grew up on LI. I remember the show from 50+ years ago and was especially smitten by Miss Minerva. Who wouldn't be? I just watched this for the first time since then and knew all the words of the song. Now if I can only remember what I had for lunch today. I also watched a lot of other shows people don't remember like Lance Link, Colonel Bleep and Crusader Rabbit. Not to mention Modern Farmer, which I watched when I got up before 6am on Saturday.
"Diver Dan" was still being syndicated in the Washington, D.C. TV market as late as 1972. It used to come on around 3:30 or 4:00 P.M. weekdays, for a half hour.
Diver Dan was also shown in the Chicago area. I can remember almost every episode, but I can't remember if Dan ever met Miss Minerva?
I watched Dan and Minerva in the St. Louis area as a child. Nobody else remembers it but me! I had a Minerva coloring book too, I would plot and plan colors and practise coloring in the lines so I didn't mess it up! Memories.....
Don, in Sacramento Diver Dan was on Channel 10, at the time the local CBS affiliate. It was a different show and station from Skipper Stu. Nobody mentioned O U Squid because he was only seen in Sacramento. He was part of the locally produced segment that introduced the nationally syndicated Diver Dan episodes. He was not part of the Diver Dan episodes themselves.
What happened to Suzanne Turner?
Yes I remember Diver Dan,was shown in Chicago.First on Bugs Bunny the Ray Rayner Show.Don't think it showed up before that.Later was on sometimes Garfield Goose.Not bad puppet work,Think young kids today would still enjoy it. Steve Polzak
I seem to remember that the episodes were in two groups, One was a serial story which started with the Diver meeting the fish and ended with the death of the Baron. The other was independent episodes ( and the Baron was back alive )
I watched Diver Dan on Blinkey's Fun Club in Denver. It taught me to wonder at and become fascinated with marine life and the possibility that there may be things in the world that had not yet been discovered (i.e., Miss Minerva). It sparked my imagination as a young child!
So glad I finally found the DVD. I used to watch Diver Dan in the 1950's living in the Bronx, New York. No one of my age seems to remember him. No one seems to remember the "Banana man" either. He was an occasional guest on the Captain Kangaroo show. I did find a few clips of him on YouTube so i know I'm not crazy......well...maybe a little.
Just found some DD episodes on Youtube. What a trip down memory lane. I used to watch them within the Sandy Becker show on WNEW TV ch 5, NYC. Yes the show seemed bizarre to me as I grew up on mostly classic Hollywood animation which has not been topped to this day. It is understandable with that familiarity with quality that DD really did seem weird to this 7 year old. However it did hold my attention for the 7 minute episode. I think the theme music was better than the show.
I remember it well. I watched it in the Chicago area. I can’t remember though, if it was shown on Garfield Goose or The Ray Raynor Show. I wanted to BE Miss Minerva!
Danny Bonaduce's father was the writer!
Suzanne Turner was the mother of a friend of mine. Sadly she passed away in the mid 1970’s after a years long fight with breast cancer when my friend was a senior in high school. So she died young and many years ago, which is why there is so little information about her on the internet. Her husband never recovered from her death and committed suicide several years later. They left behind three daughters who made it through by supporting each other, but the tragic loss of both their parents in their 20’s has left scars to this day.
I remember diver Dan watching it as a little boy if I remember correctly when I watched it as a child it was on wnew TV channel 5 in New York the Sandy Becker show or shown on its own
Yes,the sandy decker show,the fish smoking a cigarette was trigger. Lancelot Link,secret chimp was awesome
Yes, this is the one I used to watch when I was a kid channel 10. Their ship was called the channel tender.
Good memories. A few days ago my wife told me the Romper Room lady just died. I was amazed she lasted this long as well as a little heartbroken. She seemed so much older back then in the 60's but she was probably in her early 20's. Anyway, I loved Diver Dan and the barracuda. Also Davey and Goliath, Mr Green Jeans, Captain Kangaroo, Soupy Sales and on and on...
Great show watch it when I was 5 iam 65 never forgotten it
According to information I was able to gather on the internet, Suzanne Turner passed away in 2002 from cancer at the age of 60. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information as to what happened to her since there is so little information available. I suspect the reason for this is that she more than likely left the television industry to get married and raise children.
As to the fate of her husband and the whereabouts of her children, there is nothing available.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99564625/
I live in Canada, where can I buy the black and white version of Diver Dan. The ones on ebay are expensive because of the shipping costs. Thank you.
My sister and I would run around with pairs of my jockey shorts on our heads. With our faces looking through one of the leg holes and say would we were Diver Dan! That's really embarrassing so don't tell anyone!
That is so tragic and sad to hear. God Bless their daughters.
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