Richard Schaal in Jim Henson's teleplay, 'The Cube' (1969)

- This post continues from one posted at I'm Learning To Share, regarding some of Jim Henson's earlier muppetless productions.
Follow link to: Time out from the muppets:
Young Jim Henson's 'Tick-Tock Sick' (1960) and Time Piece (1965)

Other folks have previously blogged about 'The Cube', but as some of the links in those older posts appear to be dead, it looks like it's my turn...

The other night I did a bit of 'comfort viewing' and watched an old episode of Rhoda running on Hulu.

Among the instantly familiar '70s sitcom faces, I recognized
Richard Schaal, a character actor who was very visible on TV and in movies from the 1960s into the '80s.

I did vaguely recall that he'd once been married to Valerie Harper, which might have had a little to do with his recurring guest appearances in different roles on so many of the MTM shows.

Schaal became a member of Chicago's Second City improv comedy troupe in the early 1960s, and was one of their featured players for much of that decade.

In 1964, he joined the cast of the American TV version of
That Was the Week That Was, moved through the decade with guest shots on lots of TV sitcoms and dramas, had small roles in
'The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming', 'Slaughterhouse-Five' and other movies, and appeared with several other Second City alums on Broadway in the early '70's in Paul Sills' Story Theatre (and was on the subsequent Canadian TV series).

Also among Schaal's interesting credits is his leading role in an avant-garde existential teleplay, 'The Cube'.
It first aired in 1969 as an episode of the NBC anthology series, Experiment in Television, and was a creation of
Jim Henson, in one of his rare non-Muppet ventures.













In 'The Cube', ▼ Schall's unnamed character is suprised to find himself stuck in a small enclosed white-paneled space, apparently unable to leave as a variety of odd characters come and go as they please, adding to his confusion and anxiety.





Running time of the teleplay is about 53 minutes.



Alternate video link: The version embedded here is in color, with a relatively clear picture.
Perhaps given the look and feel of the piece, many people prefer viewing the much grainier black & white version that has been posted more often. (follow link)

- See also:
An episode guide for 'NBC Experiment in Television'(1967-71)