Jerry Haynes who leaves behind the lovable legacy of “Mr. Peppermint,” has died at the age of 84. He passed away Monday, September 26, 2011 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. Mr. Haynes captured the imagination of three generations of children with his 35 year TV run and more than 6,000 broadcasts: Mr. Peppermint 1961-1969 and Peppermint Place 1975-1996. The shows were locally produced in Dallas.
To honor his memory, his family has requested donations be made to the Lone Star EMMY Educational Foundation. The Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit entity which will help promote education and media literacy, encourage professional development and recognize the contribution of longtime TV professionals with the Silver and Gold Circles. To make a donation please send to:
Lone Star EMMY Educational Foundation
P.O. Box 192393
Dallas, TX 75219
In 1961, WFAA asked Jerry Haynes to star in a children’s show, which would take place in a music shop. Two weeks before the program was to begin airing, Jerry was sitting at a traffic light at the corner of Garland Road and Buckner Boulevard. The name, “Mr. Peppermint,” came to him. He had borrowed the idea of a striped coat and straw hat from the movie, “The Music Man,” and decided he needed a striped name to go with it.
The first nine years of “Mr. Peppermint” were aired live. The program was broadcast in color starting in 1968. The show returned in 1975 as “Peppermint Place,” with a new co-star, Muffin Bear, created and controlled by Vern Dailey. Jerry and Vern had made more than 6000 episodes when the show ended in 1996.
Jerry was a native Dallasite. He graduated in 1944 from Woodrow Wilson High School and from SMU in 1950. Jerry then attended the American Theater Wing in New York and worked as a sports director and variety show host/announcer. He has been active in the Dallas theater scene and acted in more than 50 movies and television shows including: “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” and “Places in the Heart.”
Married to Doris Gibson for more than 52 years, Jerry and she have three children: Carla, Gibby and Andy, and four grandchildren: Andrea, Molly, Mathew and Curtis.