Dick Wilson: Mr Whipple “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” Passes Away at 91

Some passing really hit home and remind one of their younger days in their youth. The passing of “Mr. Whipple” is just one of those events. Mr. Whipple was one of the most successful pitch men for a product with one of the best and most memorable commercial slogans ever, “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin”. Yet, in all the times one heard or saw the commercials over the years, one never tired of it.

God bless you Mr. Whipple (Dick Wilson) and rest in peace.

 REMEMBER THESE CLASSIC TV COMMERCIALS?

Dick Wilson, better known to generations of commercial watchers as Mr. Whipple of “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” fame has passed away at the age of 91. Mr. Whipple, the commercial icon was the face of Charmin for over 20 years. An unheard of possibility in todays marketing business.

From 1964 to 1985, and again in 1999, Wilson portrayed Mr. Whipple in more than 500 commercials for the toilet paper.

The first ad was filmed in Flushing, N.Y., a bit of trivia that the former stand-up comedian liked to share in interviews.

The commercials typically feature giddy, middle-age women who enter his store and cannot resist squeezing the soft Charmin rolls, despite his protests. Then, when nobody is looking, Whipple can’t help himself and hugs a package of the toilet paper.

Mr. Whipple Actor Dick Wilson Dies at 91

Charmin’s Mr. Whipple actor Dick Wilson dead at 91

Wilson began his career as an announcer and disc jockey in Canada at age 15 and later graduated from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto with a major in sculpture.

He performed as an acrobatic dancer in vaudeville, and went on to appear in more than 300 U.S. television shows, mostly during the 1960s and ’70s, including recurring roles as a drunk on “Bewitched” and Captain Gruber on “Hogan’s Heroes.”

He also had small parts in a handful of films, such as “The World’s Greatest Athlete” and “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.”

But he was best-known as the bespectacled, agitated Mr. Whipple, whose recurring line in the 30-second toilet paper ads, “Please, don’t squeeze the Charmin,” became a popular household phrase.