Bill ‘Wallace’ Thompson

Vladimer Kwaitkowski as Ladmo, Pat McMahon as Gerald, and Bill Thompson as Wallace were the Wallace & Ladmo shown in this 1970's promotional photo. (Photo: Arizona Republic Archive)
Vladimer Kwaitkowski as Ladmo, Pat McMahon as Gerald, and Bill Thompson as Wallace were the Wallace & Ladmo shown in this 1970’s promotional photo. (Photo: Arizona Republic Archive)

Bill “Wallace” Thompson, creator and co-star of “The Wallace and Ladmo Show,” which entertained two generations of Arizona children, died in 2014 at the age of 82.

The program aired from 1954 to 1989.

Thompson played the straight man “Wallace,” while Ladimir Kwiatkowski played the goofy, top hat-wearing “Ladmo” and Pat McMahon played several characters, including the spoiled rich kid “Gerald.”