Television favorite, the one and only "Mr. Wizard," who introduced children in the world of science on his show in the 1950s and ‘60s, lost his battle with cancer on June 12, 2007, an announcement on the WizardStudios official website wrote.

The 89-year-old show host, who had bone cancer, died at his home in Bell Canyon surrounded by family, Herbert’s son-in-law, Tom Nikosey said.

In his show, which aired for the first time on March 3, 1951, Don Herbert, who hadn’t any special scientific qualification, performed interesting science experiments in the company of a younger assistant, easy to be recreated by viewers in their own homes.

Broadcast live from Chicago on Saturdays for the first several years and then from New York City, "Watch Mr. Wizard" ran for 14 years.

"I was a grade school kid in the '50s and watched 'Mr. Wizard' Saturday mornings and was just glued to the television," said Nikosey, president of Mr. Wizard Studios, which sells Herbert's science books and TV shows on DVD.

"The show just heightened my curiosity about science and the way things worked," Nikosey said. "I learned an awful lot from him, as did millions of other kids."

The 30-minute show received a Peabody Award in 1953 and by mid 1950s, 100,000 children were enrolled in 5,000 Mr. Wizard Science Clubs.

Once the show was canceled in 1965, Herbert remained a presence in TV science programming with general-audience shows like "How About" and "Exploration." He also continued producing films for junior and senior high schools.

"We all feel extremely lucky to have had him in our lives and to have known and worked with Don over the years. We have also been tremendously honored to carry on his legacy as an original and truly legendary figure in the worlds of both Television and Science Education. He has been inspirational and influential in so many ways and on so many lives and we are comforted in the fact that his ground breaking work and legacy will continue to inspire many more people for years to come," the announcement on www.mrwizardstudios.com said.