He told Ken Smith, author of "Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films, 1945-1970" (1999): "Mental hygiene films boiled down to a compromise between real life and life as it ought to be."

Ginny in his "Are You Popular?" (1947) finds that "girls who 'park' in cars are not really popular."

Mr. Peshak started making films for Glenview, Ill.-based Coronet Instructional Films. The company was started by David Smart, the founder of Esquire magazine.