BUFORD AND THE GALLOPING GHOST
(NBC, February 3-September 1, 1979)
Hanna-Barbera Productions
MAIN
CAST:
Frank Welker
– Buford, Nugget Nose
Pat Parris
– Cindy Mae Boggs, Rita
Dave Landsburg
– Woody Boggs
Henry Corden
– Sheriff Muletrain
Roger Peltz
– Goofer McGee
Marilyn Schreffler
– Wendy
Hal Peary
– Fenwick Fuddy
Yogi’s
Space Race was a 90-minute program featuring the titular Yogi Bear (Daws Butler)
and a cast of returning and all-new Hanna-Barbera
characters. The program was comprised of four unrelated segments that shared
some of those characters. It failed to perform on the struggling NBC and was cancelled halfway through its sole
season. In order to make it more maneuverable on their schedule, all of the
segments were broken up into three separate programs. Buford and the
Galloping Ghost was a combination of the two 11-minute segments of Space
Race: The Buford Files and The Galloping Ghost.
The Buford Files was the
latest clone of Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo franchise. It followed the
adventures of lazy bloodhound Buford (Frank Welker). Buford lived in Fenokee
Swamp with twins Cindy Mae (Pat Parris) and Woody Boggs (Dave Landsburg). Together,
the three of them solved mysteries that baffled local law enforcement: Sheriff
Muletrain (Henry Corden) and Deputy Goofer McGee (Roger Peltz). Buford, when
actually active, could move his ears around like radar dishes and had a nose
that worked like a Geiger counter when looking for clues. However, two things
often stood in his way: his penchant for howling at the moon (usually at the
worst times), and an antagonistic raccoon that knew karate.
The Galloping Ghost was about
the ghost of a gold prospector named Nugget Nose (Welker), who had taken a
shine to two young girls who worked at the Fuddy Dude Ranch: Wendy (Marilyn
Schreffler) and Rita (Parris). They met Nugget when they accidentally crashed
into his resting place (think bed rather than grave) in a cavern in an
abandoned mine. Nugget took great delight in tormenting their grumpy old boss,
Fenwick Fuddy (Hal Peary), whenever he did something mean towards the girls.
Wendy could summon Nugget whenever they needed help by rubbing the special gold
nugget necklace she wore. Along with having traits typical of a ghost,
including levitation, Nugget got around by riding his invisible horse.
![]() |
The Buford Files character models. |
Buford and the Galloping Ghost debuted
on NBC with the rest of Space Race on September 9, 1978. When NBC began
breaking up the show, it remained paired with Space Race in an hour-long
block until February 3, when it was finally broken off into its own program. Of
the three resulting programs, Buford and the Galloping Ghost lasted the
longest; remaining on NBC’s schedule until that September when it was removed
for the new season. The series was written by Herb Armstrong,
George
Atkins, Jack
Bonestell, Doug
Booth, Chuck
Couch, Gary
Greenfield, Len
Janson, Mark
Jones, Glenn
Leopold, Ray
Parker, Sam
Roeca, Jim
Ryan
and Susan
“Misty” Stewart, with music by Hoyt Curtin
and Paul Dekorte. The series
was animated at Filman in Madrid, Spain and the characters were designed by Bob Singer.
![]() |
Layout drawing of the Fuddy Dude Ranch. |
Following the conclusion of Buford
and the Galloping Ghost and Yogi’s Space Race where the characters
also appeared, Buford, Nugget Nose and their friends all largely disappeared.
The series was seen again in reruns as part of USA Cartoon Express
and on Cartoon Network
and Boomerang.
EPISODE
GUIDE:
“The
Swamp Hermit / Phantom of the Horse Opera” (9/9/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy
Mae discover their friend has been kidnapped by escaped convicts. / Wendy and
Rita dream of stardom when a Hollywood producer visits the ranch.
“The
Vanishing Stallion / Too Many Crooks” (9/16/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae
witness a horse disappear during a race. / An escaped convict takes refuge at
the ranch.
“The
Swamp Saucer / Sagebrush Sergeant” (9/23/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae
investigate a UFO that landed in the swamp. / Fuddy’s army sergeant sister
visits the ranch and puts everyone on a strict exercise and work regiment.
“The
Man with Orange Hair / Bad News Bear” (9/30/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae
investigate the theft of silver skates stolen by someone with orange hair. /
Nugget and the girls try to hide a bear from Fuddy and a safety inspector.
“The
Demon of Ur / Robot Round-Up” (10/7/78) – A statue disappears from a train
under Goofer’s watch. / Fuddy hires a robot to work at the ranch, threatening
the girls’ jobs.
“The
Missing Bank / Pests in the West” (10/14/78) – Goofer sends off $10 million in
an armored car, but the bank claims it never arrived. /
“Scare
in the Air / Rock Star Nuggie” (10/21/78) – An amphibious plane goes missing. /
Nugget becomes jealous when the girls fawn over a visiting rock star.
“Buford
and the Beauty / Frontier Fortune Teller” (10/28/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy
Mae must investigate the kidnapping of a movie star dog. / The girls turn to
Nugget to help expose phony fortune tellers looking to steal Fuddy’s furniture.
“Peril
in the Park / I Want My Mummy” (11/4/78) – Buford, Woody and Cindy Mae try to
get a job at the amusement park, but the park is shutting down due to sabotage.
/
“The
Magic Whammy / Mr. Sunshine’s Eclipse” (11/11/78) – Banks are being
mysteriously robbed. / Nugget is called to scare away an annoying TV prankster
visiting the ranch.
“The
Haunting of Swamp Manor / Klondike Kate” (11/18/78) – Burford, Woody and Cindy
Mae investigate a haunted mansion. / Nugget is reunited with the ghost of an
old girlfriend he promised to marry when he struck gold.
“The
Case of the Missing Gator / A Ghost of a Chance” (11/25/78) – Smugglers go
through the swamp looking for stolen diamonds. / Fuddy tries to capture Nugget
in order to get $1 million from a guest looking for proof ghosts exist.
“Don’t
Monkey with Buford / Elmo the Great” (12/2/78) – Duchess’ diamond collar is
stolen during a parade by a chimp. / The girls buy Fuddy a horse for his
birthday, but he ends up being too much trouble.
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