THE
SMOKEY BEAR SHOW
MAIN
CAST:
While forest fires had always been a
concern, World
War II put a new emphasis on their severity. Many of those
who would combat these fires, such as professional firefighters, were off
fighting in the war. The United
States Forest Service launched an ad campaign to educate
Americans about the causes of fires in the hopes of preventing any from ever
starting. But while they dealt with the domestic problem, an international one
was brewing as the Japanese viewed wildfires as a weapon in their arsenal. In
1942, Japanese submarines surfaced near the coast of Santa Barbara, California,
and fired
shells into an exposed oil field near Los Padres National Forest.
It was hoped that if Americans knew how wildfires would inhibit the war effort
that they would work in cooperation with the Forest Service out of patriotism.
 |
| Disney's Bambi and his friends promoting fire safety. |
The Cooperative
Forest Fire Prevention (CFFP) program was established. They
created a series of public service campaigns that featured the character of Bambi,
loaned to the Service by Walt
Disney since a wildfire played a role in the
film
that debuted that year. However, as the term was only for a year and further
licensing of the character was cost prohibitive, they decided they needed to
come up with their own mascot. Ultimately, an anthropomorphic black bear was
chosen and given the backstory of being rescued from a wildfire by Forest
Rangers in New Mexico, who then raised him and whose ranks he joined. He was
named “Smokey” after New York City firefighter “Smokey” Joe Martin, notable for
battling the 1922 Greenwich
Volcano fire.
Original Smokey Bear poster.
On August 9, 1944 (considered his birthday),
the creation of Smokey
Bear
was authorized by the Forest Service and the first posters in the campaign
debuted that October, drawn by artist Albert Staehle.
They depicted Smokey wearing jeans and a Ranger hat dousing a campfire with the
slogan “Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires!” In 1947, the
Wartime Advertising Council (now the Ad
Council) gave Smokey his well-known trademarked slogan:
“Remember: only YOU can prevent forest fires.” The slogan endured for over five
decades before it was altered to say “wildfires” in 2001 in response to outbreaks
of fires in areas other than forests, and to clarify it was directed at
unplanned fires and not controlled ones.
Smokey poster featuring his well-known catchphrase.
Smokey became a part of American
popular culture, appearing on radio programs, comic strips, cartoons, books,
music and merchandise. In 1950, life
imitated art when a black bear cub was caught in a
fire in New Mexico and rescued by Rangers. Originally named “Hotfoot” after his
burned paws, he was rechristened “Smokey” and lived out his life in the National Zoo
in Washington, DC as
the living symbol of fire prevention until 1976. In 1952, the Smokey
Bear Act was passed which took the character out of the public
domain and put it under the control of the Secretary
of Agriculture. The Act would allow the use of royalties
to finance the continued education of fire safety.
One of the Dell comics.
Between
1955 and 1961, Dell
Comics published Smokey comics as part of their Four Color Comics anthology
series. The comics featured Smokey among a cast of animals acting out tales of
carelessness, such as chipmunks using matches they found to start a fire, and
greed, such as rams chasing deer out of their feeding grounds. There was also
more adult subject matter, such as Smokey getting involved in foiling a Communist
plot or two photographers willing to let a coyote pounce on a family of whooper
swans in order to get a valuable snapshot. It was these comics that would serve
as the springboard for Smokey’s first foray into serial television.
Smokey comes to Saturday mornings.
Produced
by Rankin/Bass
Productions, The Smokey Bear Show followed the
adventures of Smokey (Jackson Weaver, who voiced Smokey until his death in 1992)
in the hillbilly town of Piney Woods. On top of trying to keep the peace
between all the residents, he tried to keep them safe as well by making sure
they followed proper safety procedures. He was assisted (often ineptly) by his
deputy Rangers, Benny the rabbit (Paul Soles) and Gabby the mountain lion. Each
episode was broken up into several story segments with one being dedicated to
Smokey in his younger days as a budding Ranger, voiced by Billie Mae Richards.
Smokey deals with a pair of pilfering wolves.
The
Smokey Bear Show debuted on ABC on September 6, 1969.
The series was written by Shamus
Culhane, Frank
Freda, Hal
Hackady, Fred
Halliday, Romeo
Muller and William J. Keenan,
with Keenan serving as the story editor. The series’ music was composed by Maury Laws
and producer Jules
Bass.
Animation duties were outsourced to Toei Animation Studios
based on character designs by Rod Willis.
Unfortunately, while Smokey was still undoubtedly popular and well-known in the
country, his show found itself up against some stiff competition and was
thoroughly trounced in the ratings by The
Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour and
Heckle and Jeckle. It remained on the air in reruns, however, until the
start of the 1971 television season.
Computer-generated imagery adorns a 75th anniversary PSA.
The show marked Smokey’s return to
comics with the Smokey
Bear series from Gold Key.
Whitman
published a coloring
book
and a sticker
book,
as well as a couple of puzzles
utilizing characters from the show. Classic Media released two full episodes on
VHS,
but nothing further. To date, the entire series has never seen an official
release or any new airings. While Smokey isn’t quite the massive icon he was in
his early years, he continues to be one of America’s most enduring and powerful
public service advertising. His birthday is frequently celebrated through a
collaboration of various federal institutions,
EPISODE
GUIDE:
“The
Outlaws / Silliest Show on Earth / Mission Improbable” (9/13/69) – A pair of
escaped convict wolves steal the town’s picnic lunch. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Running
Wild / Old Club House / Saga of Gas Bag” (9/20/69) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Hare
Verses Cougar / High Divin’ / Spit ‘N Polish” (9/27/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Mighty
Minerva / Casanova Hare / Great Kite Contest” (10/4/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Bessie
Paints the Town / Thar She Blows / Hobo Jackal” (10/11/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Sneaky
Beaky / Heroes Are Born / Winter and Still Champ” (10/18/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Freddy’s
Big Date / Gone Fishin’ / An Apple A Day Keeps” (10/25/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“The
Not So Merry Mailman / An Ill Wind / The Baby Sitters” (11/1/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“The
Fire Fighter’s Convention / End of the World / Hizzoner the Admiral” (11/8/69) –
NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Invention
is the Mother of Necessity / Ancient Caleb Coyote / Haunted Castle” (11/15/69) –
NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The
Honorable Freddy Fume / Gold Medal Grizzly / Treasure Hunt” (11/22/69) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Leave
it to Grizzly / Citizen Fume / Invisible Benny” (11/29/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“The
Battle of Penny Echo River / Grizzly Rides Again / Build a Better Bridge” (12/6/69)
– NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Feudin’,
Fightin’ and Fussin’ / Stick ‘Em Up / Goal Line Grizzly” (12/13/69) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The
Crabtrees Forever / Hare of a Thousand Faces / Whar Fer Art Thou” (12/20/69) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The
Celebrity / Ice Frolics / The Hambone Heist” (12/27/69) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
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