35TH & 40TH ANNIVERSARIES

 The anniversaries continue with the shows turning 35 & 40!

MARSHALL EFRON DEAD AT 81

You can read the full story here.

He starred as Deputroll Flake in Trollkins, Ratso in The Kwicky Koala Show, Sloppy Smurf in The Smurfs, Mooch in The Biskitts, and Fat Cat in Kidd Video. He also guest-starred as Howl in Pink Panther and Sons, Lousy Lizard in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and Quint in Kenny the Shark as well as provided additional voices for Shirt Tales, Saturday Supercade and Snorks.

ALAN ZASLOVE DEAD AT 92

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He was an animator on Fractured Fairy Tales, The Gumby Show and George of the Jungle; served as a producer on Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck and Aladdin; and directed episodes of The Smurfs, Snorks, Galtar and the Golden Lance, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Challenge of the GoBots, Yogi’s Treasure Hunt, Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck and Aladdin. He also provided titles for The Smurfs and served as story director for Space Stars.

THE CAST OF SCOOBY-DOO

To celebrate Scooby-Doo's 50th Anniversary, we present to you our latest infographic highlighting the many people who have lent their talent to the franchise from Where Are You? through next year's Scoob. Click on the image to enlarge it.

ARTE JOHNSON DEAD AT 90

You can read the full story here.

He voiced Super Scuba in The Super 6; Misterjaw in The Pink Panther Show; Rhubarb in The Houndcats; Weerd in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo; Count Ray and Dr. Ludwig von Strangeduck in DuckTales (1987); Devil Smurf, Custodian of Avalon and additional voices in The Smurfs; Lou and Top Cat in Yo Yogi!; and Newt, delivery guy and German dog in Animaniacs; and provided additional voices in Pac-Man, The Dukes, Foofur, The Flintstone Kids, The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, Snorks and Tom & Jerry Kids Show. He also co-created Baggy Pants & the Nitwits, in which he reprised his Laugh-In character Tyrone reimagined as a bumbling superhero. 

 

RICHARD ERDMAN DEAD AT 93

You can read the full story here. 

He voiced a pirate, the mayor and a man in “The Secret World of Og” episode of ABC Weekend Specials; a travel agent in an episode of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo; an angry neighbor in an episode of Pound Puppies (1986); Mayor Rufus B. Pinfeathers and King Arty in two episodes of DuckTales (1987); and Elliot in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. He also provided additional voices for Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Space Stars, Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour, The Dukes, Galtar and the Golden Lance, Wildfire, The Smurfs, Yogi’s Treasure Hunt, Popeye and Son, The Flintstone Kids, The New Yogi Bear Show, Snorks, and The Pirates of Dark Water.  

 

 

HEATHER NORTH DEAD AT 71

You can read the full story here.

North was the second voice of Daphne Blake in the long-running Scooby-Doo franchise from the second season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! up until The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. She reprised the role for a guest-appearance in Johnny Bravo and for three direct-to-video Scooby movies in 2002 and 2003. She also provided voices for Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. 

THE 13 GHOSTS OF SCOOBY-DOO

THE 13 GHOSTS OF SCOOBY-DOO

(ABC, September 7-December 7, 1985)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Casey Kasem – Norville “Shaggy” Rogers

Don Messick – Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo

Heather North Kenney – Daphne Blake

Vincent Price – Vincent Van Ghoul

Susan Blu – Flim Flam

Arte Johnson – Weerd

Howard Morris – Bogel, Platypus Duck

For the history of Scooby-Doo, check out the post here.

             Developed by Tom Ruegger, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo is the seventh incarnation of the Scooby-Doo franchise and became the first incarnation of the series where the Mystery, Inc. gang encountered supernatural entities exclusively. This was likely influenced by the tremendous success of the 1984 film Ghostbusters, which was due for a re-release in 1985.

Scooby and Shaggy, unwitting pawns.

The story goes, as established in the show’s intro, that Scooby (Don Messick) and Shaggy (Casey Kasem) accidentally freed 13 of the most powerful ghosts on Earth from the Chest of Demons when they were tricked by ghosts Weerd (Artie Johnson) and Bogel (Howard Morris, patterned after Ed Wynn). As only they could return the ghosts to the chest, Scooby and Shaggy were sent by warlock Vincent Van Ghoul (Vincent Price) after them with Scrappy (Messick), Daphne (Heather North Kenney) and a young con artist named Flim Flam (Susan Blu). 

Weerd, Vincent Van Ghoul, Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy, Flim Flam, Daphne and Bogel.

Van Ghoul’s character was largely inspired by Marvel Comics’ sorcerer supreme, Dr. Strange, while also resembling Price himself, and his name was a play on painter Vincent Van Gogh. Van Ghoul rarely left his castle sanctuary and guided the team via contact through crystal balls. Original characters Velma Dinkley and Fred Jones were once again absent from the team in order to continue to put greater focus on the antics of Shaggy and Scooby. Daphne was retained from The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, however her clothing, while keeping her classic purple and pink color scheme, was updated to 80s-style fashions that would change between episodes; unusual for cartoon characters who typically wore the same outfit forever. Likewise, Shaggy’s look was updated by being given a red t-shirt and blue jeans instead of his usual green shirt and brown bell bottoms. This color scheme would continue on in Shaggy’s appearances in the made-for-TV movies Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987), Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) and Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988). The Mystery Machine was also replaced by a larger red RV as their main mode of transportation. Flim Flam was the product of focus group testing, being forced into the series in order to give children something they could relate to in the show. Ruegger and story director Mitch Schauer fought against his inclusion, hating the notion and character.

It's cheaper than using a phone.

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo debuted on ABC on September 7, 1985. Along with Ruegger, the series was written by Gordon Bressack, Chuck Couch, Rich Fogel, Cynthia Friedlob, Evelyn Gabai, Jeff Holder, Charles M. Howell IV, Gelnn Leopold, John Ludin, Mark Seidenberg, John Semper, Jr. and Misty Stewart-Taggart with music by Hoyt Curtin. Under Ruegger’s stewardship, the comedy veered more into self-parody, pop culture references, and fourth-wall breaks that would become trademarks of productions he worked on. Unfortunately, budgetary issues resulted in the series being cancelled by ABC after airing its 13 episodes; the shortest run of any Scooby series. ABC would pull it from its schedule and replaced it with reruns of earlier Scooby series Laff-A-Lympics, while it also focused on a new (failed) initiative to target a younger audience with their Saturday morning offerings. This meant that the series was only allowed to show the capture of 12 of the 13 ghosts, with one still at large by its conclusion.

A warlock watches at the gang approaches in "Scoobra Kadoobra."

             13 Ghosts signaled three endings. It was the final series in the original 1969 Scooby franchise to air on Saturday morning. After being de-aged for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, the next time the original Scooby gang would be seen again as teenagers wouldn’t be until 1997’s Johnny Bravo episode “Bravo Dooby Doo”, which teamed up the titular character with the Scooby gang to solve a mystery. This was also Scrappy-Doo’s final series appearance, although he was still featured in the movies immediately following the show’s production. He eventually resurfaced in CGI-form as the villain of the first live-action Scooby movie in 2002, voiced by Scott Innes. Further, this would be the final time North would voice Daphne in a series, returning only for the Johnny Bravo appearance and two of the direct-to-video films.

Vincent Van Ghoul on Mystery Incorporated.

            Vincent Van Ghoul (Maurice LaMarche, replacing the late Price) would resurface as a recurring character in Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. However, he was Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby’s (Welker) favorite B-movie actor rather than a warlock, bringing his character more in line with Price. The production secured permission from the Price estate to use his likeness and mannerisms. Van Ghoul also returned as one of the many featured characters in the final issue of DC Comics’ Scooby-Doo Team-Up.

The Curse of the 13th Ghost DVD cover.

            Warner Bros. Home Video released the complete series to DVD in 2010, including a bonus episode from the series Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! It was re-released in 2013, distinguishable by the new green border around the cover image. In 2019, a direct-to-video movie, Scooby-Doo and the Curse of the 13^th Ghost, was released as a follow-up to the series with the entire Mystery, Inc. gang summoned by Van Ghoul (LaMarche) to finally capture the last ghost released from the chest. 13 Ghosts would air reruns on USA Network in the early 90s before joining the other Scooby shows on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. In 2026, it finally joined those shows on retro animation network MeTV Toons.

EPISODE GUIDE:

“To All the Ghouls I’ve Loved Before” (9/7/85) – Scooby and Shaggy are tricked into releasing the 13 ghosts from the chest by Bogel and Weerd.

“Scoobra Kadoobra” (9/14/85) – The gang chases after a ghost warlock in a haunted castle where a powerful artifact to stop him can be found.

“Me and My Shadow Demon” (9/21/85) – The gang encounter a convention of ghosts and the Shadow Demon after being lured to Befuddled Manor.

“Reflections in a Ghoulish Eye” (9/28/85) – While attending a Ghost Chaser convention in Morocco, the gang encounters the Reflector Spector, who can trap mortals in a mirror dimension.

“That’s Monstertainment” (10/5/85) – Zomba traps the gang in an old horror film in an attempt to steal the chest.

“Ship of Ghouls” (10/12/85) – Needing a vacation, the gang head out on a cruise where Bogel and Weerd plot to further shatter Scooby’s nerves.

“A Spooky Little Ghoul Like You” (10/19/85) – Vincent is placed under an enchantment by Nicara at a warlock convention.

“When You Witch Upon a Star” (10/26/85) – Powerful witch Marcella tasks the bumbling Ernestine, Wanda and Hilda to perform a spell that will free her.

“It’s A Wonderful Scoob” (11/2/85) – Scooby quits the gang and Vincent takes him into the future to show him what will happen if he doesn’t help them stop Time Slime.

“Scooby in Kwackyland” (11/9/85) – The gang and Demondo end up trapped in the newspaper comics and have to rely on the strips’ characters to help them escape.

“Coast-to-Ghost” (11/16/85) – Rankor tricks Vincent into turning himself into stone, forcing the gang to team-up with Bogel and Weerd to find the Mask of Moomma to save him.

“The Ghouliest Show on Earth” (11/23/85) – A demon circus comes to town and enchants the residents, including Scooby’s parents and Flim-Flam.

“Horror-Scope Scoob” (12/7/85) – The gang appears on a TV show where the demon Sibulu steals the chest.


Originally posted in 2014. Updated in 2026.