Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
On
November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of
residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right;
but he also knew that someday he would return to her. With nowhere else to go,
he appeared at the home of his friend, Oscar Madison. Several years earlier,
Madison’s wife had thrown HIM out, requesting that HE never return. Can two
divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?
A playbill for the original performances of The Odd Couple.
The Odd
Couple began life as a stage play penned by legendary playwright Neil Simon. The
story followed neurotic neat freak news writer Felix Ungar as he’s kicked out
of his house by his wife and forced to move into the uptown New York apartment
of his friend, slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison. While Oscar can’t keep
house and spends and gambles too much, he seems to live a happy life; whereas
Felix only seems to enjoy pointing out his own and other people’s mistakes to
the annoyance of all involved. The clashing personalities drive Oscar to the
point that he kicks Felix out, but soon takes him back in after realizing the
positive effect Felix has actually had on him.
Inspiration and inspired: Roy Gerber, Danny Simon, Neil Simon, Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.
There are
conflicting accounts on where the idea for the play came from. One says the
idea originated with Neil’s brother and one-time writing partner Danny, who was forced to move
in with newly-single theatrical agent Roy
Gerber in Hollywood while he and his wife were getting divorced. The two
men had contrasting personalities—Danny was anal retentive while Gerber’s
daughter, Pam, described his
messiness as “clean clutter”—that inspired Danny to try and write some of
their resulting antics down. However, he got stuck early on and passed it off
to Neil to finish crafting. The play ultimately caused
a rift between the brothers when Danny only got 1/6th of the
royalties and failed to receive a “from an idea by” credit. Another account
from James Robert Parish’s biography
of filmmaker Mel Brooks claimed that the play originated from Neil’s
observance of Brooks’ time living with writer and artist Speed Vogel for 3 months
following the separation from his
first wife.
Ad for the 2005-06 version of the play starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.
The Odd
Couple opened on Broadway in 1965 and ran until 1967, netting several Tony Awards and additional nominations.
Directed by Mike Nichols, it
originally starred Walter
Matthau as Oscar and Art
Carney as Felix. Jack
Klugman and Pat Hingle
would replace Matthau and Eddie
Bracken and Paul Dooley
would replace Carney during the show’s run. Proving a success, the play
received multiple revivals and reimaginings over the years beginning in 1968.
In 1967,
Simon sold the film and TV rights to Paramount
Pictures. A film adaptation came the following year, directed by Gene Saks and featuring Matthau
reprising his role with Jack
Lemmon as his co-star. The film largely followed the original story of the
play with some additional scenes written by Simon to take some of the action
out of the apartment and into the city. Released on May 2, 1968, the film was a
critical and commercial success, earning $44.5 million to become the
third-highest grossing film of the year.
Looking to
capitalize on the success of the film, Paramount ordered the production of a TV
show adapting the play/film and expanding upon the story. Klugman reprised the
role of Oscar, while Tony
Randall reprised the role of Felix from another production of the play. Although
the first season of the show used the same set as the film (moved to a larger
set to accommodate a studio audience in season 2), a number of changes occurred:
Felix’s last name went from “Ungar” to “Unger”; he now worked as a commercial
photographer; he was more highbrow with refined tastes in food, music and the
arts; his wife was renamed Gloria from Frances; and the ages of his two
children were reversed. Oscar also went from having two children to none at
all. The series debuted on ABC on September
24, 1970 and ran five seasons until March 7, 1975. Despite never reaching the
top 30 in the Nielsen ratings thanks in
part to ABC constantly shifting it around its schedule, the summer reruns rated
particularly high and prompted the show’s renewal each year.
The Oddball Couple: Fleabag and Spiffy.
Meanwhile,
animation studio DePatie-Freleng
was reeling from the monumental failure of Bailey’s Comets. As it
featured 90 characters on roller skates requiring constant motion, a large
animation crew working day and night was needed to get the show done on time.
It ended up going overbudget and received poor ratings; being banished to
Sunday mornings after only four months. The studio found itself without work
for the following television season and decided the best way to forward was
switching focus away from untested original ideas. The first entry in this new
direction was an animated adaptation of The Odd Couple.
Getting some news at the door of their half and half house.
Like the
source material, the cartoon focused on the misadventures of two roommates and
co-workers that couldn’t have been more opposite. You had Spiffy (Frank
Nelson), a cat who was orderly, polite, and a stickler for cleanliness and
organization. Then you had Fleabag (Paul Winchell), a lazy dog who was rude,
obnoxious, inconsiderate and sloppy in every way imaginable with an appetite
for unusual food concoctions. These differences extended to their shared
environments as well; with their home being half nice house and half rattrap,
their car being half pristine and half junker, and their office being half
clean and tidy and half dirty and sloppy. They worked together as freelance
reporters—Spiffy was the writer and Fleabag the photographer, flipping the
sitcom’s occupations—and had a slightly ditzy secretary named Goldie Hound (a
play on Goldie Hawn, voiced
by Joan Gerber). To help keep out of doing too much himself, Fleabag often rigs
up Rube
Goldberg machines to do chores for him. Despite the fact Fleabag, Spiffy
and Goldie were anthropomorphic animals, the rest of their world was inhabited
by normal humans and animals.
Fleabag in his natural habitat.
Developed
under the title Fleabag and Spruce, then The Odd Couple, The
Odd Ball Couple and finally The Oddball Couple, the series debuted
on ABC on September 6, 1975. It was the first DFE series to air on the network,
since they had previously aired the sitcom. Each episode contained two segments.
The series was written by Bob
Ogle, Joel Kane, David Detiege, Earl Kress and John W. Dunn, with Ogle serving
as story editor. The characters and main titles were designed by Art Leonardi. The music was
done by Doug Goodwin, with
the theme arranged by Joe
Siracusa and conducted by Eric
Rodgers.
Coloring book showing their half wreck of car.
The
Oddball Couple only lasted a single season; remaining on the schedule in
reruns until the fall. Not much was done for the series in terms of merchandise
beyond several coloring
books published by Lowe in 1977. The series wouldn’t even see a home media
release for 42 years until it was brought
to DVD by CBS Home
Entertainment via Amazon’s CreateSpace in 2017 (CBS is currently owned by Paramount). As for The
Odd Couple franchise, there had been several more television and film
adaptations to accompany the continuing stage versions. In 1982, ABC aired The New Odd Couple
for a season, recasting the main characters as Black (earlier stage versions
had done this as well). In 1998, Neil Simon wrote and produced The Odd Couple II,
reuniting Matthau and Lemmon for their 10th and final collaboration,
that unfortunately proved to be a critical and commercial flop. The latest
continuation came in 2015 when CBS aired a reboot again called The Odd Couple,
which was created, developed, produced, written and starred Matthew Perry as Oscar, with Thomas Lennon playing Felix. It
was cancelled after 3 seasons.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Spiffy’s Man Friday / Who’s Zoo” (9/6/75) – Fleabag
convinces Spiffy to try and cross the ocean in a canoe to sell their story for
big bucks, only for them to end up shipwrecked. / A witch turns Fleabag into a
frog to prove that she’s actually a witch.
“A Day at the Beach / Fleabag’s Mother” (9/13/75) – When
Spiffy forces Fleabag to spend their day off at the beach, Fleabag uses a
magical genie to show up Spiffy in various activities. / Spiffy sends Fleabag
to Hawaii so he can do an important interview in peace, but Fleabag’s mother
drops by for an unexpected visit.
“Spiffy’s Nephew / To Heir is Human” (9/20/75) – Spiffy’s
nephew Catnip turns out to be a real menace for Fleabag. / Fleabag sets up a
phony inheritance to get Spiffy off his back about being clean and tidy.
“A Royal Mixup / Paper Airplane” (9/27/75) – When they’re
invited to interview royalty, Spiffy seeks to refine Fleabag so he won’t embarrass
them. / Fleabag ends up turning a check into a paper airplane and sending it
out the window.
“The Bighouse and Garden / The Talking Plant” (10/4/75) – Fleabag
and Spiffy must break into prison in order to get a valuable interview
with an inmate. / Spiffy agrees to a story on a plant that ends up taking a
disliking to Fleabag and causes him trouble.
“Family Album / Hotel Boo-More” (10/11/75) – Fleabag and
Spiffy go through the family album Fleabag finds in the attic. / When the car
breaks down, Spiffy and Fleabag find themselves in a ghost town inhabited by
real ghosts.
“Irish Luck / Who’s Afraid of Virginia Werewolf?” (10/18/75)
– Fleabag accidentally buys a leprechaun at an auction that turns out to be
anything but lucky. / Fleabag and Spiffy go to interview a woman turning
100-years-old, not knowing she suffers from spells of lycanthropy.
“Dive Bummers / Do or Diet” (10/25/75) – Spiffy and Fleabag
end up trapped on alone an airplane when all of the skydiving crew accidentally
jumps out. / Fleabag resolves to go on a diet to get back into a decent shape.
“Klondike Oil Kaper / Old Bugeyes is Back” (11/1/75) – Fleabag
drags Spiffy to the Klondike to claim the oil well he’s told he won. / Spiffy
must get out of the noisy city to create his poetry, but finds out nature isn’t
as peaceful as he hoped.
“Mugsy Bagel / TV or Not TV” (11/8/75) – Trying his hand at
crime reporting, Fleabag believes some keys he found will lead him to a notorious
criminal. / While interviewing a big star, Fleabag gets roped into taking over
for the stunt double that quit.
“Ali Cat / Joker’s Wild” (11/15/75) – Fleabag tries to
convince Spiffy to let him keep the cat that saved him from the neighborhood
bully dog. / A bothersome man moves himself into Fleabag and Spiffy’s house
promising them a lot of money to take down his life story.
“Cinderbag / Mama Fleabag” (11/22/75) – A fairy godfather
helps Fleabag clean up so he can go to a royal ball with Spiffy. / Two tired
old storks decide to leave a giant baby with Fleabag and Spiffy.
“Do It Yourself, Fleabag / Roman Daze” (11/29/75) – Fleabag
gets the home improvement bug—unfortunately, he’s not very good at it. / Fleabag
and Spiffy end up in ancient Rome and as Emperor Nero’s chefs.
“Fleabag’s Submarine / Foreign Legion” (12/6/75) – Inspired
by a hit underwater film, Fleabag decides to buy a submarine to make a film of
their own. / Fleabag and Spiffy accidentally join the foreign legion when they
go to do a story on it.
“Bats in the Belfry / Superhound” (12/13/75) – Fleabag and
Spiffy are assigned to spend a night in a haunted castle whose vampire master
is still very much present. / Some food in Fleabag’s care package from his
mother turns him into a superhero.
“Jungle Bungle / Talent Scouts” (12/20/75) – Fleabag and
Spiffy head to the jungle to find a missing explorer. / Fleabag and Spiffy are tasked
with hosting the annual variety show to replenish their club’s coffers.
A family portrait of Arnie with Agnes, Terry, Roger and Chester.
Arnie
Barkley (Henry Corden) was the patriarch of the family. Like other
stereotypical sitcom fathers, he was blustery, opinionated, had a deep unwillingness to keep
up with the times and constantly cooked up hairbrained schemes, but he deeply
cared about his family and only wanted what was best for them—regardless if
they wanted it or not. Not only was Arnie a bus driver like The Honeymooners’
Ralph Kramden, but that connection was further deepened by Corden eventually
taking over the lead role in The
Flintstones franchise, also inspired by the sitcom, and
providing dubs for star Jackie
Gleason in TV edits of Smokey and the Bandit.
His wife, Agnes (Joan Gerber), did what she could to maintain the house and the
family peace. They had three children: teenagers Roger (Steve Lewis) and Terry
(Julie McWhirter), and young Chester (Gene Andrusco).
Arnie tends house while Agnes goes off to work in a battle of the sexes moment.
The
Barkleys debuted on NBC on September 9,
1972. It featured Frank Welker’s
first voice work for the studio, joining fellow Hanna-Barbera alums Bob Holt and Don Messick, as well as Michael Bell’s first foray into
voice acting. The series was written by All in the Family writers Larry Rhine and Woody Kling, along with Dennis Marks and David Evans. Art Leonardi handled all of the
character designs and model sheets. He also did the opening titles, using an embroidery
motif for transitions reminiscent of the old “Home Sweet Home” pattern found in
many households. The series’ theme was composed by Doug Goodwin, which utilized part
of “Home! Sweet Home!”
by John Howard Payne
and Sir Henry
Bishop in its composition. The rest of the score was conducted by Eric Rogers.
Arnie doesn't like the looks of Terry's boyfriend.
“Match Breaker” (9/9/72) – A TV show gives Arnie the idea
that Terry and her boyfriend are going to elope at a rock concert, which he
plans to stop at any cost.
“Finders Weepers” (9/16/72) – Arnie finds $500 and plans to
keep it, but when he finally decides to return it he discovers his kids
unwittingly spent it already.
“Lib and Let Lib” (9/23/72) – To prove that men can do
everything better than women, Arnie and Agnes switch roles: she drives his bus
while he runs the household.
“Half-Pint Hero” (9/30/72) – Arnie wants to turn the
non-athletic Chester into a basketball star.
“No Place for a Lady” (10/7/72) – Terry joins the auto shop
class and dismantles Arnie’s car for it the night before he needs to pick up a
senator for his boss’ party.
“For the Love of Money” (10/14/72) – Arnie tries to get
Roger to hook up with the daughter of his now-wealthy old classmate.
“Keeping Up with the Beagles” (10/21/72) – Arnie tries a
number of schemes to get his family’s attention off of their neighbors’ new
pool.
“Play No Favorites” (10/28/72) – Chester feels he needs to
compete with his siblings for their father’s attention, and when Arnie hurts
his feelings he runs off to join the circus.
“Law and Missorder” (11/4/72) – Terry and her friends go
camping with Agnes, but the boys decide to watch over them when Arnie spots motorcyclists
in the area.
“The Great Disc Jockey” (11/11/72) – Arnie becomes a deejay
so that he can hear the kind of music he likes on the radio, rather than the
new-fangled rock and roll.
“Barkley Beware” (11/18/72) – Arnie enlists his kids’ help
in getting rid of a worthless piece of land he was swindled into buying, unfortunately
they end up selling it to his boss’ wife.
“Arnie Come Clean” (11/25/72) – When Arnie goes back to
school to help with his new role as company president, he ends up caught in a
protest against the company.
“The Talent Agency Caper” (12/2/72) – After seeing Chester
in a school play, Arnie decides to push him into becoming a real actor.
MAIN
CAST: Ruth Buzzi – Gladys Arte Johnson – Tyrone/Agony Nine Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
was the blend of two generations of comedy coming together in a single package.
The titular Baggy Pants was an anthropomorphic cat heavily influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s most well-known
character, The Tramp
(early concept art even had him named “The Little Hobo”). Like his inspiration,
Baggy Pants was a good-natured and dapper vagrant that wore an ill-fitting
suit, carried a cane, and possessed a small mustache. His primary adversary was
an anthropomorphic pig that circumstances either put him at odds with or whom
Baggy Pants would work for in some capacity. Harkening back to The Tramp’s
silent film origins, Baggy Pants’ adventures were all done in pantomime
(something DePatie-Freleng
had experience with due to their Pink
Panther character) with an accompanying old-timey score.
Baggy Pants spying something interesting in the trash.
The Nitwits portion of the
show reunited the characters of Gladys Ormphby (Ruth Buzzi) and Tyrone Horneigh
(Arte Johnson) from Rowan
and Martin’s Laugh-In. Tyrone was a lecherous old man who would always try to woo spinster
Gladys in a number of inappropriate ways; typically, as she sat on a park bench.
Gladys, for all her protesting, sometimes seemed to be into
all the attention Tyrone gave her (in fact, they almost ended up married), but
he would ultimately do something to prompt her to knock him out with her purse.
Naturally, for the animated version developed by Johnson, that aspect of the
routine was eliminated; instead, Gladys and Tyrone were a married couple who
fought crime together with Tyrone constantly lavishing praise on Gladys and
Gladys constantly bashing Tyrone for his incompetence. Tyrone was a retired
superhero with the handle Agony Nine that was goaded back into part-time
selective action by the populace to battle a host of absurd super villains and
criminals. Tyrone’s power of flight came from his semi-sentient dog-like cane
named Elmo, which also served as a two-way radio to communicate with Gladys
back in their base above the police station (where a hole in the floor
sometimes provided them leads on some crimes). Despite being the superhero of
the story, Tyrone’s bumbling usually meant that the day was saved by the threat
of Gladys’ purse. Originally, The Nitwits was going to be its own show
under the title Tyrone until it was decided to combine it with Baggy
Pants.
Gladys looking on after Tyrone crash-lands into their base. Again.
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits debuted
on NBC on September 10, 1977. Although they
interacted in the show’s intro, neither set of characters actually did so in
the episodes themselves. Each segment had its own miniature intro, with The
Nitwits’ doing a
parody of The Adventures ofSuperman radio/television intro. The
series was written by Tony
Benedict, David Detiege,
Bob Ogle and Cliff Roberts, with Ogle
serving as story editor. Steve
DePatie and Doug Goodwin
composed the music, with The Nitwits theme conducted by Eric Rogers.
Baggy Pants' porcine nemesis disrupts the bench the titular heroes sit on.
Despite the show reportedly doing
well in the ratings and being well-recieved, it ended after a single season of
13 episodes. Animator John
Celestri stated in Think
Pink: The Story of DePatie-Frelengby Mark Arnoldthat despite Baggy
Pants being a parody, it was far too close to The Tramp and the Chaplin estate
got litigious. And because of the way they constructed the show, there was no
easy way to repackage The Nitwits segments without Baggy Pants,and bringing back the Tyrone concept wasn’t explored. The series
remained on the network until October of 1978 when it was finally removed from
the schedule. To date, no part of the show has been released to home video or
streaming, although some bootleg copies exist online. EPISODE
GUIDE: “Construction
Caper / Earthquake McBash” (9/10/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “Lost
Dog / The Dynamic Energy Robber” (9/17/77) – Baggy Pants tries to keep a lost
dog out of the net of the dog catcher. / An alien is sent to Earth to steal all
of their energy for his plant. “Baggy
Pants and Forgetful Freddy / Splish Splash” (9/24/77) – Baggy Pants gets taken
in by a wealthy man that turns violently mean whenever he hears a bell. / A scientist’s
apprentice steals a formula that allows him to commit crimes in a watery form. “The
Moving Man / The Hopeless Diamond Caper” (10/1/77) – Baggy Pants is pulled into
service helping a moving man unload his truck into a house atop a tall hill. / A
pair of diamond thieves gives Tyrone a bit of trouble. “Circus
Circus / The Evil Father Nature” (10/8/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “The
Painter’s Helper / Mercury Mike and His Jet Bike” (10/15/77) – Baggy Pants
takes a job as a painter’s helper and ends up causing a series of messes. / NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “Electric
Girlfriend / Rustle Hustle” (10/22/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Tyrone and
Gladys head to the desert to track down an elusive cattle rustler. “A
Pressing Job / False Face Filbert” (10/29/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “A
Haunting Experience / Genie Meanie” (11/5/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “Horse
Laff / Chicken Lady” (11/12/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “The
Magician’s Assistant / Simple Simon and the Mad Pieman” (11/19/77) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE. “The
Frog / The Hole Thing!” (11/26/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. “Beach
Fun / Ratman!” (12/3/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
He co-founded studio DePatie-Freleng Enterprises with Friz
Freleng after having been the last executive in charge of the original Warner Bros.
Cartoons studio, of which he was the last surviving member. DePatie also helped the transition into the early years of
Marvel Productions when they sold their studio to Cadence Industries. The breakout property of his career was when DFE provided the opening
titles for The Pink Panther, leading to a series of cartoons based
around the popular character spawned from it and jobs in producing similar
title sequences for other productions.
Programs he had a hand in include The Pink Panther Show,
Here Comes the Grump, Doctor Dolittle (1970), The Barkleys, The Houndcats,
Bailey’s Comets, an episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movies, Return
to the Planet of the Apes, Baggy Pants and the Nitwits, What’s New Mr. Magoo?,
The Fantastic Four (1978), Spider-Woman, Spider-Man (1981), Spider-Man
and his Amazing Friends, Pandamonium, Meatballs and Spaghetti, The Incredible
Hulk (1982) and Pink Panther and Sons with Hanna-Barbera.
The
Pink Pantheris a media franchise
conceived by writer/director Blake Edwards
that began with the film of the same name. Originally, it was meant to be a
sophisticated romantic comedy about a suave jewel thief, Sir Charles Lytton, aka
The Phantom (David
Niven). The primary object of his desire was the world’s
largest diamond known as The Pink Panther due to a small imperfection at its
center that resembled, well, a pink panther. Hot on his trail would be the
bumbling French detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Ustinov),
with his unfaithful wife, Simone (Ava Gardner),
who was in league with Lytton.
Publicity photo of Peter Sellers and David Niven.
However, things didn’t quite go as
planned. Gardner left the project when the producers, The
Mirisch Company, were unable to meet her demands for a
personal staff. Ustinov also followed her off the project. After Janet Leigh
turned down the Simone role due to it requiring her to be away from the United
States for too long, Capucine
was cast instead. Now playing her husband was Peter Sellers.
The Pink Panther debuted in Italy on December 18, 1963, with a United
States release following on March 18. The film was set at a ski resort where
The Pink Panther’s owner, Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale),
was vacationing. Following her was Lytton, and following him was Clouseau and
his wife. Also after the diamond was Lytton’s nephew, George (Robert Wagner),
in order to pay off his massive gambling debts. While Clouseau ineptly
investigates, Simone must constantly juggle keeping her relationships with both
Lytton and George a secret from everyone.
While
the Clouseau role was always intended to be comedic, Edwards discovered he and
Sellers had similar tastes in humor and began elaborating and improvising on
bits. Sellers soon began to steal every scene he was in, becoming the breakout
star and character of the film and overshadowing Niven, who had the actual lead
billing in the credits, despite his comparatively short amount of screen time.
As a result, the film became a massive success. Sellers, who was set to star in
an adaptation of the stage play A Shot in the Dark,
was
unsatisfied with the script and was able to get Edwards onto the project to
write and direct. Edwards utilized his newfound clout to turn the film into a
Clouseau vehicle, making it the second entry and the official launching point
of The Pink Panther franchise that spanned 9 films; 6 of which starred
Sellers (one was made after a falling out between Sellers and Edwards that
poorly attempted to recast the role, and two following Sellers’ death).
Sellers
wasn’t the only breakout star of the franchise, however. Edwards knew David DePatie,
co-founder of animation studio DePatie-Freleng
Enterprises (DFE), through his uncle and asked him to
design a pink panther for him. DePatie gave the assignment to character
designer Hawley
Pratt who proceeded to churn out about 100 different design
concepts. Edwards selected the one he liked and used it initially for
letterheads and business cards. Once filming was wrapped, Edwards contacted
DePatie again and asked him to create a title sequence where the Panther
character would interact with the film’s credits while the theme composed by Henry Mancini
played. These titles ended up being a tremendous hit with the audience, and
were thought to have added a couple extra million to the film’s overall gross.
DFE soon found themselves in demand to make titles for other projects, allowing
them to move beyond commercials and industrial films.
It
also allowed them to move into the business of theatrical shorts. DePatie was
encouraged by the titles’ success into thinking there was more to be done with
the character. DFE struck up a deal with Mirisch and United Artists,
the film’s distributor, to produce 156 6-minute theatrical shorts (although
only 124 ended up being made). The shorts took a cue from the titles, showing
Pink silently (at the suggestion of primary writer John Dunn)
working his way through a given situation; like sneaking into an alcoholic’s
house to spend the night or serving as a secret agent. Pink would speak in only
two cartoons, his voice provided by Rich Little modeled after Niven’s portrayal
in the first movie (and who would later dub an ill Niven in future Pink
Panther films). Other characters provided any dialogue that was spoken,
with the exception of Pink’s primary antagonist: the Little White Man, a
minimalist rounded figure of a person with a large nose and mustache. Said to
be modeled after DFE co-founder and initial short director Friz Freleng,
the Little Man was also silent as he often dealt with Pink’s shenanigans.
Mancini’s theme typically accompanied each short, with additional music
provided by Walter
Greene and William Lava.
The Pink Panther begins his career of (intentionally?) annoying the Little White Man.
The
first short, The Pink Phink, debuted on December 18, 1964 and ended up
taking home the Academy Award
for Best Animated Short. This success would spur other studios to revisit the
notion of theatrical shorts, which had largely fallen out of fashion by this
time. Pratt would eventually take over as the primary director for much of the
series, with Gerry
Chinquy, Art
DavisRobert
McKimson, Art
Leonardi, Cullen
Houghtaling and Sid Marcus
handling various later entries. DFE was able to churn out one Pink Panther cartoon
a month, eventually ending up far ahead of schedule by 1965. It would be 6
years until DFE would need to resume work on the series, giving them time to
visit additional series upon United Artists’ request.
The Inspector and Deux-Deux are on the case! Which is good news for the criminals...
The
first Inspector short, The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation, debuted on
December 21, 1965 preceding the James
Bond
film Thunderball.
As
with the Panther shorts, Mancini’s theme from A Shot in the Dark was
used for the shorts’ intros, with additional music by Greene and Lava. DePatie,
due to his knowledge of the French language, had the most involvement with the
production of these shorts out of any DFE project. While the shorts performed
well, they didn’t quite reach Panther levels and capped off with 34
entries. The Inspector would be used for the title sequence
of the 1968 film Inspector
Clouseau, and would be seen interacting with Pink and
redesigned to more resemble Sellers in his remaining entries
in the franchise.
Their
next series was Roland and Rattfink. The shorts focused on the titular
characters: blonde good-looking pacifist Roland, and the evil mustachioed
Rattfink (both Lennie Weinrib, except for one short where John Byner and Dave Barry
voiced them). Rattfink was always eager to get ahead in life in the most dirty,
underhanded and violent ways possible with additional bad deeds on the side.
Good-natured Roland was sometimes put at odds with him, taking indirect action
to stop Rattfink’s machinations or allowing Rattink to foul himself up. Some of
the plots were recycled from Looney
Tunesshorts directed by
Freleng. Many of the shorts featured intertitles like old silent movies,
introducing the characters and offering some plot narration at points, with
music to match composed by Doug
Goodwin. Most of the shorts were written by Dunn with the
remainder by Marcus, Spector and Dale Hale.
The first short, “Hawkes and Doves”, debuted on December 18, 1968 with the film
The
Night They Raided Minsky’s. Despite
Variety’s
January 9th issue declaring 26 shorts had been ordered, only 17 were
produced.
Replacing
that series was another pair at odds with each other: The Ant and the
Aardvark. The series followed a solid blue aardvark (Byner, impersonating Jackie Mason)
attempting to catch and eat a red ant named Charlie (also Byner, impersonating Dean Martin).
At one point, when Mason heard Byner’s impression he decided to approach DFE
about doing it himself. However, upon realizing Byner did him better than him,
Mason instead worked out a deal where he was paid for the use of his
distinctive voice while Byner continued on in the role. The series actually
predated DFE, with Pratt having come up with a concept for them at Spunbuggy
studio originally known as The Big Red Ant and Harry the Anteater. Corny Cole
handled the design for the DFE version. Musical director Goodwin assembled a
group of established jazz musicians—Ray Brown,
Billy
Byers, Pete
Candoli, Shelly Manne,
Jimmy Rowles
and Tommy
Tedesco—to compose the score. For the first time in cartoon
history, all six musicians received on-screen credit. Leonardi designed the
main titles utilizing a technique that included tearing paper into a stylized
version of the characters. Also capping off at 17 entries, the first short was
released to theaters on March 5, 1969. Dunn again wrote the lion’s share of the
series, with additional scripts by Spector, Marcus, Hale, David Detiege
and Larz
Bourne.
Next
was Tijuana Toads, also written by Dunn, Hale and Bourne,which
hit theaters for the first time on August 6, 1969. The titular toads
were the hefty Toro (Don Diamond, named after the character he portrayed in The
Adventures of Kit Carson) and the scrawny Pancho
(Tom Holland). The pair was always generally hanging out, with Toro being
fairly abusive and dominant towards Pancho, until a bug crossed their paths.
Then, the chase was on to try and snag the bug by any means necessary for
lunch. However, they always ended up outsmarted. Once again, plots and gags
from Freleng’s past Looney Tunes shorts were recycled for the series. The
tables were turned on the toads when two antagonists were introduced that
wanted to eat them: the first was Crazylegs Crane (Larry D. Mann, Bob
Holt in one short), a dimwitted and klutzy yellow crane with a hat and spats,
and The Blue Racer (based on an actual
snake, also voiced by Mann and Holt), the world’s fastest blue
snake. Despite Toads also only running for 17 entries, Crazylegs and
Racer were both eventually spun off into their own series.
NBC's 1969 Saturday morning ad.
As
the 1970s approached, once again the age of the theatrical short was beginning
to wane. Looking to get more mileage out of their investment, Mirisch decided
to import the shorts to Saturday morning television like other studios had done
before. The result was The Pink Panther Show, which saw two Panther shorts
sandwiching an Inspector short each episode with the addition of a laugh
track. Bridging sequences were created utilizing a mix of newly-animated and
recycled footage starring Pink, The Inspector and Deux-Deux (the latter two
voiced by Marvin Miller, who also acted as a narrator), marking the first time
that the characters would interact outside of a title sequence.
Pink and the Inspector with the Panthermobile.
The
Pink Panther Show debuted on NBC on September 6, 1969.
The opening titles were filmed in live-action following a pink hotrod dubbed
the “Panthermobile”, designed by Ed “Newt” Newton and built at Bob Reisner
California Show Cars by Newton, Dan Woods, Joe Bailon,
Bill
“The Leadslinger” Hines and Bill Honda for about $100,000. It
traveled down a rural roadway before eventually ending up at Grauman’s Chinese Theater,
accompanied by stock footage of animals from the Los Angeles Zoo
and Marineland
of the Pacific, people on the beach and at a carnival,
and clips from “Reel Pink”, “Come on In! The Water’s Pink” and “Put Put Pink”.
A young boy would be revealed to have been the driver with an animated Pink and
the Inspector as his passengers. A slightly-altered version was used for the second season, which essentially reshuffled and resized some of the clips used. For the end credits, the Inspector would
return to the car and it would drive off, leaving Pink to chase after it. The
show’s theme, “Panther Pink Panther From head to Toes”, was written by Goodwin.
Some of the shorts received minor edits for content to make them more
family-friendly due to growing concerns over violence in television.
After
two seasons, The Inspector was dropped and replaced by The Ant and
the Aardvark and the show was renamed The New Pink Panther Show (sometimes
referred to as The Pink Panther Meets the Ant and the Aardvark). A
new intro was created, doing away with the live-action in favor of Pink and the
Aardvark vying for the viewer’s attention. Goodwin also composed a new theme,
“Pantherly Pride”. All-new bumper segments were created, sometimes featuring
Pink involved in a typical Ant and Aardvark plot or showcasing a story with the
pair. Unlike their original adventures, the Ant and Aardvark remained as silent
as Pink.
Paul and Mary Ritts with two of their puppets.
The
second season of this version introduced live-action hosts Paul and Mary Ritts
who, along with their menagerie
of puppets, would perform various skits and read fan mail on the
air. Their son, Mark,
also performed some puppetry on the show. The pair were already featured
weekdays on NBC’s Watch
Your Child. However, this format was
dropped for the third season, and The Inspector was reintroduced into
the line-up with all three series now airing in a single episode. Only 8 new Panther
shorts were made during this period, with the rest having already
previously aired.
Hoot Kloot and Fester.
The Blue Racer and the Japanese Beetle.
The Dogfather with Pug and Louie.
For
the 1974 season, the series was revamped again as The Pink Panther and
Friends. This time a few new Panther shorts were mixed in with the
older ones, and were joined by a rotating line-up including The Inspector and
new entries Roland and Rattfink, Hoot Kloot, The Blue Racer and The
Dogfather. The Blue Racer starred the aforementioned Racer with a new
hunger for a Japanese
beetle (Holland) who happened to be a black belt in karate. Hoot
Kloot starred a diminutive and short-tempered sheriff (Holt) who tried to
maintain order in a Western town with his faithful steed, Fester. The
Dogfather was a parody of The Godfatherstarring
anthropomorphic dogs. Holt played the titular role doing an impression of the
film’s star Marlon
Brando, with Daws Butler playing henchdogs Pug and Louie
(Holt would voice Pug when Louie wasn’t present). Each series only lasted 17
entries each. Dogfather was the last theatrical series created by DFE as
demand for them continued to diminish, and DePatie theorized they were asked to
keep making them to keep the television show fresh.
A lobby card for the latest revision.
In
1976 the show got yet another revamp in an attempt to duplicate the success CBS found after they
expanded The
Bugs Bunny Showinto The Bugs
Bunny/Road Runner Hour the previous year. The Pink Panther Laugh and a
Half Hour and a Half Show Introducing Misterjaw expanded to 90 minutes and
included three Panthers, two Inspectors, one Ant and the
Aardvark, and one Tijuana Toads. However, due to changing broadcast
standards, the Toads were rebranded as The Texas Toads, the toads
renamed Fatso and Banjo,and the shorts were all redubbed to remove any
trace of stereotypical Spanish elements.
Misterjaw and Catfish.
Newly
created for the show was Misterjaw, inspired by the success of Jaws.
It
followed the misadventures of the titular shark (Arte Johnson, using a German accent)
adorned in a collar, tie, vest and top hat. He was joined by his sidekick,
Catfish (Arnold Stang, using a Brooklyn accent), who wore a bowler hat. Running
gags included Misterjaw often mispronouncing words, attempting to make a feast
out of Harry Halibut (Bob
Ogle),
and his terrorizing people by sneaking up on them and saying “Gotcha!” Of
course, when people came face-to-face with him, they would take off running
anyway similarly to the old Caspershorts
(after all, he was a shark!). The series’ theme by Goodwin utilized a
couple of notes reminiscent of John
Williams’ Jaws theme. It would be the final project
directed by McKimson before his sudden death.
Filling
in the remainder of the 90s minutes were all-new bumpers involving the Texas
Toads and Misterjaw, as well as riddle segments NBC forced DFE to
do. NBC also introduced a new host: comedian Lenny Schultz. Like the Ritts
before him, he performed routines and read fan mail from viewers. While he was
hot at the time, it became apparent very quickly that he was too frantic and
his humor skewed too adult for kids. The show fared poorly in the ratings and
was scaled back to 30-minutes for the subsequent season, renamed Think Pink
Panther and dropping Schultz, The Inspector and The Ant and the
Aardvark in the process.
After
nine years on NBC, the network dropped it and the show was acquired by ABC, who
retitled it The All New Pink Panther Show. A new rendition of Mancini’s
theme with a disco flair was composed for the intro by Steve DePatie.At ABC’s behest, DFE made 32 new Panther shorts that United Artists
would eventually release to theaters through 1981. Additionally, DFE made 16 Crazylegs
Crane shorts to go along with the Panther; his first solo series
after appearing as a guest character in Toads,
Racer and Dogfather. In his series, Crazylegs was joined by his son,
Crazylegs Crane Jr. (Frank Welker), as misadventures were caused by his
dimwitted and klutzy nature. To make his son proud, Crazylegs often tried to
capture and make dinner out of his frenemy, a fire-breathing dragonfly (Welker,
impersonating Andy
Kaufman). For the 11th and final season, the show
was once again renamed Pink Panther Encore and was a repackaging of
previously aired shorts. No further content was made.
Crazylegs Crane and his son.
Following
the end of the network run, MGM/UA created two syndicated versions of The
Pink Panther Show. One featured Panther, Inspector, Ant and Aardvark and
Texas Toads shorts utilizing the prints from the television series. The
second had Panther, Ant and Aardvark and Misterjaw sourced from
film prints and original negatives, resulting in sharper images. For the ones
sourced from theatrical versions, a new laugh track similar to those used on
current sitcoms was added. Additionally, DFE produced two Panther animated
specials for ABC in 1978 and 1980. A third was done by DFE’s successor Marvel Productions,
who also worked on the title sequence
for the next Panther film, Curse of the Pink
Panther. Pink himself wouldn’t
return to television in new adventures until 1986. The
Ant and the Aardvark would return in both the syndicated The Pink Pantherin
1993 (where Pink was given a voice supplied by Matt Frewer), and for
the 2010 revival series Pink
Panther and Pals(where the Little Man was renamed Big Nose). The
Inspector, The Texas Toads and The Dogfather characters were also included in the 1993
series.
The Dragonfly.
The
show’s various formats have been broadcast in reruns across cable and around
the world. Networks like Boomerang,
Cartoon Network,
BBC Two,
UK Gold,
BBC One,
Teletoon
Retro, This
TV,
Galavisión
and others. Sometimes they were presented with the shorts remastered while the
original content was not, sometimes without the original content at all.
Occasionally, the shorts would air individually to use up empty time in a
schedule. In the summer of 2021, MeTV
began airing a selection of the shorts as part of their Saturday
Morning Cartoonsprogramming block
under the name Pink
Panther’s Party. Pink was
introduced on the network during the weekday Toon In With Meprogramming
block with his first short, and the first Saturday broadcast featured two Panther,
a Roland and Rattfink and an Inspector shorts.
Cover art for American Mythology's Pink Panther Cartoon Hour Special by S.L. Gallant.
While
Pink was heavily marketed, in relation to the show it was the Panthermobile
that received most of the focus. Dinky Toys
released a self-driving
pull-cord version of the car with Pink in the driver’s seat
in 1972, then rereleased a reworked version in 1977 minus the large flywheel
that moved it and with new sticker graphics. Eldon
Industries produced a buildable model
kit,
which was later rereleased by Doyusha
when Eldon went out of business. As for the car itself, after it made a few
rounds on the show circuit it changed hands several times before being bought
at auction by Galpin
Auto Sports in 2011, who then restored
it to its former glory. Prompted by the series’ BBC run, World
Distributors published 11
comics annuals containing reprints from the Western Comics Pink
Panther series. Between 2016 and 2019, American
Mythology published new Pink
Panther comics that featured
original stories as well as classic reprints. Many of the shorts characters
appeared in various issues.
The DePatie/Freleng Collection Vol. 2 Blu-ray set.
1985
saw the debut of MGM/UA’s “Viddy-Oh!
For Kids” VHS line, which included 32 Panther shorts across four
tapes, 10 Inspector shorts between two, and 5 each for Ant and the
Aardvark, Roland and Rattfink, Tijuana Toads and Misterjaw. The Panther
tapes were reissued in 1993 with new cover art. Beginning in 2006, MGM released the Pink
Panther shorts onto DVD across 6
volumes, with a box
set
in 2009. KL
Studio Classics started re-releasing them onto DVD and
Blu-ray in new
collections with all-new special features and HD
remastering in 2018. They were collected into a box
set
in 2020. 20th
Century Fox handled the UK release with 2014’s Pink
Panther Cartoon Collectionand
the Fan
Favorites Cartoon Collectionof
24 shorts voted by vans for Pink’s 50th anniversary in 2015. The
other shorts got their own releases from KL starting in 2016, both individually
and in two DePatie/Freleng
collections on DVD and Blu-ray.
EPISODE
GUIDE (made-for-TV shorts only): Misterjaw: “Flying
Fool / Shopping Spree” (9/11/76) – Misterjaw tries to duplicate a pelican’s
method of catching fish. / An ad encourages Misterjaw and Catfish to go to the
supermarket for food. “To
Catch a Halibut / Beach Resort” (9/18/76) – When his first two meal ideas don’t
pan out, Catfish suggests Misterjaw go after a much easier (so he thinks)
halibut. / After Misterjaw and Catfish take over a beach, a shark hunter is
called in to get rid of him. “Monster
of the Deep / Showbiz Shark” (9/25/76) – Misterjaw finds a sunken ship complete
with a resident ghost. / Misterjaw auditions for a position at a marine park. “Aladdin’s
Lump / Little Red Riding Halibut” (10/2/76) – Scaring off two fishermen drops
their catch into Misterjaw’s fins: a magic lamp. / Misterjaw pretends to be the
halibut’s grandmother to lure him into a trap. “The
Codfather / Davey Jones’ Locker” (10/9/76) – Misterjaw and Catfish try to
liberate a treasure trove of tuna from the fish who’s already claimed it. /
Misterjaw shoots some pool with a swordfish to see who gets to eat the halibut. “Flying
Saucer / The Shape of Things” (10/16/76) – Aliens land on Earth and
encountering Misterjaw and Catfish leads them to believe they’re typical
Earthlings. / While Misterjaw joins a gym to lose weight, Catfish becomes the
target of some hungry alley cats. “Caught
in the Act / Merry Sharkman, Merry Sharkman” (10/23/76) – When his lunch takes
refuge in a woman’s fishbowl, Misterjaw dons a variety of disguises in an
attempt to get him. / The shark hunter sets his sights on capturing Misterjaw
once and for all. “Sea
Chase / Aloha, Hah, Hah!” (10/30/76) – Misterjaw may have finally met someone
he can’t scare: a decoy duck. / A pair of pirates attempt to get past Misterjaw
to reach their buried treasure. “Never
Shake Hands With a Piranha / Stand-In Room Only” (11/6/76) – Chasing the
halibut leads Misterjaw and Catfish to encounter a ravenous piranha. /
Misterjaw gets a job as a stand-in for a shark in a new movie, only he finds
out it’s one dangerous occupation. “The
Fishy Time Machine / Transistorized Shark” (11/13/76) – Snooping in the house
of a man they scared off leads Misterjaw and Catfish to discover and use a time
machine. / Swallowing a radio gets Misterjaw in trouble as the “perfect”
commercials end up playing at just the “right” times. “The
$6.95 Bionic Shark / Moulin Rogues” (11/20/76) – The owner of a pool gets a
robotic shark to get Misterjaw out of it. / Ending up in Paris has Misterjaw
and Catfish running from the law. “Holiday
in Venice / Shark and the Beanstalk” (11/27/76) – Two Italian cats want Catfish
for lunch. / Climbing a magic beanstalk puts Misterjaw and Catfish on a giant’s
menu. “The
Aquanuts / Cannery Caper” (12/4/76) – Misterjaw and Catfish attempt to escape
from the aquarium they’re put into. / When a cannery operation leaves fishing
scarce, Misterjaw takes over the cannery. “Fish
Anonymous / Maguiness Book of Records” (12/11/76) – Misterjaw attempts to go on
a diet. / Misterjaw attempts to break any of the records held by Jack Sharky. “Cool
Shark / Deep Sea Rodeo” (12/18/76) – When an octopus he scares inks him in
response, Misterjaw chases him all the way to the North Pole. / Misterjaw tries
to wrangle himself a seahorse. “Mama
/ Easy Come Easy Go” (12/25/76) – Misterjaw becomes the mother to a sea monster
when he steals its egg for a meal. / Misterjaw plans to become the pet of a
wealthy individual so that he can inherit their fortune. “No
Man’s Halibut / Sweat Hog Shark” (1/1/77) – Misterjaw faces off against a
stranded castaway for a halibut lunch. / Misterjaw takes up motorcycling. The
All New Pink Panther Show: “Pink
Bananas / Crane Brained / Pinktails for Two” (9/9/78) – Pink encounters a
gorilla that dances whenever he hears music. / Crazylegs tries to make his son
proud by catching the dragonfly. / Fertilizer causes Pink’s tail to grow. “Pink
Arcade / Life With Feather / Pink S.W.A.T.” (9/16/78) – Lucking into a mess of
quarters, Pink decides to indulge at an amusement arcade that turns out to be
anything but amusing. / Pepper turns out to be Crazylegs’ undoing when he
finally catches the dragonfly. / Pink attempts to get a fly out of his house. “Pink
Suds / King of the Swamp / Pink Pull” (9/23/78) – Pink ends up causing chaos at
the launderette. / Crazylegs believes he’s king of the swamp…it’s just too bad
no one else does. / Pink uses a giant magnet to retrieve a lost quarter. “Toro
Pink / Winter Blunderland / Pink in the Woods” (9/30/78) – Pink takes over for
a toreador that chickens out. / Crazylegs could do with a hot dragonfly meal on
a cold wintery day. / Lumberjack Pink is constantly in trouble with his
short-tempered boss. “Spark
Plug Pink / Sonic Broom / Pink Breakfast” (10/7/78) – Pink must retrieve his
lawnmower’s spark plug from a yard guarded by a mean dog. / Crazylegs competes
with a witch for the dragonfly. / Making breakfast turns into an adventure for
Pink. “Pink
Lightning / Storky and Hatch / Pink in the Drink” (10/14/78) – Pink’s new car
turns out to be monstrous with Dr. Jekyll’s formula in its tank. / A cue ball
ends up in Crazylegs’ nest and he believes it’s an egg he must hatch. / Pink’s
relaxing cruise is anything but when his captain turns out to be a vicious
pirate that puts him to work. “Doctor
Pink / Bug Off / Pink Pictures” (10/21/78) – Pink takes up first aid. / The
dragonfly manages to convince Crazylegs that he can’t fly. / The local wildlife
isn’t making Pink’s new photography hobby easy. “Supermarket
Pink / Animal Crackups / String Along in Pink” (10/28/78) – The Little Man
keeps his eye on Pink while he does his shopping. / Crazylegs ends up in
misadventures at the circus when he tries to capture the dragonfly who’s
performing there. / Pink follows a seemingly-endless piece of string. “Pink
Lemonade / Fly-by-Knight / Pink Trumpet” (11/4/78) – Pink pretends to be the
stuffed animal of the Little Man’s daughter to evade a dog catcher. / Crazylegs
attempts to become knighted to make his son proud. / Pink annoys the Little Man
by practicing his trumpet in the motel room next to his. “Dietetic
Pink / Sneaker Snack / Sprinkle Me Pink” (11/11/78) – After a scale shows him
weighing 220 pounds, Pink puts himself on a strict diet. / Crazylegs and his
friend both want the dragonfly for themselves. / Pink tries to evade a
persistent rain cloud to have a picnic. “Pink
Daddy / Barnacle Bird / Cat and the Pinkstalk” (11/18/78) – A lost stork
accidentally delivers a baby crocodile to Pink. / Crazylegs follows the
dragonfly onto a ship headed out to sea. / Pink sells his cow for beans that
turn out to be magic. “Pink
Quackers / Jet Feathers / Pink and Shovel” (11/25/78) – Pink takes on a wind-up
toy duck as a house pet. / Crazylegs tries to enhance his flying so that he can
keep up with the dragonfly. / Pink tries to reclaim a $5 bill he buried where a
hotel now stands. “Yankee
Doodle Pink / Beach Bummer / Pinkologist” (12/2/78) – Pink is sent to warn the
townsfolk of the Redcoats in the American Revolution. / A broke Crazylegs tries
to enjoy the beach without paying the entrance fee. / The Little Man is driven
to a psychiatrist by Pink’s antics. “Pet
Pink Pebbles / Nest Quest / The Pink of Bagdad” (12/9/78) – Pink’s pet rock
turns out to be big trouble. / Fed up with nests, Crazylegs decides to build
himself a house. / A fakir’s magic rope falls in love with Pink’s tail. “Pink
Press / Flower Power / Pink U.F.O.” (12/16/78) – Pink does whatever it takes to
secure an elusive interview for his newspaper. / Crazylegs has to protect his
new garden from a weed. / A butterfly Pink catches turns out to be a tiny
U.F.O. “Pink
Z-Z-Z / Trail of the Lonesome Mine / Star Pink” (12/23/78) – A cat keeps Pink
up at night. / Crazylegs and a witch set their sights on stealing the
dragonfly’s gold claim. / Running a space ship gas station pits Pink against a
space villain.
