55TH & 60TH ANNIVERSARIES

 Believe it or not, these shows are turning 55 and 60 this year!

SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH (1970)

 

SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH (1970) / SABRINA AND THE GROOVIE GOOLIES / THE SABRINA COMEDY HOUR
(CBS, September 12- December 26, 1970)
 
Filmation Associates

 

 

MAIN CAST:

Jane Webb – Sabrina Spellman, Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, Della the Head Witch, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Miss Grundy, Big Ethel, various

Dallas McKennon – Salem, Archie Andrews, Hot Dog, Mr. Weatherbee, Pop Tate, Mr. Lodge, Coach Kleats, various

Howard Morris – Ambrose, Jughead Jones, Moose Mason, Dilton Doiley, Hot Dog Jr., various

Don Messick – Harvey Kinkle, Spencer, Chili Dog, various

John Erwin – Reggie Mantle, Hexter, various

Treva Frazee – Ophelia
Larry Mann – Boneapart, various
Larry Storch – Drac, Hagatha, Ghoulihand, Batso, Ratso, Icky, various

 

 For the history of Sabrina, check out the post here.

 

When Filmation acquired the rights to adapt Archie Comics’ Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, she was still a fairly new and minor character; only appearing sporadically in the pages of the anthology Archie’s Mad House. To test her out with audiences, it was decided to include her as part of the expanded The Archie Show, The Archie Comedy Hour. The Sabrina segments proved a hit with audiences, and for her second season on the air she was split off into her own series. Sort of.

Sabrina with her cousins Wolfie, Drac and Frankie.

In similar fashion, Filmation had another untested property they wanted to do. Called The Groovie Goolies, it was their comedic take on the Universal Monsters combined with a healthy dose of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Since both featured witches, they paired them up with Sabrina to form Sabrina and The Groovie Goolies (alternatively known as The Sabrina Comedy Hour). Both shows were developed by Jack Mendelsohn, with Jim Mulligan also working on Goolies.

Sabrina with Salem.

 The first half hour focused on the adventures of Sabrina Spellman (Jane Webb), your ordinary teenage girl attending ordinary Riverdale High. Well, ordinary except for the fact that she was a witch accidentally created by her aunts, Hilda and Zelda (both also Webb). They sought to create another wicked witch like themselves and instead mixed in the ingredients for a typical teenaged girl. Residing with them was their magical cat, Salem (Dallas McKennon), and occasionally popping in to cause trouble was warlock cousin Ambrose (Howard Morris, replacing John Erwin from the previous season). Sabrina’s human friends consisted of her bumbling boyfriend Harvey Kinkle (Don Messick), best friend Ophelia (Treva Frazee), girl-crazy Archie Andrews (McKennon), mischievous Reggie Mantle (Erwin), girl-next-door Betty Cooper, spoiled rich girl Veronica Lodge (both Webb), eternally-hungry Jughead Jones, big lummox Moose Mason, and genius Dilton Doiley (all Morris). Head witch Della (Webb) frequently popped in to give Sabrina a headache; especially when tasking her with watching her naughty nephew, Hexter (Erwin).

Rocking out with the Goolies.

The second half hour focused on the Goolies, who were members of a band based out of a creepy castle called Horrible Hall. The primary group was comprised of Drac (Larry Storch), a pastiche of Dracula, the short-tempered leader who played the pipe organ; Frankie (Howard Morris, doing a loose impersonation of Boris Karloff), based on Frankenstein’s monster, who was the easygoing head of the Muscleleum Gymnasium and played either bone xylophones or drums (later misinformation would call Frankie the son of Drac and Hagatha); and Wolfie (also Morris), based on the wolfman, who spoke in a mix of beatnik, surfer and hippie slang and played a lyre-like instrument. Despite the separation of the two shows, the characters often crossed over. The Goolies were said to be Sabrina’s cousins, and typically she had to try and keep their true natures a secret from her mortal friends lest her own witchcraft be exposed. 

Sabrina spending time with Aunts Hilda and Zelda.

 Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies debuted on CBS on September 12, 1970. The series was written by Mendelsohn and Mulligan with Bob Ogle, Chuck Menville, Len Janson, Jim Ryan and Bill Danch. The series’ music was provided by Horta-Mahana Corp. and Jan Moore, with the background score done by Ray Ellis and David Jeffrey. The series was a hit, becoming the highest-rated children’s program of 1970. Despite that, however, this would be the last time new episodes of Sabrina would be produced until 1977 in The New Archie and Sabrina Hour.

Worlds collide.

For the 1971 season, CBS split up the two shows into their own half-hours. Reruns of both seasons’ worth of episodes continued on Saturday morning under the newly-titled Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. The Groovie Goolies became its own entity, completely omitting Sabrina from their intro, and was moved to Sunday morning to air alongside Tom and Jerry; however, they remained in the Sabrina episodes in which they appeared. Sabrina remained on the network until 1973 and would be sold into syndication with Archie and Goolies in 1976.

Sabrina and The Archie gang.

With Sabrina’s new media attention, Archie finally gave her a series of her own with the first volume of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in 1971. Before that, Sabrina began appearing as a regular feature in the anthology series Archie’s TV Laugh-Out (a play on the Laugh-In title), which starred all of Archie’s televised characters and introduced Harvey and Ambrose alongside Comedy Hour. Episodes of the series were released as part of the Archie & Friends compilations Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Archie’s Classic Cartoons by Nostalgia Ventures in 2004. A complete series DVD set was released by Classic Media in 2012, followed by a 10 episode collection from 20^th Century Fox. The series set was reissued by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in 2019.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE (see The Archie Comedy Hour for the previous season):
“Short Changed / Rose-Colored Glasses” (9/12/70) – Reggie comes over for lunch and ends up doused with a shrinking potion by Hilda. / Hilda’s rose-colored glasses give Mr. Weatherbee a skewed view of the world.
 
“Mis-Guided Tour / Living Dolls” (9/19/70) – Sabrina’s bringing Hexter on a class trip has Miss Grundy doubting her sanity. / Hida shrinks the Goolies and they’re discovered by The Archies.
 
“That Old Track Magic / Cake Bake” (9/26/70) – A concussion causes Ambrose to help Riverdale high’s oppoents in the track meet. / Hagatha and Hilda fight dirty to beat each other in a cake-baking contest.
 
“Moose’s Alter-Falter / Hot Rod Derby” (10/3/70) – Sabrina must get Moose’s good and bad sides back under control. / Sabrina gets roped into helping Wolfie with the local car race.
 
“Mortal Terror / The Bear Facts” (10/10/70) – Della grants Sabrina’s wish to be mortal, which ends up spoiling her bowling date with Reggie. / Riverdale High’s photography class decides to set up in the same area the Goolies have decided to inhabit.
 
“Weather or Not / Child Care” (10/17/70) – Sabrina’s magic-altering illness ends up getting Jughead expelled from school. / Sabrina conjures a dragon to entertain her Goolie cousins, but it ends up going out of control in town.
 
“Flying Sorcery / Witches Golf Open” (10/24/70) – Reggie catches Sabrina emerging from a flying saucer. / The Archies play caddy for Hilda and the Goolies during a nighttime golf game.
 
“Too Many Cooks / Rummage Sale” (10/31/70) – Archie and Reggie make a bet to stay in an empty mansion the same night as an annual witches gathering there. / The Goolies’ contributions to the school’s rummage sale ends up leading to problems for Sabrina.
 
“Ambrose’s Amulet / High School Drop-Ins” (11/7/70) – Ambrose loans Big Ethel his amulet, forgetting it changes people into animals. / The Goolies decide to get a high school education.
 
“Auto-Biography / Big Deal” (11/14/70) – Hilda accidentally turns herself into Archie’s car. / Ratso and Batso dog-sit Hot Dog, whom Hauntleroy causes to grow as large as a house.
 
“Tragic Magic / Frankie” (11/21/70) – Jughead enlists Sabrina’s help to be a better magician for the charity magic show. / Frankie just wants to help out his friends, but all his efforts always end in disaster.
 
“A Nose for News / Beached” (11/28/70) – When Reggie is made editor of the school paper he starts blackmailing his fellow students with their embarrassing secrets. / Sabrina’s beach day is spent keeping the Goolies hidden and protecting her friends from bullies.
 
“Ouch” (12/5/70) – Sabrina must keep Hilda’s loud music from disturbing the neighbors.
 
“Smog” (12/12/70) – Sabrina must intervene when smoke from Horrible Hall gets Archie’s Pollution Committee to investigate.
 
“Dirty Pool” (12/19/70) – Sabrina and the Goolies ask The Archies to help stop the pollution of Horrible Hall’s moat by the Crosstown Gang’s car-wash.
 
“The Grayed Outdoors” (12/26/70) – Sabrina and the Goolies must protect the environment from the Crosstown Gang’s construction of a bike track.

LARRY STORCH DEAD AT 99

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known for his starring role in F-Troop (which was seen in archival footage on an episode of Freakazoid!), he also had an extensive career on Saturday morning. He starred as Phineas J. Whoopee, as well as Rocky Maninoff, G. Washington Bridgit and Red Beard in Tennessee Tuxedo and his Tales; Joker in The Batman/Superman Hour and The New Scooby-Doo Movies; Drac, Ratso, Hagatha and Ghoulihand in Groovie Goolies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies (where he was also The Phantom), The New Archie/Sabrina Hour and Sabrina, Super Witch; Marlon, Fleetwood and Chuck White in “The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island” episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, which was followed with The Brady Kids where he was also Mop Top, Sleezy Sam, Knuckles, Coach, Chuckonis Ospro, Krunk, Nets Nolan, Hoax, Orville Wrong, Wilbur Wrong, Major LeTraine and Colonel Jones; Eddie Spencer and Big Al on The Ghost Busters; and Mr. Mendaelbaum and Herbert Finagle in episodes of Garfield and Friends. He also provided voices for Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour, The Puppy’s Further Adventures, and Foofur.

CROSSOVER: LOONEY GOOLIES

 
            At a time when Warner Bros. didn’t have their own animation facilities (having long since shut them down), they typically contracted outside studios mostly run by former employees to produce cartoons for them. However, there was one rare instance where they loaned out their Looney Tunes characters to another studio for their own production.

Daffy with Drac and Frankie.

            Filmation was that studio, and that production was one of their offerings for The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies, with the Looney Tunes crossing over with the titular Goolies. The hour-long special saw Daffy Duck (Mel Blanc) in Hollywood producing a movie about King Arthur starring himself when a ghoulish being identified as The Phantom (Larry Storch) threatened to destroy every production Daffy worked on. Frankie Frankenstein (Howard Morris), a big fan of Daffy’s, decided to go to Hollywood to help along with the other residents of Horrible Hall. Naturally, the Looney Tunes coming face-to-face with the monstrous Goolies did not go smoothly at first, but after the dust settled production was back underway with the Goolies helping out. Unfortunately, The Phantom, disguised as Hauntleroy (Morris), made off with the film into “Mad Mirror Land”, where a live-action chase ensued; partially utilizing the stop-motion pixilation technique writers Len Janson and Chuck Menville had used on short films previously (home video releases would edit this sequence out, but they would be repurposed as the Goolie short “The Haunted Heist”). 

Daffy gets on Hagatha's bad side.

            Along with Daffy, Blanc voiced Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Tweety, Wile E. Coyote, Pepe Le Pew and Foghorn Leghorn, while Jane Webb (as Joanne Louise) voiced Petunia Pig in her first appearance since the 1930s. Blanc famously hated the experience working on this short, particularly with how they incorrectly pitched Daffy, Tweety and Elmer making them sound off. This was the first and only time he ever worked for Filmation, spending the majority of his career between Warners and Hanna-Barbera.

50TH ANNIVERSARIES

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: LEN JANSON

LEN JANSON 

(Unknown) 

Notable Roles: Animator, writer, story editor, producer, director 

Janson began working at Walt Disney Productions as an in-betweener. In 1965, he became a story man and received his first screen credit in Warner Bros.’ Boulder Wham! Roadrunner short. In the following years, he partnered with fellow animator and writer Chuck Menville. Together, they produced a series of live-action short films utilizing the long-forgotten stop-motion pixilation method. Among them was the Academy Award-nominated Stop Look and Listen, which followed a day in the life of motorists who tooled around the city in invisible cars. They wrote, directed and starred in their shorts. Clips from their second film, Vicious Cycles, were used in ABC’s The New Communicators which landed them a gig making commercials for Gulf Oil’s “no-nox” gasoline. In 1969, Janson and Menville started long stints at both Filmation and Hanna-Barbera, serving as story editors and producers for several of their shows. Over at DiC Enterprises in the 1980s, Menville and Janson were offered the story editor position of The Real Ghostbusters, but they initially turned it down due to the massive workload of having to produce a syndicated and Saturday morning version of the show at the same time. Following the departure of story editor J. Michael Straczynski over creative differences in changes ABC wanted to make, Janson and Menville became the story editors for the remainder of the show’s run. They went on to write, produce and story edit for the reboot of Land of the Lost and Tiny Toon Adventures. Following Menville’s death in 1992, Janson went on to develop the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series for ABC, as well as its follow-up, Sonic Underground. He also wrote several episodes of Baywatch Nights and The Woody Woodpecker Show revival. Janson’s last credited work was on an episode of Gadget and the Gadgetinis in 2003, although he did appear in 2008 documentaries about The Real Ghostbusters. 

Saturday Credits: 

Cattanooga Cats 

Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down 

Groovie Goolies 

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1969) 

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids 

The Flintstone Comedy Hour 

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (episodes) 

Lassie’s Rescue Rangers 

Speed Buggy 

Star Trek: The Animated Series 

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch 

Hong Kong Phooey 

Korg: 70,000 B.C. 

Shazam! (1974) 

Uncle Croc’s Block 

The New Adventures of Gilligan 

The Secrets of Isis 

ABC Weekend Specials (episodes) 

Ark II 

The New Adventures of Batman 

Space Sentinels 

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle 

Tarzan and the Super 7 

Yogi’s Space Race 

Buford and the Galloping Ghost 

Jason of Star Command 

The New Fred and Barney Show 

The New Shmoo 

Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo 

The Flintstone Comedy Show 

Space Stars 

The Smurfs 

Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour 

Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince 

The Biskitts 

Kissyfur 

The Real Ghostbusters 

The Little Wizards 

Tiny Toon Adventures 

Land of the Lost (1991) 

The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series 

Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) 

Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series 

Gadget and the Gadgetinis 

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: DALLAS McKENNON

DALLAS McKENNON

(July 19, 1919-July 14, 2009)

Notable Roles: Buzz Buzzard, Inspector Willoughby, Tony the Tiger, Gumby, Pokey, Q.T. Hush, Dr. Blaney, Courageous Cat, Minute Mouse, Tintin, Professor Calculus, Sinbad Jr., Salty, Pokey, Archie Andrews, Mr. Weatherbee, Hot Dog, Frank Hardy, Chubby Morton, Pete Jones, Cincinnatus, Salem Saberhagen

Born Raymond Dallas “Dal” McKennon, he grew up on a farm where he would come to practice making animal voices. In high school, he became a DJ for a local radio station where he would perform various voices for the sponsors’ commercials. After serving in WWII, McKennon started a business recording and “cutting” records on acetate before Portland’s KGW hired him to be Mr. Buttons, the host of a children’s radio show. McKennon got into acting with his first role in the 1952 film Bend of the River, where he befriended Jimmy Stewart. Stewart invited McKennon out to Los Angeles to become part of his radio program, The Six Shooter. Once in California, McKennon landed the lead role in Captain Jet, a local kid’s space-themed program, which allowed him to segue into voice acting. He worked for Walter Lantz Productions voicing Buzz Buzzard in Woody Woodpecker shorts and the lead in Inspector Willoughby. He also became the first voice of Tony the Tiger for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal commercials; however, his tenure was short-lived as he would be replaced the following year by Thurl Ravenscroft. McKennon would forge a long relationship with Disney, providing voices in many of their films beginning with Lady and the Tramp, as well as recording 16 LPs retelling movie stories. One of McKennon’s best-known roles would be that of the Claymation character Gumby, which he first assumed in 1957 and then several times after. He soon took over voicing Gumby’s best friend Pokey, as well as various other characters in the series. During this time, he was still acting on camera as well. McKennon’s most prominent live-action role was as innkeeper Cincinnatus on Daniel Boone from 1964-70. In 1968, he began another long studio relationship, this time with Filmation Associates as the voice of Archie Andrews and other characters in various shows based on Archie comics. After moving to Oregon, McKennon became involved with a local theater and took up writing music and scripts, many for plays and shows about Oregon history. His first song, Critters in the Woods, was performed on Daniel Boone. For the bi-centennial, he helped leaders in Portland organize a pageant called In God We Trust, for which he served as a narrator. He travelled to various schools as a character called Skinny Bones Jones engaging students with fanciful facts, and developed the show Vox Box to teach people how to make voices. One of McKennon’s lasting contributions was a crazy laugh first used for the hyena in Lady and the Tramp that would be recycled for use in the films Tourist Trap and Elf, the show Totally Spies! and several Crash Bandicoot games for the character of Ripper Roo. He died of natural causes in 2009 at the age of 89.

Saturday Credits:

The Gumby Show

Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt

The Archie Show

Archie’s Funhouse

The Archie Comedy Hour

The Hardy Boys

Groovie Goolies

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1969)

Archie’s TV Funnies

The Barkleys

U.S. of Archie

Sabrina, Super Witch

Space Academy

The New Archie/Sabrina Hour

Archie’s Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show

Goof Troop

The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat

GROOVIE GOOLIES

GROOVIE GOOLIES

(CBS, September 12-December 26, 1970)

Filmation Associates

MAIN CAST:

Larry Storch – Drac, Hagatha, Ghoulihand, Batso, Ratso (both first half), Icky, various

Howard Morris – Frankie, Wolfie, Fido, Hagatha (3 episodes), Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, Mummy, Hauntleroy, Orville, various

Jane Webb – Bella La Ghostly, Sabrina Spellman, various

Larry D. Mann – Rover, Boneapart, various

Dallas McKennon – Batso, Ratso (both second half), Goo, Salem, various

            Television airings of the classic Universal Monsters movies had given the franchise a renewed popularity in the 1960s. Having grown up with those films, Filmation producer Lou Scheimer decided to create a humorous homage to them. 

Welcome to Horrible Hall.

            Scheimer tasked Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In writers Jack Mendelsohn and Jim Mulligan with developing the series. They ultimately settled on the scenario of a group of monsters living together in a castle and performing in a band. Initially, the castle, named Horrible Hall, was meant to be an inn that would be frequented by various guest monsters and ghouls resulting in the title Monster Inn; emphasizing both the setting and serving as a parody of the Laugh-In title, of which the show would take heavy influence from in all its incarnations. There would also be a villain named Sydney Sneaking-Slyly trying to get to a treasure buried beneath the castle. Once that aspect was dropped, the name “The Kookie Spookies” was adopted for much of the show’s early production until they were forced to change it as it sounded too close to Hasbro’s short-lived “Kooky Spooky” toyline. Ultimately, the group and the show became “The Groovie Goolies” (the unique spelling designed to avoid any claims of copyright infringement from other companies; although the traditional “ghoul” did appear from time to time).

Frankie, Drac and Wolfie play for Bella, Orville, Hagatha, Hauntleory, Icky, Goo, Ratso and Batso.

            The Goolies were comprised of Drac (Larry Storch), a pastiche of Dracula, the short-tempered leader who played the pipe organ; Frankie (Howard Morris, doing a loose impersonation of Boris Karloff), based on Frankenstein’s monster, who was the easygoing head of the Muscleleum Gymnasium and played either bone xylophones or drums (later misinformation would call Frankie the son of Drac and Hagatha); and Wolfie (also Morris), based on the wolfman, who spoke in a mix of beatnik, surfer and hippie slang and played a lyre-like instrument. Other residents of Horrible Hall included Hagatha (Storch & Morris), a plump witch that served as the chef and had a sentient broom named Broomhilda; Bella La Ghostly (a play on Bela Lugosi, voiced by Jane Webb), the vampiric switchboard operator; Dr. Jekyll and Hyde (Morris), the resident doctor with a human and a monstrous head (a play on the dual nature of the original monster); Mummy (Morris, impersonating W.C. Fields), the resident newscaster with a penchant for first aid that often became unraveled; Boneapart (Larry D. Mann), a skittish skeleton in a Napoleon hat (a nod to his namesake) that often fell apart; Ghoulihand (Storch), a giant talking glove; Batso and Ratso (initially Storch, but later Dallas McKennon), two imps who often stole treats and played mean practical jokes that often backfired on them; Hauntleroy (Morris), Hagatha’s nephew who was selfish and two-faced; and Icky (Storch) and Goo (McKennon), two gargoyle-like creatures that were the resident pets along with Rover (Mann), Frankie’s pet dinosaur, and Fido, Wolfie’s pet piranha. Of course, other familiar trappings from the genre made appearances such as ghosts, man-eating plants and sentient furniture.

Sabrina being bored by Drac.

            Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies debuted on CBS on September 12, 1970. The hour-long program featured two 15-minute Sabrina segments and a 30-minute block of Goolies, with both sets of characters crossing over into each other’s shows and the Goolies said to be Sabrina’s cousins. The show was picked up by Head of Children’s Programming Fred Silverman who was looking for a compliment to their successful Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Since both shows featured witches, it was decided to package Goolies together with Filmation’s other offering: Sabrina the Teenage Witch, a spin-off of their popular The Archie Show. 

Ratso and Batso trading barbs during Weird Window Time.

            The series was written by Mendelsohn and Mulligan with Bob Ogle, Chuck Menville, Len Janson, Jim Ryan and Bill Danch. As said, the show took strong inspiration from Laugh-In and featured a similar structure of quick skits and jokes. “Weird Windows Time” was a direct spoof of Laugh-In’s Joke Wall, where the Goolies would pop out of various places and trade jokes. Each Goolie had a special segment: Dracula’s Schoolhouse, where Drac taught mad science; Hagatha’s Bedtime Stories, where she read a popular fairy tale to Frankie and the other residents all acted out the roles; Home Movies, which had the character’s watching videos from their pasts; The Mummy’s Wrap-Up, where Mummy would deliver news stories about other monsters; and Wolfie’s Theater, which was similar to Hagatha’s stories but with a stage performance set-up. Often, the characters would deliver educational tips about various subjects to the audience. A recurring gag saw Frankie being struck by lightning and then remarking “I needed that!”, as well as possessing the dual identity of inept superhero Super Ghoul.

The Mummies and the Puppies.

Each episode also featured two musical numbers; one performed by the Goolies, and another by a guest band. Those bands included The Bare Bones Band, comprised of three skeletons; The Mummies and the Puppies (a play on The Mamas and the Papas), comprised of a family of mummies and dogs; The Rolling Headstones (a play on The Rolling Stones), made up of three living tombstones; and The Spirits of ’76, which had three ghosts wearing the tricorne hats common during the 18^th Century. Other groups conceived of during pre-production but not used were The Japanese Beatles, The Rolling Rocks, The Door Jammers and The Snapping Turtles. The songs were written by and arranged by Richard Delvy (as Linda Martin), Ed Fournier (as Sherry Gayden) and Dick Monda. Fournier and Monda also provided vocals with Bob Markland, Chris Sciarrotta and Dave Mani. The series’ background music was composed by Ray Ellis (as Jeff Michael), with additional music and sound effects provided by Horita-Mahana Corp. and Jan Moore. The titles of the songs would go on to provide episode titles for home media releases, as the original episodes went untitled and were only classified by their production numbers.

Some random tomfoolery.

Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies was the highest-rated children’s program in 1970. In 1971, CBS split up the two shows. Sabrina was removed from the Goolies intro and replaced with clips from “The Monster Trio” song number, and was omitted by changes to the theme song’s lyrics. They also moved the show to Sunday mornings and paired it with Tom and Jerry. After a single season there, CBS cancelled Goolies. However, the characters continued to appear in Sabrina. In 1972, they appeared on rival network ABC in Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies, which aired as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. ABC would later broadcast reruns of Goolies in 1975. The characters made two final new appearances in episodes of The New Archie and Sabrina Hour, and Frankie was featured in the show’s closing credits. Despite its short run, Goolies was broadcast globally and translated into many languages. The show was so popular in France that the characters were included on a float in France’s 1986 Carnaval de Cholet.

 

The Groovie Goolies rocking out.

As with The Archie Show and The Hardy Boys, Filmation heavily pushed the musical aspect of the series. An album of 10 songs was released by RCA Victor Records in 1970; 8 of them had been featured on the show with “Save Your Good Lovin’ For Me” going on to be the only single, while “We Go So Good Together” and “Spend Some Time Together” were exclusive to the album. Featured on the cover was Monda, Fournier and songwriter Jeffrey Thomas in costume as Drac, Wolfie and Frankie, respectively; roles they would later reprise for the live-action segment of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies, although Thomas and Fournier switched roles (home releases of the special would omit the live segments). Neither release sold particularly well, although a revised version of “Chick-a-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It)” by Monda under the alias Daddy Dewdrop reached at #9 on the Billboard singles chart. A live version of the Goolies briefly toured in 1971 lip-synching to the series’ songs. Their make-up was provided by Wes and Robert Dawn.

 

A spider provides a tennis net for the Goolies and Mummy.

The French version received its own album in 1983 by Magical Ring Records under the translated title “Les Croque Monstres”. Only the theme song was carried over and translated; the rest of the songs were new monster-themed ones and covers of other hit songs. To promote the album, a band dressed up as the Goolies (including Mummy) performed the theme song. The album would be reissued in 2013 by Balthazar Music with a slightly different track order. In 1992, Bonton released a pair of albums titled Bubusou in Czechoslovakia featuring all 33 of the show’s songs translated by Jiří Josek.

Character models.

Groovie Goolies saw numerous releases onto home media. On VHS in the United States, Embassy Home Entertainment released Haunted Hijinks in 1985 and United American Video released Double Feature in 1989 and Live from Horrible Hall in 1990. In the United Kingdom, Select Video released Groovie Ghouls in 1985 that would be re-released by Kids Kollection in 1990, and Intervision Video included three episodes in both volumes of Filmation’s Children’s Cartoon Festival: Groovie Goolies in 1988. In Germany, Select Video released Geisterstunde in Horrible Hall in 1986, Die Lustige Monster Show: Im Horrorschlob & Das Gruselkabinett in 1990. Argentina and France had one release each with Mis Adorables Monstuitos from Buena Onda Home Video in 1986 and Les Croque Monstres by Sunbird Junior in 1989. On DVD, in the United States BCI/Eclipse released The Saturday “Mourning” Collection in 2006 which contained the whole series, then split it up between the two The Frightfully Funny Collection releases in 2008. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment would release a best-of collection in 2012 called simply Groovie Goolies. In 2009, Savor Ediciones Emon released the complete series in Spain as Mis Queridos Monstruos, and Australia would get their own release in 2016 from Universal Pictures.

Bella helping in the kitchen.

Goolies received its fair share of merchandising as well. During the show’s run, there was a coloring book and a magic slate produced by Whitman, puzzles depicting scenes from the show made by Fairchild, a collection of figurines by Chemtoy Corporation, candy with prizes, and a series of costumes by Ben Cooper, Inc. The theme song, re-recorded by the Toadies, was included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits from MCA Records. In 2010, Monstarz released limited edition maquettes of Drac, Frankie and Wolife. In 2017, Hot Toy Cars partnered with LB Customz to make two limited edition die-cast cars featuring graphics of the Goolies in the form of a VW Drag Bus and a Dairy Delivery truck.

Drac taking the skelevator.

In 1977, Filmation produced the package program The Groovie Goolies and Friends comprised of their properties that had too few episodes to syndicate individually. Goolies reruns were rotated with The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty, Lassie’s Rescue Rangers, The New Adventures of Gilligan, My Favorite Martians, M-U-S-H., Fraidy Cat and Wacky and Packy. While each show retained their original end credits, Filmation created a new intro for the package and animated new bumper segments where the Goolies would interact with the characters from the other shows.

Drac and Bella moonlighting with Prime Evil on GhostBusters.

Over the years, Filmation planned several revivals of the show in various forms that never saw fruition. The idea of a feature film was floated in 1978, and in 1984 Filmation came up with the concept of Fright Camp which would star the children of the original Goolies attending a summer camp. They also toyed around with The Goolies, which would have featured the characters as toddlers as part of the growing babyfication craze started by Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies. Ultimately, Goolies would live on in Filmation’s GhostBusters cartoon via recycled elements, including the Skelevator (an elevator made of bone), a skeleton character who fell apart, and the appearance of Drac and Bella’s character models and animations as new characters.

EPISODE GUIDE:

“When I Grow Up” (9/12/70) – Drac shows Frankie and Wolfie his torture chamber and gets trapped in a device; Wolfie performs his version of Little Red Riding Hood; Hagatha fights with tumbleweeds; Hauntleroy’s exercise bike ends up more intense than he planned.

Songs: “Monster Cookbook” – The Groovie Goolies, “When I Grow Up” – The Mummies and the Puppies

“Population Party” (9/19/70) – Wolfie drives his Wolf Wagon around the castle; Frankie tries to train Rover; Bella tries to help Boneapart with his dog problem; Ratso and Batso want to steal Hagatha’s pie.

Songs: “One, Two, Three” – The Groovie Goolies, “The First Annual Semi-Formal Combination Celebration Meet-The-Monster Population Party” – The Bare Bones Band

“Lights Out” (9/26/70) – The monsters try to capture Drac’s great-uncle; Drac gets a physical; Tiny tries to get people to stop throwing shoes at him; Hagatha puts a spell on her cookie jar; Frankie helps Drac work out.

Songs: “Cling Clang” – The Groovie Goolies, “Lights Out” – The Rolling Headstones

“Goolie Garden” (10/3/70) – The monsters play golf; Wolfie accidentally disfigures Mummy and Boneapart; Hagatha fights the Big Green Meanie; Wolfie gives surfing lessons.

Songs: “Goolie Garden” – The Groovie Goolies, “Monsters on Parade” – The Spirits of ‘76

“Monster Trio” (10/10/70) – The monsters clean the castle; Boneapart teaches Ratso and Batso about skeletons; Tiny asks Bella’s advice on Missy’s leering eye; Dr. Jekyll and Hyde treat Ghoulihand after an accident; Hagatha gets into a fight with the mailbox.

Songs: “Monster Trio” – The Groovie Goolies, “Super Ghoul” – The Bare Bones Band

“Feed the Ghosts Some Garlic” (10/17/70) – The monsters play baseball; Hagatha tells her version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears; Drac talks about his ancestors; Ratso and Batso try to take Wolfie’s surfboard; Frankie pesters Hagatha for food.

Songs: “Feed the Ghosts Some Garlic” – The Groovie Goolies, “Midnight” – The Rolling Headstones

“Frankie” (10/24/70) – Frankie and Wolfie try to cheer up Orville; the Lovesick Loveseat stalks Drac; Ratso and Batso are up to no good; Bella and Drac try to teach Frankie manners; Frankie shows off Rover’s training.

Songs: “Frankie” – The Groovie Goolies, “Be Kind to Monsters Week” – The Spirits of ‘76

“What’s in the Bag?” (10/31/70) – Drac’s lessons on anatomy to Batso and Ratso are a bust; Frankie plays some home movies; Ghoulihand helps Wolfie build a garage; Frankie tries to get a troublesome bush out of Hagatha’s garden.

Songs: “What’s in the Bag?” – The Groovie Goolies, “When the Moon is Full” – The Mummies and the Puppies

“Goolie Picnic” (11/7/70) – Drac shows Sabrina the castle museum; Wolfie performs The Shoemaker and the Elves; the monsters play tennis; Jekyll and Hyde attempt to reassemble Boneapart; Frankie leads a Gool Scout troop.

Songs: “Goolie Picnic” – The Groovie Goolies, “Little Texas Goolie” – The Spirits of ‘76

“Where You Going, Little Ghoul?” (11/14/70) – Hagatha reads Frankie Handel and Gretel; Drac is having an unlucky day; Hauntleroy gets blamed for Batso and Ratso stealing Hagatha’s soup; Mummy reports on King Kong’s engagement; Wolfie and Boneapart dive for treasure.

Songs: “Noises” – The Groovie Goolies, “Where You Going, Little Ghoul?” – The Mummies and the Puppies

“Gool School” (11/21/70) – Drac and Frankie watch over Wolfie when he starts sleepwalking from an illness; Frankie shows home movies of his birthday party; a ghost comes to Bella for advice; Ghoulihand is tasked with guarding Hagatha’s pie; Hagatha replaces Broomhilda with a vacuum.

Songs: “Gool School” – The Groovie Goolies, “Bumble Goolie” – The Bare Bones Band

“Save Your Good Lovin’ For Me” (11/28/70) – The monsters play football; Ratso and Batso play with a strange gas; Wolfie receives an ad for a tropical vacation; Ghoulihand tries to cheer up a homesick Mummy; Frankie visits Jekyll and Hyde.

Songs: “Save Your Good Lovin’ For Me” – The Groovie Goolies, “Chick-A-Boom (Don’t Ya Jes’ Love It)” – The Rolling Headstones

“Darlin’ Darlin’” (12/5/70) – When Frankie makes Drac unable to fly, Wolfie takes them both out cruising; Frankie shows Wolfie how to exercise; Ratso and Batso invent a mist to help them sneak into the kitchen; Frankie and Mummy encounter a dragon.

Songs: “Darlin’ Darlin’” – The Groovie Goolies, “Kings and Queens” – The Bare Bones Band

“Shadows” (12/12/70) – Frankie ties to keep things quiet for Drac’s nap; Hagatha tells Frankie the story of The Gingerbread Boy; Bella is tasked with finding the Headless Horseman’s head; Broomhilda gets drunk on fermented spider cider.

Songs: “Shadows” – The Groovie Goolies, “Isn’t It a Lovely Night for Scaring?” – The Mummies and the Puppies

“Witches Brew” (12/19/70) – Bella redecorates the castle; Wolfie shows Sabrina his improvements to the Wolf Wagon; Drac plays a home movie of a concert; Mummy and Boneapart rescue the Lovesick Loveseat when Drac throws it out; Ratso and Batso enchant Broomhilda; Super Ghoul saves Hagatha’s mushrooms from the Monstrous Mole.

Songs: “Witches Brew” – The Groovie Goolies, “Creeper Crawler” – The Rolling Headstones

“Goolie Swing” (12/26/70) – The monsters compete in track and field; Drac shows Boneapart his art collection; Frankie goes bird watching; Bella helps a ghost overcome his fear of scaring; Hagatha prepares broomstick stew; Super Ghoul attempts to tame the Wolf Wagon.

Songs: “Goolie Swing” – The Groovie Goolies, “Listen for the Bells (Goolie Get-Together)” – The Spirits of ‘76