GLORIA ROCHA DEAD AT 94

 

You can read the full story here.

She was a Mexican dubbing actor and director credited as one of the key figures for the success of anime in Latin America. She voiced Jenny in Space Kidettes; Melody in Josie and the Pussycats; Judy Franklin in Return to the Planet of the Apes; Mrs. Anders in Jeannie; Nurse Chapel in Star Trek: The Animated Series; Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family (1973); Katy O’Hara in My Favorite Martians; the old lady in The Fat Albert Christmas Special; and Velma Dinkley in several incarnations of Scooby-Doo. She also directed the dubbing of Digimon and Cardcaptors. 

50TH ANNIVERSARIES

 Wow! Half a century! Our anniversary celebration continues with these shows turning

*Everything's Archie (actual intro not available)

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: MARK HAMILL

 

MARK HAMILL

(September 25, 1951- )

 

Notable Roles: Kent Murray, Corey Anders, Doobie Wheeler, Luke Skywalker, The Trickster/James Jesse, Joker, Maximus the Mad, Hobgoblin/Jason Phillips Macendale, Dr. Jak, General Vostok, Gargoyle, Detective Armbrister, Buzz Buzzard, “Divine Rod” Petrie, Wolverine/Logan, Larry 3000, Solomon Grundy, Stickybeard, The Spectre, Red Skull, Chthon, Abraham Kane, Senator Stampingston, Darth Bane, Alvin the Treacherous, Sinestro, Arnim Zola, Woodrow Burns, Nightmare, Ox, Kravaxas, Swamp Thing/Alec Holland, Gadfly Garnett, Dictatious, Megatronus, Bob Block, Chucky, Bardle, Skeletor

 

With his father in the Navy, Hamill moved around a lot in his childhood. He became a member of the Drama Club at Nile C. Kinnick High School in Japan, then majored in drama at Los Angeles City College back in the United States. Hamill got his start with the recurring role of Kent Murray on the soap opera General Hospital and as Doobie Wheeler in the short-lived sitcom The Texas Wheelers. He also landed a lead role in the equally short-lived Hanna-Barbera I Dream of Jeannie spin-off, Jeannie, voicing the genie’s master, Corey Anders; which he would reprise for The New Scooby-Doo Movies. After a steady string of appearances on various sitcoms and in some television films, Hamill’s big break came when he auditioned for the role of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. To keep from being typecast, Hamill took different roles in the 1978 film Corvette Summer and the 1980 film The Big Red One, as well as several Broadway roles beginning with The Elephant Man. He auditioned to reprise his role when Amadeus was being adapted from the stage to the screen, but a studio executive said, “I don’t want Luke Skywalker in this film.” After a six-year break, Hamill returned to the screen in 1989 in films such as Slipstream, Midnight Ride and The Guyver, as well as appeared as The Trickster in the first The Flash series. In 1992, Hamill gained another breakout role when he began portraying the DC Comics villain The Joker starting with Batman: The Animated Series. For many, Hamill has become the definitive voice for the character, much like his co-star Kevin Conroy has for his portrayal of Batman. Despite several attempts to retire from the character, Hamill has often been lured back to reprise it. The Joker’s success opened many voice-acting opportunities for Hamill, allowing him to win roles in multiple Marvel Comics productions, The Simpsons, Phantom 2040, Wing Commander Academy, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, Codename: Kids Next Door, Pepper Ann, Transformers: Rescue Bots and more. He has also done dubbing work on anime shows and films and worked extensively in video games. A self-professed comic book nerd, Hamill has co-written The Black Pearl for Dark Horse Comics and provided a story for Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #7 from Bongo Comics, as well as starred in and directed Comic Book: The Movie, a mockumentary filmed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2003. Over the course of his career, Hamill has been nominated for and won numerous awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 

Saturday Credits:

Jeannie
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Biker Mice from Mars (1993)
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
Batman: The Animated Series
The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series
ABC Weekend Specials (episodes)
Red Planet
Garfield and Friends
What a Mess
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
The Tick
The Savage Dragon
Casper
Superman: The Animated Series
The Legend of Calamity Jane
Men in Black: The Series
Batman Beyond
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Pepper Ann
The New Woody Woodpecker Show
Static Shock
What’s New, Scooby-Doo?
The Batman
Stuart Little
Loonatics Unleashed
SpongeBob SquarePants
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Ben 10: Omniverse
Transformers: Rescue Bots
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
Justice League Action
Milo Murphy’s Law

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: JULIE BENNETT

JULIE BENNETT

(January 24, 1932-March 31, 2020)

Notable Roles: Cindy Bear, Lois Lane, Wonder Girl/Donna Troy, Lady Constance, Queen Anne, Kitty Jo, Chessie, Monica, Boo, May Parker

Bennett was a character actor on stage and radio, and later television as it began to rise in prominence; appearing in such shows as The Adventures of Superman, Dragnet, Leave It to Beaver and Love American Style, among many others. During the 1950s, her resume expanded to include voice work for UPA’s Mr. Magoo franchise, Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes franchise, and the Fractured Fairytales segment of The Bullwinkle Show for Jay Ward Productions. In 1961, she became the voice of Cindy Bear for Hanna-Barbera, which she reprised over several Yogi Bear films and shows. She also returned to the Superman franchise by becoming the second voice of Lois Lane in Filmation’s The New Adventures of Superman after the departure of original voice Joan Alexander, and took on the role of Wonder Girl in the Teen Titans segments of Aquaman.  From then on, she spent much of her voice career at Hanna-Barbera, moonlighting a few times for guest-roles in DiC’s The Real Ghostbusters and Film Roman’s Garfield and Friends, as well as continuing to appear on TV shows and made-for-TV films. In 1997, she succeeded Linda Gary as the voice of Aunt May Parker in Spider-Man: The Animated Series after Gary’s death in 1995. Her final known role was as an old woman in the 2000 Spider-Man video game. In between her acting gigs, Bennett worked as a realtor and an agent for other actors under the name Marianne Daniels. She died in 2020, one of the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

Saturday Credits:

The Bugs Bunny Show

The Bullwinkle Show

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour

The Banana Splits Adventure Hour

Cattanooga Cats

The Funky Phantom

Jeannie
These Are the Days

Yogi’s Gang

Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels

Fred Flintstone and Friends

The All-New Popeye Hour

Dinky Dog

The Little Rascals

The Mighty Orbots

The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show

Yogi’s Treasure Hunt

The Real Ghostbusters

Garfield and Friends

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

ROMAN ARAMBULA DEAD AT 83

You can read the announcement here.

He got his start in animation at Gamma Productions, working on the various Jay Ward Productions and Total TeleVision productions series that originated from there. Later, he provided layouts for Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, Josie and the Pussycats, Help!...It’s the Hair Bear Bunch!, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, The Roman Holidays, Jeannie and Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch. He did storyboards for Little Shop, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Addams Family (1992), Droopy: Master Detective, Madeline, Taz-Mania, Pinky and the Brain, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and 101 Dalmatians: The Series. He also provided art for six issues of Marvel Comics’ Laff-a-Lympics comic series.

45TH ANNIVERSARIES

*Note: Intros for Everthing's Archie and Go! are unavailable.

JEANNIE

JEANNIE

(CBS, September 8-December 22, 1973)

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Screen Gems Television

MAIN CAST:

Julie McWhirter – Jeannie

Mark Hamill – Corey Anders

Joe Besser – Babu

Bob Hastings – Henry Glopp

Janet Waldo – Mrs. Anders

John Stephenson – Haji, Master of all Genies

Tommy Cook – S. Melvin Farthinghill

            It was 1964 when ABC had just scored a major success with its supernaturally-themed sitcom, Bewitched. Sidney Sheldon was tasked with coming up with a competing series for NBC to match that success, and was inspired by the movie The Brass Bottle to come up with a show surrounding a beautiful female genie. 

            I Dream of Jeannie followed the adventures of Major Anthony Nelson (Larry Hagman), a NASA astronaut who crashed on a deserted island and found a bottle containing said genie, aptly-named Jeannie (Barbara Eden). Jeannie would activate her power typically by crossing her arms and blinking (although she didn’t always need to do so). Nelson, who had no interest in getting anything magically, ended up spending all of his time trying to keep Jeannie under control and under wraps; particularly from his eternally-suspicious superior, Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rorke). Eventually, Nelson developed feelings for Jeannie and the two were married. 

Major Nelson and Jeannie tie the knot.

            I Dream of Jeannie debuted on September 18, 1965. While most television shows had switched to a color format at the time, Screen Gems executives weren’t convinced the show would be successful and wanted to save money by filming it in black and white. Also, it helped with Jeannie’s special effects, which couldn’t be adequately shown in color at the time. The series did prove successful, and ran for five seasons (with color!). When ratings plummeted after Jeannie and Nelson were married, the network decided to cancel it at the end of the fifth season.

The animated Jeannie.

            When I Dream of Jeannie entered into syndicated reruns, the show performed remarkably well in the ratings. CBS executive Fred Silverman asked  Hanna-Barbera to see if they could capture that newfound popularity with an animated version for the network. Hanna-Barbera had previously been part of Screen Gems when they were founded until being sold to Taft Broadcasting in 1966, and were able to secure the license from the studio. However, Hanna-Barbera’s production of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which featured numerous guest appearances from various celebrities of the day, caused a tremendous strain on their budget. That meant that Hanna-Barbera had a very little money to work with on their Jeannie spin-off. They couldn’t afford the fees to make the characters look like the sitcom’s stars, or even to cast the stars themselves.

Henry, Corey, Jeannie and Babu.

            As a result, Hanna-Barbera rebuilt the concept from the ground up to where only the fact that an ordinary human found an attractive female genie remained. That human became the teenaged surfer Corey Anders (a play on the Middle Eastern spice coriander, voiced by Mark Hamill in his first animated starring role) who shared the secret with his best friend, Henry Glopp (Bob Hastings). Corey would end up finding Jeannie’s bottle while he was out surfing one day.

Jeannie model sheet showing her walking, zapping and flying.

Jeannie (Julie McWhirter) became a bit younger herself (at least in appearance—she was still technically thousands of years old!) and was made a redhead. To use her powers, she would cross her arms and whip her ponytail instead of blink. When the live Jeannie was in production, there was some controversy over Eden’s bellybutton being seen on camera, resulting in her costume being cut specifically to cover it. The animated Jeannie seemed to suffer no such restrictions as not only was her navel shown, but her pants were made translucent to show off her legs. Jeannie was also given a sidekick for comic relief: a genie-in-training named Babu (Joe Besser), who would get so nervous his magic would constantly go haywire. Babu’s magic would be cast by saying “Yapple Dapple!” The only character carried over from the live show was Hadji, Master of all Genies (John Stephenson). 

Main character model sheet.

            Jeannie debuted on CBS on September 8, 1973. It was written by William Canning, Marion Hargrove, Austin Kalish, Irma Kalish (both of whom wrote for the original series), David Ketchum, Sidney Morse, Bruce Shelly, Arlene Stadd, Leonard Stadd, Frank Waldman, Phyllis White and Robert White, with music by Hoyt Curtin. Like the sitcom, many of the adventures were driven by Jeannie being constantly jealous of girls Corey would hang out with. Meanwhile, Corey was completely oblivious to Jeannie’s feelings for him. Jeannie would either use her magic to interrupt Corey’s “dates” or in a misguided attempt to give him unwanted help. Causing Corey additional trouble was snooty rich kid and bully, S. Melvin Farthinghull (Tommy Cook). Despite the massive changes to the source material leading to critical disdain and only lasting one season, Jeannie performed well in the ratings even against Star Trek: The Animated Series. To help promote the show, Jeannie and Babu guest-starred on an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Rand McNally published a coloring book (notably using the original series’ title), and Ben Cooper made a costume based on Jeannie (however, the mask’s face looked fairly close to Eden’s).

Jeannie in her Scooby-Doobies vest from Laff-a-Lympics.

            In 1974, Columbia Pictures assumed control of Screen Gems and it became Columbia Pictures Television. Because of that change, plans to use Jeannie and Babu in Laff-A-Lympics fell through as Columbia owned all the rights to the Jeannie character and forbade her use. Babu, however, was owned by Hanna-Barbera and appeared on the show as planned. Jeannie did appear on early promotional art for Laff-A-Lympics. Reruns of the show were featured in their syndicated weekday package series Fred Flintstone and Friends, which was co-produced by Columbia. To date, the only home media appearances of the characters is their episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Years later, Hamill and Hastings would be reunited as recurring characters in Batman: The Animated Series.

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Surf’s Up” (9/8/73) – Jeannie gets jealous when Corey partners with Aggie for the surfing contest, but she soon dumps him to enter with Melvin.

“The Decathlon” (9/15/73) – Henry and Corey are convinced their diet is helping for their upcoming athletic competition until Babu reveals Jeannie’s been helping them magically.

“The Great Ski Robbery” (9/22/73) – When Henry and Corey are fired from their ski resort jobs, Jeannie help them capture some crooks so they can get them back.

“Survival Course” (9/29/73) – Jeannie sends Corey and Henry on a survival camp field trip.

“The Power Failure” (10/6/73) – A jealous Jeannie takes Corey and Henry’s motorcycle and goes to a beauty salon where she loses her pony tail—and her powers.

“The Dognappers” (10/13/73) – Corey and Henry are accused of dognapping when a show dog in their care ends up taken.

“The Pigeon” (10/20/73) – Corey and Henry’s racing pigeon lays an egg, leaving them to care for her chicken offspring.

“Helen of Troy” (10/27/73) – Jeannie conjures up Helen of Troy to help Corey with his paper, but regrets it when the two begin getting close.

“The Sailors” (11/3/73) – Jeannie replaces Corey’s female partner in the sailboat race and ends up getting his boat disqualified.

“The Kid Brother” (11/10/73) – Young Billy catches a glimpse of Jeannie and attempts to prove her existence.

“The Blind Date” (11/17/73) – Corey sends Jeannie to her bottle over her latest bout of jealousy, and unfortunately his mother decides to recycle it.

“The Commercial” (11/24/73) – Corey wins a contest and has to appear in a commercial in order to earn a place in a four-year college course, but Jeannie has objections.

“Don Juan” (12/1/73) – Jeannie attempts to help Henry get over his shyness around girls by casting a spell, which earns him a lot of attention from girls and makes Corey miserable.

“The Dog” (12/8/73) – Jeannie is assigned to watch Haji’s dog, but when the dog steals his golden cup, he turns Corey into a dog.

“The Jinx” (12/15/73) – Jeannie and the guys are tasked with bringing Babu back after he runs away thinking he’s a jinx, and to keep him around Jeannie corrects all his mistakes.

“The Wish” (12/22/73) – When Henry feels inadequate after Corey wins a football game, Jeannie grants him a birthday wish that switches his and Corey’s bodies.


Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2020.

JOHN STEPHENSON DEAD AT 91

John Stephenson died on Friday, May 15th, at the age of 91. You can read about it here.

Stephenson had a long career, especially on Saturdays and usually in Hanna-Barbera productions. He was probably best known for his portrayal of Mr. Slate, amongst many other smaller characters, and Doggie Daddy throughout The Flintstones and various entries of the Yogi Bear franchises, and various guest voices in episodes of Scooby-Doo. 

His starring roles included Dr. Benton Quest and others on Jonny Quest, Chief Winchley on The Secret Squirrel Show and The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, Fariik and Bakaar on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Luke and Blubber Bear on Wacky Races, Eustace P. Peevly on Help!...It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, Captain Mike Murphy on Sealab 2020, Mr. Socrates on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids, Doggie Daddy, Hardy Har Har and others on Yogi's Gang, Hadji on Jeannie, Reuben Kinkaid on Partridge Family 2200 AD, Tom, Jerry and Spike on The New Tom & Jerry Show, Mildew Wolf, Doggie Daddy, Dread Baron and The Great Fondoo on Laff-A-Lympics, Captain Snerdley and General Blowhard on Galaxy Goof-Ups and Yogi's Space Race, Harry Scary and the Commander on Casper and the Angles, Chief Quimby on an episode of Inspector Gadget (1983), Beef Bonk on Galaxy High School, Doc, Philo and Grunge on Fraggle Rock: the Animated Series, and Professor X on Pryde of the X-Men.

He provided guest voices in episodes of The Magilla Gorilla, Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles, Birdman, Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, The Adventures of Gulliver, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, Inch High Private Eye, Super Friends, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour and Dynomutt Dog Wonder, The Fantastic Four (1978), The Super Globetrotters, The Puppy's Further Adventures, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, ABC Weekend Specials, Pound Puppies (1986), The Flintstone Kids, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Duck Dodgers.

He served as narrator on Ruff & Reddy Show and The Atom Ant Show, while providing additional voices on Abbott & Costello, Young Samson & Goliath,  Harlem Globe Trotters, The Addams Family (1973), Speed Buggy, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, CB Bears, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, The Kwicky Koala Show, Spider-Man (1981), Space Stars, Shirt Tales, Laverne & Shirley with Special Guest Star the Fonz, Rubik the Amazing Cube, Mister T, The incredible Hulk (1982), The Dukes, The Littles, Kissyfur, Centurions, Ruby-Spears' Superman and The Karate Kid: the Animated Series.

BOB HASTINGS DEAD AT 89

Bob Hastings, star of radio and television, died on June 30th at the age of 89. You can read the full story here.

Hastings has a pedigree on Saturday mornings. His best-known role was that of Commissioner James Gordon from Batman: The Animated Series and all the related programs and movies that were part of the original DC Comics Animated Universe (DCAU). He also voiced Superboy on The New Adventures of Superman, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and The Batman/Superman Hour, as well as Henry Glop on Jeannie and an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. He also provided some voices for The New Casper Cartoon Show and Fred Flintstone and Friends.