BOB FOSTER DEAD AT 81

 

You can read the full story here.

He co-developed Road Rovers; did layouts for Yogi’s Gang, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, CB Bears, Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, Yogi’s Space Race, Jana of the Jungle, The New Shmoo, Godzilla (1978), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Meatballs and Spaghetti, The Incredible Hulk (1982), Dragon’s Lair and Garfield and Friends; storyboards for Little Muppet Monsters, The New Archies, Camp Candy, Little Shop, Garfield and Friends, Superman: The Animated Series, Freakazoid!, Hercules: The Animated Series, Mickey Mouseworks, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Xiaolin Showdown, Tutenstein, Tom and Jerry Tales, and Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates; was story director for The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley; and did models for Garfield and Friends.

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: SCATMAN CROTHERS

 

SCATMAN CROTHERS

(May 23, 1910-November 22, 1986)

 

Notable Roles: Cheshire Cat, Scat Cat, George “Meadowlark” Lemon, King Louie, Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod “Penry” Pooch, Louie Wilson, Rosey, Liquid Man/Nate Branch, Dick Hallorann, Sam the piano player, Uncle Moses, Jazz, Eugene the Genie, Excell Dennis

 

Born Benjamin Sherman Crothers, he began a musical career as a teenager; teaching himself how to sing and play the guitar and drums. He would play with a band in speakeasies throughout his native Terre Haute until he ended up performing five days a week on a radio show in Dayton, Ohio in the 1930s. It was there the station manager suggested he needed a catchier name, so Crothers called himself “Scatman” after his scat singing style. He released several singles through Capitol Records, and an album with High Fidelity Records, went on USO tours with Bob Hope and performed with bandleader Slim Gaillard. Crothers appeared in 3 short films before making his feature-film debut with 1953’s Meet Me at the Fair. He appeared in four Jack Nicholson films; notably Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining for which he won an Academy Award. His television career began in 1957 on an episode of The Adventures of Jim Bowie and went on to include programs like Dragnet, McMillan & Wife, Kojak, Ironside, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Magnum P.I. and Laverne & Shirley. In 1966, Crothers went into voice acting when he took over the role of the Cheshire Cat from Sammy Davis, Jr. for Hanna-Barbera’s album for The New Alice in Wonderland (or What’s a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?) animated special, as Davis was signed exclusively to Reprise Records, and in 1970 he voiced Scat Cat in the animated film, The Aristocats. The following year, he was cast as the voice of the animated version of Harlem Globetrotter George “Meadowlark” Lemon in The Harlem Globe Trotters and The New Scooby-Doo Movies. He would later play fellow Globetrotter Nate Branch in the follow-up, The Super Globetrotters, as Meadowlark had left the team by then. In 1974 he played the title character in Hong Kong Phooey, which he reprised for Laff-A-Lympics, and provided additional voices for several other Hanna-Barbera shows. During the 1980s, he starred in three short-lived live-action series--One of the Boys, Casablanca (1983) and Morningstar/Eveningstar--as well assumed the role of the Autobot Jazz in the Transformers franchise. He was also given an NAACP Image Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After a four-year struggle with lung cancer, Crothers died in 1986 at the age of 76. He was posthumously inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame the following year.

 

Saturday Credits:
Harlem Globe Trotters
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Hong Kong Phooey
Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics
The Skatebirds
CB Bears
ABC Weekend Specials (episodes)
The Super Globetrotters
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1981)
Trollkins
Pryor’s Place

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: GARY OWENS

 

GARY OWENS
(May 10, 1934-February 12, 2015)

 
Notable Roles: Roger Ramjet, Space Ghost, Blue Falcon, Captain Squash, Commander Ulysses Feral, Powdered Toast Man, 1950s Batman
 

Born Gary Bernard Altman, Owens was notable for his baritone speaking voice and deadpan comedic delivery that made him an ideal narrator and announcer for various projects—particularly of the humorous kind. He began his career as a news reporter on radio station KORN in 1952 in Mitchell, South Dakota, and was promoted to news director two years later. In 1956 he left to be a newscaster at KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, before becoming a disc jockey at KOIL in Omaha, Nebraska. After bouncing around a few other stations, he finally ended up in California in 1959. He began a two-decade tenure at 710 KMCP (now KSPN AM) where he displayed his surrealistic humor and tendency for puns, as well as inventing nonsense words and doing amusing radio promotions. He also developed several alter-egos: gruff old man earl C. Festoon and his wife, Phoebe; stuffy businessman Endocrine J. Sternwallow; goofy good ol’ boy Merle Clyde Gumpf; and crochety old Mergenthaler Waisleywillow. In 1961 he started transitioning into film and television by providing the uncredited prologue narration for The Naked Witch (although it wasn’t released until 1964). In 1965, he made a couple of appearances on McHale’s Navy and voiced the titular character in the animated Roger Ramjet. His most well-known role came in 1968 as the announcer for the sketch comedy series Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, where he established his trademark routine of holding his hand on his ear as he spoke into the microphone. Owens had a long association with Hanna-Barbera Productions, providing either opening narrations or episode narrations for various shows like The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Yogi’s Space Race and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, as well as various roles including the heroes Space Ghost in Space Ghost and Blue Falcon in Dynomutt, Dog Wonder and supporting antagonist Commander Ulysses Feral in SWAT Kats. Additionally, he voiced various cartoon characters on Sesame Street, the characters of Powdered Toast Man in The Ren & Stimpy Show and Captain Squash in Bobby’s World, and was even one of the prospective voices for Inspector Gadget in one of the pilot episodes. In 2004, Owens co-wrote the book How to Make a Million Dollars with Your Voice (Or Lose Your Tonsils Trying) with Jeff Lenburg, an anecdote-laden guide on how to get into voice acting. In his final years, Owens served as the promotional announcing voice for retro network Antenna TV until his death in 2015 due to complications from his life-long bout with Type-1 diabetes.

 
Saturday Credits:
Space Ghost and Dino Boy
Sesame Street
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
Dynomutt, Dog Wonder
Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics
Yogi’s Space Race
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
Space Stars
The Mighty Orbots
Inspector Gadget (1 pilot version)
Garfield & Friends
Yogi’s Treasure Hunt
Bobby’s World
Defenders of Dynatron City
Tom & Jerry Kids Show
Eek! the Cat
Goof Troop
Raw Toonage
Skeleton Warriors
The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat
The Mask: The Animated Series
Nightmare Ned
101 Dalmatians: The Series
The New Batman Adventures
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Teamo Supremo

ARLENE GOLONKA DEAD AT 85

 

You can read the full story here.

She played Debbie in Speed Buggy, which she reprised in The New Scooby-Doo Movies and Laff-A-Lympics, and Mrs. Yarby on Fudge. She also provided additional voices for The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.

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

JULIE BENNETT DEAD AT 88

You can read the full story here.

She was best known as the long-time voice of Cindy Bear, Yogi Bear’s girlfriend, which included appearances in Yogi’s Gang, Laff-A-Lympics, and Yogi’s Treasure Hunt. She also portrayed a fisherman’s wife, a little princess and Princess Irene in episodes of The Bullwinkle Show; the second voice of Lois Lane in The New Adventures of Superman; Wonder Girl in the Teen Titans portions of Aquaman; Lady Constance and Queen Anne in The Banana Splits Adventure Hour; Kitty Jo and Chessie in Cattanooga Cats; Monica in Dinky Dog, which began as part of The All-New Popeye Hour; Boo in The Mighty Orbots; reporter Cynthia Crawford in two episodes of The Real Ghostbusters; and was the second voice of May Parker in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. She also provided voices for Jeannie, The Funky Phantom, Fred Flintstone and Friends, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, The Little Rascals (1982), The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, and Garfield and Friends.

CAPTAIN CAVEMAN AND THE TEEN ANGELS

CAPTAIN CAVEMAN AND THE TEEN ANGELS

(ABC, September 10, 1977-June 21, 1980)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Mel Blanc –Captain Caveman

Vernee Watson – Dee Dee Sykes

Laurel Page –Taffy Dare

Marilyn Schreffler – Brenda Chance

Gary Owens – Opening narration

            From 1977-1979, Hanna-Barbera dominated two hours of Saturday morning on ABC. This programming block was dubbed Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, and featured 11 minute episodes of Laff-A-Lympics and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, 22 minute episodes of The Scooby-Doo Show and reruns of Scooby-Doo, Where are You!, and, the focus of this particular entry, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.

Cavey preparing to charge into battle.

            Created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, the show was a parody of the popular ABC television series Charlie’s Angels. The Teen Angels—comprised of their brilliant unofficial leader Dee Dee Skyes (Vernee Watson), the cowardly Brenda Chance (Marily Schreffler), and the clever Taffy Dare (Laurel Page)—stumbled across the frozen body of Captain Caveman (Mel Blanc) and thawed him out. “Cavey,” as the girls called him, found inspiration in his design from the Slag Brothers from the earlier Wacky Races series; having a body almost entirely obscured by thick fur except for his appendages and nose. He possessed super strength and flight, as well as the ability to hide and pull anything from out of his hairy body and eat almost anything. However, his abilities were often hampered by his limited intelligence. His club also contained a variety of tools he could use on a case, provided by a prehistoric bird that lived inside.

Model sheet of Cavey and the Teen Angels.

            Following Hanna-Barbera’s sleuth series formula, the group traveled the globe solving mysteries. Usually, the villain would be apprehended by a zany plan of Taffy’s who used Cavey’s crush on her to talk him into being the bait.      The series was written by Neal Barbera, Larz Bourne, Bill Butler, Tom Dagenais, Earle Doud, Fred Freiberger, Donald F. Glut, Dave Ketchum, Haskell Barkin, Joseph Bonaduce, Chuck Couch, Lee Davenport, Mark Jones and Orville H. Hampton. Hoyt Curtin served as the show’s composer and reused his theme from C.B. Bears for the show’s credits.

Flashlight power! Kinda.

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels’ first season ran as part of Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics from September 10 to December 24, 1977, running one 11-minute segment per week. The characters also all appeared in the Laff-A-Lympics segment of the block as members of the Scooby Doobies team, filling in for the intended characters from Josie and the Pussycats, whose rights were held by Archie Comics. The 8-episode second season remained with the block when it was reduced to 90 minutes and renamed Scooby’s All-Stars in 1978. In 1980, the series graduated to its own half-hour for 16 more episodes. During the run, Cavey and the Angels appeared in Hanna-Barbera TV Stars and Scooby-Doo #9, both published by Marvel Comics. Milton Bradley also released a board game based on the show. In 2018, a more realistic take on Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels appeared as a back-up feature in Aquaman/Jabber Jaw Special #1, part of the second-wave of Hanna-Barbera/DC Comics crossovers.

            Following the show’s cancellation, Captain Caveman remained a Hanna-Barbera mainstay throughout the 80s, joining his prehistoric brethren on The Flintstone Comedy Show and then The Flintstone Kids, and appearing in numerous parodies and cameos in the years following. The Teen Angels, however, weren’t so lucky as it took them until 2011 to resurface in an episode of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. In 1988, Castilian released a collection of 13 episodes on VHS in the United Kingdom. In 2013, the entire series was released to DVD by Warner Archive as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“The Kooky Case of the Cryptic Keys” (9/10/77) – A key leads the gang to a will reading at Skeleton Mountain where the Great Mysto plots to keep the fortune for himself.

“The Mixed Up Mystery of Deadman’s Reef” (9/17/77) – The gang investigates the mystery of a disappearing ship.

“What A Flight for a Fright” (9/24/77) – A jewel thief disappears from a commercial flight, leading the gang to figure out how to catch him before he disappears again.

“The Creepy Case of the Creaky Charter Boat” (10/1/77) – The gang attends an actor party when a diamond necklace is stolen in a mystery that resembles the actors’ play.

“Big Scare in the Big Top” (10/8/77) – The gang investigates the disappearance of tigers from a circus.

“Dobule Dribble Riddle” (10/15/77) – A supposedly cursed basketball team keeps forfeiting games, leading to their owner deciding to sell it to a dubious buyer.

“The Crazy Case of the Tell-Tale Tape” (10/22/77) – The gang learns of a robbery at the Smithsonian after a masked figure interrupts a television broadcast.

“The Creepy Claw Caper” (10/29/77) – A rock band is ransomed for a case of rare coins lest an age ray makes them old men forever.

“Cavey and the Kabuta Clue” (11/5/77) – An African Chieftain’s skeleton comes back to life and kidnaps the owner of an art museum in order to retrieve the golden mask he sold.

“Cavey and the Weirdo Woman” (11/12/77) – The gang helps their prince friend retrieve his stolen scepter from a snow wolf.

“The Disappearing Elephant Mystery” (11/19/77) – The gang witnesses as a rare white elephant disappears from the middle of a parade in India.

“The Fur Freight Fright” (11/26/77) – A fur delivery for Dee Dee’s uncle Frank disappears, leading the gang to investigate.

“Ride ‘Em Caveman” (12/3/77) – The gang head to Wyoming to get to the bottom of a haunted rodeo.

“The Strange Case of the Creature from Space” (12/10/77) – The gang encounters an alien robot that steals a rare mineral.

“The Mystery Mansion Mix-Up” (12/17/77) – At Taffy’s aunt Gladys’ party, an armored figure steals valuable jewels while the gang watches a magic show.

“Playing Footsie With Bigfoot” (12/24/77) – Athlete Juice Brenner is kidnapped by Bigfoot, but even after being rescued his diminished performance threatens America’s chance at winning the Spartan World games.

Season 2:

“Disco Cavey” (9/9/78) – Dancers at a disco on a cruise are robbed, leading the gang to try and find the crooks.

“Muscle-Bound Cavey” (9/16/78) – While at a wrestling match the gang witness as champion the Great Colosso is kidnapped.

“Cavey’s Crazy Car Caper” (9/23/78) – The new fuel and energy efficient Condor car is stolen, leading to the gang having to investigate.

“Cavey’s Mexicali 500” (9/30/78) – While on vacation in Mexico, the theft of an Aztec calendar leads the gang into entering a desert race.

“Wild West Cavey” (10/7/78) – A fake stagecoach robbery turns out to be real in Dodge City.

“Cavey’s Winter Carnival Caper” (10/14/78) – The gang seeks to rescue their friend, a professional ice skater, who is kidnapped.

“Cavey’s Fashion Fiasco” (10/21/78) – The gang must recover their friend’s stolen fashion designs.

“Cavey’s Missing Missile Miss-tery” (10/28/78) – A military test missile disappears in the clouds.

Season 3:

“The Scarifying Seaweed Secret” (3/8/80) – With an inheritance at stake, the gang tries to solve the mystery of a sea creature who kidnaps members of a wealthy family.

“The Dummy” (3/15/80) – What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless your jewels are stolen from an impenetrable vault.

“Cavey and the Volcanic Villain” (3/22/80) – While the gang is in Hawaii, a jewel is stolen and a goddess threatens to curse the island with continuous volcanic eruptions.

“Prehistoric Panic” (3/29/80) – Attempting to get the gang out of traffic, Cavey flies too fast and ends up taking them all back in time.

“Cavey and the Baffling Buffalo Man” (4/5/80) – A Buffalo Man uses coded messages to find gold coins in a mansion, and the gang has to stop him.

“Dragonhead” (4/12/80) – It’s Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and a fortune cookie factory van is stolen.

“Cavey and the Murky Mississippi Mystery” (4/19/80) – The gang must recover a secret case bound for a nuclear lab and stop the river creature that caused its loss.

“Old Cavey in New York” (4/26/80) – Thieves use a series of blackouts to steal gold bars, and the gang has to find and stop them.

“Cavey and the Albino Rhino” (5/3/80) – A witch doctor steals a rare white rhino on its way to a Wild Animal Land preserve, which also leads the gang to discover a diamond heist.

“Kentucky Cavey” (5/10/80) – Taffy’s uncle is losing his property and the gang needs to rescue his horse so he can win the money he needs in the Kentucky Derby.

“Cavey Goes to College” (5/17/80) – The gang must help Central University find a stolen advanced robot.

“The Haunting of Hog Hollow” (5/24/80) – The gang’s singer friend has his performance sabotaged before he ends up kidnapped.

“The Legend of Devil’s Run” (5/31/80) – The gang investigates the ghost of a Civil War general who made off with a munitions train car with a fortune in silver.

“The Mystery of the Meandering Mummy” (6/7/80) – A mummy steals a rare Egyptian ruby from Brenda’s uncle.

“The Old Caveman and the Sea” (6/14/80) – On vacation in Miami, the gang helps treasure hunter Jacques LaFarge locate his stolen recent finds.

“Lights, Camera…Cavey!” (5/21/80) – A phantom causes young actresses to get prematurely wrinkled, leaving the gang to help them restore their looks and keep their careers.

SMF ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION (PART 5)

This weekend, we continue our 2 year anniversary celebration.

As we celebrate, we figured we'd also take the opportunity to celebrate the various other programs enjoying anniversaries this year (at least at an interval of 5). Some we've covered, some we'll get to covering sooner or later, but all of them represent Saturday morning. For this installment, we recognize those shows turning 30. Yeah, let that sink in--you first saw these programs 30 years ago.

Take a walk down memory lane with us, and feel free to share your memories in the comments, or over on our Facebook group or Facebook page. We'd love to hear from you!

Now, without further ado, join us in celebrating...

LAFF-A-LYMPICS

LAFF-A-LYMPICS

(ABC, September 10, 1977-July 31, 1979)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:

Don Messick – Scooby-Doo, Mumbly, Announcer, Boo Boo Bear, Mr. Creeply, Creeply Jr., Dastardly Dalton, Pixie

Casey Kasem – Shaggy Rogers

Daws Butler – Yogi Bear, Augie Doggie, Blabber, Dirty Dalton, Dixie, Hokey Wolf, Huckleberry Hound, Mr. Jinks, Quick Draw McGraw, Scooby-Dum, Snagglepuss, Super Snooper, Wally Gator

Mel Blanc – Barney Rubble, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy

Frank Welker – Dynomutt, Jabberjaw, Magic Rabbit, Sooey Pig, Tinker, Yakky Doodle

Julie Bennett – Cindy Bear

Joe Besser – Babu

Scatman Crothers – Hong Kong Phooey

Bob Holt – Dinky Dalton, Grape Ape, Orful Octopus

Gary Owens – Blue Falcon

Laurel Page – Mrs. Creeply, Taffy Dare

Marilyn Schreffler – Brenda Chance, Daisy Mayhem

John Stephenson – Doggie Daddy, Dread Baron, Mildew Wolf, The Great Fondoo

Vernee Watson – Dee Dee Sykes

            From 1977-1979 Hanna-Barbera dominated two hours of Saturday mornings on ABC. This programming block was dubbed Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, and featured 11-minute episodes of Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, 22-minute episodes of The Scooby-Doo Show and reruns of Scooby-Doo, Where are You!, and, the focus of this particular entry, Laff-A-Lympics.

            The show was a combined spoof of the Olympic games and ABC’s Battle of the Network Stars. 45 characters from across Hanna-Barbera’s library, as well as several new ones, were organized into three teams to compete in outlandish sporting events for points that would land them gold, silver or bronze medals once they were tallied up by the episode’s end. 

Now let’s meet our competitors:

The original Scooby-Doobies: Babu, the omitted Jeannie, Tinker, Speed Buggy, Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Dum, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Dee Dee Sykes, Taffy Dare, Brenda Chance and Captain Caveman.

            -The Scooby Doobies: Featuring characters primarily from the 1970s mystery-solving cartoons, the Scoobies were named for their team captain, Scooby-Doo (Don Messick). Also appearing with him was Shaggy Rogers (Casey Kasem) and Scooby-Dum (Daws Butler), Scooby’s dim-witted cousin from The Scooby-Doo Show. Joining them from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder were Dynomutt (Frank Welker) and Blue Falcon (Gary Owens); from Speed Buggy were Speed Buggy (Mel Blanc) and Tinker (Welker); and from Jeannie was Babu (Joe Besser). Jeannie herself was also slated to appear, but when Columbia Pictures succeeded Screen Gems as her rights holder, they denied permission for her use (Hanna-Barbera created and owned Babu). Instead, the producers replaced her with Hong King Phooey (Scatman Crothers). Similarly, they had also intended to use the characters from Josie and the Pussycats, but their rights were held by Archie Comics. In their place, they used the cast from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels: Captain Caveman (Blanc), Brenda Chance (Marilyn Schreffler), Taffy Dare (Laurel Page) and Dee Dee Skyes (Vernee Watson).

The Yogi Yahooeys: Yakky Doodle, Huckleberry Hound, Hokey Wolf, Wally Gator, Boo Boo, Yogi, Grape Ape, Blabber, Snooper, Augie Doggie, Doggie Daddy, Quickdraw McGraw, Pixie, Dixie and Mr. Jinks.

            -The Yogi Yahooeys: Featuring characters primarily from the 1950s-60s library of anthropomorphic animal characters led by Yogi Bear (Butler). With him were his supporting characters of Boo Boo (Messick) and Cindy (Julie Bennett), as well as Yakky Doodle (Welker) from his The Yogi Bear Show segment. Also included from The Huckleberry Hound Show where Yogi made his debut was Huckleberry Hound, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf (all Butler) and Pixie (Messick); from The Quick Draw McGraw Show was Quick Draw McGraw, Snooper, Blabber, Augie Doggie (all Butler) and Doggie Daddy (John Stephenson); from The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series came Wally Gator (Buter); and from The Grape Ape Show was the titular Grape Ape (Bob Holt).

The Really Rottens: Daisy Mayhem, Sooey, the Creepleys, Ortful Octopus, Dread Baron, Mumbly, The Great Fondoo, the Magic Rabbit, and the Dastardly brothers.

            -The Really Rottens: The bad guys of the series who resorted to all sorts of under-handed tricks to win, which would often backfire. This was the most unique team of the series, in that the majority of the characters were specifically created for the show. It was originally intended to use the pair of Dick Dastardly and Muttley to lead the team, but they were co-owned by Heatter-Quigley Productions and made unavailable for the series. As a substitute, Hanna-Barbera took Mumbly (Messick) from The Mumbly Cartoon Show and changed him from a heroic detective to a villain since he bore a strong resemblance to Muttley and had the same vocal effects. Dread Baron (Stephenson) was created for the show and made to resemble Dastardly (revealed to be his twin brother in the Laff-A-Lympics comic series) combined with the Red Max from Wacky Races. Dinky (Holt), Dirty (Butler) and Dastardly (Messick) Dalton were cowboy brothers who appeared in both The Quick Draw McGraw Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show, making them the only other previously existing characters on the team.

Rounding out the team were the Creepleys (Messick & Page, respectively), who were based on a combination of The Gruesomes from The Flintstones and Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist from Snagglepuss and Snooper and Blabber, and their pet Ortful Octopus (Holt), who was a hybrid of Squiddly Diddly and the Gruesome’s pet, Occy; magician The Great Fondoo (Stephenson), who took inspiration from Abner K. Dabra from the book Yogi Bear and the Cranky Magician, and his Magic Rabbit (Welker); and Daisy Mayhem (Schreffler), bearing a strong resemblance to Moonbeam McSwine from Li’l Abner, especially by having a pet pig, Sooey (Welker).

Mildew Wolf and Snagglepuss.

The episodes were structured in a similar fashion to an Olympic broadcasts with an unseen announcer (Messick) and hosting and commentary by Snagglepuss (Butler) and Mildew Wolf (Stephenson, replacing Paul Lynde) from It’s the Wolf!. As the series was on ABC, Snagglepuss and Mildew, along with other Hanna-Barbera characters enlisted as guest announcers and judges, wore the recognizable yellow jackets of ABC Sports announcers. Other Hanna-Barbera characters would also make frequent cameo appearances in the audience or in interviews with Mildew. 

Dragon-ing in China.

Much like Wacky Races, the characters competed all over the world and the Rottens would always be on the verge of winning until their foul tricks cost them the lead, and occasionally points. Unlike Races, however, sometimes their tricks weren’t against the rules, actually allowing them to win. The show was also a rare Hanna-Barbera production to not feature a studio laugh track.

Snagglepuss interviews guest referee Jabberjaw.

Laff-a-Lympics debuted on ABC on September 10, 1977 featuring 16 11-minute episodes, each usually shown in groupings of two. In 1978, only eight more episodes were produced for a second season before the show, and the entire programming block, was cancelled and replaced by The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show. The series was written by Neal Barbera, Tom Dagenais, Larz Bourne, Duane Poole, Haskell Barkin, Joseph Bonaduce, Chuck Couch, Lee Davenport, Orville H. Hampton, Andy Heyward, Joan Howard, Mark Jones, Michael Maurer, Norman Maurer, Bob Ogle, Ray Parker, Howard Post, Paul Pumpian, Kimmer Ringwald, Dick Robbins and Misty Stewart-Taggart. Hoyt Curtin provided the series’ music.

The winnahs!

And the results?

The Scooby-Doobies – 14 wins

The Yogi Yahooeys – 7 wins

The Really Rottens – 2 wins

One three-way tie

The original DVD release.

In 1996, four VHS tapes were released by Warner Home Video containing two episodes each, while in the United Kingdom only one tape was released splitting up several episode segments into two individual episodes. In 2010, eight episodes were released between Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Volume 1 and Volume 2 along with a bonus episodes of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!. The remainder of the first season was released in 2012 on Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games, which also featured a new special: “Spooky Games”. Later editions of that DVD were retitled Laff-A-Lympics: The Complete First Collection. 

Marvel's Laff-A-Lympics comic.

In 1978, Marvel Comics began publishing a 13-issue series based on the show, as well as an appearance in Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera #3. K.G. Murray Publishing would reprint several of the Marvel books in Australia, while Fleetway Publications would reprint stories in the United Kingdom from 1980-82 in Laff-A-Lympics Annual. The concept was revisited in 1996’s Hanna-Barbera Presents #6 by Archie Comics with the “Superstar Olympics”, featuring some new characters amongst the cast. Gordy made a couple of hand-held pinball games featuring the entire cast and each team individually. Hoyle released an Old Maid card game the following year. The Scooby-Doo watercolor paint set featured several of the Hanna-Barbera characters with their Laff-A-Lympics vests on.

Huck and Grape Ape in medieval trouble.

In the “Grape Juiced” episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Grape Ape (John Michael Higgins) was accused of using steroids during the Laff-A-Lympics. The Magic Rabbit also appeared in the episode “SPF” as a victim of CyberSquatting. The Really Rottens appeared in the “Ship’rect” episode of The Cleveland Show as the crew of a boat in a Floaterboard Race. The “Ban on the Fun” episode of Robot Chicken used the show in a parody of Steven Spielberg’s film Munich with the addition of Scrappy-Doo on the Scooby team. In the 2020 film Scoob!, an arcade cabinet in an abandoned amusement park arcade featured a slightly-altered Laugh-A-Lympics logo.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“The Swiss Alps and Tokyo, Japan” (9/10/77) – Downhill ski contest, ice skating, toboggan race, sumo wrestling, one-point tennis, baseball batting contest.

“Acapulco and England” (9/17/77) – Cliff diving, underwater relay, speed boat race, Big Ben tower climb, fox hunt, skateboard polo.

“Florida and China” (9/24/77) – Swamp buggy race, waterski contest, auto track race, rickshaw race, ping pong, gymnastics.

“The Sahara Desert and Scotland” (10/1/77) – Dune buggy race, fill up the oasis race, lock ness photograph race, three legged kilt race.

“France and Australia” (10/8/77) – Tour de France bicycle race, Eiffel Tower climb, boomerang throw, kangaroo race.

“Athens, Greece and the Ozarks” (10/15/77) – Pole vault, discus throw, rail cart race, keelboat race.

“Italy and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina” (10/22/77) – Motor scooter race, canal boat race, hang gliding, skydiving, hot air balloon race.

“Egypt and Sherwood Forest” (10/29/77) – Touch the tip of the pyramid, camel race, armor foot race, princess rescue contest.

“Spain and the Himalayas” (11/5/77) – Bullfight, gypsy wagon race, hang the bell on the abominable snowman, climbing Mount Everest.

“India and Israel” (11/12/77) – Tiger hunt, elephant bark race, sun sail sledding contest, reed boat race.

“Africa and San Francisco” (11/19/77) – Jungle boat race, vine swinging contest, roller skating, fishing.

“The Grand Canyon and Ireland” (11/26/77) – Burro race, tightrope race, catch the leprechaun, hole-in-one golf tournament.

“Hawaii and Norway” (12/3/77) – Surfing, outrigger race, Viking longboat races, long jump while wearing snowshoes.

“North Pole and Tahiti” (12/10/77) – Dog sled races, igloo building contest, around the reef paddleboat race, sandcastle building contest.

“Arizona and Holland” (12/17/77) – Wild bronco riding contest, steer roping, windmill riding contest, dyke building contest.

“Quebec and Baghdad” (12/24/77) – Lacrosse batting, Canadian tree cutting, flying carpet races, magic rope climbing.

Season 2:

“Russia and the Caribbean” (9/9/78) – Siberian moose marathon, dancing race through Moscow, porpoise race, Blubeard’s treasure hunt.

“New York and Turkey” (9/16/78) – Hansom carriage race, crown of the Statue of Liberty, unicycle race, swimming relay race.

“South America and Transylvania” (9/23/78) – Bull lasso contest, rubber rat race, spooky scavenger hunt, log roll race.

“French Riviera and New Zealand” (9/30/78) – Soapbox derby, free flight kite contest, ostrich race, mud puddle tug-of-war.

“New Orleans and Atlantis” (10/7/78) – Antique aircraft distance race, Chinese dragon race, sea horse race, mermaid rescue.

“Morocco and Washington, D.C.” (10/14/78) – Roller scooter race, sand chariot race, rally race, marine corp. obstacle course.

“Canada and Warsaw, Poland” (10/21/78) – Get your man contest, dog sled race, freestyle pole vault, pogo stick race.

“Siam and the Moon” (10/28/78) – Siamese sampan race, 3-way soccer, rocket race, moon foot race.


Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2020.