SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: JANET WALDO

JANET WALDO

(February 4, 1919-June 12, 2016)

Notable Roles: Pearl Slaghoople, Libby Freeman, Lana Lang, Granny Sweet, Nancy, Penelope Pitstop, Judy Jetson, Josie McCoy, Morticia Addams, Mrs. Anders, Scooby Dee, Princess, Susan, Shanna the She-Devil, Zerona, Mayda Munny, Hogatha

Waldo got her start with bit parts and small roles in films beginning in 1938; although in 1941 she was the leading lady in three Westerns: Silver Stallion, The Bandit Trail and Land of the Open Range. Her big break came when she joined Cecil B. DeMille’s Lux Radio Theatre, leading to a radio career topped by the starring role in Meet Corliss Archer. Her likeness was used for the Meet Corliss Archer comic book published by Fox Feature Syndicate in 1948; the first time fans got any visual indication of what the character looked like. Waldo made the transition to television in 1952 with guest-starring roles on I Love Lucy, The Phil Silvers Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (reprising the role she played on the radio version) and others. She would make an appearance in another Lucille Ball series, The Lucy Show, playing Lucy’s sister in 1963. That year, she began her career as a voice actor in animation as supporting characters in Hanna-Barbera’s Loopy de Loop and Jonny Quest. She assumed the recurring role of Pearl Slaghoople, Wilma Flintstone’s (Jean Vander Pyl) mother, in The Flintstones franchise from Verna Felton in 1964. She also had a starring role in the short-lived sitcom Valentine’s Day as Libby Freeman. By 1966, Waldo had edged out of appearing on camera in favor of a voice career, primarily working for Hanna-Barbera; although she did do voices for Ruby-Spears Productions’ The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show and The Puppy’s Further Adventures, Marvel Productions’ Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and anime dubs such as the Princess in Battle of the Planets. Her most recognizable characters included Judy Jetson from The Jetsons franchise, Penelope Pitstop from Wacky Races and its spin-off, and Josie McCoy from Josie and the Pussycats and its spin-off. Waldo continued acting until the new millennium, making a few documentary appearances afterward. Waldo died in 2016 from an inoperable brain tumor. At the time of her death, Waldo was the last surviving member of the original Jetsons cast.

Saturday Credits:

The Secret Squirrel Show

The Atom Ant Show

The New Adventures of Superman

The Space Kidettes

Shazzan

Fantastic Four (1967)

Wacky Races

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop

Josie and the Pussycats

Help!...It’s the Hair Bear Bunch!

The Roman Holidays

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan

Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space

Around the World in 80 Days

The New Scooby-Doo Movies

The Addams Family (1973)

Inch High, Private Eye

Jeannie

Hong Kong Phooey
These Are the Days

The New Tom & Jerry Show

Clue Club

Jabberjaw

CB Bears

Yogi’s Space Race

The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour

The New Fred and Barney Show

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels

The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show

Heathcliff (1980)

The All-New Popeye Hour

ABC Weekend Specials (episodes)

Richie Rich

Thundarr the Barbarian

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

The Smurfs

The Gary Coleman Show

The Puppy’s Further Adventures

Rubik, the Amazing Cube

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show

Pac-Man

Mister T

The Dukes

Saturday Supercade

Alvin & the Chipmunks

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries

Dink, the Little Dinosaur

Tom & Jerry Kids Show

Droopy, Master Detective

THE JETSONS

THE JETSONS
(ABC, September 23, 1962-March 17, 1963
Syndication, September 16, 1985-November 12, 1987)

Hanna-Barbera Productions, Screen Gems (season 1)

            After successfully visiting the Stone Age, Hanna-Barbera set their sights on the future with The Jetsons. George Jetson (George O’Hanlon) lived with his family--wife Jane (Penny Singleton), teenaged daughter Judy (Janet Waldo), son Elroy (Daws Butler), and dog Astro (Don Messick)--in an apartment in Orbit City on earth. He worked an hour a day for two days a week as a literal button pusher at Spacely Sprockets, owned by the grumpy miser Cosmo Spacely (Mel Blanc). Like most sitcom fathers, George was often beset upon by his family’s antics, his boss’ overlording, or his own schemes backfiring. It was heavily influenced by the Space Age sensibilities of the time: cars resembled flying saucers, sidewalks moved on their own, food came from a machine with the push of a particular button, bathrooms bathed a person automatically, robots were everywhere, etc. But, despite all that, the residents of the world suffered the weariness of the daily grind familiar to those in the present. 

Astro, Judy, George, Elroy and Jane getting their photo taken by Rosie.

            The Jetsons debuted on September 23, 1962 on ABC, becoming the first program that the network would broadcast in color. Unfortunately, it was up against Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and Dennis the Menace and performed poorly as a result, leaving it cancelled at the end of its sole season. However, ABC continued to air it through 1964 on its Saturday morning schedule, after which it moved to CBS and then NBC for the next two decades. Hanna-Barbera pondered the possibility of a spin-off featuring an older Judy, but that was rejected by CBS and ultimately retooled into the series Partridge Family 2200 A.D. A resurgence in the show’s popularity led to Hanna-Barbera producing an additional 41 new episodes in 1984 to create a syndication package with the original 24. While essentially the same show, elements were updated with the times such as putting a greater focus on technology that gave the Jetson’s robotic maid Rosie (Jean Vander Pyl) more prominence and George a work partner in the form of sentient computer, R.U.D.I. (Messick). The family got a new pet: a spring-legged alien named Orbity (Frank Welker). Plots expanded from standard sitcom fare to feature more science-fiction elements. The theme, while similar, was also updated to include some modern synthesized instrumentation.

            During the revival’s production, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to produce a film based on the show. Written by Dennis Marks, the film sees the Jetsons relocated to an asteroid colony to oversee Spacely’s new plant that keeps being sabotaged. One of the challenges faced by the production was the advanced age and poor health of many of the cast members. 71-year-old Butler died of a heart attack before recording a single line, leading to the casting of Patric Zimmerman as Elroy. 76-year-old O’Hanlon and 81-year-old Blanc both died after they completed their recordings, with Jeff Bergman stepping in to fill in for both of them for any additional dialogue. While Waldo did record her lines for Judy, singer Tiffany was stunt-cast to replace her and sing a few songs in the hopes that she would prove a box-office draw. Unfortunately, Jetsons: The Movie was critically panned when it was released in 1990 and ultimately only earned $20.3 million. It wouldn’t be until 2017 that another film, the direct-to-video The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!, would be produced.