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.

YO YOGI!

YO YOGI!

(NBC, September 14-December 7, 1991)

Hanna-Barbera Productions

MAIN CAST:
Greg Burson – Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Officer Smith, Wally Gator, Loopy De Loop, Peter Potamus, Uncle Undercover
Don Messick – Boo Boo Bear, Muttley, Atom Ant, So-So, Pixie, Squiddly Diddly, various
Rob Paulsen – Dick “Dickie” Dastardly, Chuck Toupee, Hardy Har Har, Super Snooper, Wee Willie Gorilla, various
Kath Soucie – Cindy Bear, Secret Squirrel, Granny Sweet
Greg Berg – Huckleberry Hound, Moe Wendell, Joe Wendell
Gail Matthius – Roxey Bear
John Stephenson – “Diamond” Doggie Daddy, Mr. Jinks, Mr. Myopic
Patric Zimmerman – Augie Doggie, Dixie, Ding-A-Ling Wolf

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

A younger Yogi not as thrilled by Cindy's advances.

            Yo Yogi! was Yogi Bear’s (Greg Burson) fourth ensemble series with him as the title character, following Yogi’s Gang, Yogi’s Space Race and Yogi’s Treasure Hunt. It featured regular co-stars Boo Boo (Don Messick) and Cindy (Kath Soucie) and reunited them with frequent co-stars Huckleberry Hound (Greg Berg) and Snagglepuss (Burson). Dick Dastardly (Rob Paulsen) and Muttley (Messick) also returned as series villains to plague them once again. The big difference? All the characters were younger than when audiences came to know them as this was Hanna-Barbera’s final attempt at the babyfication craze, as well as their final attempt at a dedicated Yogi series before the studio’s eventual absorption into Warner Bros. Animation.

The characters of Yo Yogi! from the show's press kit.

            Portrayed as 14-year-olds (Dastardly and Muttley a bit younger than that), the characters were all given a very 90s clothing make-over (in that most of them started wearing clothing). Yogi’s traditional hat and tie were turned purple, and he was given matching sneakers, a green vest, and a green and yellow jacket with the sleeves rolled up; Boo Boo’s bowtie was joined by a blue and yellow ball cap, white shorts and a red and yellow long t-shirt; Cindy wore a white dress and matching boots with pink leggings and a pink jacket; Huck had a backwards orange ball cap and a blue shirt over another orange shirt with an up-turned collar; and Snagglepuss had a yellow shirt, baseball jacket and jeans with rolled up cuffs and a pair of sunglasses with flip-up lenses. Dastardly’s wardrobe closely resembled what he wore in Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines, however he was sans his trademarked mustache due to the character’s age. He rode a bicycle that bore a resemblance to the Mean Machine he drove in Wacky Races.

Promotional art of Jellystone Mall from the Yo Yogi! press kit.

In keeping with the youth-oriented direction of the show, the setting was moved from the traditional Jellystone Park to the new Jellystone Mall in Jellystone Town (surprisingly not in the country of Jellystone). The mall was owned by other Hanna-Barbera stalwart “Diamond” Doggie Daddy (John Stephenson) and featured a lot of natural elements amongst all its stores; such as a large tree in the center of it all where Huck liked to relax, greenery along the sides of the walkways complete with bird chirps, and a dome enclosure that resembled the daytime sky. Yogi’s gang all worked there as members of the Lost and Found Detective Agency under the supervision of Officer Smith (Burson). They would be involved with solving mysteries and stopping crimes in and around the mall, while also dealing with mischief caused by Dastardly and Muttley and new character Roxey Bear (Gail Matthius); a green bear that wore punk rocker attire and served as Cindy’s primary rival.

Behind the scenes from Yogi Bear Magazine.

            Many of the mall’s stores either employed or were owned by other Hanna-Barbera characters who were kept their original ages. The Picnic Basket Food Court was run by Loopy De Loop (Burson), which looked like a giant picnic basket on a blanket (and was, naturally, Yogi’s favorite hangout); Peter Potamus’ Plant Palace run by Peter Potamus (also Burson) and So So (Messick); Crooks ‘N’ Books bookstore run by Blabber Mouse (Hal Smith); Mr. Jink’s Cheese Cottage owned by Mr. Jinks (Stephenson) and often terrorizes by Pixie (Messick) and Dixie (Patric Zimmerman); and The Invention Dimension, a computer store run by Secret Squirrel’s (Soucie) uncle, Uncle Undercover (Burson). Other stores included shoe store Boot Borough, Aunt Annie’s Antique Aquarium, movie theater Movieplex, sporting goods store Sports Fort (run by an original human character based on Arnold Schwarzenegger), and supermarket The Broccoli Republic (a play on The Banana Republic).

Yogi, at any age, still answers to a Smith.

            Other Hanna-Barbera characters would come by the mall for guest appearances, including younger versions of Top Cat (Arte Johnson), Squiddly Diddly (Messick), Hardy Har Har (Paulsen), Wally Gator (Burson), and the still-adult Super Snooper (Paulsen), Magilla Gorilla (Allan Melvin), Quick Draw McGraw (Burson) and Baba Looey (Henry Polic II). Hokey Wolf (Matt Hurwitz) served as the mayor of Jellystone Town. 

The back of a box of Rice Krispies.

Yo Yogi! premiered on September 14, 1991 on NBC. It was written by Gordon Bressack, David Ehrman, Charles M. Howell IV, Earl Kress, Bob Kushell, Sindy McKay, Sean Roche and Steve Smith, with music by Jonathan Wolff. Animation duties were handled by Fil-Cartoons and Wang Film Productions (now Brilliant Pictures Group) with the first few episodes done in digital ink and paint before switching to cel animation. A unique gimmick of the show was that Hanna-Barbera partnered with Kellogg’s Rice Krispies to present parts of episodes in 3D. Special 3D glasses would come included with the cereal, and Yogi would spin his hat around to signal the audience when to don them. Unfortunately, the series performed as abysmally in the ratings as the last NBC Yogi series, Yogi’s Space Race. It, along with the rest of NBC’s Saturday morning cartoon offerings, were cancelled by 1992 in order for NBC to channel the success of their Saved by the Bell series into a dedicated block of teenage sitcoms called Teen NBC, as well as launch the Saturday edition of The Today Show. The series was rerun in syndication as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

Yo Yogi! Happy Meal bag.

NBC released a comic through Toys R Us to promote their line-up for that season. Published by Harvey Comics, NBC Saturday Morning Comics featured several short strips with their all-new shows, which included an adaptation of Yo Yogi! episode “Super Duper Snag.” Promotional tie-ins for the show featured stamps available inside boxes of Kellogg’s Honey Smacks and fruit snacks in the shape of the show’s characters. Plastic wind-up toys featuring Yogi, Huck, Cindy and Snagglepuss were available, as well as bendable figures from JusToys. Capri Sun included the characters on their packaging. In 1992, Tiger Electronics produced a handheld game while McDonald’s featured four toys in their Happy Meals: Yogi, Huck, Cindy and Boo Boo each riding a different vehicle. A VHS collection of several episodes was released, featuring a pair of 3D glasses. While the complete series has yet to see a home media release, it was made available on iTunes as part of the Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection and on the defunct Boomerang streaming service. It returned to television from October of 2023 until June of 2024 on the Boomerang network, and would join the line-up of retro animation network MeTV Toons on September 13, 2024, alternating with other Yogi shows..

Yogi is harder than the average video game!

Yogi’s career would be relegated to direct-to-video movies and TV specials as well as video games for the next decade. In 1994, there was Yogi the Easter Bear and Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights. He starred in the games Yogi’s Big Clean-Up on the Amiga, Adventures of Yogi Bear on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Yogi Bear’s Gold Rush on Nintendo Game Boy, and Yogi Bear: Great Balloon Blast on Game Boy Color. In 1999, John Kricfalusi and his company, Spümcø, produced two specials that aired on Cartoon Network in 1999. Throughout the 90s, Yogi also appeared in various commercials and bumpers for Cartoon Network voiced by Jeff Bergman. In 2010, Warner Bros. released Yogi’s first live-action/CGI theatrical movie, Yogi Bear, starring Dan Aykroyd in the title role. Yogi and his friends would return to television in the 2021 series Jellystone!, which saw many of Hanna-Barbera’s classic characters reimagined for a new generation. 

EPISODE GUIDE:
“Yo, Yogi!” (9/14/91) – Yogi and his friends stop Bombastic Bobby from running the new Jellystone Mall out of business, earning them jobs in the Lost & Found Detective Agency.
 
“Huck’s Doggone Day / Grindhog Day” (9/21/91) – Escaped criminals Lou and Murray try to get Huck away from the tree where they buried their loot 50 years prior. / A grindhog infestation leads to the discovery of a subterranean attempt on the First Jellystone Bank.
 
“Jellystone Jam” (9/28/91) – Cindy wins a chance to hang with Magilla Gorilla when he comes to town, but Roxey teams up with Dastardly and Muttley to ensure she gets the prize.
 
“Mall Alone” (10/5/91) – Yogi, Boo Boo, Cindy and Huck try to break into the mall after closing to get Snagglepuss out as two thieves attempt to steal a rare baseball card.
 
“Tricky Dickie’s Dirty Tricks” (10/12/91) – Dickie plots to replace Yogi as head of the L.A.F. Squad while Mr. Slump and Leroy plot to abduct Augie for ransom.
 
“Super Duper Snag” (10/19/91) – Snagglepuss finds and wears Atom Ant’s lost helmet as a ring, becoming a super hero while a giant cockroach threatens the world.
 
“Mellow Fellow / Hats Off to Yogi” (10/26/91) – Dastardly and Muttley try to find Wee Willie Gorilla to get a reward before Huck can. / Yogi loses his hat as a mysterious Clipper is shaving the patrons of the mall.
 
“Polly Wants a Safecracker” (11/2/91) – Boo Boo feels neglected as Yogi works with Secret Squirrel to figure out how a string of robberies is tied to a parrot.
 
“Mall or Nothing / There’s no Business Like Snow Business” (11/9/91) – A con man tricks Augie into giving him the mall. / Yogi and his gang must stop the Abdominal Snowdude from terrorizing skiers on the mall’s Mount Whatsa-Matterhorn.
 
“It’s All Relative / Barely Working” (11/16/91) – Yogi’s uncle visits the mall just as the Mad Painter goes on a destructive spree. / Yogi tries to get a second job for extra money, unknowingly foiling a pair of thieves with his every blunder.
 
“Yippee-Yo, Yogi / Of Meeces and Men” (11/23/91) – Quick Draw’s Wild West Show visits the mall and Dastardly sets their bull on a rampage. / Dastardly teaches Mr. Jinks how to get rid of Pixie and Dixie.
 
“Fashion Smashin’! / To Tell the Truth, Forsooth” (11/30/91) – Talula LeTrend plans to steal the centerpiece of rival Calvin Clunk’s fashion show. / Snagglepuss loses a bust of Shakesbear he was delivering and fakes it being stolen.
 
“The Big Snoop” (12/7/91) – The squad must find a kidnapped Super Snooper after he vanished from his book signing.

Originally posted in 2015. Updated in 2024.

HISTORY OF YOGI THE BEAR

Ranger Smith, Yogi, Cindy and Boo Boo.

            Shortly after the founding of Hanna-Barbera Productions, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created their first half-hour TV cartoon: The Huckleberry Hound Show. Barbera travelled to Chicago to pitch the series, for which no art had yet been drawn, to Kellogg’s cereal executives. The show centered around a blue dog (Daws Butler) with a Southern drawl who engaged in a variety of activities and professions in every episode. However, as Hanna and Barbera’s background was in theatrical shorts, the series bore that influence in that instead of one singular episode to fill the entire timeslot, the show featured three short segments.

The original look for Yogi.

            Huck was joined by Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks, a cartoon about mice children Pixie (Don Messick) and Dixie (Butler, also using a Southern accent) who were chased daily by cat Mr. Jinks (Butler impersonating Marlon Brando) in a less-violent version of Hanna and Barbera’s Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts. The other segment was filled by, at pitch time, was just a concept without any characters ready at all. It also became the breakout success of the entire show. That segment was Yogi Bear.

Yogi and Boo Boo make off with the goods.

            Yogi (Butler, impersonating Art Carney’s Ed Norton character from The Honeymooners) was a carefree resident of the fictional Jellystone Park (a play on Yellowstone), who wore a hat and a necktie (whose function was to separate Yogi’s head and body, reducing the amount of animation needed when the character talked). His sidekick was a smaller bear named Boo Boo (Messick), who wore a bowtie and usually tried (and failed) to be the voice of reason to counter Yogi’s antics. And those antics? Trying to relieve park visitors of their “pic-a-nic” baskets in any way possible, or to try and leave the park on a day trip for some adventure. His main opposition came from dutiful park ranger, Ranger Smith (Messick), whose design evolved several times in his earliest appearances, who tried to keep Yogi in line with park rules and regulations. But, with Yogi being “smarter than the av-er-age bear,” Yogi never failed to try and match wits with Smith, no matter how many times he was caught.

The stars of The Yogi Bear Show.

            After two seasons, Yogi and friends became the breakout stars of the show, warranting getting their own spin-off. The Yogi Bear Show premiered in 1961, leaving Yogi’s void on Huckleberry filled by Hokey Wolf (Butler impersonating Phil Silvers) and his own sidekick Ding-A-Ling Wolf (Doug Young impersonating Buddy Hackett). Like its parent show, Yogi featured two supporting segments. The first was the pink lion Snagglepuss (Butler impersonating Bert Lahr) from The Quick Draw McGraw Show, who spent his time trying to make his meager accommodations more hospitable while avoiding hunter Major Minor (Messick). The other was Yakky Doodle (Jimmy Weldon in a manner similar to Disney’s Donald Duck), a yellow and green duckling who was protected by his friend, bulldog Chopper (Vance Colvig impersonating Wallace Beery), from predators Fibber Fox (Butler impersonating Shelley Berman) and Alfy Gator (Butler impersonating Alfred Hitchcock).

Listen to Ranger Smith, you don't want to get filled up on Yogi goodness yet.

Yogi’s popularity continued to grow. In 1960, The Ivy Three released a song called “Yogi” which was sung in a voice similar to Yogi’s. In 1964, Yogi received his first animated feature by Columbia Pictures, Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear!, which elevated Yogi’s girlfriend Cindy Bear (Julie Bennett) who was introduced in Yogi, to a more prominent status. In 1968, various segments from both Yogi and Huckleberry were repackaged in the syndicated Yogi Bear & Friends. In 1969, Yogi’s name and image was licensed to a chain of parks called Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp Resorts, as well as a chain of chicken restaurants (only one of which currently remains open). But, in 1972, Yogi finally made the leap to Saturday mornings…