F-ZERO: GP LEGEND

F-ZERO: GP LEGEND

(TV Tokyo, October 7, 2003-September 28, 2004 JAP

FOX, September 4, 2004-March 5, 2005 US)

Ashi Productions (JAP), 4Kids Entertainment (US)

MAIN CAST:

Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese) & Gregory Abbey (as John Campbell, English) – Rick Wheeler/Ryu Suzaku

Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese) – Captain Falcon/Kyaputen Farukon/Bart Lemming/Burt Lemming/Andy Summer

David Willis (English) – Captain Falcon/Kyaputen Farukon/Bart Lemming/Burt Lemming/Andy Summer, Super Arrow

Kikuko Inoue (Japanese) & Veronica Taylor (English) – Jody Summer/Jodi Sama

Kazuki Yao (Japanese) – Jack Levin/Jakku Rebin

Marc Thompson (English) – Jack Levin/Jakku Rebin, Bio Rex, Samurai Goroh

Nobuo Tobita (Japanese) – Dr. Robert Stewart/Dokuta Suchuato

Dan Green (English) – Dr. Robert Stewart/Dokuta Suchuato, Michael Chain, narrator

Nana Mizuki (Japanese) - Lucy Liberty/Rushi Ribati

Amy Birnbaum (English) – Lucy Liberty/Rushi Ribati, Misaki Haruka, Clank Hughes/Tek Hughes, various

Isshin Chiba (Japanese) – Dr. Clash/Kurasshu, John Tanaka

Marc Diraison (English) – Dr. Clash/Kurasshu, Antonio Guster, Silver Neelson (young)

Yasunobu Iwata (Japanese) – Mr. EAD, Samurai Goroh

Wayne Grayson (English) – Mr. EAD, Mighty Gazelle

David Lapkin (English) – John Tanaka

Norio Wakamoto (Japanese) – Black Shadow, Deathborn

Eric Stuart (English) – Black Shadow, Octoman

Shinpachi Tsuji (Japanese) & Jamie McGonnigal (English) – Zoda

Sayuri Yoshida (Japanese) – Misaki Haruka/Luna Ryder/Miss Killer

Karen Neill (English) - Luna Ryder/Miss Killer, Kate Alen

            F-Zero was one of the launch titles for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) upon its release in Japan on November 21, 1990. The game was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD), the largest division inside Nintendo.

            The game was set in the futuristic world of 2560, where lethargic multi-billionaires created a new form of entertainment based on Formula One races. The player was allowed to choose between four different characters that came with a different hovercars with their own respective performance strengths and weaknesses. The goal was to win the race without destroying your car from collisions with other cars, the electrified guardrail, or mines on the track. The game featured 15 tracks divided into three leagues—Knight, Queen and King—representing higher levels of difficulty.

Perspective is key.

            The game made extensive use of Mode 7. Mode 7 was a graphics mode found on the SNES that allowed background layers to be rotated and scaled to create different effects, such as the illusion of 3D perspective, without processing any polygons. This allowed the tracks to be scaled and rotated around the vehicle creating the illusion of movement and maintaining a high visual presentation. This, coupled with the speed of the gameplay, gained F-Zero recognition from critics and fans. The game is often credited as setting the standard for the racing genre and inventing the futuristic racing subgenre.

F-Zero box art depicting some of the story.

            The game proved a success in Japan and in other markets when it was released the following year. Nintendo quickly turned it into a franchise and greenlit sequels that added new tracks, new cars, new modes and new leagues while following a consistent narrative. The next games, BS F-Zero Grand Prix and Grand Prix 2 were unfinished games released in 1996 and 1997 as a download via the Satellaview attachment of the Super Famicom (the Japanese version of SNES). Zero Racers (G-Zero) was a cancelled game for the failed Virtual Boy system. 1998’s F-Zero X for the N64 brought he game out of pseudo-3D and into real 3D; however some of the graphics were sacrificed in order to have it run at optimal speeds. In 2000, an expansion was released exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo 64DD; a short-lived disk drive add-on to the N64. Maximum Velocity was built using Mode 7 and released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance, featuring a return to the classic F-Zero style. It’s considered a reboot to the overall storyline of the games as it served as more of a direct sequel to the original game set 25 years later and starring the descendants of the original characters. F-Zero GX, released in 2003 for the GameCube, returned to the established storyline as a direct sequel to F-Zero X. In the first major collaboration between Nintendo and Sega, F-Zero AX was released to arcades that same year.

Captain Falcon and the Blue Falcon.

            One of the series’ debut characters, Captain Falcon, was intended to be the flagship character of the SNES; however, that never panned out as he was rarely featured in Nintendo media. Instead, he became the de facto mascot of the F-Zero franchise and represented it as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series. Falcon was a man of mystery, one of the best F-Zero pilots who moonlit as a renowned bounty hunter. His car was the Blue Falcon for races, and the midsized spacecraft, the Falcon Flyer, for bounty missions. F-Zero X established that Falcon’s “captain” rank may have been earned from his rumored time in the Internova Police Force. Falcon wouldn’t be featured in the games again until GX, where he was pitted against the evil Black Shadow and Deathborn, members of the sinister Dark Million Organization.

Anime promo image.

            It was this game that inspired the anime based on the franchise. Developed by Ashi Productions, the series was set in the year 2201 where races from all over the universe came together to compete in the F-Zero Grand Prix. Amongst them were members of The Dark Million Organization, run by the sinister Black Shadow (Norio Wakamoto & Eric Stuart). Black Shadow was a massive bull-like man with a strategic mind and seeming supernatural abilities. His plan was to use the F-Zero prizes to fund his master plan: creating the Dark Reactor which would cause the universe to implode and be reborn into a new one filled with evil.

Black Shadow and Zoda.

Aiding in his schemes was Zoda (Shinpachi Tsuji & Jamie McGonnigal) in the Death Anchor, a criminal from 150 years in the past revived and transformed into an alien-like being to serve Black Shadow; Miss Killer (Luna Ryder in America, voiced by Sayuri Yoshida & Karen Neill) in the Moon Shadow, Black Shadow’s right-hand woman who frequently won her races; Deathborn (Wakamoto) in the Dark Schneider, a mysterious cyborg who was the sitting chairman of the F-Zero Association; Don Genie (Chafurin) in the Fat Shark, a wealthy and powerful gangster; Octoman (Takeshi Yamato & Eric Stuart) in the Deep Claw, an octopus-like being from the planet Takora who was forced to join the organization in order to keep his creditors at bay; Bio Rex (Takayuki Fujimoto & Marc Thompson) in the Big Fang, a genetically engineered dinosaur man who began racing to prove his superiority to normal humans; Baba (Yasunobu Iwata & Sean Schemmel) in the Iron Tiger, a wild child from the planet Giant with animal instincts whose spirituality was a direct cause of his immense strength; The Skull (Fujimoto & Andrew Rennells) in the Sonic Phantom, the reanimated skeleton of a racer from 200 years in the past with an affinity for black magic; Pico (Kenichi Mochizuki & Schemmell) in the Wild Goose, an ex-military pilot that carried out particularly dangerous missions; and Blood Falcon (Banjou Ginga) in the Blood Hawk, the clone of Captain Falcon (Hideyuki Tanaka & David Willis) made from DNA stolen while Falcon was recovering from an accident. (It should be noted that some of these characters had no definitive alignment in the games in which they debuted—the anime made them villains simply because they looked villainous).

The MTF: Dr. Stewart, Jody, Jack, Dr. Clash, Mr. EAD, Rick and Lucy.

            Opposing the Dark Million’s plans was the Mobile Task Force: a group of racers with ties to the Galactic Space Federation who raced to keep the prizes out of Dark Million’s hands. The MTF was led by the strict Jodi Sama (Jody Summer in America, voiced by Kikuko Inoue & Veronica Taylor) in the White Cat, who had to have half her body replaced with cybernetics because of an accident that claimed the life of her brother, Andy. Serving under her was Jakku Rebin (Jack Levin in America, voiced by Kazuki Yao & Thompson) in the Astro Robin, a brash ladies’ man who often gets himself into trouble who was once part of a criminal gang until Jodi arrested him; Mr. EAD (Yosunobu Iwata & Wayne Grayson) in the Great Star, an experimental android who races to complete the final testing of his IQ and AI programming (and bore a strong resemblance to Nintendo’s Mario); Dokuta Suchuato (Dr. Robert Stewart in America, voiced by Nobuo Tobita & Dan Green) in the Golden Fox, a former medical doctor who took up racing and eventually his father’s place in F-Zero following his death; Kurasshu (Dr. Clash in America, voiced by Isshin Chiba & Marc Diraison) in the Crazy Bear, an engineer who dreamed of becoming a racer and developed devices to compensate for his shortcomings; John Tanaka (Chiba & David Lapkin) in the Wonder Wasp, head cop of the MTF and an engineer with the Federation who had strong feelings for Jodi; and their newest recruit Rushi Ribati (Lucy Liberty in America, voiced by Nana Mizuki & Amy Birnbaum) in the Elegance Liberty, an enthusiastic F-Zero fan and an engineer. Allies to the MTF included the superhero racing legend Super Arrow (Yuichi Nagashima & Willis) and his wife, Mrs. Arrow (Yuka Komatsu & Lisa Ortiz), and space pirate Samurai Goroh (Iwata & Thompson).

Ryu or Rick, he's a man lost in time.

            Joining the MTF was series protagonist Ryu Suzaku (whose appearance and name was inspired by Street Fighter’s Ryu, renamed Rick Wheeler in America and voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa & John Campbell) in the Dragon Bird, a racer and police detective from New York in the year 2051. While in pursuit of Zoda, Ryu got into a fatal accident and was put into cryo-sleep. He was revived in the future because he was destined to be the savior of the universe. He was often at odds with Jakku until the two grew into friendship and sought to take out Zoda by any means necessary. It was also eventually revealed that Miss Killer was actually Ryu’s supposedly dead girlfriend Misaki Haruka (Birnbaum in the English version). She was believed to have been killed in the accident that claimed Ryu, but she was found in deep freeze and brainwashed by Black Shadow.

Captain Falcon. Remember him? He's here, too.

Sharing the series’ focus was popular racer and bounty hunter Captain Falcon. In this version, Falcon was shrouded in mystery and owned a bar under the alias Bart Lemming (renamed Burt in the American version). The Falcon name became a title that was earned by the best and only given to those that could beat the prior Falcon. Falcon also played a role in the central legend driving the series: that Captain Falcon and Black Shadow were the living embodiments of light and dark, the Yin and Yang, and couldn’t defeat each other on their own. It was eventually revealed that Falcon was, in fact, Jodi’s long-lost brother Andy.

F-Zero: Farukon Densetsu (Legend of the Falcon) debuted on TV Tokyo on October 7, 2003 and ran every Thursday until September 28, 2004 for a total of 51 episodes. The series used a blend of traditional 2D animation for the characters, designed by Toyoo Ashida, and 3D CGI graphics for the cars, designed by Katsushi Murakami, and races. The original episodes were written by Akiyoshi Sakai, Ami Tomobuki, Isao Shizuya, Konosuke Takahashi, Masahiro Sonoda, Nami Ichino, Shigeru Yanagawa, Takao Koyama, Tsuyoshi Tamai, Yuichiro Takeda, Yuki Enatsu and Yukihito Nonaka. Japanese pop singer HIRO-X was signed to perform the series’ theme, “The Meaning of Truth”, while Ai Maeda performed the closing themes “Resolution” and “Forever” for the final episode. To tie into the series, a new similarly-titled game was released for the Game Boy Advance; however, they took some liberties with elements in the story making it somewhat different from the anime depiction.

In 2004, Nintendo awarded 4Kids Entertainment the international broadcast rights to the anime. As with the rest of their acquired programming, 4Kids made extensive changes to the series. They sought to localize it so that American audiences could find familiarity with elements of a production and edited any scenes or content they felt were inappropriate for their target demographic (usually in the 6-11-year age range) or projected negative stereotypes. The original score (which featured reworkings of music from the games) was dropped in favor of a cheaper, generic techno score composed by Matt McGuire, Elik Alvarez, Louis Cortelezzi, Joel Douek, Josh Heineman, Freddy Sheinfeld and Russell Velazquez. Likewise, the themes were cut and replaced with an instrumental by Phil Garrod and Reed Hays. The scripts and storylines were translated and completely reworked by John Touhey, Martina Broner and Michael Haigney to reduce Captain Falcon’s role and put the narrative focus on Ryu, now called Rick Wheeler (originally, it was going to be “Pace” which was retained in some of the early commercials--like the one above), as well as to make them more kid-friendly. After learning that Miss Killer was renamed “Luna Ryder” in the 4Kids dub, Nintendo of America (who hated that name) stepped in to insist that what few untouched names remained the same.

Luna Ryder suffers an identity crisis.

As for the show’s name, that one wasn’t entirely a 4Kids creation. Nintendo of America was working on the localization of the game with a planned release for the fall of 2004 to coincide with the debut of the 4Kids dub. Nintendo of Europe, however, had no intentions of bringing the anime over into their market and put the game out in June of that year. To distinguish it from the anime, they changed the game’s name to GP Legend. As the 4Kids dub was already in production while Nintendo of America was still working on the game, they opted to utilize the European name in order to churn out promotional materials advertising the show. That, in turn, forced Nintendo of America to use it on their release of the game.

Super Arrow and Mrs. Arrow.

The newly-christened F-Zero: GP Legend debuted on FOX’s FoxBox programming block on September 4, 2004. To promote the series and the game, FOX ran a two-week contest sponsored by Nintendo called “The F-Zero Zero Zero Mega Moolah Sweepstakes.” The prizes included a Game Boy Advance SP and cash up to $5,000. While GP Legend the game proved to be a hit, albeit less so when compared to previous entries in the franchise, the 4Kids dub turned out to be a ratings flop. Only 15 episodes aired, with the final one delayed until that March following FoxBox’s rebranding as 4KidsTV. Rumors of at least two additional dubbed episodes existing have spread, but nothing else has aired beyond the initial run.

Following the success of the game, a direct sequel was developed by Suzak Inc. was released in 2004 called F-Zero Climax. Available in Japan only, the game introduced a track editor which allowed players to make their own tracks to race on and share with other players. That was the most applauded feature; while the rest of the game got a lukewarm response in regards to reused elements and uneven gameplay. It was after this release that the franchise went on indefinite hiatus, with creator Miyamoto essentially stating that they’ve done all they could with the franchise until such time that Nintendo developed a unique controller interface that would enhance the gameplay experience. Until then, Nintendo continues to give the franchise exposure by incorporating it into other games; such as Captain Falcon and The Blue Falcon being in Mario Kart Wii and as downloadable content for Mario Kart 8, a mini-game called “Captain Falcon’s Twister Race” in Nintendo Land, and a Captain Falcon alternate skin for the Bryan Fury character in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.         

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Legend Begins” (9/4/04) – During a race, Rick Wheeler recalls the events that led him to join the MTF.

“The Racer’s Edge” (9/25/04) – While the others head to a race on Planet Ninte, Rick meets Lucy Liberty before her bus to Ninte is attacked by a motorcycle gang.

“Burn Out on Planet Clifoto” (10/2/04) – Lucy damages the Dragon Bird while training to join the team, potentially robbing Rick of his revenge against Zoda.

“The Samurai’s Secret” (10/9/04) – Rick goes after Samruai Goroh to retrieve a medicine he stole but soon learns his target may not be who he thinks it is.

“A Risky Rendezvous” (10/16/04) – Dr. Stewart and Rick try to retrieve the Astro Robin from Lisa Brilliant during the F-Zero race.

“Chain Reaction” (10/23/04) – Rick becomes so focused on winning the race and beating Zoda that someone gets hurt in the process.

“The Trap of Michael Chain” (10/30/04) – Rick, Lucy, Super Arrow and Mrs. Arrow help a rich man get out of being forced to kidnap top racers.

“The Secret Within” (11/6/04) – The Skull sends a doppelganger of Haruka to assassinate Rick and uses a lock of Rick’s hair to curse him whenever Rick speaks her name.

“The Promise” (11/13/04) – Rick races against Roger and Draq in order to win the galactic blended fruit needed to help a sick boy.

“Double Jeopardy” (11/20/04) – Zoda seeks revenge against Luna Ryder for beating him and disables the shield that keeps asteroids from crashing onto the racetrack.

“Blow Out” (11/27/04) – Zoda pays Antonio Guster to betray Samurai Goroh and drive a car that can destroy him in the race.

“Flashback” (12/4/04) – A boy named Tek steals the Dragon Bird to give to Zoda in exchange for passage to Earth, but Captain Falcon steps in to prevent the trade-off.

“Dangerous Diva” (12/11/04) – The team is tasked with protecting pop star Kate Alan from Zoda, but who’s going to protect the team from her?

“Old Rivals” (12/18/04) – Jack turns to old racer Silver Neelson for training to beat Rick just as Silver’s old rival is revived from cold sleep to challenge him to a career-ending race.

“Target: Tanaka” (3/5/05) – After Tanaka is targeted by Zoda, he’s put under 24-hour guard by the team.

IN REMEMBRANCE: 2017

Just like the Oscars honor those lost in the film industry, we pay our final respects to those we've lost from Saturday mornings. We've paid tribute to some before when their deaths were announced,  but this is our chance to pay tribute to the others whose reports came late or were not widely publicized. Some you may know. Others, more obscure. But, they all played a part in shaping our Saturdays.

Francine York (January 6) – Actor. Played Queen Medusa on three episodes of Jason of Star Command.

Tony Rosato (January 9) – Actor and writer. Provided the voice for Luigi in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and The New Super Mario World, Orpheus and a young nomad in Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend, and Quentin Eggert in Pelswick and played Mr. Tempest on an episode of Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension.  He also provided voices for The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police.

Dick Gautier (January 13) – Actor, comedian, singer, composer and author. Starred as Louis in Foofur and Spike in The Tom & Jerry Kids Show. He guest-starred in two episodes of Batman: The Animated Series as Teddy Lupus, a cop, and a lawyer. He also provided additional voices for Yogi’s Treasure Hunt, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The New Yogi Bear Show, The Smurfs, Garfield and Friends, The Pirates of Dark Water, and The Addams Family (1992).

Barry Cassin (January 14) – Actor. Played Cathbad on Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka (January 15) – Professional wrestler. Although he didn’t actually star in the show, his character and likeness was used as one of the team of Faces in Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling. Snuka would make an appearance in live segments featured on the show.

Miguel Ferrer (January 19) – Actor. Played Dr. Lupo and his clone in an episode of Men in Black: The Series; Antaeus in Disney’s Hercules: The Animated Series; Aquaman, De’Cine and Weather Wizard in Superman: The Animated Series; the Shadowkhan King in Jackie Chan Adventures; Sinestro in an episode of The Batman; Silvermane in two episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man; and Vandal Savage, L-1, Bibbo Bibbowski, Tribune and a National Guardsman in Young Justice.

Masaya Nakamura (January 22) – Businessman. Founder of Namco which produced video games that inspired several Saturday morning cartoons. Known as “The father of Pac-Man.”

Ann Guenther (January 24) – Artist. Worked on backgrounds for Fantastic Four (1967), The Archie Show, The Batman/Superman Hour, Fantastic Voyage, The Hardy Boys (1969), Skyhawks, Hot Wheels, Harlem Globe Trotters, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, Yogi’s Space Race, Jana of the Jungle, Buford and the Galloping Ghost, Challenge of the Superfriends, The New Fred and Barney Show, The New Shmoo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979), Casper and the Angels, The World’s Greatest Superfriends, Godzilla (1979), The Super Globetrotters, Alvin and the Chipmunks (1988), Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters, Captain N: The Game Master, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987), Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain.

Jack Mendelsohn (January 25) – Writer and artist. Wrote for numerous programs including The Beatles, Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down?, Sabrina ad the Groovie Goolies, The Funky Phantom, The Roman Holidays, The Flintstones Comedy Hour, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Addams Family (1973), Speed Buggy, Yogi’s Gang, Shazam!, Partridge Family 2200 AD, Hong Kong Phooey, The Great Grape Ape Show, Meatballs and Spaghetti, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Jim Henson’s Little Muppet Monsters, Dennis the Menace (1986), Camp Candy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) and Gadget and the Gadgetinis.

He also served as a story editor or consultant for Richie Rich, Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, Dennis the Menace (1986), Camp Candy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987).

Mike Connors (January 26) – Actor. Voiced Chipacles in Disney’s Hercules: The Animated Series.

Hal Greer (January 26) – Producer, editor, writer, camera operator and director. Worked primarily on shorts and compilation movies involving the Looney Tunes characters and was an executive producer of the long-running anthology series The Bugs Bunny Show after it returned to ABC in 1985. He also served as an editor for Hanna-Barbera’s Frankenstein Jr. & The Impossibles.

Fred De Bradeny (January 28) – Director and producer. Worked primarily for Aardman Animations and served as the production manager for the series of DC’s World’s Funnest shorts for the DC Nation programming block.

Karen S. Paat (January 28) – Artist. She worked as an animation checker on a number of Disney animated features, but served as a layout artist for Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends (1981).

Dan Spiegle (January 28) – Comic book artist. Worked on a variety of film and television-based titles, including Dynomutt, Flintstones Visits Laff-A-Lympics, Laff-A-Lympics, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, TV Stars and Yogi Bear’s Easter Parade for Marvel, Scooby-Doo for both Marvel and Archie, and Space Ghost for Gold Key. He is also credited as one of the co-creators of Firestar.

June Patterson (February 3) – Writer. Served as the script supervisor and one of the writers for the first season of Spider-Man (1967) and wrote scripts for Pound Puppies (1986).

Olive Dunbar (February 8) – Actor. Starred as Bertha Bottomly on Big John, Little John.

Richard McMillan (February 19) – Actor. Guest-starred on two episodes of Goosebumps as Spidey and Mr. Blankenship, respectively, and an episode of Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension as Ted Tanner.

Chris Wiggins (February 19) – Actor. Voiced Mysterio, Harley Clivendon, Infinata and various minor roles in Spider-Man (1967); Mon Julpa in Star Wars: Droids; No Heart in The Care Bears Family; Slim in an episode of Tales from the Cryptkeeper; Mr. Brown in an episode of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective; and King Proteus, Elderly Stable Hand and Great Oracle in two episodes of Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend.

Richard Khim (February 21) – Artist. Provided background art for Frankenstein, Jr. and the Impossibles, Birdman, Abott & Costello, Cattanooga Cats, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour and their entry in The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, Josie and the Pussycats, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Yogi’s Gang, Hong Kong Phooey, The New Tom & Jerry Show, The Mumbly Cartoon Show, Dynomutt Dog Wonder, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, CB Bears, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, Yogi’s Space Race, Galaxy Goof-Ups and Buford and the Galloping Ghost.

William Woodson (February 22) – Actor. Served as the narrator for the Super Friends franchise starting with The All-New Super Friends Hour, as well as provided various minor voices including that of Daily Planet editor Perry White. He also starred as the Sheriff of Saddlesore in the “Posse Impossible” segments of CB Bears; J. Jonah Jameson and Dr. Everett in Spider-Man (1981); reprised the role of Jameson and was also Namor the Sub-Mariner in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends; and Mondraggor in Pandamonium. He guest-starred as Miro the Mentalist and Moon Raider in The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show; Argoth of a Thousand Eyes in Thundarr the Barbarian; the host in an episode of Garfield and Friends; the narrator, announcer and cake in several episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures; and Judge Killjoy in Gravedale High. He also provided various voices for Jana of the Jungle, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Shirt Tales and Monchhichis.

Stephen Lodge (February 26) – Actor, writer, producer, director and costume designer. Worked in the wardrobe department for Jason of Star Command.

Roy Wilson (February 28) – Artist, writer, producer and director. He served as the story director for The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show, Trollkins, Shirt Tales, The Dukes, Super Friends, Pac-Man, Saturday Supercade, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Challenge of the GoBots, Galtar and the Golden Lance, The Flintstone Kids, Foofur, and Pound Puppies (1986). He was a storyboard artist for Emergency +4, The Littles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987), Little Clowns of Happytown, Adventures of the Gummi Bears, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983), The California Raisin Show, Barnyard Commandos, Toxic Crusaders, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop (where he also served as a producer), Raw Toonage, Aladdin, Animaniacs, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries and Pinky and the Brain. He also worked as a layout artist for Emergency +4, Spider-Woman, The Flinstones Comedy Show, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Super Friends, Trollkins, Spider-Man (1981), Shirt Tales, Pac-Man, The Dukes, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Snorks and The Smurfs. Additionally, he was a background artist for The Get Along Gang and was the character and production designer for an episode of ABC Weekend Specials.

Richard Karron (March 1) – Actor. Voiced Slick in an episode of Goof Troop, Joke Store Owner and A.F. Erret in two episodes of Darkwing Duck, Ebb in an episode of The Little Mermaid, Herman and Eddie the Snake in two episodes of Timon & Pumbaa, and Sweaty Pete in an episode of Pinky and the Brain. He also provided voices for ProStars, Bobby’s World and What a Mess.

Dave Hunt (March 5) – Comic book artist. Worked on Disney’s Comic Hits, Disney’s Colossal Comics Collection, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and Sebastian for Marvel Comics, and Scooby-Doo (1997) for DC Comics.

Stan Weston (March 11) – Advertising agent. Created the original G.I. Joe action figures that became a major merchandising and media property.

Jim Czak (March 15) – Recording engineer. Served as a recording engineer and re-recording mixer from 2005-06 and as a supervising music editor in 2007 on Sesame Street.

Bernie Wrightson (March 18) – Artist. Co-created the DC Comics character Swamp Thing, which was eventually adapted into a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon.

Kurt Conner (March 21) – Artist. He had worked for 27 years behind the scenes on a variety of different shows in different roles. He worked on the storyboards for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Flash Gordon (1979), The Care Bears Family, Superman (1988), The new Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Captain N: The Game Master, Garfield and Friends, The Wizard of Oz (1990), The Pirates of Dark Water, Swamp Thing, Wish Kid, ProStars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987), Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire, Defenders of Dynatron City, Rugrats, ABC Weekend Specials and X-Men: Evolution; was the story director for Thundarr the Barbarian, Goldie Gold and Action Jack, The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour, Rubik, the Amazing Cube, The Puppy’s Further Adventures, Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983), Dragon’s Lair, Mister T and episodes of CBS Storybreak; provided layouts for Space Sentinels, The New Archie/Sabrina Hour, Tarzan and the Super 7, Fabulous Funnies, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Heathcliff, episodes of ABC Weekend Specials and The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour; did backgrounds for Garfield and Friends and Rugrats; designed characters for The Puppy’s Further Adventures, Rubik, the Amazing Cube, Mister T, The Wizard of Oz, Swamp Thing and ProStars; and worked on models for The Tick (1994) and Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa.

Kathy Wong (March 23) – Production controller for DiC Entertainment on The New Adventures of Madeline and Sherlock Holmes in the 22^nd Century.

Joseph Harris (March 26) – Illustrator, composer and producer. Came to notoriety with the advertising firm Dancer Fitzgerald Sample when he designed the General Mills Trix rabbit, as well as storyboarded and wrote the commercials. In the 1960s, he became an integral part of Total Television, performing multiple functions (the least of which was designing the characters) on their shows King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, Underdog, The Beagles and Go Go Gophers.

Steve Sandor (April 5) – Actor. Voiced the New God Orion in episodes of Superman: The Animated Series.

Merle Welton (April 11) – Animator. Served as the continuity coordinator for Mighty Ducks, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and House of Mouse, and was the supervising animation checker for Garfield and Friends and Rugrats.

Ralph Votrian (April 13) – Actor. Played King Lexian on episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Masked Rider.

Ernesto Macias (April 26) – Actor and producer. Voiced Captain Ramon in The New Adventures of Zorro.

Tino Insana (May 31) – Actor, writer and producer. Starred as Dr. Reginald Bushroot in Darkwing Duck, Uncle Ted in Bobby’s World, Uncle JoJo and Earl in Pepper Ann and Pig in Back at the Barnyard. Guest-starred as Colonel Carter in an episode of Goof Troop; Baracuda in an episode of The Little Mermaid; Prince Uncouthma in Aladdin; Fat Cat in an episode of Jungle Cubs; and Samsa in an episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. He also provided a voice for an episode of Teacher’s Pet.

Glenne Headly (June 8) – Actor, guest-starred in an episode of Rugrats as Dr. Cathy and in the 2010 version of Pound Puppies as Miss Petunia.

Adam West (June 9) – Actor. Best known for portraying the live-action Batman in the 1966 television series; a fact that he built a later second career on lampooning. He would return to the role for outings which included The New Adventures of Batman and the final two incarnations of the Super Friends franchise. He would go on to a voiceover career that would include portraying Batman’s inspiration, the Gray Ghost, in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series; Captain Blasto in Rugrats; The Galloping Gazelle on Goosebumps; Spruce Wayne, the Caped Crusader in Animaniacs; Ernest Hemingway in Histeria!; and Mayor Grange in The Batman.

Daniel Davies (June 13) – Actor. Guest-starred in an episode of Mighty Ducks as a scientist.

Stephen Furst (June 17) – Actor, director and producer. Played Fan Boy in Freakazoid!, Booster and Blister in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and its related media, and provided a voice in an episode of Bobby’s World.

Joan Lee (July 7) – Wife of legendary comic creator Stan Lee, often credited as the muse that led to the creation of the Marvel Universe. She participated in several projects based on Marvel properties, including the recurring role of Madame Web in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Wally Burr (July 9) – Along with being an actor, he performed a variety of tasks on many different shows. He starred as Ray Palmer, aka The Atom, in The All-New Super Friends Hour and Super Friends (1980), Emmett Benton and Harvey Gabor in Jem, and Tagg and the narrator in Dino-Riders. He was the co-producer of Doctor Dolittle (1970); the recording director for Valley of the Dinosaurs, Devlin, Clue Club, Dynomutt Dog Wonder, The Mumbly Cartoon Show, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics, Jana of the Jungle, Godzilla (1978) and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels; and the voice director for The Addams Family (1973), Super Friends (1973), Spider-Man (1981), Meatballs and Spaghetti, Inspector Gadget, Jem and Dino-Riders.

Kathy Barrows-Fullmer (July 12) – Animator. Checked the animation for Hot Wheels.

Martin Landau (July 16) – Actor. Served as the original voice for Mac Gargan, aka the Scorpion, in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Harvey Atkin (July 17) – Actor. Best known as being the first English-speaking actor to portray King Koopa, the main antagonist from the Super Mario Bros. franchise of games. He was the only actor to play the same role throughout all three animated adaptations. He also played the titular Sam in The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police; Tomahawk in Swamp Thing: The Animated Series; an exorcise and Lipscum in two episodes of Beetlejuice; Walter Langkowski, aka Sasquatch, in an episode of X-Men: The Animated Series; Harold Klump and Uncle Harry in two episodes of Tales from the Cryptkeeper; and Mr. Malik on an episode of Goosebumps. He also provided voices for ALF Tales and Little Shop.

Yvonne Delu (July 17) – Costume designer. Designed the costumes for an episode of ABC Weekend Specials.

Jan Green (July 17) – Artist. Worked on storyboards for The Super 6, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Archie Show, The Batman/Superman Hour, What’s New, Mr. Magoo?, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats, The Berenstain Bears (1985), CBS Storybreak, Little Clowns of Happytown, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, and Aladdin, for which she was also a supervising animation director for an episode.

She was also the story director for The Flintstone Comedy Hour, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Speed Buggy, The Addams Family (1973), Emergency +4, Jeannie, The Oddball Couple, Return to the Planet of the Apes, Clue Club, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Laff-a-Lympics, Yogi’s Space Race, The All-New Popeye Hour, Jana of the Jungle, Galaxy Goof-Ups, Fangface, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, Challenge of the Superfriends, The New Fred and Barney Show, The New Shmoo, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979), Drak Pack, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show, Space Stars, Laverne & Shirley in the Army, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, The Kwicky Koala Show, The Little Rascals (1982), Shirt Tales, Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour, Saturday Supercade, The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, The Biskitts, Pink Panther and Sons, The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, and Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983).

June Foray (July 26) – Actor. Having worked since the Golden Age of animation, she has been a a part of every major production company there ever was. Her longest-standing roles were that of Granny and Witch Hazel in various Looney Tunes productions, and Rocket J. Squirrel and Natasha Fatale in the Rocky & Bullwinkle franchise.

On Saturday mornings, she starred as Mother Gruesome in Frankenstein Jr. & the Impossibles; Ursula and Marigold in George of the Jungle; a gypsy fortune teller in an episode of Scooby Doo, Where Are You!; Mrs. Baker in The New Scooby-Doo Movies; Granny, Sonja, Iggy, Muggsy, Crazy Shirley and Marcy in Heathcliff (1980); Jokey Smurf and Mrs. Sourberry in The Smurfs; Aunt May in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends; Grandma Howard and Mrs. Seslick in Teen Wolf (1986); Grandma Cavemom in several episodes of The Flintstone Kids; Bertha Bird in an episode of Denver, the Last Dinosaur; Constance McSnack in an episode of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo; Mrs. Rogers, the Mayor’s wife, and Mrs. Dweeb in The Real Ghostbusters; Magica De Spell, Ma Beagle, Mrs. Featherby and Scrooge’s mother in DuckTales; Bathsheba, Saturna, Sister Mouse and Duchess in various episodes of The ABC Weekend Specials; Grammi Gummi and several other roles in Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears; various minor roles throughout Garfield and Friends; Blocky and Svetlana the Spy in Rugrats; and Martha Wilson in All-New Dennis the Menace.

She also provided voices for Super 6, The Pink Panther Show, The Incredible Hulk (1982), Saturday Supercade, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Foofur, CBS Storybreak, Tom & Jerry Kids, and The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat.

Patti Deutsch (July 28) – Actor and comedian. Played Trixie, the Beaver Squadron, an operator and Racoon Walla in several episodes of The Angry Beavers and Matta the Lunch Lady in The Emperor’s New School. She also provided voices for episodes of The Smurfs, Darkwing Duck, Life with Louie and The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper.

Sue Adnopoz (August 19) – Artist. Provided layouts for The Smurfs and Pac-Man.

Jerry Lewis (August 20) – Actor, comedian, singer, producer, director, writer and humanitarian. Created and made uncredited script contributions to the cartoon Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down? based on the multiple characters he’s used in films. Although his name and likeness was used, Lewis’ declined to voice his counterpart feeling another actor could better imitate his youthful voice.

Jay Thomas (August 24) – Actor. Starred as Ares in Hercules: The Animated Series. Guest-starred in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series as a guard, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters as Disembodied Voice, and Teacher’s Pet as Barry Anger. Also provided a voice for an episode of Goof Troop.

Shelley Berman (September 1) – Comedian and actor. Provided a voice in an episode of Garfield and Friends.

Len Wein (September 10) – Writer and editor, predominantly in comic books. His notable work included the 1975 revival of the X-Men for Marvel Comics with the co-creation of Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus and Thunderbird, as well as Wolverine the year prior. He also co-created Batman ally Lucius Fox, Spider-Man foe Rocket Racer, Swamp Thing, Amanda Waller and many others. His characters have been featured in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Pryde of the X-Men, Swamp Thing: The Animated Series, Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, Teen Titans, Young Justice and Justice League Action, and some of his comic works have even been adapted for those shows.

He has also written for Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men: The Animated Series, Street Fighter: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, ReBoot, Godzilla: The Series, Avengers: United They Stand, Beware the Batman and Ben 10: Omniverse. Wein also served as the editor-in-chief of Disney Comics, which published adaptations of Darkwing Duck, The Little Mermaid and DuckTales.

Bernie Casey (September 19) – Actor. Guest-starred in an episode of Batman Beyond as Tyrus Block.

Paul Coderko (September 23) – Stage manager for a season of Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

Barry Dennen (September 26) – Actor. Starred as Krimm in Galtar and the Golden Lance. Appeared in “The Velveteen Rabbit” episode of ABC Weekend Specials as Scungilli; Moorloon the Wizard and Vacation Van Honk in DuckTales (1987); Samuel Quentin and a pound owner in Pound Puppies (1986); an assistant and Nester in Adventures of the Gummi Bears; a Shadow Agent in Batman: The Animated Series; Czar Nicholas II in an episode of Animaniacs; a captain in an episode of Batman Beyond; and Ramsis Dendup and several minor roles in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He also provided voices for The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Pink Panther and Sons, The Smurfs, and Pirates of Dark Water.

Hiromi Hayakawa (September 27) – Actor. Provided the Spanish voice for Sonata Dusk in the TV movie My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks.

Maria Buchner (September 29) - Your blogmaster's mother, without whom we all wouldn't be here reading this today.

Monty Hall (September 29) – Game show host, producer and philanthropist. Best known as the host of Let’s Make a Deal, Hall would appear in the 1974 ABC Funshine Saturday Sneak Peek. In the 1950s, he also hosted Cowboy Theater.

Ryuji Saikachi (September 29) – Actor. Voiced Daimon in an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Roy Dotrice (October 16) – Actor. Guest-starred in Spider-Man: The Animated Series as Golden Age hero The Destroyer.

Willie Chan (October 24) – Manager of martial artist Jackie Chan. Served as an executive producer on many of Chan’s projects, including Jackie Chan Adventures.

Robert Guillaume (October 24) – Actor. Best known for portraying Rafiki from Disney’s The Lion King franchise wherever he appeared, including in episodes of Timon & Pumbaa. He also portrayed Mr. Corblarb in an episode of The Addams Family (1992).

Jack Bannon (October 25) – Actor. Provided voices for Filmation’s Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle.

Bradley Joseph (November 1) – Actor. Appeared in an episode of ABC Weekend Specials.

Ned Romero (November 4) – Actor who primarily played Native American roles. Appeared as Lone Wolf in an episode of Land of the Lost (1974) and Painted Bear in an episode of ABC Weekend Specials.

Patrick Bethune (November 9) – Actor. Worked on the French dub of Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

Heather North (November 30) – Actor. Took over the role of Daphne Blake in the long-running Scooby-Doo franchise with the second season of the inaugural show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, up until The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. She reprised the role for a guest-appearance in Johnny Bravo and for three direct-to-video Scooby movies in 2002 and 2003. She also provided voices for Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.

Bob Givens (December 14) – Artist. Most well-known as the designer that created the original look for Bugs Bunny. He had also provided a variety of work for Mr. Magoo, Popeye the Sailor, Linus! The Lionhearted, The Super 6, Doctor Dolittle, Help!...It’s the Hair Bear Bunch!, The Houndcats, Bailey’s Comets, Yogi’s Gang, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, The Great Grape Ape Show, The Pink Panther Laugh and a  Half Hour and a Half Show, The Puppy’s Further Adventures, Saturday Supercade, ABC Weekend Specials, Dragon’s Lair, Turbo Teen, It’s Punky Brewster, Mister T, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Mother Goose and Grimm, Garfield and Friends, Bobby’s World, Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, The Angry Beavers and The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries. Many of the Looney Tunes shorts he worked on were seen as part of the long-running Bugs Bunny Show in all of its incarnations from 1960-2000.

Rose Marie (December 28) – Actor. Most well-known as the wise-cracking Sally on The Dick Van Dyke Show. She had a recurring role as Lotta Litter in Yogi’s Gang, appeared in The Real Ghostbusters as Egon’s mother and in Freakazoid! as Honna.