SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: BUSTER JONES

 

BUSTER JONES

(December 12, 1943-September 12, 2014)

 

Notable Roles: Black Vulcan, Spaghetti Man/Twiggy Sander, Blaster, Doc, Zap, Winston Zeddemore, Lothar

 

Born Edward Jones, he began his career playing music with various bands around the world before ending up in Washington, DC as a DJ. In 1972, he shifted into a career on camera with a role in the film The Marshal of Windy Hollow. In 1973, he was recruited by Dick Clark to host the short-lived spin-off to American Bandstand called Soul Unlimited, which was designed to compete with Soul Train by appealing to that program’s audience. In 1977, after a stint doing voiceover for commercials, Jones’ agency sent him out for an interview and he landed the role of Hanna-Barbera’s original character, Black Vulcan, in the Super Friends franchise. Hanna-Barbera later tagged him as the voice of Harlem Globetrotter Twiggy Sanders in the series The Super Globetrotters. In 1981, he began a long association with Marvel Productions, Sunbow Productions and Hasbro when he lent his voice to the syndicated Spider-Man, then went on to have multiple roles in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Transformers and Jem. Jones’ biggest role, however, came in 1988 when he replaced Arsenio Hall as the voice of Winston Zeddemore in The Real Ghostbusters; which he would reprise in two episodes of the follow-up, Extreme Ghostbusters. After a few more minor roles in the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, Jones largely disappeared from the spotlight after 1998 as job offers dried up; getting mostly music gigs and starting up his own record company, Buster Jones Records. He died at his home in North Hollywood in 2014 at the age of 70.

 

Saturday Credits:

Soul Unlimited
The All-New Super Friends Hour
Challenge of the Superfriends
The Super Globetrotters
Spider-Man (1981)
Shirt Tales
Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
The Flintstone Kids
Jem
The Real Ghostbusters
The Karate Kid (1989)
Batman: The Animated Series
The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat
The New Batman Adventures

MARTIN PASKO DEAD AT 65

You can read the full story here.

Along with a notable stint in writing and editing comic books, including working on DC Comics’ first Batman Adventures series and Marvel Comics’ Gargoyles, he wrote episodes of Thundarr the Barbarian, Blackstar, Goldie Gold and Action Jack, The Incredible Hulk (1982), Mister T, The Berenstain Bears, Teen Wolf (1986), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987), Superman (1988), Batman: The Animated Series (including the film Mask of the Phantasm), and The Tick (1994). He also served as a story editor for the second season of Thundarr, Batman: The Animated Series, and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, which he also helped develop. 

JERRY STILLER DEAD AT 92

You can read the full story here.

Probably best known as half of the comedy duo Stiller & Meara, Frank Costanza from Seinfeld, or Arthur Spooner from King of Queens, depending on what generation you’re from. But, on Saturday morning, he was an eagle in an episode of Hercules: The Animated Series and Pretty Boy in Teacher’s Pet. 

LITTLE RICHARD DEAD AT 87

You can read the full story here.

He was a singer, songwriter and musician hailed as one of the “Founding Fathers of Rock”. He had made appearances on, American Bandstand, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures and Sesame Street, and his music he wrote was featured in The Beatles (“Long Tall Sally”) and The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper (“Casper the Friendly Ghost”). He also composed the theme for the original Magic Schoolbus.

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DR. DOLITTLE

(NBC, September 12, 1970-January 9, 1971)

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, 20^th Century Fox Television

MAIN CAST:

Bob Holt – Doctor Dolittle

Hal Smith – Tommy Stubbins

Don Messick – Chee Chee, The Pushmi-Pullyu, Jip, Nico, various

Lennie Weinrib – George, Sam Scurvy, Zig-Zag, various

Robert Towers – Various animals

Barbara Towers – Various animals

Robbie Falloon, Annadell, Colin Johnson, Mike Sherwood, Glyn Nelson - Grasshoppers

            Hugh Lofting was a British civil engineer who enlisted in the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army in World War I. Choosing not to expose his children to the horrors of war, he wrote them imaginative illustrated letters. Those letters became the basis of his children’s novel series centering around the character of Dr. John Dolittle.

Hugh Lofting's art of Dr. Dolittle and Polynesia.

            Dr. Dolittle was a physician in Victorian England from the village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh where he lived with his spinster sister, Sarah. Gradually, he developed a love of animals that caused his house to become a menagerie that scared off his human patients and caused his sister to leave. After learning how to speak to all animals from his parrot, Polynesia, Dr. Dolittle decided to become a veterinarian. Dr. Dolittle then embarked on a journey around the world, helping various animals he came across and adding odd ones to what would become his personal zoo, or a sanctuary for the animals. Later, he became a naturalist and used his abilities to better understand nature and the history of the world. Among the other characters in the series was Dab-Dab, a duck who served as his housekeeper; Jip, his dog; Gub-Gub, his pet pig; Too-Too, his pet owl and accountant; the Pushmi-Pullyu, a gazelle/unicorn hybrid with heads at both ends of its body; the Great Glass Sea Snail, an enormous mollusk with a transparent airtight shell; and Tommy Stubbins, a boy from the village who would become Dr. Dolittle’s apprentice, among others. Tommy would also become the narrator for books set after his appearance.

Cover to the first book.

            The first book, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts was published in the United States by Frederick A. Stokes in 1920; later published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape in 1924. 15 books in total were written in the series; the 13^th, Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake, was copyrighted in 1923 but not published until 1948, and the last two published after Lofting’s death in 1947. The second book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, won the prestigious Newbery Medal. Although the series maintained an internal chronology, they weren’t often published in chronological order until 1927’s Doctor Dolittle’s Garden. Lofting grew tired of the character and tried to end the series with 1928’s Doctor Dolittle in the Moon, but popular demand saw him return to the series in 1933 with Doctor Dolittle’s Return.

            Dr. Dolittle has been adapted multiple times since its publication. The earliest known one was a silent animated German short from 1928 called Doktor Dolittle und seine Tiere. It has also been adapted into radio and stage plays. After several attempts to do so since 1922, the first film version finally came in 1967. Produced by APJAC International Productions, distributed by 20^th Century Fox, written by Leslie Bricusse and directed by Richard Fleischer, Doctor Dolittle starred Rex Harrison as the titular character and combined elements from several of the books: such as the origin of his abilities, the meeting of Tommy Stubbins (William Dix), the acquisition of the Pushmi-Pullyu to fund an expedition, the use of a dog to challenge murder charges (however his own rather than a homeless man’s), crashing on an island where he’s captured by natives, and the search for the Great Pink Sea Snail. After being plagued by numerous production problems, difficulties in managing a large ensemble of animals, and the demanding and often racist personality of the film’s star, the film’s budget ballooned from $6 million to $9 million. It was finally released on December 12 to negative reviews and only saw a box office return of $6.2 million (it ended up going against another animal-themed film, Disney’s The Jungle Book). Despite being a critical and commercial bomb, the studio held an intense lobbying campaign to get it nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, although it only ended up winning Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects.

The crew of The Flounder: Jib, Polynesia, Tommy, Dolittle, Too-Too, Dab-Dab and Chee-Chee.

            Doctor Dolittle was one of three large-scale musical films Fox had made in an attempt to duplicate the success of The Sound of Music. They hoped to double their bets by also duplicating the success of My Fair Lady by reuniting Harrison with Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe; however, Loewe had retired and Lerner was fired by producer Arthur P. Jacobs for procrastinating on the script. All three films lost huge amounts of money and left the studio in dire financial straits (ironically, the studio was rescued when The Sound of Music was re-released to theaters in 1973). In anticipation of the film’s success, Fox made a tremendous merchandising push. They also penned a deal with DePatie-Freleng Enterprises to adapt the film into an animated series.

The pirate crew: Sam Scurvy, Miko, Nico, Cyclops and Zig-Zag.

            Developed and written by Lennie Weinrib and Paul Harrison, the series continued Dr. Dolittle’s (Bob Holt) journeys around the world, treating various animals that he came across and helping them with their problems. With him aboard his ship, The Flounder, was Tommy Stubbins (Hal Smith), Chee-Chee, the Pushmi-Pullyu, Jip (Don Messick), Too-Too, Dab-Dab and Polynesia. Along the way, the crew often ran afoul of pirates who were members of the local order of D.O.P.I. (Democratic Order of Pirates International). The pirates were led by Sam Scurvy (Weinrib) and were comprised of the hulking Cyclops, who wore an eyepatch over his good eye; Zig-Zag (Weinrib), an uptight French pirate; Nico (Messick), an Italian pirate; and Miko, a Chinese pirate. They travelled in a submarine whose top was disguised as an island, and wore a combination of traditional pirate garb mixed with suits typical of 1930s gangsters. Sam Scurvy wanted to learn Dolittle’s secret to communicating with animals, which he believed would allow him to control the animals and thus conquer the world.

The Grasshoppers on their album.

            The Further Adventures of Doctor Dolittle (although it was only ever titled Doctor Dolittle on screen) debuted on NBC on September 12, 1970. Like the movie it was based on, the show was done as a musical comedy. However, unlike other musical programs on air at the same time that just stuck any song wherever, the songs by Doug Goodwin were meant to match the events and situations of the particular episode in which they appeared. At a point in an episode, a grasshopper named George (Weinrib) and his band, aptly named The Grasshoppers (Robbie Falloon, Annadell, Colin Johnson, Mike Sherwood and Glyn Nelson), would perform from inside Dolittle’s medical bag after it was converted into a stage for them. Although, it was interesting that Victorian-era grasshoppers were big fans and composers of rock and roll music.    The musical sequences were designed by Arthur Leonardi, who also designed the title sequence. The series’ theme was a reworking of “Talk to the Animals”, which came directly from the film and was written by Bricusse. A collection of 12 of the songs were released by Carousel Records onto the album Doctor Dolittle Presents The Grasshoppers. All other music was provided by Eric Rogers.

Polyneisa asking Dolittle to help rescue her friend.

            Unfortunately, the series fared about as well as the film as it was put on the schedule against another musical, Josie and the Pussycats, and was cancelled after its single season. NBC would keep it on the schedule until the fall of 1972. Doctor Dolittle would continue to find adaptations in animation, stage and even video games. A film attempt wouldn’t be tried again until the 1998 modern reimagining starring Eddie Murphy, which managed to be successful and spawn four sequels through 2009. In 2020, another live-action film was made starring Robert Downey Jr., returning the story to its Victorian setting. Much like the 1967 film, the 2020 one was a critical and box office flop.

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Grasshoppers Are Coming, Hooray, Hooray!” (9/12/70) – The pirates follow Dolittle to Grasshopper Island where he’s gone to treat the populace who have all lost their voices.

“The Bird Who Was Afraid to Fly” (9/19/70) – Dolittle tries to help Montgomery the gooney bird get over his fear of flying.

“The Land of the Tiger Moo” (9/26/70) – Dolittle has to protect the rare Tiger-Moo from the pirates and get its milk to treat a sick alligator in Florida.

“The Great Turkey Race” (10/3/70) – Dolittle enters an ocean race in order to save the first prize: Toots the Turkey.

“The Peanut Conspiracy” (10/10/70) – Dolittle sets out to make some Peanut-Cillin for an elephant that is allergic to peanuts.

“The Bar Bear” (10/17/70) – The pirates try to steal the medicine Dolittle has cooked up to give polar bears back their coats.

“High Flying Hippo” (10/24/70) – Dolittle concocts a way to rescue a hippo from a cliff ledge, but she loses her nerve to go through with it at the last minute.

“The Near-Sighted Bull” (10/31/70) – After Dolittle helps a bull regain his eyesight, he’s entered into a fight where Scurvy poses as the matador.

“The Silver Seals of the Circus” (11/7/70) – The Pushmi-Pullyu has to fill in for two injured seals to save a circus while the pirates sneak in dressed as clowns.

“A Girl for Greco Gorilla” (11/14/70) – Dolittle brings a homesick gorilla back to Africa and also tries to help find him a mate.

“A Tail of Two Snails” (11/21/70) – Dolittle takes the last of the Giant Pink Sea Snails to a new home after his is polluted and the pirates see their opportunity to strike.

“A Fox Called…Sherlock?” (11/28/70) – Sherlock the fox helps the crew track down Jip after he’s dog-napped by the pirates.

“The Tomb of the Phoenix Bird” (12/5/70) – The crew travels to Egypt to witness the rising of the phoenix, but end up in a trap set by the pirates.

“The Barnyard Rumble” (12/12/70) – Dolittle treats a talkative rooster’s laryngitis as a motorcycle gang shows up in town looking for trouble.

“The Baffled Buffalo” (12/19/70) – The President sends Dolittle to find a buffalo to model for a special commemorative medallion, but complications plague them along the way.

“A Hatful of Rabbit” (12/26/70) – The crew attends the magic show featuring a rabbit they treated, but are unaware that the pirates have hijacked it.

“The Bird from O.O.P.S.” (1/9/71) – Dolittle must save the rare ogle-bird egg from a Maharajah’s greedy mother who wants to use it to fatten him up for when he gets his weight in diamonds.

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: MARGARET LOESCH

 

MARGARET LOESCH

(March 28, 1946- )

 

Notable Roles: NBC executive, Executive Vice President of Hanna-Barbera, President and CEO of Marvel Productions, Founding President and CEO of Fox Kids Networks, President of the Jim Henson Television Group, President and CEO of Hallmark Channel, Founding President and CEO of The Hub Network, Executive Chairman of Kartoon Channel

 

Initially studying political science at the University of Southern Mississippi and international relations and urban development at Louisiana State University, Loesch ended up as a clerk-typist for ABC in 1971. After hours, she’d stay with the film editors where she was shown their processes. She would eventually get a full education on production when promoted to the promo department developing sales films and on-air promos. In 1979, a former ABC colleague invited her over to NBC to work as a manager in the children’s programs department. While her efforts went unappreciated at the network, Hanna-Barbera liked her style and invited her to work for them any time she wanted. Loesch took them up on the offer and they created the position of head of children’s programs, later executive vice president. With them, Loesch would end up providing NBC with one of their biggest Saturday morning hits: The Smurfs. In 1984, Loesch moved further up the ladder when she was offered the position of president and CEO of Marvel Productions. That move allowed her to achieve the often-refuted goal of adapting Kermit the Frog for animation when CBS’ Judy Price wanted to commission the show Muppet Babies. Although Marvel was able to churn out several programs based on Hasbro properties—My Little Pony, G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, Transformers and Jem—it was an uphill battle to get any of Marvel Comics’ own properties to the small screen; especially the X-Men. In 1990, Loesch joined the Fox subsidiary Fox Children’s Network as its division president. There, she oversaw the launch and development of the successful programming block Fox Kids. She was able to translate that success into finally getting X-Men: The Animated Series onto the airwaves, as well as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (which Marvel Productions tried to option years prior in its original Super Sentai form)—both tremendous hits for the network. After Saban Entertainment took ownership of the division in 1997, Loesch went to work for the Jim Henson Television Group where she oversaw the conversion of the Odyssey Channel into the Hallmark Channel. In 2003, Loesch and Bruce Stein formed The Hatchery, LLC, a media production company owned by American Greetings and Mandalay Entertainment focused on family-oriented entertainment. They would produce Dan Vs. and R.L. Stein’s The Haunting Hour for The Hub; a joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications. Loesch was appointed chief executive officer of the network, where she remained until stepping down in 2014. In 2015, Loesch was named to Genius Brands’ international board of directors, replacing president and COO of American Greetings Jeff Weiss. The following year, she became the executive chairman of the Kids Genius Channel, which became Kartoon Channel in 2020. Loesch had also served on the board of trustees for Sesame Workshop, makers of Sesame Street, and is the vice chair of the Emmy Foundation.

 

Saturday Credits:

(Note: Below are just where on-screen credit was received. As the head of respective networks, she had some kind of involvement with all of their output during her tenure.)
The All-New Popeye Hour
Drak Pack
The Flintstone Comedy Show
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
The Kwicky Koala Show
Space Stars
Laverne & Shirley in the Army
Trollkins
The Smurfs
Superfriends (1981)
Pac-Man
The Dukes
Benji, Jax & the Alien Prince
The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show
The Biskitts
Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies
Dungeons & Dragons
Jim Henson’s Little Muppet Monsters
Jem
Little Clowns of Happytown
The Little Wizards
Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series
RoboCop (1988)
Dino-Riders
ABC Weekend Specials (episodes)
Rude Dog and the Dweebs
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
X-Men: The Animated Series

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: MARK HAMILL

 

MARK HAMILL

(September 25, 1951- )

 

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

 

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

 

Saturday Credits:

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

HOT DOG

HOT DOG

(NBC, September 12-December 5, 1970)

Lee Mendelson-Frank Buxton Joint Film Productions

MAIN CAST:

Tom Smothers – Host (pilot)

Jonathan Winters – Host, various

Woody Allen – Host

Jo Anne Worley – Host

            In 1969, NBC commissioned several one-hour specials to serve as pilots for their next potential educational series. The winner was Hot Dog, whose pilot aired on March 28, 1970. Hot Dog was an edutainment documentary series created by Frank Buxton, inspired by his travels as a comedian and as a host of ABC’s Discovery. Hot Dog was described as a “program about stuff” and took a comedic look at explaining everyday things and/or how they were made (plywood, bicycles, baseballs, spaghetti, etc.), as well as answered kids’ questions about them.

            Hot Dog debuted on NBC on September 12, 1970. It was hosted by Jo Anne Worley, Woody Allen (before he became notable in film), and Jonathan Winters, who replaced Tom Smothers from the pilot. The three hosts each had their own particular style: Winters often humorously portrayed characters that were related to the topic being discussed; Allen gave bizarre responses; and Worley strove to give correct answers. But it was through a combination of their antics and creative editing, music and imaginative cinematography that the real answers would reveal themselves. Some of the footage included visits to various factories and kids being quizzed on the items in question.

            The series was co-produced by Lee Mendelson and featured a large number of editors including Bill Westwick, Chuck Barbee (also the director of photography), Gerald K. Wolf, Don Wiley, Pat Johnson, Bill Bishop, Sandy Nichols, Ben Maiden and Charlie Peterson. Ed Bogas and The Fillmore Coporation handled the music direction, and some music was provided by The Youngbloods. 70 topics were covered over the course of 13 episodes, with upwards of 5 being covered per episode.

Promo for Hot Dog.

The series was positively reviewed and lauded, winning a Peabody Award for “Best Children’s Series”. Unfortunately, it failed to draw in a suitable viewing audience. Mendelson blamed it on the time slot NBC put it in, which resulted in its being constantly preempted on the West Coast for baseball. Hot Dog continued to air in reruns until the fall of 1971, and was later syndicated during the 1977-78 season to coincide with Allen’s rising movie career. Individual topic segments were sold to schools on 16mm film and were used on the local Los Angeles children’s program, That’s Cat. A book based on the show was published in 1971 by Grosset & Dunlap and written by Jean Lewis. Before Buxton’s death in 2018, plans for a DVD release of the series was in the works, according to his website.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Unavailable.

WELCOME TO THE SWINGING 70s!

            The Swingin’ 70s were more of a tightrope walk for animation studios. Racial uprisings, high-profile assassinations and an unpopular war had made advocacy groups want to ensure their children had a safe place to retreat from the horrors of the real world. They chose to make television that place by pressuring networks to make all content geared towards their kids as harmless as possible. And with only the three major networks to provide them work (at the time), studios had no choice but to comply.

Scene from the "I'm Just a Bill" segment of the educational Schoolhouse Rock.

            Gone were the days of the highly-lucrative action-oriented cartoon. There could be no punches. No slapstick pratfalls. No deep space battles. There could only be good, safe, educational content that pushed a pro-social message such as anti-bullying, anti-drugs, honesty, reading, etc. If it happened to be entertaining in the process, well, that was just a bonus. Really, only Filmation weathered this change effortlessly as their content had already been approached in that manner from the outset. Founder Lou Scheimer came from a client-based creative background, such as making commercials, rather than generally more adult-geared theatrical cartoons like the others involved with television animation, making him more used to producing content via strict guidelines than his contemporaries.

Famous headline quote from President Ford to a nearly-bankrupt New York City.

            Another impact on animation studios was the economic downturn and rampant inflation. Where once cartoons were the cheaper alternative that made them appealing to the networks, it suddenly became a reality that live-action programming could now be made for just as much—if not cheaper—AND quicker. As a result, a lot more live-action shows made specifically for Saturday mornings appeared throughout the decade. This proved a boon for Sid & Marty Krofft Productions, whose unique costume designs on Hanna-Barbera’s The Banana Splits Adventure Hour earned them recognition and several shows to their credit. Hanna-Barbera and Filmation also tried their hands at live-action programming in a combination of shows and specials. Other cheap alternatives were game shows like Runaround, educational shows like the revival of Mr. Wizard, and news-oriented programs like Take a Giant Step (later Talking with a Giant).

Filmation's live-action Shazam/Isis Hour.

            The economic downturn also saw the loss of more animation jobs in America, with work heading to cheaper areas like Mexico, Japan, China, Korea, Australia and other countries. Some studios had already done this “runaway production” from the outset--namely Jay Ward Productions and Total TeleVision with Gamma Productions in Mexico--while others had to in order to meet increasing workloads, like Hanna-Barbera with their Australian division and later the Japanese studio of Wang Film Productions. Filmation, for the duration of its existence, strove to keep animation jobs domestic and only outsourced one of their projects--1981’s The New Adventures of Zorro--when they found themselves with too much work at one time.

ABC's 1970 comic book advertisement.

            But Saturday mornings kept rolling on and the networks kept investing heavily in them. Comic and newspaper ads continued to run and the Saturday morning preview specials became an annual event, with each network airing one almost every September to usher in their new line-ups. The networks also wooed in celebrities not usually associated with cartoons or kids’ shows—such as stage and film actor Charles Nelson Reilly, musician Rick Springfield, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, boxer Muhammad Ali, musical group The Jackson 5ive and more—with the hopes of attracting their existing fanbases to the network and the promise of those celebrities finding new fans among the regular viewers. Did it work? Well, you tell us.