Freddy Monnickendam is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

businessman and

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the animated television series ''

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

'' (1981), ''

Snorks ''Snorks'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for a total of four seasons (consisting of 65 episodes) on NBC from September 15, 1984, to May 13, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 ...

'' (1984), and ''

Foofur ''Foofur'' is an American traditionally animated children's television series from ''Kissyfur'' creator Phil Mendez that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions with SEPP International S.A. Airing on NBC from 1986 to 1988, the show was about t ...

'' (1986).

Biography

Freddy Monnickendam came into contact with comics when he negotiated the rights to ''

'' for Father Abraham. Afterwards, he became the head of ''SEPP International S.A.'' (SEPP stands for "La Société d'Edition, de Presse et de Publicité"), the company branch of

Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines. Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. It is ...

(the editor of ''

'') that was responsible for the merchandising of the comic heroes. He negotiated the contract between Dupuis,

Peyo Pierre Culliford (; 25 June 1928 – 24 December 1992) was a Belgian comics writer and artist who worked under the pseudonym Peyo (). His best-known works are the comic book series ''The Smurfs'' and '' Johan and Peewit'', the latter in wh ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

, for the creation of a series of Smurf cartoons, and became the first executive producer of the series. Peyo wanted the Smurf cartoons to be as faithful as possible to the world he had created in his comics, but Monnickendam preferred to make the cartoons more accessible, and more mainstream. This led to the fast deterioration of relations between the two men, ending in court cases about the division of the rights and the money involved. Annoyed by these discussions and problems, he decided to start a new series of cartoons called ''

'', which were created and designed by

Nicolas Broca Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

. Monnickendam later acquired all the rights, hoping to equal the success of ''The Smurfs'', but the success of the Snorks was limited and the series soon ended production. Having bypassed Dupuis, the collaboration between the publisher and Monnickendam ended, and as a result, SEPP International S.A. was disbanded. Monnickendam continued to work with Hanna-Barbera on such shows as ''

'' (created by Phil Mendez), ''

The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley ''The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring Martin Short's fictional character Ed Grimley (with Short reprising his role as Grimley). The show ...

'' (based on the

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

character), and other shows (including ''

Tom and Jerry Kids ''Tom & Jerry Kids'' (formerly known as ''Tom & Jerry Kids Show'' in the first season) is an American animated comedy television series co-produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment Co., and starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry a ...

''), but he was never able to replicate the success he had with ''The Smurfs''.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1981–1987) * ''

'' (1984–1989) * ''

Seabert ''Bibifoc'' (''Seabert'') is a 1985 French animated television series. It was created by BZZ Films in Paris and originally aired in French on Antenne 2, before being translated into different languages around the world. In the United States, the ...

'' (1985–1986) * ''

'' (1986–1988) * ''

CBS Schoolbreak Special ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'' is an American anthology series for teenagers that aired on CBS from December 1978 to January 1996. The series began under the title ''CBS Afternoon Playhouse'', and was changed during the 1984–85 season. The concept ...

'' (1987–1988: Season 5 episode entitled "Home Sweet Homeless") * ''

Ed Grimley Edward Mayhoff 'Ed' Grimley is a fictional character created and portrayed by Martin Short. Developed amongst The Second City improv comedy troupe, Grimley made his television debut on the sketch comedy show '' SCTV'' in 1982, leading to popular ...

'' (1988) Note: Due to the disbandment of his company SEPP International S.A., the last two seasons of ''The Smurfs'', from 1988 to 1990, were produced by

but with the new

company Lafig S.A.

Notes

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Hanna-Barbera people {{HannaBarbera-stub