''Humphrey B. Bear'' is a fictional character first created in an Australian

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

called ''

Here's Humphrey ''Here's Humphrey'' was an Australian children's television series produced by Banksia Productions for the Nine Network, which first aired on 24 May 1965 and last went to air in 2009. It features an anthropomorphic brown bear character (a p ...

'', which first went to air in 1965. Its fictional character namesake is an icon of Australian children's television. ''Humphrey B. Bear'' first aired on

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

NWS-9 NWS is an Australian television station based in Adelaide, Australia. It is owned-and-operated by the Nine Network. The station callsign, ''NWS'', is an initialism of The NeWs South Australia. History Origins NWS-9 was the first television ...

on Monday, 24 May 1965. The show became one of the most successful programs for pre-schoolers in Australia. Edwin "Ted" Duryea, (c.1930-2009) an actor, singer and dancer whose human identity was unknown, first played the part of Humphrey. The character of Humphrey is a tall, shaggy honey-loving brown bear with a large, round, shining, glossy black nose, straw boater hat, tartan waist-coat and oversized yellow bow-tie. His television show always features a companion who assists and narrates Humphrey's various adventures in the "magic forest" including his brightly coloured treehouse. In the early days, the character was known as Bear Bear, and was named Humphrey B. Bear as the result of an on-air competition.

Television show

The show has won Logies for Best Children's Series and the Humphrey character has received national awards and commendations, including the "Citizen of the Year" Award at the 1994

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

celebrations. ''Humphrey B. Bear'' has viewers all over the world thanks to the United States version of his show shown on

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in America and the Spanish version shown on Galavision. It has been translated or produced in 55 different languages. The writers of ''Humphrey B. Bear'', including Anthony O'Donohue (also long-time host of the show), attempt to set up each show as a new adventure for Humphrey. Each episode parallels the needs, encounters and interests the average young child. The character of Humphrey explores life as they do, trying to reinforce their self-esteem and showing them it's all right to embrace challenges. The series attempts to show it's important to be the best that you can be, and to give things your best shot. The series also encourages the viewer to simply take part in your life, family, community and the world. On 14 February 2007, it was reported that the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

would record a new ''Here's Humphrey'' series for the first time since 2003.Humphrey Bear lives on
16 February 2007, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' In February 2012, Imagination Ventures, the philanthropic enterprise of media company Imagination Entertainment, purchased the assets of Banksia Productions that included all the rights to the ''Humphrey B. Bear''. In May 2012 Humphrey was announced as the official "Ambassabear" for the Women & Children's Hospital Foundation. His first major fundraising effort saw the release of a limited edition gift set featuring a Humphrey plush doll and DVD. All proceeds from that product went to the hospitals' Kids FUNd program. Humphrey then started reappearing across Australia, taking part in live shows such as school performances, community events, and birthday parties. In July 2013 Humphrey returned to national TV screens on television stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth. Humphrey celebrated his 50th anniversary in 2015.

Ownership

In September 2016, OZPIX Entertainment facilitated the acquisition of all the assets and rights to Humphrey B. Bear from Imagination Ventures. Imagination Ventures continues to partner with the Humphrey B. Bear brand. Village Roadshow Studios now play host to Humphrey B. Bear's new headquarters at their studios on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Highlights & Awards

Other Highlights Humphrey has been recognised as an icon of Australian television and is featured in the Australian National Museum. He became the only bear in the world to become a cub when he was initiated into the Scouting Movement.

APRA Music Awards

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.humphreybbear.com Fictional bears Children's television characters Television characters introduced in 1965 Male characters in television