''Cattanooga Cats'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

produced by

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 ...

which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from September 6, 1969, to September 4, 1971. The show was a package program similar to the Hanna-Barbera/

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 ...

show ''

The Banana Splits ''The Banana Splits'' is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. ...

'', except that it contained no live-action segments. During the 1969–1970 season, ''Cattanooga Cats'' ran one hour and contained four segments: ''Cattanooga Cats'', ''Around the World in 79 Days'', ''It's the Wolf!'' and ''Motormouse and Autocat''. During the 1970–1971 season, ''It's the Wolf!'' and ''Motormouse and Autocat'' were spun off into a half-hour show. ''Around the World in 79 Days'' remained as part of ''Cattanooga Cats'', which was reduced to a half-hour. ''Motormouse and Autocat'' ran concurrently with ''Cattanooga Cats'' until both met their demise at the end of the 1970–1971 season.

Premise

''Cattanooga Cats''

''Cattanooga Cats'' depicted the adventures of a fictitious rock band similar to

The Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

and

populated by anthropomorphic

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

cats consisting of: * Lead singer/guitarist Country (voiced by

Bill Callaway William Ronald Callaway (born March 11, 1940) is an American retired voice actor. He is also known as Bill Callaway and Bill Calloway. He is known for playing Aquaman in ''Super Friends''. Filmography Animated roles * ''Aladdin'' - Zarasto * '' ...

) * Singer/dancer Kitty Jo (voiced by

Julie Bennett Julie Bennett (January 24, 1932 – March 31, 2020) was an American actress and later talent agent and realtor. Early years Bennett was born in Manhattan, New York, on January 24, 1932. Acting career A native of Hollywood, Bennett worked as a ...

) * Bassist Scoots (voiced by Jim Begg) * Drummer Groove (voiced by

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably '' American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice Nor ...

) A fifth member, a mouse keyboardist named "Cheesie", was storyboarded but cut out of the series. The group traveled around in a van, was chased by a female cat groupie named Chessie, the "Autograph Hound" (also voiced by Julie Bennett) and Kitty Jo owned a big blue dog named "Teeny Tim". The singing vocals for The Cattanooga Cats were performed by Michael Lloyd and Peggy Clinger. Producer

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also ...

was the musical director for the series and co-wrote all the songs performed by the Cattanooga Cats.

Ted Nichols Theodore Nicholas Sflotsos (born October 2, 1928), known professionally as Ted Nichols, is an American composer, conductor, arranger, educator, and minister of music. He is best known for his work at Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1963 to 1972, ...

composed the background music. An LP, ''Cattanooga Cats'' (Forward ST-F-1018), featuring some of the songs used in the series, was released in 1969. The Cats also appeared in various "bumpers" between the other cartoons, but they were best remembered for their animated musical segments. These cartoons showed a strong psychedelic and op-art influence and the ''Cattanooga Cats'' remain a cult favorite to this day.

Episodes

Only nine cartoon story segments featuring the characters were produced.

''Around the World in 79 Days''

Loosely based upon the novel ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

'' by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, this was an adventure segment involving balloonist Phineas "Finny" Fogg Jr. (voiced by Bruce Watson) is conceived as the great-great-grandson from America of the main character

Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg () is the protagonist in the 1872 Jules Verne novel ''Around the World in Eighty Days''. Inspirations for the character were the American entrepreneur George Francis Train and American writer and adventurer William Perry Fogg. ...

in the novel. Reporter teenagers Jenny Trent (voiced by

Janet Waldo Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from '' B ...

) and Hoppy (voiced by

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

) and he set out on a globetrotting adventure to travel around the world in 79 days and beat the original record set by Finny's ancestor. The trio is in competition for both the record and a £1,000,000 prize against the sinister Crumden (voiced by

Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company where he originated the voices of many familiar characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Ho ...

), who supposedly was the butler of the original Phileas. Crumden is aided by his idiotic chauffeur Bumbler (voiced by

Allan Melvin Allan John Melvin (February 18, 1923 – January 17, 2008) was an American actor and impressionist, who was cast in hundreds of television episodes from the 1950s to the early 1990s, often appearing in recurring roles on various series. Some of th ...

) and his pet monkey Smirky (voiced by

). Unlike the other segments, ''Around the World in 79 Days'' was a serial with a continuing story, but as with many shows made during this period, it has no specific ending.

Episodes

''It's the Wolf!''

''It's the Wolf!'' followed the comic exploits of

Mildew Wolf Mildew Wolf is a fictional anthropomorphic wolf, main antagonist, and title character of the ''Cattanooga Cats'' segment '' It's the Wolf!''. He is the most popular character of the series, and he was voiced by an uncredited Paul Lynde. Biograp ...

(voiced by

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well ...

), who aspires to catch and eat a sure-footed

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

named Lambsy (voiced by

). The wolf is always thwarted by a sheep dog (voiced by

) named Bristlehound. Bristlehound would apprehend Mildew (usually after hearing Lambsy cry out, "It's the wool-uff!"), pound him, and toss him sailing into the air, with Mildew screaming a phrase such as "Spoilsport!" as he flies into the horizon and lands with a thud.

Episodes

''Motormouse and Autocat''

Essentially a motor-racing version of ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

'', this segment involved the antics of a race car-driving cat named Autocat (voiced by

Marty Ingels Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, Min ...

) and a motorcycle-driving mouse named Motormouse (voiced by Dick Curtis). Much of the segment's appeal lay in the bizarre cars that Autocat devised in his attempts to catch Motormouse, and in the unusual character voices and dialect. For example, Motormouse would often over enunciate words, saying things like "Chi-co-ry", and greeting Autocat with a friendly "Hey there, Au-to-cat". Motormouse resembled Pixie and Dixie in character design.

Episodes

Voice cast

–

– Lambsy, Crumden *

– Bristlehound, Bumbler *

– Country * Jim Begg – Scoots *

– Kitty Jo, Chessie *

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

– Additional voices *

– Groove * Dick Curtis – Motormouse *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

– Additional voices *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

– Additional voices *

– Autocat *

– Hoppy, Smirky, Opening Announcer *

Jean Vander Pyl Jean Thurston Vander Pyl (October 11, 1919 – April 10, 1999) was an American voice actress. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon ''The Flintstones''. In ...

– Additional voices * Hal Smith – Additional voices * John Stephenson – Additional voices *

Ginny Tyler Merrie Virginia Eggers (née Erlandson; August 8, 1925 – July 13, 2012), known professionally as Ginny Tyler, was an American voice actress who performed on dozens of cartoons and animated films from 1957 to 1993. In 2006, she was named a Disne ...

– Additional voices *

– Jenny * Bruce Watson – Phineas "Finny" Fogg Jr. *

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, humanitarian, inventor and ventriloquist whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Paul Winchell S ...

– Additional voices

Epilogue

Hanna-Barbera had high hopes for ''Cattanooga Cats'' to be a hit program, like ''

'', but the show failed to attract a large audience during its original run. Mildew Wolf, the most popular character on the program, resurfaced six years after the cancellation of ''Cattanooga Cats'' as co-host (with

Snagglepuss Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character who debuted in prototype form in 1959 and established as a studio regular by 1961. A light pink anthropomorphic cougar sporting an upturned collar, shirt cuffs, and bow tie, Snagglepuss enjoys the ...

) on ''

Laff-A-Lympics ''Laff-A-Lympics'' is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series premiered as part of the Saturday-morning cartoon program block '' Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics'', on ABC in 1977. The show is a spoof ...

'', this time voiced by John Stephenson impersonating Paul Lynde. Lambsy appeared in the television film ''

Yogi's Ark Lark ''Yogi's Ark Lark'' is a 1972 animated television special produced by Hanna-Barbera, intended to raise ecological awareness. It was broadcast on September 16, 1972, as part of ''The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie'' and served as the four-part episod ...

''.

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

occasionally broadcast ''Cattanooga Cats'' shorts in the UK in 1990, the segments were shown in complete isolation, broadcast neither as part of the original show or a new compilation. Reruns of the show were not seen until the program began airing as part of the ''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

'' programming block on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

, which later became a spin-off network of its own. For several months,

Boomerang UK Boomerang is a 24-hour British pay television channel which primarily features classic and modern animated series from Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Animation. The channel launched on 27 May 2000 as a spin-off of Cartoon Network and localizat ...

channel ran the musical interludes from the show, all of which ran to exactly 1 minute 45 seconds, as short (and unidentified) fillers before closing down at midnight. When the channel expanded to 24 hours, these interludes were dropped. The complete show has not been seen in the UK in recent years.

Other appearances

The Cattanooga Cats, Teeny Tim, Lambsy, Mildew Wolf & Bristlehound appeared in the

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

original series ''

Jellystone! ''Jellystone!'' is an American animated streaming television comedy series developed by C. H. Greenblatt for HBO Max. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and features reimagined versions of various characters by Hanna-Barbera. It pr ...

'' with Country voiced by

Scott Whyte Scott William Whyte (born January 8, 1978) is an American actor best known for his role as Chris Anderson on ''City Guys''. He has also appeared in television series such as ''That '70s Show'' and ''Just Shoot Me!'' and the films '' D2: The Migh ...

, Kitty Jo voiced by Georgie Kidder, Lambsy voiced by

Dana Snyder Dana Snyder is an American actor. He is known for his voice roles of Master Shake in ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'', Granny Cuyler in ''Squidbillies'', Baby Ball on '' Ballmastrz: 9009'', and other roles in various Adult Swim television shows. His o ...

, and Mildew Wolf voiced by Bernardo de Paula. The Cattanooga Cats and Teeny Tim are portrayed as animatronics of the Cattanooga Cheese Explosion pizzeria where the Cattanooga Cats are an animatronic band and Teeny Tim is a robot waiter. Lambsy is implied to be Jewish in the season 2 episode "Yogi's Midlife Crisis" as Yogi's band appears to be performing at a Bar Mitzvah and Lambsy declares himself to be a man.

Home media

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

has yet to release the series on DVD.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album for the series was released in 1969, containing eleven of the show's songs with the lead vocals performed by Michael Lloyd and Peggy Clinger. The songs "Mother May I" and "Merry-Go-Round" were also released as singles to coincide with the series and album, with "Johnny Johnny Jump-Up" and "Country Carnival" as their respective b-sides. The songwriters were uncredited on the album but were credited on the accompanying singles.

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

, the eventual successor to Forward Records (owned by noted record producer

), most likely owns the master tapes of the ''Cattanooga Cats'' album. Curb likewise has not expressed plans to re-release the ''Cattanooga Cats'' album.

Track listing

Side 1 Side 2

Other songs

In addition to the album, other songs were featured in the series that were not released in any format. * "Cash Register Romance" ( Michael Lloyd) * "Children Understand" ( Valjean Johns, Guy Hemric) * "Cold Wisconsin Night" (Lloyd) * "Come and Play with the Cattanooga Cats" (

, Hemric) * "Come Back, Baby, Come Back" (Lloyd, Hemric) * "Daydream" (Lloyd) * "The Day When Love Won't Stay Away" (Lloyd,

Shaun Harris Shaun Harris (born March 2, 1946) is an American musician best-remembered as the bassist of the psychedelic rock band the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB). Throughout his music career, Harris worked closely with Michael Lloyd on pro ...

) * "Do You Dig the Music" (

Johnny Cymbal Johnny Cymbal (born John Hendry Blair; February 3, 1945 – March 16, 1993) was a Scottish-born American songwriter, singer and record producer who had numerous hit records, including his signature song, "Mr. Bass Man". Overview During a 33-ye ...

) * "Honey" (Lloyd, Hemric) * "Hoot Owl" (Harley Hatcher) * "I Want to Sleep Tonight" (Hatcher) * "I Wish I Was a Fire" (Lloyd) * "It's Summertime" (Cymbal) * "Love Could Be" (Lloyd, Peggy Clinger) * "Magic Machine" (Lloyd) * "Pretty as a Picture" (Lloyd, Curb) * "She Sure Got Soul" (

Jerry Styner Jerry Howard Styner (born June 18, 1936) is an American songwriter, musician, and former record producer. He has written scores for or had his compositions featured in over 30 films. Some of the artists he has worked with include Chet Baker for h ...

, Roger Christian) * "She's the Right One" (Curb, Christian) * "Sing a Song of Sixpence" (Lloyd, Styner, Hemric) * "Stop Right There" (Lloyd) * "The Story of My Life" (Lloyd) * "Super Love" (Styner, Christian) * "Up, Down, And on the Ground" (Lloyd, Clinger) * "We're Incompatible" (Lloyd, Christian)

References

External links

* * *
''Cattanooga Cats'' according to Wingnut

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on April 7, 2012. {{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1960s 1960s American animated television series 1970s American animated television series 1960s American anthology television series 1970s American anthology television series 1960s American musical comedy television series 1970s American musical comedy television series 1969 American television series debuts 1971 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming American children's animated anthology television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated musical television series Animated musical groups Animated television series about cats English-language television shows Television series about wolves Television series by Hanna-Barbera