Telecomics

Telecomics (also known as Tele-Comics and NBC Comics) is the name of two American children's television shows broadcast from 1949 to 1951. Along with ''Crusader Rabbit'' and '' Jim and Judy in Teleland'', the ''Telecomics'' broadcasts were some of the earliest cartoon shows on television, although they were essentially a representation of comic strips on screen, with a narrator and voice actors talking over still frames, with only occasional moments of limited animation.

The 1949 show, ''Tele-Comics'', was syndicated by Vallee-Video as a 15-minute show made up of four three-minute segments: ''Joey and Jug'', ''Sa-Lah'', ''Brother Goose'' and ''Rick Rack, Secret Agent''.

The second show, initially broadcast as ''NBC Comics'' from September 1950 to March 1951, was created by cartoonist Dick Moores and Disney animator Jack Boyd, who founded the company Telecomics, Inc. in 1942. The NBC version introduced four new stories: ''Danny March'', ''Kid Champion'', ''Space Barton'' and ''Johnny & Mr. Do-Right''. After the show was cancelled, the existing episodes were distributed in syndication as ''Telecomics'' through the end of the 1950s.

During the 40s, there were several other similar attempts to present static cartoon images in early television; in fact, in 1947, ''Billboard'' reported that there were five different production companies all trying to produce similar shows, including a second company called Telecomics, Inc., run by syndicator and licensed-character magnate Stephen Slesinger.

These three companies—Moores & Boyd's Telecomics, Inc.; Slesinger's Telecomics, Inc.; and Vallee-Video—are often confused by animation historians, who claim that ''Tele-Comics'' and ''NBC Comics'' were produced by the same company.

Dick Moores and Jack Boyd, 1942–1945

In 1942, cartoonist Dick Moores, known at the time for the 1936-1942 crime comic strip ''Jim Hardy'', teamed up with Jack Boyd, an effects animator at Walt Disney Studios, to form the company Telecomics, Inc. Their intention was to produce a television show that would present still panels from a comic strip on television, with a narrator and voice actors performing the characters' voices. While they were developing the idea, Moores took a job with the comics department at Walt Disney Studios, working on several Disney comics properties, including the ''Donald Duck'' and ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strips.

In 1945, Moores and Boyd produced a pilot, ''Case of the Missing Finger, Chapter 4: The Belt of Doom'', starring a character named Peril Pinkerton. The pilot was not picked up, and the enterprise was dormant for a couple more years.

Telecomics test, 1945

Also in 1945, the Newspaper Enterprise Association syndication service tested out the ''Telecomics'' concept on W6XYZ, an experimental station in Hollywood. A 1945 article in ''Advertising & Selling'' magazine reported:

Stephen Slesinger, 1945–1947

Meanwhile, another ''Telecomics'' effort was beginning in 1945, headed by Stephen Slesinger, who created the comic strips ''Red Ryder'' and ''King of the Royal Mounted'', and held the licensing rights for Winnie-the-Pooh, Tarzan, Buck Rogers and Alley Oop. In 1945, Slesinger announced that he was founding two companies: Tele-Comics, Inc., of New York, which would bring nationally syndicated comic strips to television and 16mm film, and Telepictures, Inc., of Hollywood, which would produce 16mm film of popular children's book properties. Slesinger intended to use ''Red Ryder'', ''King of the Royal Mounted'', ''Ozark Ike'' and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' as his first slate of strips.

In April 1946, Slesinger demonstrated his approach at the annual convention of the American Newspaper Publishers association. In his film, the comics panel first appeared with no speech balloons, but as the off-screen narrator began voicing the dialogue, the balloons would appear. ''The New York Times'' described the demonstration:

In April 1947, Slesinger signed a deal with the N. W. Ayer & Son advertising agency for television rights of the ''King of the Royal Mounted'' comic, serialized in five-minute episodes. At the time, they had produced 150 episodes, with production continuing. An article in ''The Billboard'' reported:

In November 1947, ''The Billboard'' reported that five organizations were vying to produce a ''Telecomics''-like presentation for TV, including two different companies named Telecomics, Inc. — Slesinger's company, which was promoting the ''King of the Royal Mounted'' show, and Dick Moores and Jack Boyd's company, now run by agent Jimmy Saphier, which was offering ''Jim Hardy'' and a new strip, ''Kid Champion''.

In addition to these, Edgar Bergen also had a set of animated characters called ''Telekins'', a short-lived company called Century Television Corporation had signed deals with twenty comic strips including ''Joe Palooka'' and ''Mutt and Jeff'', and United Features Syndicate was pitching ''Li'l Abner'' and '' Nancy''.

The ''Billboard'' story also reported:

Despite these threats, the legal action never transpired, and as late as 1951, both companies called Telecomics, Inc. were still active—Slesinger's in New York City, and Moores/Boyd's company in Hollywood.

However, Slesinger did get the honor of reaching the airwaves first. In December 1947, two Slesinger ''Telecomics'' Christmas specials billed as "Television Fantasies"—''Gingerbread Man'' and ''Santa and the Angel''—aired on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day on WCBS-TV in Chicago.

Tele-Comics, 1949

In 1949, a syndicated show finally got on the air: ''Tele-Comics'', produced by singer Rudy Vallée's short-lived television production company, Vallee-Video.

''Tele-Comics'' was fifteen minutes long, presenting four three-minute comic strip stories:
*Brother Goose by Cal Howard
*Joey and Jug by Arnold Gillespie
*Rick Rack, Secret Agent by Miles Pike and Pete Burness
*Sa-Lah by AJ Metcalf.

The strips were voiced by Jack Kirkwood, Lilien Leigh and Bill Grey. The show did not last for long, and there are no surviving episodes.

NBC Comics, 1950–1951

Meanwhile, Dick Moores and Jack Boyd were trying to sell ''Telecomics'' to a network, including Moores' comic ''Jim Hardy''. A November 16, 1949 article in the ''Pasadena Independent'' told their story:

On August 7, 1950, ''Daily Variety'' announced that NBC picked had picked up Moores and Boyd's show, retitling it ''NBC Comics''. ''NBC Comics'' debuted as a weekday show on September 18, 1950, in the 5:00-5:15pm slot, following Kate Smith. The show was sponsored by Standard Brands, and produced by Don Dewar.

''NBC Comics'' included four three-minute segments:

* Danny March: Danny, an orphan raised by his uncle in Metro City, grows up on the streets. He applies for a job as a police officer, but is rejected for being too short. Danny becomes a private eye, and is hired as the Mayor's personal detective.
* Kid Champion: Young Eddie Hale is pressured into becoming a boxer by his prize-fighter father, but wants to pursue a career in music. Mistakenly believing that he's killed a gas station attendant, Eddie gets a job with fight promoter Lucky Skinner, changes his name to "Kid Champion" and refuses to talk about his past.
* Space Barton: Horace Barton Jr., college football star, enlists in the U.S. Army Air Corps and tests the first jet airplane. He meets an astronomer, Professor Dinehart, who's built a rocket ship. Barton and Dinehart blast off, taking Barton's kid brother Jackie as a stowaway. On Mars, Barton gets involved in a civil war against a group led by an insane Earth scientist who'd reached Mars first.
* Johnny and Mr. Do-Right: A young boy is scolded by his talking dog, Mr. Do-Right, who teaches him about health and safety tips. Several of these episodes were combined to make a short film, "Good Health Habits".

The voice cast included Robert C. Bruce (the narrator for a number of Warner Bros. cartoons) Lurene Tuttle, and Patrick McGeehan. Howard McNear (later Floyd the barber on ''The Andy Griffith Show'') voiced Space Barton, Danny March and Kid Champion. ''Johnny and Mr. Do-Right'' was narrated by Verne Smith.

The show was dropped on March 30, 1951, because Lever Brothers wanted the 5:00-5:15 timeslot. 165 episodes were produced. NBC made back its cost very quickly, and syndicated the episodes as ''Telecomics''. The show aired on WCBS-TV in New York from 1952 to 1953. The episodes were acquired for distribution in 1954 by the newly-formed National Telefilm Associates, and they aired through the end of the 1950s.

Continued work, 1951

After ''NBC Comics'' was cancelled, Moores, Boyd and Dewar continued working on the concept. An Associated Press article in April 1951 reported:

In June, ''Billboard'' reported that Dewar was pitching a 15-minute show featuring Peril Pinkerton to advertisers. The new show never made it to air.

See also

*''Cartoon Teletales'', aired from November 1948 to September 1950 on ABC.

References

External links

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* , a compilation of episodes of ''Johnny and Mr. Do-Right''

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1949 American television series debuts
1952 American television series endings
1940s American animated television series
1950s American animated television series
American children's animated television series
English-language television shows