The Alvin Show on:  
[Wikipedia]  
[Google]  
[Amazon]
''The Alvin Show'' 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 ...
that aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in the early 1960s. This was the first series to feature the singing characters
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...
. ''The Alvin Show'' aired for one season, from October 4, 1961, to September 12, 1962 and was originally sponsored by
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
through its
Jell-O
Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...
gelatin and
Post Cereal
Post Consumer Brands (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known as simply "Post") is an American breakfast cereal manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota.
The company, founded in 1895 by C. W. Post, owns a large portfoli ...
brands. Although the series was created in color, it was initially telecast in black and white. It was later rebroadcast in color from 1962-65 for Saturday mornings on CBS and aired again Saturday mornings in 1979.
The series rode the momentum of creator
Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
Ross S. Bagdasarian (; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, best known for creating the virtual band, cartoon band Alvin an ...
's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids–particularly the show's namesake star–whose mischief contrasted to his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, as well as their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, David Seville. The animation was produced by
Herbert Klynn
Herbert Klynn (November 11, 1917 – February 3, 1999) was an American animator at UPA from 1944 to 1959 eventually rising to the role of Vice President and Production Chief. He worked on various Mr. Magoo cartoons and Gerald McBoing-Boing cart ...
's
Format Films
Format Films was a television animation studio which was founded by Herbert Klynn in 1959 with Jules Engel as vice president, Bob McIntosh and Joseph Mugnaini, all of whom were animators. It was most active during the 1960s, producing episodes o ...
. The pilot episode, an early version of the fifth episode "Good Neighbor", was written and produced to sell the show to CBS. The actual show featured a re-worked version, which aired as part of the fifth episode. With producer Fred Calvert (who would later work on ''
The Thief and the Cobbler
''The Thief and the Cobbler'' is an unfinished animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Richard Williams. Originally conceived in the 1960s, the film was in and out of production for nearly three decades due to independent funding and ...
'') calling them in, the opening sequence was animated by Bobe Cannon and assistant animated by
Iwao Takamoto
Iwao Takamoto (April 29, 1925 – January 8, 2007) was a Japanese-American animator, television producer, and film director. He began his career as a production and character designer for Walt Disney Animation Studios films such as ''Cinderella ...
.
Each episode consisted of a Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup segment, both of them seven minutes long. Following each segment was a musical number with Dave and the Chipmunks. Most of the songs came from the first three albums that had already been released by the time the show premiered (''
Let's All Sing with The Chipmunks
''Let's All Sing With the Chipmunks'' is the debut album of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It is an interactive children's novelty album. The songs on the record are a mixture between cover versions of children's songs in the public domain and custom ...
'', ''
Sing Again with The Chipmunks'', and ''
Around the World with The Chipmunks
Around the World with The Chipmunks is the third album by Alvin and the Chipmunks with David Seville. Released on January 1, 1960, by Liberty Records. it was the last album to be originally issued with realistic-looking chipmunks on the cover, t ...
''). By the second half, all the songs from the new fifth album, ''
The Chipmunk Songbook'', were also featured. In addition to the non-album ''
Alvin for President'', three song segments were created that were never officially released on any album or single. They were ''Clementine'', ''Maria from Madrid'', and ''Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair''.
The show was followed in 1983 by another Chipmunks series, ''
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...
'' which aired on NBC.
Syndication
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
reran the series on Saturday mornings after the show's prime time run ended in 1962.
In the mid to late 1960s, the individual show segments were culled together and sold as a syndication package under the title ''Alvin and the Chipmunks''. The original episodes began airing under the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' title on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
Saturday mornings in 1979 for a short period.
[
Ross Bagdasarian Sr. died of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on January 16, 1972, seemingly bringing to an end any further Chipmunk productions. Years later, his son, Ross Jr., picked up on a disc jockey's joke and produced the album '' Chipmunk Punk'' in 1980. The success of ''Chipmunk Punk'' spurred renewed interest in a new animated series by Ruby-Spears
Ruby-Spears Productions (also known as Ruby-Spears Enterprises) was a Burbank, California–based American entertainment production company that specialized in animation with another branch in Rome, Italy. This company was founded in 1977 by vete ...
, which launched in September 1983 on NBC and was titled ''Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...
'', with Ross Jr. taking over for his father as the voices of Alvin, Simon, and Dave Seville. His wife, Janice Karman
Janice Felice Karman is an American actress, producer, writer, and director. She is the co-owner of Bagdasarian Productions with her husband Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Early life
Karman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father was psycholo ...
, voiced Theodore, as well as The Chipettes
The Chipettes are a group of three female anthropomorphic chipmunk singers: Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor who first appeared on the cartoon series ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' in 1983. In this and related materials, the Chipettes served as fem ...
, who are the Chipmunks' female counterparts.[ The show ran until 1990, with episodes after 1988 produced by ]DIC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...
. (Eleven episodes were produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson
Fred Wolf Films is an American animation studio founded in 1967 by Fred Wolf and Jimmy T. Murakami. It was founded as MW (Murakami-Wolf). It later became known as Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (MWS) when Charles Swenson became a full partner in 1978. ...
in association with DIC; these were strictly for a syndication package that included all of the Ruby-Spears produced by episodes.)
To coincide with the new series, Viacom Enterprises
Viacom Productions (formerly Viacom Enterprises) was a television production arm of Viacom International. The division was active from 1974 until 2004, when the company was folded into Paramount Network Television 10 years following Viacom's acq ...
distributed reruns of ''The Alvin Show'' to local (mostly independent and future Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
) stations; the rerun package was also carried nationally over superstation
''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a terrestrial television, br ...
s WGN and WTBS at various times beginning in September 1983 and ran for mostly a few years on half of the markets. However, some stations continue to run the show at various times as late as 1993. Prior to its superstation runs, The Alvin Show was picked up in a few markets such as Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, New York, Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and in international markets such as in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
among others. The show made its way to Europe in the United Kingdom when the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(now
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
) began broadcasting the program as well.
In 1981, Clyde Crashcup made an appearance during a dream sequence in ''
A Chipmunk Christmas
''A Chipmunk Christmas'' is a 1981 animated Christmas television special based on characters from '' Alvin and the Chipmunks''. Produced by Bagdasarian Productions in association with Chuck Jones Enterprises, it first aired on NBC December 14, 1 ...
''. During recent network airings of the special, the sequence has been cut out, due to network time constraints concerning commercial ad time.
In 1990, ''The Alvin Show'' versions of the Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup reappeared in an episode of ''
The Chipmunks Go To the Movies'' titled "Back to Alvin’s Future" (a spoof of the 1985 movie, ''
Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
'').
A majority of the songs and clips from ''The Alvin Show'' were featured in the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks Sing Along Songs'' VHS releases that were released in the mid-1990s. The songs, however, were slightly remixed to sound more modern. The only song that kept its original broadcast soundtrack was "Alvin's Orchestra" in the 1993 Sing-Along video ''Ragtime Cowboy Joe''. The Bagdasarian closing logo from the show was also remixed in the 1994 Sing Along video, ''Working on the Railroad''.
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
picked up
US broadcast rights to ''The Alvin Show'' on March 7, 1994, after the last of a few independent stations pulled the show. The prints from the syndicated reruns were digitized and the Nickelodeon logo was added to several spots in the opening theme. The show aired as part of Nickelodeon’s morning lineup for most of the next year.
During this time, as well as for sometime after the full episodes stopped airing, the individual Chipmunk and Clyde Crashcup cartoons and musical segments were inserted into episodes of ''
Weinerville
''Weinerville'' is an American television program on Nickelodeon that was aired from July 11, 1993 to 1994. The show was based around a giant puppet stage that was designed to look like a city called Weinerville. The show was created and hosted by ...
''. In 1996, Nickelodeon stopped showing ''The Alvin Show'' segments altogether and no television station has aired them since then.
Voice cast
*
Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
Ross S. Bagdasarian (; January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972), known professionally by his stage name David Seville, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, best known for creating the virtual band, cartoon band Alvin an ...
-
Alvin Seville
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty record, novelty records in 1958. The group cons ...
,
Simon Seville
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...
,
Theodore Seville,
David Seville
David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the producer and manager of the fictional singing group ''Alvin and the Chipmunks''. The character was created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., who had used the name "David Seville" as his stage name prior ...
, Sam Valiant, Gondaliero; additional voices
*
Shepard Menken
Shepard Menken (November 2, 1921 – January 2, 1999) was an American film, television, voice, radio character actor.
Early life
Menken began his career at the age of 11, when he started appearing on children's radio programs. After high school ...
-
Clyde Crashcup, Neighbor; additional voices
*
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' ...
- Daisy Bell, Mrs. Frumpington; additional voices
*
Bill Lee - Additional voices
*
Johnny Mann
John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist.
Career
Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before serving ...
- Additional voices
*
Lee Patrick - Mrs. Frumpington; additional voices
Episodes (1961–1962)
26 episodes each were produced for the ''
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three s ...
'' and ''
Clyde Crashcup'' segments, along with 52 musical segments.
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
was the show's main sponsor; as such, Dave Seville and The Chipmunks appeared in several humorous half-minute commercials for
Jell-O
Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a ...
and
Post Cereals
Post Consumer Brands (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known as simply "Post") is an American breakfast cereal manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota.
The company, founded in 1895 by C. W. Post, owns a large portfoli ...
.
Home media
Other than the two VHS releases from
Buena Vista Home Video
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the Home video, home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films ...
, both of which featured 11 songs from ''The Alvin Show'', up until recently, the show has never been released on DVD. However, on September 8, 2009,
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
released the first episode of the show, along with two "modern" specials. A future "Complete Series" DVD set of the series has not been planned. In 2014, "The Brave Chipmunks" musical sequence was released as a bonus feature on ''
The Chipmunk Adventure
''The Chipmunk Adventure'' is a 1987 American animated musical-comedy film based on the Saturday-morning cartoon series ''Alvin and the Chipmunks''. Directed by Janice Karman and written by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr., it stars the voices of ...
'' Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. In 2015, three complete episodes (#01, #04, and #10) were released together as ''The Alvin Show'' on Blu-ray and DVD.
International broadcast
* Australia
**
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
(1973 & 1997-2001)
**
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
(2002-2004)
* Canada
**
CBMT (1966)
**
WHTV (Whitehorse Cable System) (1960s)
* Chile
**
TVN TVN may refer to:
* TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel
* Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster
* TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi
* TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...
(1969–1973 & 1975–1979)
* Russia
**
Channel One Russia
Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervyy kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian state-controlled television channel. It is the first television channel to broadcast in the Russian Federation. Its headquarters ...
(1992–1996)
**
Russia-1
Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...
(1996–1998)
* United Kingdom
**
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(1962)
**