''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of 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 have eith ...

produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions 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 ...

, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on September 29, 1958, and was sponsored by

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toa ...

. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound, another starring

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

and his sidekick Boo Boo, and a third with Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, which starred two mice who in each short found a new way to outwit the cat Mr. Jinks. The series last aired on December 1, 1961. The ''Yogi Bear'' segment of the show became extremely popular, and as a result, it spawned its own series in 1960. A segment featuring Hokey Wolf and Ding-A-Ling was added, replacing ''Yogi'' during the 1960–61 season. The show contributed to making Hanna-Barbera a household name, and is often credited with legitimizing the concept of animation produced specifically for television. In 1960, it became the first animated program to be honored with an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Background/production

Conception and development

Joseph Barbera went to Chicago to pitch the program to Kellogg's executives through their ad agency,

Leo Burnett Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cent ...

. "I had never sold a show before because I didn't have to. If we got an idea, we just made it, for over twenty years. All of a sudden, I'm a salesman, and I'm in a room with forty-five people staring at me, and I'm pushing Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear and 'the Meeces', and they bought it." Barbera once recalled about

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 H ...

's voice acting versatility:

Format

The series featured three seven-minute cartoons, animated specifically for television. The first always starred Huckleberry, the next two featured other characters. Each of three cartoons were in between the wraparound segments, which originally set in the circus tent where Huck acts like a showman in the late 1950s.

Distribution

The show was originally intended to be part of a line-up of kid programmes sponsored by Kellogg and broadcast on ABC-TV, joining ''Woody Woodpecker'', ''Superman'' and ''Wild Bill Hickok'' in an early evening, weekday line-up. However, Kellogg's agency, Leo Burnett, decided instead to syndicate the show and buy air time on individual stations. The show was originally distributed by

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

, which held a part-ownership of Hanna-Barbera at the time, over 150 stations. In April 1967, Screen Gems announced the show had been released from advertiser control, and would be made available to stations on a syndicated basis with available bridges to create 92 half-hour shows. The distribution was later passed to

Worldvision Enterprises Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. was an American television program and home video distributor established in 1954 as ABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of the ABC Television Network. They primarily licensed ...

, after it became a sister company to Hanna-Barbera. It was later distributed by Turner Program Services, after Turner's purchase of Hanna-Barbera; current distributor

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

picked up ownership of the show following the 1996 acquisition of Turner by parent company,

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

Original (1958) Syndication

The show was not broadcast on the same day of the week, or the same time, in every city; airing depended on the deal for time that the Leo Burnett Agency brokered with individual stations. However, the first time the Huck series appeared on television was on Monday, September 29, 1958; it was first seen at 6 p.m. on WOOD-TV in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

, which also served

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which e ...

, home of Kellogg cereals. A few other stations airing it that day were WLWI in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

(at 6:30 p.m.) and WTAE in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

(at 7:30 p.m.). The show debuted on other days that same week in other cities; Huck originally aired in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

on Tuesdays on KNXT,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

on Wednesdays on

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on Thursdays on

WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of ...

. The show first aired in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

on Thursday, October 2, 1958, at 7 p.m. on CKLW-TV in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

. The show first aired in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

on Monday, February 16, 1959, on the National Television Network (now 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 ...

), and the show first aired in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

on Friday, July 10, 1959, on ITV.

Plot and characters

Each of the three segments featured one or two main characters acting as a duo, and numerous one-off or supporting characters.

Huckleberry Hound

Huck's voice was one that Butler had already developed and used in earlier work, such as Ruff in '' The Ruff and Reddy Show'', Smedley the Dog in the '' Chilly Willy'' cartoons, and earlier characters in the MGM cartoon library. It was said to be based on the neighbor of his wife, Myrtis; Butler would speak with said neighbor when visiting North Carolina.

Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear (voiced by

impersonating Ed Norton from ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

'') and his friend Boo Boo Bear (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 ...

) live in Jellystone Park and occasionally try to steal picnic baskets while evading Ranger Smith (also voiced by Don Messick). Yogi also has a relationship with his girlfriend

Cindy Bear Cindy Bear is a cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. She is one of the primary supporting characters of the Yogi Bear franchise as well as a regular in the stable of frequently appearing Hanna-Barbera animated personalities. C ...

(voiced by Julie Bennett).

Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks

Pixie (voiced by

) and Dixie (voiced by

) are two mice who every day end up being chased by a cat named Mr. Jinks (voiced by

impersonating

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

Hokey Wolf

Hokey Wolf (voiced by

impersonating

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

) is a

con-artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

who is always trying to cheat his way to the simple life (much like other Hanna-Barbera characters, Top Cat and Yogi Bear). He is accompanied in this by his diminutive,

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...

-wearing sidekick Ding-A-Ling Wolf (voiced by Doug Young impersonating Buddy Hackett).

Voice cast

- Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Mr. Jinks, Dixie, Hokey Wolf, Narrator, Various *

- Narrator, Boo Boo Bear, Pixie, Ranger Smith, Various * Julie Bennett - Cindy Bear, Various * Doug Young - Ding-A-Ling Wolf, Various Additional Voices *

Bea Benaderet Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that s ...

- Narrator, Various *

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 r ...

- Various * Lucille Bliss - Various *

Red Coffey Merle Herman Coffman, better known by his stage name Red Coffey (April 24, 1923 – August 1, 1988), was an American voice actor and comedian known for playing Quacker in the ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio f ...

- Various * June Foray - Various * Peter Leeds - Narrator, Various *

GeGe Pearson Gege may refer to: *Gege (title), Manchu style of an imperial-born princess of an emperor * Gege, Eswatini, town in Shiselweni, Eswatini * Gégé (footballer) (born 1988), Cape Verdean footballer * Gege Kizubanata (born 1981), Democratic Republic o ...

- Various *

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 ...

- Various * Hal Smith - Various * Ginny Tyler - Various

Credits

* Producers and Directors:

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian ...

and

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

* Voices:

* Story Directors:

Alex Lovy Alexander Lovy (September 2, 1913 – February 14, 1992) was an American animator. He spent the majority of his career as an animator and director at Walter Lantz Productions. He was later a producer at Hanna-Barbera, and also supervised the cart ...

, Paul Sommer, Arthur Davis, John Freeman, Lew Marshall * Story:

Warren Foster Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera. Early life He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Marion B. Fos ...

* Story Sketch: Dan Gordon, Charles Shows * Titles: Lawrence Goble * Musical Director/Composer: Theme Music: Hoyt Curtin * Designer: Frank Tipper * Production Supervisor: Howard Hanson * Animators: Kenneth Muse, Lewis Marshall, Carlo Vinci, Dick Lundy, George Nicholas, Don Patterson, Allen Wilzbach, Ed DeMattia, Manny Perez, Brad Case, Arthur Davis, Ken Southworth, Ken O'Brien, Emil Carle, George Goepper, Don Towsley, Ralph Somerville, C.L. Hartman, John Boersema, Bob Carr, Hicks Lokey, Don Williams, Gerard Baldwin, Ed Parks, Dick Bickenbach, Ed Love, Michael Lah * Layout: Dick Bickenbach, Walter Clinton, Tony Rivera, Ed Benedict, Michael Lah, Paul Sommer, Dan Noonan, Lance Nolley, Jim Carmichael, Jerry Eisenberg, Jack Huber, Sam Weiss * Background: Montealegre, Robert Gentle, Art Lozzi, Richard H. Thomas, Joseph Montell, Vera Hanson, Sam Clayberger, Neenah Maxwell, Frank Tipper

Episodes

Reception

In the film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961), Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) briefly dons a mask of Huckleberry. The name for Rock et Belles Oreilles, a Québécois comedy group popular during the 1980s, was a pun on the name of Huckleberry Hound ("Roquet Belles Oreilles" in French). Australian prison slang vernacular includes "huckleberry hound", a term originated in the 1960s, meaning "a punishment cell, solitary confinement." In January 2009, IGN named ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' as the 63rd best in its "Top 100 Animated TV Shows". In 1960s Hungary, the series - there called ''Foxi Maxi'' - gained an instant following, also among adults. The reason for this was the fact that legendary scriptwriter József Romhányi had penned dialog with his trademark puns and humor, and some of the most popular actors of the day had supplied the voices. Romhányi and some of the same actors later worked on the Hungarian version of ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

''.

Media information

Home media

The episode "Cop and Saucer" was released as a part of the "A Sample of Boomerang" tape, from Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang. On ,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

(via Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) released ''The Huckleberry Hound Show – Volume 1'' for the

Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

, featuring the complete first season of 26 episodes (66 segments) from the series on DVD, all presented remastered and restored. However, the episodes in the Volume 1 DVD set were the edited versions, instead of the uncut and unedited, original network broadcast versions due to expensive licensing issues.

Licensing

The characters from ''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' spawned various product, publishing, and other licensing deals. Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems' record arm, Colpix, released the first Huckleberry Hound album in October 1958, with stuffed animals and games also hawked in record stores. No later than 1961, the characters began appearing "in person" at events across America. Hanna Barbera commissioned costumed characters of Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, and Quick Draw McGraw, which appeared at events like the Florida State Fair. Hanna-Barbera owner

Taft Broadcasting The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the Un ...

started opening theme parks in 1972, beginning with Kings Island. These parks included areas themed to the company's cartoons, and included walk-around characters of Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, and others. The characters were also featured on rides, including carousels. Licensed ''Huckleberry'' products included an

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

-brand Thermos. Books based on the show include: * ''Huckleberry Hound Christmas'', P. Scherr, Golden Press, 25 cents. * ''Huckleberry Hound: The Case of the Friendly Monster'', Ottenheimer Publishers, 1978, 96 pages.
Huckleberry Hound: The Case of the Friendly Monster
' at Google Book Search

References

External links

Huckleberry Hound's Toonopedia entry

*

– Informational site and episode guides on ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''.

– Information and details on ''Huckleberry Hound''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Huckleberry Hound Show, The Huckleberry Hound television series Yogi Bear television series 1950s American animated television series 1960s American animated television series 1950s American anthology television series 1960s American anthology television series 1950s American comedy television series 1960s American comedy television series 1958 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings American children's animated anthology television series American children's animated comedy television series Television series by Hanna-Barbera Television shows adapted into comics First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Animated television series about dogs Television series by Screen Gems Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Circus television shows Emmy Award-winning programs English-language television shows