Tom Slick is the cartoon star of a series of shorts that aired within the half-hour

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

George of the Jungle ''George of the Jungle'' is an American animated television series produced and created by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who also created ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show''. The character George was inspired by the story of Tarzan and a cartoon char ...

'' (

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 ...

, 1967). It was the work of

Jay Ward Productions Jay Ward Productions, Inc. (sometimes shortened to Ward Productions) is an American animation studio based in Costa Mesa, California. It was founded in 1948 by American animator Jay Ward. The Jay Ward Productions library and rights were previou ...

, the creators of

Rocky & Bullwinkle ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC te ...

and other satiric animated characters. Seventeen six-minute episodes were made.

The premise

Freckled, grinning, all-American

racecar Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver Tom Slick (voiced by Bill Scott) competes in various races with his trusty vehicle, the Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Marigold (voiced by

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' ...

) and his elderly mechanic Gertie Growler (also voiced by Bill Scott). The two women do not always get along well. A recurring

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

is the evil Baron Otto Matic (voiced by

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 ...

), and the Baron's stupid lackey Clutcher (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 ...

impersonating

Frank Fontaine Frank Fontaine (April 19, 1920 – August 4, 1978) was an American stage, radio, film and television comedian, singer and actor. Early years and personal life Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fontaine came from a family of entertai ...

as "Crazy Guggenheim" ), whom the Baron has a penchant for hitting across the head with a

monkey wrench The monkey wrench is a type of adjustable wrench, a 19th century American refinement of 18th-century English coach wrenches. It was widely used in the 19th and early 20th century. It is of interest as an antique among tool collectors and is st ...

. A running gag throughout the series is that the Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper can be converted into virtually any type of racing vehicle, often looking nothing like the original vehicle itself. Various episodes show the Grease-Slapper as a train, stock car racer, drag racer, racing balloon, swamp buggy, submarine, even a miniaturized skateboard. As the theme song is sung, Tom's Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper suddenly "hops" out of control off a road and into a barnyard occupied by farm animals. Tom is knocked momentarily unconscious with a chicken sitting on top of his head as he drives straight into a brick wall. But he miraculously gets out of the sudden pandemonium as his car falls apart in mid-air and suddenly falls back together again. The car then jumps onto (and off) a stone monument bearing Tom Slick's name and gets back on the road as Tom waves his hand and smiles. The theme song's lyrics are as follows: : ''Tom Slick'' : ''Tom Slick'' : ''Let me tell you why'' : ''He’s the best of all good guys'' : ''Tom Slick'' : ''Tom Slick'' : ''In the Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper, once he’s on your tail, : ''He won’t quit because you know there’s no such word as "fail" to : ''Tom Slick'' : ''Tom Slick!''

Tom Slick in the comics

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

, ''Tom Slick'' appeared as a backup feature in

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

's two-issue ''George of the Jungle'' title (1969).

Episodes

List of Tom Slick episode titles and dates

References

External links