''King Leonardo and His Short Subjects'' (also known as ''The King and Odie Show'') is an American Saturday-morning

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

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from October 15, 1960 to December 23, 1961; the original ''Short Subjects'' package last aired on the network on September 28, 1963, when new segments of ''The King & Odie'' and ''The Hunter'' aired as part of ''

Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales ''Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' is an animated television series that originally aired Saturday mornings on CBS from 1963 to 1966 as one of the earliest Saturday morning cartoons. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that pro ...

''. The show was initially sponsored by

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

. It was produced by Total Television Productions and Leonardo Productions, named after the main character, and has been referred to as the second original color Saturday-morning cartoon program after "

The Ruff and Reddy Show ''The Ruff and Reddy Show'' (also known as ''Ruff and Reddy'') is an American animated television series produced by H-B Enterprises for NBC. It has been referred to as the earliest original color Saturday-morning cartoon, following " Mighty ...

". Leonardo Productions was actually Producers Associates for Television, aka P.A.T.

Plot

The show focuses on Leonardo Lion (voiced by

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts. Early years Beck was born on July 23, ...

), the well-meaning but often inept king of Bongo Congo, a fictional African nation notable for its

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

. King Leonardo is assisted in all things by a calm, competent skunk named Odie Cologne (a play on ''

Eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne") or simply cologne is a perfume originating in Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a gene ...

'') or "Odie O. Cologne" (voiced by

Allen Swift Ira J. Stadlen (January 16, 1924 – April 18, 2010), known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American actor, writer and magician, best known as a voiceover artist who voiced cartoon characters Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the ' ...

impersonating

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

). Odie, the one who really keeps the kingdom on an even keel, has been by the king's side since they were children. King Leonardo's main archenemy is the

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

-type character Biggy Rat (voiced by Jackson Beck impersonating Edward G. Robinson), who routinely attempts to overthrow Leonardo and take over Bongo Congo for himself, with Leonardo's dimwitted sibling Itchy Brother (voiced by Allen Swift) being his

puppet king A puppet ruler is someone who holds a title of political authority, but is loyal to or controlled by outside persons or groups. When a foreign government wields such outside control, the puppet ruler's territory is referred to as a puppet state. ...

. On occasion, Biggy and Itchy are assisted by an evil German inventor named Professor Messer (voiced by Jackson Beck). Biggy and Itchy's schemes always end with them either landing in the dungeon or escaping. Episodes of ''The King and Odie'' that were exclusive to ''

'' feature Biggy Rat and Itchy Brother employed by Mr. Mad (voiced by

Norman Rose Norman Rose (June 23, 1917 – November 12, 2004) was an American actor, film narrator and radio announcer whose velvety baritone was often called "the Voice of God" by colleagues. He was best known as the narrator's voice in the fictitious coffee ...

), a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

with a domineering personality. Mr. Mad has his own plans for Bongo Congo and indulges in his diabolical studies of behavior where he collected different types of people whilst lacking a King for his studies. Mr. Mad also threatened to throw Biggy and Itchy in "The Room" which contains unseen stuff that frightens both of them should they fail him. When his schemes fail, Mr. Mad disappears "as if by magic" before he can be apprehended.

Other segments

Each half-hour episode of ''King Leonardo'' consisted of five animated segments. Each half-hour included a two-part ''King and Odie'' episode, with other characters featured in between: * ''

Tooter Turtle ''Tooter Turtle'' is an American animated series, animated television series about a turtle which first appeared on TV in 1960, as a segment of the ''King Leonardo and His Short Subjects'' program. "Tooter Turtle" debuted on NBC, on Saturday, Oct ...

'': The adventures of a

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

(voiced by

) who has Mr. Wizard the Lizard (voiced by Sandy Becker) transport him to various settings, only to realize he was better off at home after all. When Tooter was trapped in a situation he couldn't get out of, he would call to the wizard, who sent him home with this incantation: "Drizzle drazzle druzzle drome, time for this one to come home." * ''The Hunter'': A Southern-accented, crime-fighting

bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, rabbits, and since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

(voiced by Kenny Delmar, reprising his

Senator Claghorn Senator Beauregard Claghorn was a popular fictional radio character on the " Allen's Alley" segment of ''The Fred Allen Show'', beginning in 1945. Succeeding the vaguely similar but much less popular Senator Bloat from the earliest "Allen's Alley ...

voice from ''

The Fred Allen Show ''The Fred Allen Show'' was a long-running American old-time radio, radio comedy program starring comedian Fred Allen and his wife Portland Hoffa. Over the course of the program's 17-year run, it was sponsored by Linit Bath Soaps, Hellmann's and ...

'') chases after a criminal fox named The Fox (voiced by Ben Stone). The Fox would often commit a scheme which always ends with him being apprehended in the end. Another segment of the original ''King Leonardo'' show was ''Twinkles'', an orange elephant who served as the mascot of Twinkles Cereal, a product of the show's chief sponsor,

. The 90-second ''Twinkles'' segments continued to air in syndication during the 1960s, and were presented in a 15-minute format under the title ''The King and Odie'' with George S. Irving narrating each segment. It later phased out after a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

character replaced the elephant as the cereal's mascot. The segments also appeared during some NBC network rebroadcasts of ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

''. The ''Twinkles'' segments were not included when ''King Leonardo And His Short Subjects'' was syndicated in a half-hour format during the 1980s. Early in the series'

run, selected

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

theatrical cartoons were aired on the program, some featuring The Fox and the Crow and

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' was a satirical American comic strip that appeared in multiple newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies living in the impoverished fictional mountain village of Dogpatch, ...

; these shorts were added to fill time when production of the early shows was delayed. The Columbia cartoons were featured during NBC showings of

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

's ''

'', but not included in subsequent syndicated versions of the series. The animation for the show's early segments was produced by TV Spots, with later episodes by Gamma Productions, the same Mexican studio that did much of the work for

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. As of 2022, the studio was headed by Ward's daughter, Ti ...

. For this reason, and due to shared sponsorship by General Mills, Gamma has often been associated with both

Total Television Total TeleVision productions was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover, Joe Harris, and Treadwell D. Covington. They were executives in the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample who had the a ...

and

. TV Spots was primarily a producer of animated commercials, but also was contracted for some segments of '' Rocky and His Friends'' for Jay Ward Productions.

Later appearances

After ''King Leonardo and his Short Subjects'' ended, one season of new segments of "The King and Odie" and "The Hunter" continued to be produced and aired on Total TV's ''

'' from September 1963 to March 1964. The following year, Total TV launched its most popular series, ''

''. When ''Underdog'' premiered in 1964, it featured repeats of ''The Hunter'', while ''The Hunter's'' former spot on the ''Tennessee Tuxedo'' program was filled by repeats of ''Tooter Turtle''. In reruns, Total Television shorts often have been packaged alongside Jay Ward cartoons. Despite similar limited-animation styles, they were two separate studios. The animation for both studios was done by a small startup company called Gamma Productions; hence, the similar "look." ''King Leonardo'', despite its earlier episodes repackaged for syndication as ''The King and Odie'' during the mid-1960s, never attained the popularity of Total Television's other series, ''Underdog'' and ''Tennessee Tuxedo'', and is rarely seen on television today. Beginning in 2006, the

Black Family Channel Black Family Channel (launched in 1999 as MBC Network) was an American cable television network which featured programming aimed at African-American audiences. The network's schedule included a variety of programs including religious programs, spo ...

aired this show on its ''BFC Kids TV'' programming block until the channel's demise a year later. The characters of this show were also featured in an eight-issue comic book produced by

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

and Gold Key. Currently, select episodes of ''The King & Odie'', ''The Hunter'', and ''Tooter Turtle'' are showcased as part of a 1996 ''

'' syndication package distributed by Golden Books, which currently airs on

MeTV Toons MeTV Toons is an American broadcast television network owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on June 25, 2024, as a spin-off of MeTV, the network's programming mainly consists of classic an ...

Episodes

Cast

– King Leonardo, Biggy Rat, Professor Messer *

– Odie Cologne, Itchy Brother, Duke, Earl, Tooter Turtle, Narrator ("The King and Odie") * Sandy Becker – Mr. Wizard * Kenny Delmar – The Hunter, Narrator ("The Hunter") * Ben Stone – The Fox, Officer Flim Flanigan, Horace *

– Mr. Mad, Narrator (several 1963-64 episodes of "The King and Odie") * Delo States – various female and children's voices * George S. Irving – Narrator ("Twinkles"), various voices * Frank Milano – Mr. Wizard ("Taxi Turtle", "Bull Fright", "Vaudevillain", "Rod and Reeling or (Field & Scream)") * Mort Marshall

References

External links

''King Leonardo'' at Big Cartoon Database

* {{Children's programming on NBC in the 1960s 1960s American animated television series 1960s American children's comedy television series 1960 American animated television series debuts 1963 American television series endings American English-language television shows General Mills Total Television Animated characters American children's animated comedy television series Animated television series about lions Children's television series about talking animals NBC animated television series Television series about kings Animated television series set in Africa Fictional skunks