''That's Cat'' was a children's television show that premiered on Saturday, September 18, 1976.Lee Margulies, "Bright Show for School-Age Set," ''Los Angeles Times'', Sept. 18, 1976. It was both produced by and aired on

KNBC KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network ...

, the

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 ...

owned and operated In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

(O&O) station in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

; it was also syndicated to selected NBC O&O stations. ''That's Cat'' was created by Executive Producer Giovanna Nigro-Chacon who wrote the weekly feature "Grandpa". Ms. Nigro-Chacon also wrote and produced the only special in the series - the hour-long "That's Cat Christmas". She received a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award nomination for her work. The show's first episode credits Susan Cuscuna (co-producer), Perry Krause (co-producer), and Myra Cohen as writers. It starred

Alice Playten Alice Playten (''née'' Plotkin; August 28, 1947 – June 25, 2011) was an American actress known for her high-pitched, child-like voice. Life and career Born in New York City, Playten began her career in 1959 at age 11, playing Marie's young ...

(as "Alice"), Frank Cala (as "Me", a mime), and

Whitman Mayo Whitman Blount Mayo Jr. (November 15, 1930 – May 22, 2001) was an American actor, best known for his role as Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom ''Sanford and Son''. Biography Early years Whitman Blount Mayo Jr. was born in New York ...

(as "Grandpa"). The show interspersed segments involving stories, music, humor, and various learning-centered activities. The word "Cat" in the title is connotatively used in place of "Cool." The show's first episode debuted at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night, a move intended to interest parents. The second episode aired in its regular Sunday morning 8:00 a.m. time slot the following day. That same night, a compilation episode of segments from the first two episodes aired at 6:30 p.m. The show moved to the 7:30 a.m. time slot a few episodes later. Among the more notable features of the first episode was a segment with a song in Spanish; a clip of

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

describing where mustard comes from (likely from a 1970 NBC series ''

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''); and a feature on the importance of garbagemen. The show's theme song ("That's Cat") was sung by

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

, who also sang the theme song to the 1970s TV show

Welcome Back Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the ser ...

, and his son, who echoed the words "That's Cat", during the repeated chorus. The lyrics begin with:

:Hey Pumpkin, come along with me :Been thinkin' 'bout some things to see :Take a look at this and that :We'll find something that's cat :That's Cat - That's Cat :It a-means that you like that! :Like an Indian drum or a kiss from your mom, :or gettin' something under your hat...

Recurring segments on the show included "Can you find 'Me/me' in this picture" ("Me" being "Alice's" sidekick on the show); and a segment where "Grandpa" spoke directly to the camera offering sage advice in a sweet manner to the main character, Alice. The show received a nomination for a 1976 Los Angeles Area Emmy award (for film editor Donn Hoyer). In 1979, a Los Angeles-based consumer group—Coalition on Children and Television—selected the show for an award for excellence."Local Shows Win Awards From Children's Group," ''Los Angeles Times'', March 19, 1979."

References

{{reflist 1976 American television series debuts 1970s American children's television series Year of television series ending missing Local children's television programming in the United States