1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,319 Speaker 1: a show that unmasks history one day at a time. 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Louzier, and today we're celebrating the birth of 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 1: a pup name Scooby Doo. His rise to cartoon stardom 6 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:22,960 Speaker 1: wasn't as clear cut as you might expect, So grab 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: yourself some Scooby Snacks and will unravel his mysterious origin together. 8 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: The day was September nineteen sixty nine. The cartoon series 9 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: Scooby Doo, Where Are You? Aired for the first time 10 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: on CBS. The show introduced viewers to the cowardly great 11 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: Dane Scooby Doo and the rest of the Mystery Inc Crew, 12 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: Fred Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy. The original series ran for 13 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: two seasons and produced a total of twenty five episodes, 14 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: which were originally aired on Saturday mornings. The concept and 15 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: character proved so popular that they were eventually spun off 16 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 1: into a host of other cartoon series, as well as movies, 17 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: video games, theme park attractions, and a plethora of merchandise 18 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: tie ins. Today, more than fifty years later, the Scooby 19 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,479 Speaker 1: Doo franchise is still going strong, outlasting both its creators 20 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: and the studio that made it. No TV series is 21 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: created in a vacuum, but Scooby Doo in particular was 22 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: a direct response to the times in which it was made. 23 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 1: In the late nineteen sixties, the United States was in 24 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: the midst of unprecedented political and social strife. From the 25 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: Vietnam War to the assassination of MLK to civil rights 26 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: protests in the streets. There were signs of violence and 27 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: division everywhere you looked. The reporting of these traumatic news 28 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: events led many American viewers to question their Emiley's media 29 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: diet for the first time. They began to notice that 30 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: it wasn't just the news that was getting more violent. 31 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 1: Scripted dramas, and even children's programming, We're getting more brutal 32 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: as well. The tipping point came in June of nineteen 33 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: sixty eight, when New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. 34 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,519 Speaker 1: Just a few hours after Kennedy was shot, President Lyndon B. 35 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: Johnson established a National Commission on the Causes and Prevention 36 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: of Violence. Faced with pressure both from the government's investigation 37 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: and from media watchdog groups, TV networks and studios pledged 38 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: to tone down the violent content. They promised that by 39 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixty nine season, their schedules would focus less 40 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: on action and more on music, comedy, and other forms 41 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: of family friendly programming. Particular care was given to show's 42 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: aim towards children. Some action adventure cartoons remained on the air, 43 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,119 Speaker 1: but studios like Hannah Barbera began developing new, more comedic 44 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: series that didn't rely on superheroes, spies, or aliens. Enter 45 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: Scooby Doo, a show about a friendly group of teens 46 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: and their dog, solving mysteries and bringing bad guys to justice, 47 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: not with their fists, but with their wits. The original 48 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: concept for the show was developed by TV producer Fred 49 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: Silverman and was closely patterned after CBS's filmation cartoon The 50 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: Archie Show that was the breakout series of the nineteen 51 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: eight season, showcasing the Riverdale teens from Archie Comics as 52 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: a bubblegum pop band, complete with a large sheep dog 53 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: mascot named hot Dog. Silverman sought to copy much of 54 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: that dynamic for his own show, except with a spooky 55 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: horror twist. In his initial conception, the main characters were 56 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: a traveling band who would make their way across the 57 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: country in a big van called the Mystery Machine. Each 58 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: episode would find the band performing at a different venue, 59 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: only to be sidetracked by some kind of mystery that 60 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: only they could solve. Silverman pitched the idea to Hannah Barbera, 61 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: and while the studio accepted the proposal, they also had 62 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: a few notes. The main concern was that the show 63 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: as described was too scary and didn't have enough potential 64 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: for comedy. To solve the problem, the studio handed the 65 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,039 Speaker 1: reins of development to Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, a 66 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: pair of cartoon writers who were tasked with retooling the 67 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 1: show to make it more comedic and less frightening. At first, 68 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: the duo kept the idea of a touring band composed 69 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: of four teens and a large talking dog. The band 70 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,480 Speaker 1: and the show itself went by the name Mysteries five 71 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: that implied equal billing for each member of the band, 72 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: but at the time the dog character, a sheep dog 73 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: named too Much who played the bongos, was only written 74 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: as a sidekick, not a lead player. Somewhere along the way, 75 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: it was decided that the concept is a little too 76 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: close to the Archie show, right down to the dog breed. 77 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: With that in mind, Ruby and Spears dropped the rock 78 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: band element and brought the mystery component to the forefront. 79 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: They also shifted focus to the two funniest members of 80 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: the crew, Shaggy, who was patterned after a beat Nick, 81 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: and his cowardly canine companion, who had been changed from 82 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: a sheep dog to a great dane. One of the 83 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: final pieces of the puzzle was supplied by Fred Silverman. 84 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: All of the human characters had undergone a name change 85 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: during the show's development, and Silverman thought too much the 86 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: dog needed a new name as well. Inspiration apparently struck 87 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: during a red eye flight to Los Angeles when Silverman 88 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: just couldn't fall asleep. According to him, quote, as we're landing, 89 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra comes on the p A and I hear 90 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: him say Scooby Dooby Doo. I said, that's it. We'll 91 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: call it Scooby Doo. Silverman is, of course referring to 92 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,679 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra's song Strangers in the Night, though it's worth 93 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: noting that Sinatra actually sings Doobie, not Scooby. But again, 94 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,799 Speaker 1: it was a red eye flight after he landed, Silverman 95 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: suggested calling the dogs Scooby Doo and making him the 96 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: main character of the show. The studio agreed, and at 97 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: last all the pieces were in place. On Saturday morning, 98 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:28,599 Speaker 1: September nineteen sixty nine at ten o'clock am, Scooby Doo, 99 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: Where Are You aired it's very first episode. The perpetually 100 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: Scared Scooby Doo or Schubert if you want to get formal, 101 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: was joined by a team of four inquisitive teenagers. There 102 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: was Fred, the straight arrow leader, Daphne, the enthusiastic but 103 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:50,239 Speaker 1: clumsy beauty, Velma, the bookish detective, and Shaggy, the laid 104 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: back pal of Scooby Doo who always had a case 105 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: of the munchies. Together these amateur sleuths made up the 106 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: team of Mystery Ink, which traveled from one creepy location 107 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 1: to the next, and their trademark Mystery Machine, a holdover 108 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: from the touring band concept. Each episode, the teens investigated 109 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: supposedly supernatural sightings, but inevitably the witches, monsters and ghosts 110 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: always turned out to be a greedy human in disguise. 111 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: After laying out the villain's fiendish plan at the end, 112 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: of the episode, which typically involved scaring someone away for 113 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: the sake of money, the teens would unmask their foe, 114 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 1: proving to the locals and to the young viewers at 115 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: home that there's no such thing as monsters. At that point, 116 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: the only thing left to do was for the captured 117 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: criminal to deliver one of the show's most enduring catchphrases, 118 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: something to the effect of I would have gotten away 119 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: with it if it weren't for you, meddling kids. The 120 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: design of the main characters was the work of Japanese 121 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: American artist Ewow Takamoto, a former Disney animator who joined 122 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: Hanna Barbera in nineteen sixty one. One of his first 123 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: jobs for the studio had been to design Astro, the 124 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: talking family dog of the Jetsons. That made him a 125 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: natural choice when it came time to perfect the look 126 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: of Scooby, not to mention his human pals, Takamoto took 127 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: an unusual approach to the assignment by first studying the 128 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: anatomy of a great Dane and then drawing the opposite. 129 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: As he later told Cartoon Network Quote, there was a 130 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: lady that bred great Danes at Hannah Barbera. She showed 131 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: me some pictures and talked about the important points of 132 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,200 Speaker 1: a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small 133 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: chin and such. I decided to go the opposite and 134 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: gave him a humpback, bowed legs, big chin and such. 135 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: Even his color is wrong. Takamoto reasoned that those changes 136 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: would make the dog funnier and also more distinct from 137 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: other Great Dane characters, such as comic strip star Marmaduke. 138 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: Once the look of the characters had been finalized, Hannah 139 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: Barbera hired a cast of voice actors to bring the 140 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: designs to life. For the role of Scooby Doo, the 141 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: studio turned to their resident dog guy, Don Messick, who 142 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: also supplied the voice of canine characters like Astro and Muttley. 143 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: Scooby Scarity cat partner Shaggy was voiced by Casey Caysum, 144 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: a popular Michigan DJ who was eager to expand into 145 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: voice acting. Velma was played by Nicole Jaffee, a Canadian 146 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: actress who never returned a voice over work after the role. 147 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: The character of Daphne was voiced by Stephanieanna Christofferson for 148 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,319 Speaker 1: the first season, and by soap opera actress Heather North 149 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 1: during the second season. Lastly, the part of Fred went 150 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: to Frank Welker. He was an unknown talent at the time, 151 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: with Fred being his first major voice acting role, but 152 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: in the decades that followed, Welker became a living legend 153 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: of his industry and one of the most prolific too. 154 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: At the time of recording, Welker has just under nine 155 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: hundred different credits to his name, includeing a ton of 156 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 1: animal characters and even a couple transforming robots like the 157 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: original sound Wave and Megatron. Frank Welker has also continued 158 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: to voice Fred in nearly every series since the original 159 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: Scooby Doo, and as of two thousand two, he's taken 160 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: over as the voice of Scooby as well. Of course, 161 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: we can't talk about the sound of Scooby Doo without 162 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: mentioning it's iconic theme song. Arguably one of the most 163 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: famous in cartoon history. It was written by Ben Raleigh 164 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: and David Mook and was performed by Larry Marks during 165 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,079 Speaker 1: the first season and by Austin Roberts during the second. 166 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: Here's a clip from the first season, where aren't you 167 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: we got some work now? Scooby Dooby Doo Where Are You? 168 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: With its not too scary storylines and slapstick comedy galore, 169 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: Scooby Doo Where Are You was an instant hit with 170 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: its target audience. The show was quickly picked up for 171 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: a second season and then continued to air reruns throughout 172 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: nineteen one. A year later, the characters returned in a 173 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 1: new hour long show called The New Scooby Doo Movies. 174 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,239 Speaker 1: Each episode saw the gang joined by a different celebrity 175 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,079 Speaker 1: guest star, such as the Harlem Globe Trotters, The Three Stooges, 176 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: and Batman and Robin. The show proved to be the 177 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: first of many sequel series for the Scooby Doo franchise. 178 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: More than a dozen other series would eventually follow, as 179 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: well as a number of TV specials, three theatrical films, 180 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: and nearly forty direct to video films as of two. 181 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: It's remarkable that a cartoon created in response to the 182 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 1: political and social shifts of the nineteen sixties has remained 183 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: relevant and profitable for more than half a century. But 184 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:57,679 Speaker 1: with the spooky season upon us once again, now is 185 00:11:57,720 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 1: the perfect time to catch up with Scooby in the 186 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,439 Speaker 1: and discover their appeal all over again, there is definitely 187 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: no shortage of mysteries to choose from, but I do 188 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: recommend avoiding anything featuring Scooby's pint sized nephew, scrappy Dude. 189 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: The less said about that guy, the better. I'm Gabe 190 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 1: Lousier and hopefully you now know a little more about 191 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you want to 192 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: keep up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 193 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,839 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 194 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can always send 195 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: them my way at this Day at I heart media 196 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler May's for producing the show, 197 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 198 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in History class.