1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, Hello, 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a show 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,239 Speaker 1: that raises the curtain on everyday history and lets it 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: take a bow. I'm Gabe Lucier and today we're talking 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: about an important milestone in the field of TV animation, 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: The day when Huckleberry Hound won an Emmy. The day 7 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,480 Speaker 1: was June twentieth, nineteen sixty. The Huckleberry Hound Show became 8 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: the first animated TV series to win an Emmy. Created 9 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: by the legendary team of William Hannah and Joseph Barbera, 10 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: the show was the first original all cartoon program developed 11 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: specifically for television. It debuted in syndication in the fall 12 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty eight and was eventually shown on more 13 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: than two two hundred TV stations across the country. By 14 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen sixty, the cartoon canine was drawing 15 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: thirteen million viewers each week, with almost as many adults 16 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: watching as kids. In nineteen forty, a pair of animators 17 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: named William Hannah and Joseph Barbera created the Tom and 18 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: Jerry cartoon series for MGM Studios. The cat and mouse 19 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: duo were a big hit with audiences and critics, and 20 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: the theatrical shorts they starred in went on to win 21 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: seven Academy Awards between nineteen forty three and nineteen fifty three. 22 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: But by the late nineteen fifties the theatrical market for animated 23 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: shorts was quickly disappearing. The rise of television had brought 24 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: many cartoon stars right into the living room, where their 25 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: older shorts were packaged together and aired in blocks as 26 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: children's programming. Airing existing shorts on TV was a low 27 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: cost way to fill out the schedule while the medium 28 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: found its footing, but it had the unfortunate side effect 29 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: of making theatrical cartoons feel a bit less special. Now 30 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,639 Speaker 1: that viewers could watch a string of looney Tune shorts 31 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: back to back at home, many of which they may 32 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: have never seen before, going to watch a new one 33 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: in theaters wasn't as appealing as it used to be. 34 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: The resulting dip in theater attendance was felt across the industry, 35 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: triggering a wave of belt tightening and Hollywood. Many movie 36 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: studios scrambled to cut costs, and in the case of MGM, 37 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: that meant shutting down their cartoons studio. In nineteen fifty seven. 38 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: The abrupt closure led Hannah and Barbera to found their 39 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: own animation studio that same year, But since the demand 40 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: for theatrical shorts was dwindling, they followed the old adage, 41 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: if you can't beat them, join them, and turned their 42 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: attention to television. The pair's first small screen venture was 43 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty seven's The Rough and Red Show. It featured 44 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: duly produced segments starring a clever cat named Rough and 45 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: his brave but dim companion, a dog named Reddy. Due 46 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: to budget constraints, the Rough and Ready shorts didn't fill 47 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: the full half hour time slot. Instead, they were shown 48 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: alongside older Columbia cartoons that had originally screened in theaters. 49 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: Hanna and Barbera were happy to be making cartoons again, 50 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: but they knew that in order for their studio to 51 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: succeed long term, they would have to convince someone to 52 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: buy a half hour program that featured all new animation. 53 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: With that aim in mind, the duo began developing what 54 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: would ultimately become The Huckleberry Hound Show. Network executives were 55 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: skeptical that thirty minutes of animation could be produced on 56 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: a TV budget, but if anyone could do it, it 57 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: was Hannah Barbera with Rough and Ready. They had developed 58 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: a new cost saving technique called limited in animation. The 59 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: idea was to greatly reduce or limit the number of 60 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: drawings needed to complete a full cartoon. As Joseph Barbera 61 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:14,279 Speaker 1: later explained, quote, take the Disney method the old movie method. 62 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: It tried to mirror life. We don't we spoof reality, 63 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: but we don't mirror it. Our characters don't walk from 64 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: a scene, They whiz that way. Movements that took twenty 65 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: four drawings under the old movie system take us four. 66 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: We just keep the story moving. Thanks to this somewhat 67 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,559 Speaker 1: controversial approach, the studio was able to produce a half 68 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: hour episode for less than three thousand dollars, a rate 69 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: so reasonable that Kellogg's Serials quickly signed on as Huckleberry's sponsor. 70 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: The show was a hit with executives at Screen Gems, 71 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: the TV division of Columbia Pictures, so they secured the 72 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: rights and rolled it out in syndication in the fall 73 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty eight. The show aired on different days 74 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: and different cities, but it was generally scheduled in the 75 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: early evening near prime time. The Huckleberry Hound Show followed 76 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: a format used by countless other children's programs of the era. 77 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: The bulk of its run time was devoted to several 78 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: standalone cartoon shorts, and the transitions between them were handled 79 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: by an on screen host. But while other shows employed 80 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: live actors and costumes for their MC's, Hannah Barbara bucked 81 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: this trend by making the host of their cartoon show 82 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: a cartoon himself. As the name made clear, the star 83 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,919 Speaker 1: of the show was Huckleberry Hound, a dapper blue dog 84 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: with a laid back attitude and a Southern drawl. A 85 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: true cartoon actor in the tradition of Mickey Mouse and 86 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: Bugs Bunny, Huck's shorts saw him tackling a variety of 87 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: careers across all different settings and time periods. One short 88 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: would cast him as a night in a fairy tale kingdom, 89 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 1: another as a sheriff in the old and on one 90 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: particularly confusing occasion, he even took on the role of 91 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: dog catcher in a modern city. Most shorts followed Huckleberry's 92 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: well intentioned yet bumbling attempts to perform his new duties, 93 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: but no matter what obstacles he encountered, including his recurring villain, 94 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: powerful Pierre, Huck kept his relaxed, friendly composure and always 95 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: came out on top in the end. As one of 96 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 1: the show's head writers, Warren Foster once explained, quote, He's 97 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: a sort of Tennessee type guy who never gets mad 98 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: no matter how much he is outraged. He is the 99 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: fall guy, and a large part of his humor is 100 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: the way he shrugs off his misfortunes. To Huck, nobody 101 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,359 Speaker 1: is really bad. A large part of the character's amiable 102 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: appeal came from veteran voice actor Dawes Butler. Many people 103 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: assumed he was imitating the folksy drawl of comedian Andy Griffith, 104 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: but in reality, Butler had already developed and used his 105 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: voice for more than a decade before Griffith rose to prominence. 106 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 1: He had performed it for a slew of characters in 107 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: the MGM Cartoon Library, and had even used it for 108 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: the dog character in The Rough and Ready Show one 109 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: year before Huckleberry Hound's debut. Once Huck arrived on the scene, 110 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: though the voice would be forever his. In fact, one 111 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,239 Speaker 1: of the character's trademarks was his oddly endearing tone deaf 112 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: rendition of oh my Darling, Clementine, take a listen, ahmadarn 113 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: ahmadarn ahmad. Voice work had never been a key feature 114 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: of Hannah and Barbara's theatrical shorts. Tom and Jerry were 115 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: able to remain perfectly silent because the lavish visuals and 116 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: lively music of their shorts was more than enough to 117 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: keep audiences enthralled. But cartoons made for TV were a 118 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: different story. The need for lower budgets and faster production 119 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: times had led to the use of limited animation, which 120 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: meant that frantic action scenes and lively soundtracks to accompany 121 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: them were off the table. Instead, creators had to rely 122 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: more on sharp scripts and funny voices to get laughs. 123 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: Hannah barbera producer Art Scott, explained the change this way. 124 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: Because of time and budget, we couldn't use a lot 125 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: of animation, so we borrowed from radio the concept of 126 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: using a lot of jokes and satire. The characters created 127 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: were more like stand up comics than slapstick clowns. That's 128 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: why the voices were so important. Huckleberry Hound did all 129 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: the introductions, commercials, and transitions on his show, but his 130 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: voice wasn't the only one that viewers tuned in for 131 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: in order to make scripting easier than to keep the 132 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: audience from getting tired of Huck's routine. The show consisted 133 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: of three separate cartoon segments, only the last of which 134 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: starred Huck himself. The first segment belonged to Pixie and Dixie, 135 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: a pair of mice who squared off against a spiteful 136 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,679 Speaker 1: cat named mister Jinks. But the real show stealer was 137 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: the middle segment, which followed none other than Yogi Bear 138 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:14,599 Speaker 1: in his Little Buddy Booboo. Yogi proved so popular that 139 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: he was eventually spun off into his own show, at 140 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: which point his spot was filled on Huck's Show by 141 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: the far less memorable Hokey Wolf DAWs. Butler pulled triple 142 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: duty on the series, voicing Huckleberry, Yogi, and Dixie, while 143 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: the voices of Pixie and Booboo were supplied by Don Messick, 144 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: another mainstay of the Hannah Barbara studio. Following its successful 145 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: second season, the Huckleberry Hound Show made history at the 146 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,439 Speaker 1: twelfth Annual Emmy Awards in nineteen sixty It became the 147 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: first TV cartoon to win the award for Outstanding Children's Program, 148 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: and it did so against some pretty stiff competition. Not 149 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: only did Huck best another cartoon character, fellow Hannah barbers 150 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: star QuickDraw McGraw, he also beat out three perennial live 151 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: action favorites, Mister Wizard, Captain Kangaroo, and Lassie. The Huckleberry 152 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: Hound Show was nominated for an Emmy again the following year, 153 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: but it lost to a live action children's concert. It 154 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,319 Speaker 1: took until nineteen sixty six for another animated program to 155 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,959 Speaker 1: win the award, and even then it went to a 156 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: holiday special, but Charlie Brown Christmas, rather than an ongoing series. 157 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,839 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty two, The Huckleberry Hound Show went into 158 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: permanent reruns, having produced just shy of seventy episodes and 159 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: nearly two hundred original shorts. By that point, Yogi Bear 160 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: had eclipsed his former co star, and for the next 161 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: several decades, Huckleberry Hound was relegated to supporting player status 162 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: in Hanna Barbera's growing cartoon stable. He made regular appearances 163 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,319 Speaker 1: in a number of Yogi centric projects, but wouldn't claim 164 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: top billing again until nineteen eighty seven, when he played 165 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: the lead role in the made for TV movie The Good, 166 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: The Bad, and Huckleberry Hound. Since then, hucks appearances have 167 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: been mostly limited to cameos, another throwback series, and ad campaigns, 168 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,679 Speaker 1: and while he's probably not on the short list for 169 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: a big budget CGI comeback, Hollywood may get there eventually, 170 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: although after the fiasco that was the Yogi Bear movie, 171 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 1: maybe not. I'm Gay, Blues Gay, and hopefully you now 172 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 173 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: If you'd like to keep up with the show, you 174 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI 175 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:49,439 Speaker 1: HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 176 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:51,959 Speaker 1: feel free to send him my way by writing to 177 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,960 Speaker 1: this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Kasby Bias 178 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 179 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 180 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: in History Class.