# Heathcliff (1980 TV series)

Heathcliff is a half-hour Saturday morning animated series based on the Heathcliff comic strip created by George Gately and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It premiered on ABC on October 4, 1980, with a total of 26 episodes produced under the titles Heathcliff and Dingbat and Heathcliff and Marmaduke.

## History

The series began production on November 10, 1979.
The first season, called Heathcliff and Dingbat, ran for 13 episodes and included backup segments with Dingbat and the Creeps, who were created for the show.
Dingbat and the Creeps revolved around the adventures of three monstrous characters who were self-employed as "Odd Jobs, Inc." which consisted of Dingbat, a vampire dog who used a bat-shaped novelty straw to eat most foods; Sparerib, a strangely rotund skeleton with the ability to change himself into useful items (such as a floor lamp, which he did in the opening credits); and Nobody, a gravelly-voiced jack-o-lantern who led the team and often found them various work.
The second season, called Heathcliff and Marmaduke, ran for 13 episodes and featured backup segments with fellow comic strip character Marmaduke (although the Marmaduke segments are actually the first to be seen in each half-hour show).
Reruns of the second season (Heathcliff and Marmaduke) were seen occasionally on Boomerang and are sometimes seen on MeTV Toons.
In 1983, NBC reran the show as a segment on Thundarr the Barbarian reruns.
Two years after this show ended, another one based on Heathcliff was produced by DIC Entertainment, which was called simply Heathcliff, although for distinction this series is usually referred to by the expanded title of Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats.
Dingbat has appeared as a cameo in a Yogi Bear comic with many Hanna-Barbera animal characters captured. He was the only Ruby-Spears character there.

## Cast

* Mel Blanc as Heathcliff, Spike, Mr. Nutmeg, Mr. Schultz, Milkman
* Henry Corden as Clem, Digby, Dogcatcher, Officer Casey
* June Foray as Iggy, Muggsy, Mrs. Nutmeg, Sonja, Marcy
* Don Messick as Sparerib, Nobody, Mr. Post, Mr. Snyder
* Russi Taylor as Barbie Winslow, Billy Winslow, Dottie Winslow
* Frank Welker as Dingbat
* Paul Winchell as Marmaduke, Phil Winslow

### Additional voices

* Takayo Doran – (season 1)
* Clare Peck – (season 1)
* Marilyn Schreffler – (seasons 1 & 2)
* Judy Strangis – (season 1)
* Janet Waldo – (season 1)
* Alan Dinehart – (season 2)
* Avery Schreiber – (season 2)
* Hal Smith – (season 2)

## Episodes
### Season 1: Heathcliff and Dingbat (1980)

Each episode consists of two 5-minute Heathcliff cartoons and two 5-minute "Dingbat and the Creeps" cartoons.
| Nº | Heathcliff | Dingbat and the Creeps | Air date |
| 1 | Feline Fugitive / Doggone Dogcatcher | Football Flunkies / Lumbering Loonies | October 4, 1980 (1980-10-04) |
| 2 | The Watchcat / Pumping Irony | It's a Snow Job for a Creep / Knutty Knights | October 11, 1980 (1980-10-11) |
| 3 | Great Cop 'n Cat Chase / Milk Run Mayhem | Heir Today Gone Tomorrow / U.F. Oafs | October 18, 1980 (1980-10-18) |
| 4 | Mascot Rumble / Heathcliff of Sherwood Forest | Safari Saps / Prized Pooch | October 25, 1980 (1980-10-25) |
| 5 | Angling Anglers / Cake Flakes | Health Nutz / Retail Ruckus | November 1, 1980 (1980-11-01) |
| 6 | The Mouse Trapper / Lion Around the House | Window Washouts / Door to Door Sales Creeps | November 8, 1980 (1980-11-08) |
| 7 | Robinson Cruise Ho / Heathcliff & the Sleeping Beauty | Creep Crop Crack-ups / Nautical Noodnicks | November 15, 1980 (1980-11-15) |
| 8 | Gold-Digger Daze / Hives | Batty Boo-ticians / Carnival Cut-ups | November 22, 1980 (1980-11-22) |
| 9 | Rodeo Dough / Pinocchio Rides Again | Bungling Baby Sitters / Treasure Haunts | November 29, 1980 (1980-11-29) |
| 10 | Cat In The Beanstalk / The Great Chase | LeMans-ter Rally / Beach Blanket Bozos | December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06) |
| 11 | Kitty a la Carte / Mystery Loves Company | French Fried Fracas / Showbiz Shenanigans | December 13, 1980 (1980-12-13) |
| 12 | Red Hot Riding Hooded Heathcliff / The Great Milk Factory Fracas | Service Station Screwballs / No News Is Ghoul News | December 20, 1980 (1980-12-20) |
| 13 | Star Trick / The Big Fish Story | Detective Ding-a-Lings / High Flying Fools | December 27, 1980 (1980-12-27) |

### Season 2: Heathcliff and Marmaduke (1981)

Each episode consists of a 6-minute Heathcliff cartoon sandwiched between two 6-minute Marmaduke cartoons. Scatman Crothers sang its theme song. It competed with The Smurfs on NBC.
| Nº | Marmaduke | Heathcliff | Marmaduke | Air date |
| 1 | Home Run Rover | Gator Go Round | Play Grounded | September 12, 1981 (1981-09-12) |
| 2 | Missy Miseque | Crazy Daze | Shuttle Off to Buffalo | September 19, 1981 (1981-09-19) |
| 3 | Wish Bones | Caught Cat Napping | Wondermutt | September 26, 1981 (1981-09-26) |
| 4 | Gone with the Whim | Dud Boat | Seagoing Watchdog | October 3, 1981 (1981-10-03) |
| 5 | Beach Brawl | Of Mice and Menace | Tricky Treat | October 10, 1981 (1981-10-10) |
| 6 | Ghostly Goof Up | A Briefcase of Cloak and Dagger | Fret Vet | October 17, 1981 (1981-10-17) |
| 7 | Bearly Camping | Tabby and the Pirate | Gold Fever Fracas | October 24, 1981 (1981-10-24) |
| 8 | Police Pooch | Mush Heathcliff Mush | Bone to Pick with Marmaduke | October 31, 1981 (1981-10-31) |
| 9 | Surburden Cowboy | A Close Encounter | Marmaduke of the Movies | November 7, 1981 (1981-11-07) |
| 10 | Baby Sitting Shenanigans | A New Kit on the Block | Kitty Sitter | November 14, 1981 (1981-11-14) |
| 11 | Leapin' Leprechaun | Clon'en Around | School Daze | November 21, 1981 (1981-11-21) |
| 12 | Caper Cracker | Cat Kit | Barking for Dollars | November 28, 1981 (1981-11-28) |
| 13 | The Lemonade Kid | The Great Milk Factory Fracas (repeat from Dingbat) | Double Trouble Maker | December 5, 1981 (1981-12-05) |

## Home media

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection in August 2012. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively in the US and only through Warner's online store or Amazon.com.