The Huckleberry Hound Show

***The Huckleberry Hound Show*** is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following *The Ruff and Reddy Show*. The show first aired in first-run syndication on September 29, 1958, and was sponsored by Kellogg's. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound, another starring Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo, and a third with Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, which starred two mice who in each short found a new way to outwit the cat Mr. Jinks.

The *Yogi Bear* segment of the show became extremely popular, and as a result, it spawned its own series in 1961. A segment featuring Hokey Wolf and Ding-A-Ling was added, replacing *Yogi* during the 1960–61 season. The show contributed to making Hanna-Barbera a household name, and is often credited with legitimizing the concept of animation produced specifically for television. In 1960, it became the first animated program to be honored with an Emmy Award.

## Background/production

### Conception and development

Joseph Barbera went to Chicago to pitch the program to Kellogg's executives through their ad agency, Leo Burnett. "I had never sold a show before because I didn't have to. If we got an idea, we just made it, for over twenty years. All of a sudden, I'm a salesman, and I'm in a room with forty-five people staring at me, and I'm pushing Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear and 'the Meeces', and they bought it."

Barbera once recalled about Daws Butler's voice acting versatility:

### Format

The series featured three seven-minute cartoons, animated specifically for television. The first always starred Huckleberry, the next two featured other characters.

### Distribution

The show was originally intended to part a line-up of kid programmes sponsored by Kellogg and broadcast on ABC-TV, joining *Woody Woodpecker*, *Superman* and *Wild Bill Hickok* in an early evening, weekday line-up. However, Kellogg's agency, Leo Burnett, decided instead to syndicate the show and buy air time on individual stations. The show was originally distributed by Screen Gems, which held a part-ownership of Hanna-Barbera at the time, over 150 stations. In April 1967, Screen Gems announced the show had been released from advertiser control, and would be made available to stations on a syndicated basis with available bridges to create 92 half-hour shows.

The distribution was later passed to Worldvision Enterprises, after it became a sister company to Hanna-Barbera. It was later distributed by Turner Program Services, after Turner's purchase of Hanna-Barbera; current distributor Warner Bros. Television picked up ownership of the show following the 1996 acquisition of Turner by parent company, Time Warner.

### Original Airing

The show was not broadcast on the same day of the week, or the same time, in every city; airing depended on the deal for time that the Leo Burnett Agency brokered with individual stations. However, the first time the Huck series appeared on television was on Monday, September 29, 1958; it was seen at 6 p.m. on WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which also served Battle Creek, home of Kellogg cereals. Another of the stations airing it that day was WLWI in Indianapolis (at 6:30 p.m.) The show debuted on other days that same week in other cities; Huck originally aired in Los Angeles on Tuesdays, Chicago on Wednesdays and New York City on Thursdays. The show first aired in Canada on Thursday, October 2, 1958 at 7 p.m. on CKLW-TV in Windsor, Ontario.

## Plot and characters

Each of the three segments featured one or two main characters acting as a duo, and numerous one-off or supporting characters.

### Huckleberry Hound

Main article: Huckleberry Hound

Huck's voice was one that Butler had already developed and used in earlier work, such as Reddy in *The Ruff and Reddy Show*, Smedley the Dog in Chilly Willy cartoons, and earlier characters in the MGM cartoon library. It was said to be based on the neighbor of his wife, Myrtis; Butler would speak with said neighbor when visiting North Carolina.

### Yogi Bear

Main article: Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Ed Norton from the Honeymooners) and his friend Boo Boo Bear (voiced by Don Messick) live in Jellystone Park and occasionally try to steal picnic baskets while evading Ranger Smith (voiced by Don Messick). Yogi also has a relationship with his girlfriend Cindy Bear (voiced by Julie Bennett).

### Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks

Main article: Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks

Pixie (voiced by Don Messick) and Dixie (voiced by Daws Butler) are two mice who every day end up being chased by a cat named Mr. Jinks (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Marlon Brando).

### Hokey Wolf

Main article: Hokey Wolf

Hokey Wolf (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Phil Silvers) is a con-artist wolf who is always trying to cheat his way to the simple life (much like other Hanna-Barbera characters, Top Cat and Yogi Bear). He is accompanied in this by his diminutive, bowler hat-wearing sidekick Ding-A-Ling Wolf (voiced by Doug Young impersonating Buddy Hackett).

## Voice cast

* Daws Butler - Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf, Narrator, Various
* Don Messick - Narrator, Boo Boo Bear, Ranger Smith, Pixie, Various
* Doug Young - Ding-A-Ling Wolf, Various

**Additional Voices**

* Bea Benaderet - Narrator, Various
* Julie Bennett - Cindy Bear, Various
* Mel Blanc - Various
* Lucille Bliss - Various
* Red Coffee - Various
* June Foray - Various
* Peter Leeds - Narrator, Various
* GeGe Pearson - Various
* Jean Vander Pyl - Various
* Hal Smith - Various
* Ginny Tyler - Various