Classic Cartoon Canines

Huckleberry Hound first appeared in the brown box on the CBS network October 2, 1958. For me, Ol' Huck represents my earliest cartoon memory, and the image of the blue dog will always bring back a happy time of older siblings in poodle skirts, penny candy from the five and ten, and problems no bigger than an untied shoe. "The Huckleberry Hound Show" represented the first fully animated program created just for television, and was presented by the soon to become well known team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (this was their second TV series; the first being "The Ruff and Reddy Show"). The voice actor who played Huck was Daws Butler. The show is noted as being the first animated series to win an Emmy award. Huckleberry Hound was an easy going, Southern Drawling, somewhat dim witted yet lovable character who had a penchant for the song,"My Darling, Clementine", and an odd-job employment situation that found him doing everything from taming lions to chasing criminals. The show included a fast tempo theme song that went like this:

The biggest show in town is Huckleberry Hound
For all you guys and gals.
The biggest clown in town is Huckleberry Hound
With all his cartoon pals.

It's Huckleberry fun, it's for everyone,
So come on, gather 'round.
Get yourself all set,
Turn on your TV set
For Huckleberry Hound.

That oh, so merry, Chuckleberry,
Huckleberry Hound.

Deputy Dawg made his debut on the brown box on September 5, 1959. The program began in syndication rather than on one of the major networks, but that didn't stop it from becoming so popular that episodes were soon running in theaters and delighting movie going audiences! It was presented by TerryToons. Dayton Allen, a comedic impressionist, was the voice of Deputy Dawg as well as most of the other characters on the show. He frequently gave familiar celebrity voices to the different characters, adding a flair of recognition that kept adult audiences intrigued. Yet another Southern canine (thus the drawled out spelling "Dawg"), our hero was a somewhat inept officer of the law, entrusted primarily with keeping the local wildlife in check: Ty Coon, Muskie the Muskrat and Vincent Van Gopher, respectively . As a child, I loved the supporting cast and envisioned these "bayou critters" in real life having a merry laugh at civilization. Deputy Dawg's oft repeated favorite line was a heavily drawled and somewhat slobbered, "Come back here you food grabbin' varmint, you!" The Deputy had more of a spoken intro than an actual theme song, but it served to open the show every week like this:

Hello out there you all
This is the old law man Deputy Dawg!
I wear the legal star on my chest,
and I'm the legal star of this cotton' pickin' show!
Me and my natural born buddies;
Muskrat, Vincent Van Gopher and Ty Coon
are all set to bring you a passel
of rib ticklin' and hair raisin' adventures!
So you all get comfortable out there
Cause here we go!

It was September 29, 1959 when Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy first appeared on the brown box in the living room, and as a four year old, I quickly designated them as favorites.. Most likely it was voice artist Doug Young's impressionistic styling of Jimmy Durante that infatuated me (Durante was a familliar woice from numerous movies and TV appearances) but whatever the initial incentive, Augie and Daddy remain a happy childhood memory. The voice of Augie was performed by Daws Butler (remember he also did Huckleberry Hound). The papa dog and son team appeared as a segment on The Quick Draw MacGraw Show, the third program presented by the Hanna Barbara team. Augie and Daddy were suburban living hounds who managed to get into an assortment of unusual predicaments. "Dear Old Dad" as Augie typically referred to his father was not the brighter of the two, but his scientifically gifted son admirably afforded him full respect and adulation nonetheless. Doggie Daddy was a proud and patient papa, who gently expressed disappointment with the line; "Augie, my son, my son.." and victoriously expressed pride with the beaming declaration; "Dat's my boy who did dat!" The show was probably one of the first to depict a single parent raising a child, errr... puppy... on his own!

Mr Peabody the genius pooch and his pet boy Sherman brought their "WayBack" time traveling machine to the brown box in our living rooms in September of 1959. The bespeckled duo were a feature of Rocky And His Friends, presented by Jay Ward. Bill Scott provided the voice for Mr. Peabody, and Walter Tetley provided the voice for Sherman. As a dog lover, I fully enjoyed the concept of this cartoon, being well aware that dogs all too often represent the more intellignet half of a human/canine partnership! In each episode, the brilliant canine and his human pal boarded the WayBack Machine to discover what was titled "Peabody's Improbable History". What they consistently found was an error in the historical making that needed to be set right lest the record books end up in error, and usually lest disaster result. With the odd sense of humor typical of genius, Mr. Peabody never failed to close each episode with a pun. Learning history from an animated canine and his pet boy was a fun venture into the realm of "painless education" for a whole generation of youngsters, who today can still be counted on to voice the phrase "Set the WayBack machine" when reminiscing about that more innocent era.

The brown box in our living rooms had already presented the likes of several super-human heros when Underdog made his debut on NBC on October 3, 1964. W.Watt Biggers, Chet Stover, Tread Covington and Joe Harris created Underdog as a Saturday morning hero for the cereal sponser, General Mills.
Well known and notably soft spoken comic actor Wally Cox was the voice of Underdog, providing a genuine aura of "accidental hero" (and even "accident prone hero") to the caped pooch. It was this "oops, I'm a hero, I think" factor that endeared Underdog to most of us who tuned in. Based largely on the "Superman" character and series, Underdog similarly had a duel personality ("Shoeshine Boy" being the canine hero's answer to Superman's "Clark Kent"); ducked into telephone booths to change both wardrobe and identity; and had a girlfriend who was clueless as to the metamorphosis ("Sweet Polly Purebred" ala "Lois Lane"). If you couldn't discern the difference in Shoeshine Boy and Underdog by clothing or demeanor, you certainly could tell by language, as Underdog spoke exclusively in rhymed sentences. In true superhero mode, Underdog also had a theme song:

Underdog! Underdog!
When criminals in this world appear,
And break the laws that they should fear,
And frighten all who see or hear,
The cry goes up both far and near for
Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!
Speed of lightning! Roar of thunder!
Fighting all who rob or plunder!
Underdog! Underdog!
When in this world the headlines read
Of those whose hearts are filled with greed
Who rob and steal from those who need
To right this wrong with blinding speed
Goes Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!
Speed of lightning, roar of thunder
Fighting all who rob or plunder
Underdog. Underdog!

The character of Goofy made his initial appearance many years before anyone ever thought of having a brown box in their living room presenting "shows" at the click of a switch. Goofy's debut was in movie theaters in 1932, when he played an unnamed audience member in the Disney cartoon,"Mickey's Review".
Walt Disney, of course, had a large entourage of
cartoon characters, and this one came along in development somewhat slowly. Initially unnamed, then later referred to as "Dippy Dawg" and eventually
"Dippy The Goof", Goofy didn't achieve his permanent moniker until 1939 when he starred in the cartoon "Goofy and Wilbur". Always present in the character, however, was the rather raucous laugh, first voiced by former circus clown Pinto Colvig, and later, as the character endured through the decades, by George Johnson, Bob Jackman, and eventually Bill Farmer. Goofy was a lovable yet bumbling character, probably best known for a series of "How To" cartoons popular in the 1950's. As with most young fans, I thought of Goofy as a typical "fellow next door" sort of character. You wouldn't actually want to have to depend on him, but he was plenty of fun to have in the neighborhood! Goofy's oft heard "Gawrsh!"; "Well, whaddya know; " "A-hyuck!"; and "Huh?" were heartily imitated by fans both young and old for decades. With the advent of television, the offspring of Goofy's original fans got to enjoy his antics on the brown box right in their own living rooms. The grandkids those box watchers can today Google the old boy and find thousands of pages with his image, his story, his career anecdotes, and his filmography. Not bad for a 76 year old make believe canine!

Also predating the brown box in the living room is that well known yellow pup with the big eyes and happy smile known as Pluto. Pluto is the oldest of the canine cartoon characters here, (named for the planet Pluto - which also was first officially recognized in 1930)predating his fellow Walt Disney pup, Goofy, by two years. Creator Norm Ferguson likely believed it was important to portray Pluto as being as fully "doglike" as possible, being that his role was that of a pet belonging to a fully humanized mouse (Mickey Mouse)! Thus Pluto had no speaking voice (although one report stated that he once uttered the words "Kiss Me!") and did doglike things such as chasing cats. His initial appearance was as a bloodhound in the 1930 cartoon, "The Chain Gang". Eventually starring in forty eight cartoons of his own, his supporting cast included canine pals, Fifi the Peke, Dinah the Dachshund, and Ronnie the St. Bernard Puppy. Pluto was a fully personalized character despite having no spoken lines. His thoughts and moods were portrayed thru the animation process in a way that was widely considered groundbreaking for the genre. Lovable, upbeat, sweet and smart, Pluto idealized "the real dog" in ways that have made him an enduring favorite of mine, and of generations of fans throughout the world.

Marmaduke's first appearance was not on the brown box, but on what we usually called the "funnies" page of the daily newspaper. Beginning in 1954, fans could count on a daily dose of Great Dane antics penned by artist Brad Anderson, assisted from 1955 to 1969 by first Phil and then Dorothy Leeming. The concept for the comic strip was simple; life with a humongous dog as portrayed by the Winslow family and their Great Dane. Dog lovers, and especially those in tune with canine behavior, adored the feature. Those outside the realm of being "in tune" with dogs frequently complained that it wasn't funny -- which only meant they just "didn't get it"! At my house, the Marmaduke strip was always considered a "must read" and was counted on for a good and empathetic laugh. The inspiration for Marmaduke was actually not a Great Dane but a Boxer by the name of Bruno, who belonged to Brad Anderson's parents. Clearly a dog lover himself, Anderson said about the comic strip; ""The Marmaduke strip has never been just a gag. I refuse to just go for the joke every time," When you express so-called human emotions in an animal, you're getting into the real character of the dog. When you get into the character itself, you go a step beyond the cartoon and into life." The National Cartoonist Society honored Anderson with their Reuben Award in 1976. Syracuse University awarded him the George Arents Pioneer Medal in 1999. This award the highest honour given to Syracuse University alumni. While Marmaduke still appears faithfully in newspapers throughout the world, he also made an appearance on the brown box in our living rooms debuting on September 12, 1981 in the ABC series, "Heathcliff and Marmaduke". In that series, Paul Winchell provided the voice for the popular and well loved Great Dane.

The Peanuts comic strip was born on October 2, 1950, and Snoopy made his debut appearance therein just two days later - October 4. That Snoopy was definitely a dog and not a human character with a canine face was absolutely never a question. In fact, it was oft stated that he was a purebred Beagle born at The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. Yet, Snoopy was probably the most multi faceted, incredibly imaginative, lovably opinionated, and psychologically well characterized canine cartoon personality ever drawn. He was also part of a comic strip, and part of a cultural icon that was clearly created for adults rather than for children. That children were also entertained in the process was just part of the magic of the mind of the cartoon's creator, Charles Schultz. The importance of Snoopy to the success of what became the Peanuts empire was stated by Charles Schulz himself. In a conversation with fellow cartoonist Jan Eliot, Schulz once told her that Snoopy was initially just a little dog off to the side and not really a contributing character. After about five years, Schultz decided that Snoopy would stand up and have a thought. "You know", he said, "the strip really didn't take off until Snoopy stood up." Once he got started, Snoopy had multitudes of thoughts. Among them, he regularly imagined himself a World War Two fighter pilot battling the Red Baron; a famous tennis player; a great novelist (sitting in front of a typewriter and inevitably typing, "It was a dark and stormy night..."); an accomplished ice skater, and a character called "Joe Cool" complete with swagger and sunglasses. Snoopy and the Peanuts crew endured for fifty years as a comic strip, until Charles Schultz' death on February 12, 2000. Besides having the privilege of growing up at a time when there was a newspaper on the front porch every day sporting a brand new Peanuts comic strip fresh from Charles Schulz himself, I also saw the advent of the comic strip "come to life" on the little brown box in the living room, and on the silver screen in the movie theaters. Snoopy and his pals are likely to endure for many generations to come as a tribute to the memory of their soft spoken and fully unassuming creator, a man known to his friends as simply "Sparky".