The Dipsy Doodle Show (lost animated special; 1974)
The Dipsy Doodle Show was a live-action/animated television special intended to serve as a pilot for a children's series released in 1974.
Premise
The special is about Dipsy Doodle, an "all-around good guy" who draws characters and stories in his "Mageramic Doodlearium", which would come to life.[1] He is also the ancestor to Yankee Doodle. The Dipsy Doodle Show would include shorter stories as well, such as "Windwagon Smith" which is about old men in a prairie discussing a story about a flying windwagon, and "A Salute to the Turtle", about a militant turtle who selfishly demands "equal time". Sometimes Dipsy gets involved with the stories himself, such as with "The Wise Fools of Gotham", and "The Little Red Hen".[1]
Production
The Dipsy Doodle Show was jointly created by Metromedia Television, Capital Cities, and Storer Broadcasting, and partnered with General Foods. They were aided by a child development advisory board and were created specifically for the 7-10 year old demographic, an area that was largely neglected by TV at the time.[1] The special was a mix of live-action and animation, a "first" for television, and was broadcasted on May 30th, 1974.
The special's live-action segments were recorded at the WUAB TV station in Ohio, as the production crew lacked studio time at WJKW-TV.[2] The animation was done by Rick Reinert Studios. Jerry Leonard was the writer of the script, while Frank Gari and Lee Bush wrote the music that played during the special.[2] The cast for the live-action actors include Jonathan Freeman (who would later go on to voice Jafar in Disney's Aladdin (1992)), Karen League, Harry Gold, Emil Herrera, Sara Louis, Michael McGee, and Helene Leonard.[1]
Availability
The Dipsy Doodle Show has not reappeared in any home media release since its broadcast in 1974. The only evidence of it online is a couple of ads and a still of Dispy Doodle with the rest of the cast.
Cast/Crew
- Jonathan Freeman - Jon
- Karen League - Karen
- Harry Gold - Harry
- Emil Herrera - Emil
- Sara Louis - Sara
- Michael McGee - Mike
- Helene Leonard - Helene[1]
- Bob Huber - Executive Producer
- Tony Lolli - Studio Director
- Jerry Leonard - Writer/Cast Director
- Frank Gari - Composer
- Lee Bush - Composer[2]
Gallery
External Link
- Rick Reinert Wiki page on The Dipsey Doodle Show. Retrieved 02 Apr '21
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 San Bernardino Sun Archive from May 26th, 1974, featuring an article about the special. Retrieved 02 Apr '21
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 North East Ohio TV Memories page on The Dipsy Doodle Show, containing a comment from the executive producer of the special, Bob Huber. Retrieved 02 Apr '21