RetroFan #36 by TwoMorrows Publishing

This issue is making me completely mental, I must say!

January 2025 No. 36 $10.95

STEFANIE POWERS

On ‘Girl from U.N.C.L.E.,’ ‘Hart to Hart,’ & Planet Earth

THE ODDBALL WORLD OF SCTV

Sci-fi animation fave

Battle of the Planets Rankin/Bass’

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Chuck Connors, from athlete to actor • One-season TV shows & more!

Featuring Andy Mangels • Will Murray • Scott Saavedra • Scott Shaw! • Mark Voger • Michael Eury The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley © Hanna-Barbera Productions/Ed Grimley character © Martin Short. Battle of the Planets © Sandy Frank Film Syndication Inc. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town © Miser Bros. Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives. All Rights Reserved.

Satiate Your Sinister Side!

“Greetings, creep culturists! For my debut

All characters and properties TM & © their respective owners.

issue, I, the CRYPTOLOGIST (with the help of FROM THE TOMB editor PETER NORMANTON), have exhumed the worst Horror Comics excesses of the 1950s, Killer “B” movies to die for, and the creepiest, kookiest toys that crossed your boney little fingers as a child! But wait... do you dare enter the House of Usher, or choose sides in the skirmish between the Addams Family and The Munsters?! Can you stand to gaze at Warren magazine frontispieces by this issue’s cover artist BERNIE WRIGHTSON, or spend some Hammer Time with that studio’s most frightening films? And if Atlas pre-Code covers or terrifying science-fiction are more than you can take, stay away! All this, and more, is lurching toward you in TwoMorrows Publishing’s latest, and most decrepit, magazine—just for retro horror fans, and featuring my henchmen WILL MURRAY, MARK VOGER, BARRY FORSHAW, TIM LEESE, PETE VON SHOLLY, and STEVE and MICHAEL KRONENBERG!” (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

#1 is Now Shipping!

TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics Horror History.

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CRYPTOLOGY #2

CRYPTOLOGY #3

CRYPTOLOGY #4

The Cryptologist and his ghastly little band have cooked up more grisly morsels, including: ROGER HILL’s conversation with our diabolical cover artist DON HECK, severed hand films, pre-Code comic book terrors, the otherworldly horrors of Hammer’s Quatermass, another Killer “B” movie classic, plus spooky old radio shows, and the horror-inspired covers of the Shadow’s own comic book. Start the ghoul-year with retro-horror done right by FORSHAW, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, RICHARD HAND, VON SHOLLY, and editor PETER NORMANTON.

This third wretched issue inflicts the dread of MARS ATTACKS upon you—the banned cards, the model kits, the despicable comics, and a few words from the film’s deranged storyboard artist PETE VON SHOLLY! The chilling poster art of REYNOLD BROWN gets brought up from the Cryptologist’s vault, along with a host of terrifying puppets from film, and more comic books they’d prefer you forget! Plus, more Hammer Time, JUSTIN MARRIOT on obscure ’70s fear-filled paperbacks, another Killer “B” film, and more to satiate your sinister side!

Our fourth putrid tome treats you to ALEX ROSS’ gory lowdown on his Universal Monsters paintings! Hammer Time brings you face-to-face with the “Brides of Dracula”, and the Cryptologist resurrects 3-D horror movies and comics of the 1950s! Learn the origins of slasher films, and chill to the pre-Code artwork of Atlas’ BILL EVERETT and ACG’s 3-D maestro HARRY LAZARUS. Plus, another Killer “B” movie and more awaits retro horror fans, by NORMANTON, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, VOGER, and VON SHOLLY!

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The Crazy Cool Culture We Grew Up With

Issue #36 January 2025

Columns and Special Features

Departments

Retrotorial

Voger’s Vault of Vintage Varieties Stefanie Powers

Too Much TV Quiz TV Nerds

Retro Animation Rankin/Bass’ Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town

RetroFanmail

Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon One-Season TV Wonders

ReJECTED

Retro Sci-Fi Battle of the Planets

Retro Sports The Rifleman’s Chuck Connors

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning TV Comic Ads

46 3

Oddball World of Scott Shaw! SCTV

Scott Saavedra’s Secret Sanctum TV Catch Phrases

RetroFan™ issue 36, January 2025 (ISSN 2576-7224) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RetroFan, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. Ed Catto, Associate Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: RetroFan, c/o Ed Catto, Editor, 304 N. Hoopes Ave., Auburn, NY 13021. Email: retroed@twomorrows.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $73 Economy US, $117 International, $29 Digital Only. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley © Hanna-Barbera Productions/Ed Grimley © Martin Short. Battle of the Planets © Tatsunoko Productions Co., Ltd. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town © Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt Archives. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2024 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

BY MICHAEL EURY

Michael Eury ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ed Catto PUBLISHER John Morrow CONTRIBUTORS Michael Eury Rick Goldschmidt Jason Hofius David Krell Andy Mangels Will Murray Scott Saavedra Scott Shaw! Mark Voger DESIGNER Scott Saavedra PROOFREADER Eric Nolen-Weathington SPECIAL THANKS Jim Alexander Hake’s Auctions Heritage Auctions Walter von Bosau VERY SPECIAL THANKS Stefanie Powers

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RETROFAN

January 2025

Change is inevitable. Classic television taught us that. At an early age we discovered that the friendly faces we knew as Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo Bradley, Darrin Stephens, and Lionel Jefferson could change with the advent of a new season. Were our lives upended that fateful Friday evening when we gasped at a new Chris Partridge drumming alongside his singing family? It was startling at first, but we adapted to the new Chris, as we did with the new Darrin, et al., and quickly found ourselves enchanted by these new faces wearing familiar names. In last issue’s Retrotorial I wrote that you should expect big things from RetroFan’s new associate editor, Ed Catto. That was no hyperbole. Beginning next issue, Ed will become the editor of this magazine. While Ed Catto may be the Dick Sargent to my Dick York (if you don’t get the reference, grab a copy of RetroFan #31 and bone up on your Bewitched lore), other than a change in our credits, you probably won’t notice any other changes in our content. Scott Saavedra will continue to design our pages and write his column, and our other columnists and freelance writers have a plethora of pop culture flashbacks to share. There’s a ton of material in the works for the next wave of issues, so for the immediate future it’s business as usual, with Ed Catto taking over as your guide. Ed brings to our mag a new energy, however, plus loads of marketing ideas, with the goal of catapulting RetroFan to greater heights. I can’t wait to see what magic he will work in this mag. Welcome, Ed Catto! But what of our outgoing editor-in-chief? As I write this column on July 12, 2024, I am six weeks away from my retirement on August 30, 2024—which will be past tense by the time you read this in December. Several years of declining health have now made it impossible for me to continue my job, but since I’ve been behind an editor’s desk (off and on) since the waning days of the Reagan Administration, I’m certainly of retirement age. My love of my work made the notion of retirement a bitter pill to swallow at first, but as the time nears I’m enchanted by the possibilities that await—including the chance to finally read an issue of RetroFan simply for fun, without having to police punctuation and deadlines. But I have had a blast policing punctuation and deadlines—and the myriad other duties required of an editor—all these years. I am extraordinarily proud of RetroFan, and must offer my deepest thanks to TwoMorrows publisher John Morrow for allowing me to develop this mag, which we launched back in June 2018. I am grateful for the wonderful Scott Saavedra, who has made each page of each issue sizzle with his captivating layouts, and has tickled my funny bone repeatedly with his columns. I must thank our regular columnists—Andy Mangels, Will Murray, Scott Shaw, Mark Voger, and the aforementioned Mr. Saavedra—our many freelance contributors, and our past columnists (Ernest Farino and the late, and sorely missed, Martin Pasko) for their dedication, professionalism, and friendship. And I bow with gratitude to each and every RetroFan reader for supporting this publication. If you have had half as much fun reading RetroFan as I have had being its editor, then you’re a pretty happy bunch! I’ll end my final Retrotorial with a confession worthy of our “Celebrity Crushes” column. When I was a kid I had a huge crush on our featured cover star, Stefanie Powers. While I have vague memories of her as the Girl From U.N.C.L.E., it was the 1970 Disney flick, The Boatniks, that put her in my then-12-year-old sights. I remember buying the Gold Key comic book adaptation of The Boatniks just to stare at her photo on the cover! Luckily, I’ve long since outgrown such creepy behavior (don’t let me catch any of you staring at this issue’s cover for too long!). Hart to Hart, her detective/romance series with co-star Robert Wagner, is a favorite in my household (my wife Rose and I often call each other “darling,” just like Jonathan and Jennifer Hart), so Stefanie Powers’ presence makes my last issue of RetroFan special. Yet there’s so very much more waiting for you in the pages that follow. So get ready for another groovy grab-bag of the crazy, cool culture we grew up with!

VOGER’S VAULT OF VINTAGE VARIETIES

Stefanie Powers Actress made fans cry U.N.C.L.E. Stefanie Powers attained TV icon status as the title secret agent and fashionplate in the 1966–1967 spin-off series The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. © Stefanie Powers.

BY MARK VOGER Once they make a doll out of you, or star you in a comic book, you will never be forgotten by a certain strain of fan—the unerringly loyal, hopelessly devoted genre fan. Devotees of the super-spy genre of the swinging Sixties—which yielded Dr. No, Goldfinger, Secret Agent, Get Smart, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.—will always remember Stefanie Powers for her 1966–1967 spin-off series The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (TGFU). Powers starred as April Dancer, the glamorous and resourceful secret agent who karate-chopped her way into our hearts while wearing the latest groovy fashions. “I was under contract at Columbia at the time,” Powers told me of being cast as April, when we spoke in 2011. “They had done a pilot of the show with Mary Ann Mobley playing the girl from U.N.C.L.E. and Norman Fell, the comedian, playing her assistant. But they [the studio] didn’t like the chemistry. “I was in England working when I got the message that my contract had been sold; MGM bought me out of my contract to do The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Because I was in England—with the ‘mods’ and ‘rockers’ and Carnaby Street and all of that ‘swinging Sixties’ stuff happening—I thought it would be interesting to bring that into it.”

CONTRACT PLAYER

Born in 1942 in Los Angeles, Powers has had many career milestones apart from The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. She worked with such movie icons as Tallulah RETROFAN

January 2025

Voger’s vault of vintage varieties

(LEFT) In an early attention-getting role, Powers played Rebecca, the modern-thinking debutante daughter of John Wayne’s wealthy cattle baron in the Western comedy McLintock! (1963). © Batjac Productions. © United Artists. (BELOW) Powers, as the glamorous, resourceful superspy April Dancer in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. (OPPOSITE PAGE) From left: Yootha Joyce, Powers, and Tallulah Bankhead in a intense scene from the “hagsploitation” horror film Die! Die! My Darling! (1965). © Columbia Pictures.

Bankhead, Helen Hayes, and John Wayne; she was a two-time Disney heroine; and she co-starred with Robert Wagner in the long-running romantic mystery series Hart to Hart. Powers felt fortunate to have been among the last wave of contract players signed to a studio at the tail end of Hollywood’s so-called “star system.” Powers was young but, she maintained, experienced. Recalled the actress: “I had been in a ballet company; I worked for [choreographer] Jerome Robbins. I had worked in a couple of movies when I was put under contract to Columbia. But I was a teenager. And I was a real teenager, not an overly sophisticated teenager. And certainly not a teenager the likes of which we have today. “So you might say I was wide-eyed by comparison to the teenagers today, who are exposed to so much more, and who begin a ‘physical’ life—even though they’re not emotionally stimulated—much earlier than we did in those days.” Powers paid her dues in small film roles and episodic television. A breakthrough came when she was fourth-billed as Rebecca, the daughter of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, no less, in Andrew V. McLaglen’s Western comedy McLintock! (1963). Rebecca’s separated parents bicker over where “Becky” should stay once she returns home from an Eastern school. Should she live with father in the rollicking town of McLintock (named after Wayne’s wealthy cattle baron)? Or with mother in stuffy Newport? Few characters get the buildup, or the entrance, that Powers’ Rebecca receives in this movie. The whole town is on hand, complete with a marching band, beneath a “Welcome home Rebecca McLintock” banner, as her train chugs in. The movie even gives Powers a dramatic moment in a thoughtfully written heartto-heart with Wayne. Was Wayne a teddy bear toward Powers? “I would never call him a teddy bear,” she said with a laugh. “Everybody on that set was part of the John Ford/John Wayne extended family. It was very much a familial feeling on that set.” McLintock! led to larger roles in such films as Die! Die! My Darling! (1965), “hagsploitation” horror opposite Bankhead, and Stagecoach (1966), an all-star remake of the classic 1939 John Ford Western that made Wayne a household name. 4

RETROFAN

January 2025

Voger’s vault of vintage varieties

“Back then, even the movie stars were actors, and everybody was a human being. Today, everybody’s got a phalanx of bodyguards just to walk around the corner, you know? “It’s really quite such a hype, that it’s very difficult to understand that you could actually walk up to John Wayne in a restaurant—as people frequently did— right in the middle of his meal and say, ‘Oh, excuse me, Mr. Wayne, but I think you’re wonderful.’ And he’d stand up and say, ‘Well, that’s really kind of you.’ “And honestly, it’s what one would have expected from such a professional icon of the movie industry who came to stardom in a period when actors were actors. Even the movie stars were actors.”

SUPER-SPY SPIN-OFF

Powers herself attained star billing in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. as title super-spy April Dancer. TGFU was a

I asked Powers what she learned from working with Bankhead and later Hayes, who are considered two of the greatest actresses of the theater. “I learned something from everyone, because I had the privilege of working with so many extraordinary people,” Powers said. “I think one of the most important things I realized was their humanity—that while these people were consummate professionals, they were also human beings.” She explained that it is a prerogative of so-called stars not to be present when a supporting player shoots a dialogue scene opposite the star but not within the same shot. (In other words, if you’re a star and you’re not in the shot, why hang around?) But Powers said neither Bankhead nor Hayes exercised that prerogative while working with her. “Not one of them ever refused to be off-camera, if I was on the other side [of the camera],” Powers said. “That’s not only when I was the star of the show—that’s even when I was the supporting player. Most of them were extremely generous as actors.

(LEFT) Powers and co-star Noel Harrison were teamed as hip, attractive secret agents April Dancer and Mark Slate in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (RIGHT) Harrison, the son of Rex Harrison, played Mark Slate in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Powers was behind Harrison’s casting. © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

spin-off of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the espionage thriller starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as secret agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, respectively. (The acronym stood for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, as if y’all RetroFans didn’t know.) [Editor’s note: Will Murray, Agent of R.E.T.R.O.F.A.N. (don’t ask us what the acronym means), wrote about The Man From U.N.C.L.E in issue #15 of this magazine, still available from TwoMorrows.] In contrast to The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. had a lighter tone. At heart, TGFU was a comedy or, at the very least, a show that didn’t always take itself seriously. “That was one of the points of it,” Powers admitted. RETROFAN

January 2025

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Meet the stars behind the Black Lagoon: RICOU BROWNING, BEN CHAPMAN, JULIE ADAMS, and LORI NELSON! Plus SHADOW CHASERS, featuring show creator KENNETH JOHNSON. Also: THE BEATLES’ YELLOW SUBMARINE, FLASH GORDON cartoons, TV’s cult classic THE PRISONER and kid’s show ZOOM, COLORFORMS, M&Ms, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Interviews with Lost in Space’s ANGELA CARTWRIGHT and BILL MUMY, and Land of the Lost’s WESLEY EURE! Revisit Leave It to Beaver with JERRY MATHERS, TONY DOW, and KEN OSMOND! Plus: UNDERDOG, Rankin-Bass’ stop-motion classic THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, Christmas gifts you didn’t want, the CABBAGE PATCH KIDS fad, and more! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Meet Mission: Impossible’s LYNDA DAY GEORGE in an exclusive interview! Celebrate Rambo’s 50th birthday with his creator, novelist DAVID MORRELL! Plus: TV faves WKRP IN CINCINNATI and SPACE: 1999, Fleisher’s and Filmation’s SUPERMAN cartoons, commercial jingles, JERRY LEWIS and BOB HOPE comic books, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

The saga of Saturday morning’s Super Friends, Part One! Plus: A history of MR. T, TV’s AVENGERS (Steed and Mrs. Peel), Daktari’s CHERYL MILLER, Mexican movie monsters, John and Yoko’s nation of Nutopia, ELIZABETH SHEPHERD (the actress who almost played Emma Peel), and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER, & MICHAEL EURY.

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RETROFAN #28

RETROFAN #29

RETROFAN #30

RETROFAN #31

Interview with Captain Kangaroo BOB KEESHAN, The ROCKFORD FILES, teen monster movies, the Kung Fu and BRUCE LEE crazes, JACK KIRBY’s comedy comics, DON DRYSDALE’s TV drop-ins, outrageous toys, Challenge of the Super Friends, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

The BRITISH INVASION of the Sixties, interview with Bond Girl TRINA PARKS, The Mighty Hercules, Horror Hostess MOONA LISA, World’s Greatest Super Friends, TV Guide Fall Previews, the Frito Bandito, a Popeye Super Collector, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

The story behind BOB CLAMPETT’s Beany & Cecil, western queen DALE EVANS, an interview with Mr. Ed’s ALAN YOUNG, Miami Vice, The Sixties’ Wackiest Robots, Muscle-Maker CHARLES ATLAS, Super Powers Team—Galactic Guardians, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

The Brady Bunch’s FLORENCE HENDERSON, the UNKNOWN COMIC revealed, Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat, a Barbie history, RANKIN/BASS’ Frosty the Snowman, Dell Comics’ Monster Super-Heroes, Slushy Drinks, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Magic memories of ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY for the 60th Anniversary of TV’s Bewitched! Plus: The ’70s thriller Time After Time (with NICHOLAS MEYER, MALCOLM McDOWELL, and DAVID WARNER), The Alvin Show, BUFFALO BOB SMITH and Howdy Doody, Peter Gunn, Saturday morning’s Run Joe Run and Big John Little John, a trip to Camp Crystal Lake, and more fun, fab features!

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RETROFAN #32

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Featuring a profile of The Partridge Family’s heartthrob DAVID CASSIDY, THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN, LEGO blocks, Who Created Mighty Mouse?, BUCKAROO BANZAI turns forty, Planet Patrol, an encounter with SONNY AND CHER, Disco Fever, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Meet the Bionic Duo, LEE MAJORS and LINDSAY WAGNER! Plus: Hot Wheels: The Early Years, Fantastic Four cartoons, Modesty Blaise, Hostess snacks, TV Westerns, Movie Icons vs. the Axis Powers, the San Diego Chicken, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Take a ride with CHiPs’ ERIK ESTRADA and LARRY WILCOX! Plus: an interview with movie Hercules STEVE REEVES, WeirdOhs cartoonist BILL CAMPBELL, Plastic Man on Saturday mornings, TINY TIM, Remo Williams, the search for a Disney artist, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Saturday morning super-hero Space Ghost, plus The Beatles, The Jackson 5ive, and other real rockers in animation! Also: The Addams Family’s JOHN ASTIN, Mighty Isis co-stars JOANNA PANG and BRIAN CUTLER, TV’s The Name of the Game, on the set of Evil Dead II, classic coffee ads, and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER & MICHAEL EURY.

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RETRO ANIMATION

is sheer Animagic!

BY RICK GOLDSCHMIDT In 1970, Rankin/Bass Productions was in its lucky seventh year of making classic holiday specials, and they really hit the jackpot with Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. It defined the magic in their trademark Animagic stop-motion animation. Until this point, Santa Claus was a character that was primarily used to sell Coca-Cola and cigarettes—a jolly, round, and lovable character, but the public didn’t know much about him. This special aired on ABC-TV December 14, 1970, and changed all of that for generations to come.

ALL-STAR VOICE TALENT

Originally sponsored by Milton Bradley and Playschool, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town made it into the Nielsen Top 10 with its debut and with subsequent airings. A big part of its success was the star talent that producers Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass secured for this one. Film dancing super-star Fred Astaire was a Hollywood

legend by 1970, and is still considered one of the greatest dancers in the world. At 1970’s Academy Awards ceremony, which was preceded by Rankin/Bass’ Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (their highest-rated special), Fred Astaire was called up to the microphone by Bob Hope. Astaire jokingly said he didn’t do much dancing anymore, and then launched into a wonderful dance routine. Fred was still amazing in 1970, and a wonderful host for this special as North Pole mailman S. D. Kluger. He explained in an open air interview for Rankin/Bass Productions, “Well, Kluger is like all the other characters in Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. He’s an Animagic puppet, that’s actually what they call them. He’s carved and painted and dressed and then placed on the set, and then a technician is in charge of each movement he makes, and each separate motion is photographed and

(TOP) Promotional art by Paul Coker, Jr. (digitally enhanced and edited) featuring caricatures of (LEFT TO RIGHT) Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. (ABOVE) Rankin, Jr. and Bass, circa 1970s. (LEFT) Santa and Mrs. Claus stand at the center of this promotional photograph. Unless otherwise noted, all images accompanying this article are courtesy of Rick Goldschmidt. © 2012 Miser Bros Press/Rick Goldschmidt archives.

RETROFAN

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retro Animation

then, it’s sort of like an animated cartoon, you know, only these are actual figures, then they are put together to make a movie out of it. The final effect is really very life-like and it is quite delightful!” When Fred Astaire was asked to describe the animated special’s legends of Santa Claus, he exclaimed, “Well, first I’d like to say that the way the story of Santa Claus is handled here is what attracted me to the script, and led to my doing the narration for it. The explanations are imaginative without being too cute, you know, for instance, it tells why Santa Claus is sometimes called Kris Kringle. To explain this, there’s a foundling wearing a pendant with Claus engraved on it, and it is adopted and raised by a family of toymakers named Kringle. The story treats other legends in the same logical way. Like how Santa came to give out presents only on Christmas Eve, and his reindeer learned to fly, and that sort of thing.” Arthur Rankin told me, “My favorite story about Fred was when [voice actor] Paul Frees walked into the studio. Paul was my dear friend and we used him in almost everything we did, and he had a great sense of humor. So, in the studio was Fred with his agent, Shep Fields. Before Shep became an agent, he had this ridiculous act called Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm, in front of an orchestra. He was known for the novelty of blowing into a champagne glass with music and making bubbles. When Paul walked into the studio to record, he walked right past Fred Astaire and said, ‘Not the Shep Fields!,’ I was on the floor laughing!” For Kris Kringle/Santa Claus, they needed the perfect voice. Stan Francis, who voiced Santa in Rankin/Bass’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, had already passed away—during a performance on stage, actually—in 1966. Arthur wanted someone who could act, but bring a performance to the screen that would be good for animation, and Mickey Rooney fit that bill perfectly. Arthur explained to me, “Mickey was very, very good as an actor. When I gave him the script, he would crawl up my lapel very excited. He was perfect!” A friend of mine from FOX 32 in Chicago, Vic, later

(LEFT) Detail of the Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town album’s reverse side. Pictured are (LEFT TO RIGHT) Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, Fred Astaire as the Narrator, and Keenan Wynn as the Winter Warlock. (RIGHT) Robie Lester is all dressed up as Mrs. Claus in this lighthearted promotional image. 16

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The Narrator was not just voiced by Fred Astaire but looked like him as well. approached Mickey Rooney about this special, and had him sign his laser disc. Rooney told him that at first he didn’t want to do the special, but was very glad that he did. So many fans had told him how much it had meant to them, and he could see the magic in it. Rankin/Bass Productions musical composer Maury Laws said, “My favorite things that we did had Mickey Rooney in them! We ended up using him again for The Year Without a Santa Claus and for the 1979 feature film Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July.” Keenan Wynn was another excellent and versatile character actor, whose voice was perfect for the character Winter Warlock and for animation in general! His father, Ed Wynn, appeared in Rankin/Bass’ The Daydreamer in 1966. I believe Keenan was approached by Arthur Rankin on the set of the film The Monitors in Chicago, during filming, sometime in 1968 or 1969. Actress Sherry Jackson told me she met Arthur and took pictures with him, and Jackie Vernon was there, signing up for his [voice-acting] role as Frosty. Keenan was one of the hardest-working men in show business and could handle most any kind of role. He brought personality to old Winter, and personality is the key to Animagic. Robie Lester was the voice of Jessica, the future Mrs. Kris Kringle. She had great success in recording for various Walt Disney or Disneyland records over the years, and even appeared on Walt’s various TV shows. Before her passing, we formed a great

retro Animation

As a child, Kris is left on the Kringle family doorstep and welcomed as one of their own.

When I wrote my book The Making of Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and The Daydreamer, I located Greg Stern, who, credited as Greg Thomas, voiced Kris as a youngster. He offered some wonderful material for my book. So did his dad, Charles Stern, who provided much of the voice talent for Rankin/Bass, including Joan Gardner and Paul Frees. I believe that [legendary animation voice actor] Paul Frees’ all-time best performance was that of the friendship. She signed photos (LEFT) Cover to Rick Goldschmidt’s The Making of Santa for our Rankin/Bass website Claus is Comin’ to Town (Miser Press, 2018). (RIGHT) ABC Burgermeister Meisterburger, a role he seemed meant to play, even and I was able to get for her promotional teaser for the special. though he’s best remembered the handwritten sheet music for so many great cartoon voices for “My World is Beginning including Boris Badenov and Ludwig Von Drake. He and Arthur Today,” a beautiful song in Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town that ABC Rankin were close friends. I can’t imagine what The Enchanted World has removed from the special in their heavily edited version they of Rankin/Bass would be like without Paul Frees. He fit into everyair each Christmas. When the graphics during the song turn to cel thing so perfectly. animation, it really has sort of a psychedelic, anime look. Jessica Paul even did the voice of the Burgermeister’s sidekick, Grinzley looks like she came right out of Speed Racer. In her later years, Robie (the correct spelling, as seen in the shooting script printed in my turned to writing, and I arranged a contact for her at Pixar. RETROFAN

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(LEFT) Sketch by Rick Goldschmidt for an unrealized Santa Claus figure line. (RIGHT) Industry ad by Paul Coker, Jr. for Rankin/Bass. (very different from Tony Peter’s in Rudolph), the plump Santa, and all of the various versions of Kris. Paul had a style that really became the Rankin/Bass look—Arthur Rankin never wanted to copy Walt Disney or another studio, and he wanted something unique. “Paul’s style was very animatable, where Jack Davis’ was not as easy to translate,” said Rankin. “We liked Paul’s designs so much that we put a full-page ad in Variety every year that Paul would draw for us. I kept him very busy for many, many years!” said Arthur Rankin. Other than the MGM LP, there wasn’t any merchandise issued based on the special until after my 1997 book, The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio, was released. I consulted with the initial Rudolph and Frosty releases by Stuffins and CVS Pharmacies, and in 1999 the Enesco Corporation in Itasca, Illinois, saw me on the WGN Morning News and asked me to come into their showroom. I accepted a job, putting my illustration degree to work, and helped give direction on several Rankin/Bass figurine lines, including Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (as illustrated here). Enesco ultimately decided against doing a figurine line, but they did issue a series of ornaments sold at Walgreens. Then Round Two/Playing Mantis issued Santa Claus action figures, including a Fred Astaire figure in a battery-operated mail truck. There were also keychains, candy, puzzles, storybooks, stickers, etc. Hallmark started a line of ornaments with Winter Warlock/Topper and Kris Kringle and then abruptly stopped issuing them (perhaps sales didn’t meet expectations). The best DVD/Blu-ray release was by Golden Books from 2001. All of the Blu-ray releases lack quality and are missing sound effects, most notably Topper’s sigh when Peter Pine the tree is holding Topper and Kris for Winter before he makes his transformation. There is no credible or Official Rankin/Bass commentary on them, either. In 1974, Rankin/Bass followed up Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town with The Year Without a Santa Claus (the subject of my newest book release, for its 50th Anniversary in 2024). Mickey Rooney returned 22

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(LEFT) Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town album signed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. (BELOW) Rick’s latest book: Rankin/Bass’ The Year Without a Santa Claus and ’Twas the Night Before Christmas 50th Anniversary Scrapbook.

as Santa Claus, but he is surrounded with a new cast of characters including the Heat Miser and Snow Miser. When I look back at my career as the Rankin/Bass historian/biographer, it is Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town that makes me most proud to be associated with this material. Romeo Muller really put his patented heart and warmth in his writing in this one. The wedding scene is just perfect. The scene at the end of the special where Fred Astaire talks about people that just don’t get what Christmas is all about puts into perspective of what the real meaning of Christmas is. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is special, and will outlive us all! As the official historian/biographer of Rankin/Bass Productions’ enchanted world of stop-motion Animagic and other animation and film projects, RICK GOLDSCHMIDT has written multiple books on Rankin/Bass’ beloved holiday specials and shares behindthe-scenes details with RetroFan readers through annual articles each Christmastime.

WILL MURRAY’S 20TH CENTURY PANOPTICON

One-Season TV Wonders

BY WILL MURRAY When I think of my favorite television programs of the Sixties, I have a special place in my heart for a handful of shows that lasted only a single season. This is pure nostalgia, of course. But another part is the desire, now 60 years along, for more episodes of those short-lived series. With that in mind, let’s look at two of my favorite one-season wonders.

CORONET BLUE

Although it ran as a midseason replacement in 1967, Coronet Blue was initially filmed two years previously, for the 1965–1966 television series. Starring Frank Converse, it debuted on May 29 with the episode titled “A Time to Be Born.” Arriving in New York City by passenger ship, the protagonist is called by the name “Gigot” by a fellow traveler, who tells him that Margaret wants to talk to him. Up on deck, he meets with an extremely well-dressed woman, who tells him: “We know what you’re doing. You’re not really with us. You’ve been pretending all along. I’m surprised at you.” One man pulls a silenced gun, but it’s knocked aside. Gigot is slugged unconscious and thrown overboard, but not before all identification has been stripped from him. When he comes to at dock side, he can’t remember his name or anything except two words: coronet blue. The nameless protagonist is taken to Alden General Hospital. Regaining consciousness, he has no idea who he is. He adopts the name Michael Alden, based on the hospital where he landed and the first name of his doctor. Against the supervising physician’s orders, he decides to strike out on his own. This despite having no money, home, or identity.

(LEFT) Are you curious yellow? Perplexingly, the series’ logo for Coronet Blue was yellow. (RIGHT) Cat got your tongue? A feline beast peers with silent menace over the T.H.E. Cat logo. © CBS Studios. “I gotta find out what’s out there, doctor,” Alden explains. “I mean, what’s out there for me.” Leaving the hospital, he gets a job washing dishes at the Screaming I coffee shop run by Max Spier, played by Joel Silver. While attempting to reassemble his life, Alden discovers he’s being followed. He also has recurring dreams of a woman he can’t identify. The hunt for his real identity begins when Alden discovers a bar called the Blue Coronet, owned by a man who is obsessed with the coronet symbol. This leads Alden to a party and a young woman named Alix, who introduces him to his father, a dealer in boats. While at work, he discovers that he speaks fluent Spanish. Where did he learn that language? It’s a mystery. Alden and Alix fall in love and plan to run off together. But during a romantic picnic, a sniper attacks. Alix is shot dead by mistake while the shooter gets away. The premiere episode ended with Michael Alden planning to go to San Francisco to find the owner of the Blue Coronet bar. Inexplicably, that continuity set-up was ignored in the second aired episode, in which he encountered a family who claimed to be his own. Of course, they weren’t. Otherwise, the quest might have ended right there. Evidently, the producers rethought the idea that Michael Alden would be a man on the run like David Janssen in The Fugitive, journeying from state to state in his quest. Other than the odd episode that found him in another state, Alden stuck to New York City—a RETROFAN

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19942024 UPDATE #2

TwoMorrows 3

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AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: 1945-1949

The AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES continues its ambitious series of FULL-COLOR HARDCOVERS, where TwoMorrows’ top authors document every decade of comic book history from the 1940s to today! At long last, this 1945-49 VOLUME covers the comic book industry during the aftermath of World War II, when scores of writers and artists returned from foreign battlefields to resume their careers. It was a period when readers began turning away from the escapist entertainment offered by super-heroes in favor of other genres, like the grittier, more brutal crime comics. It was a time when JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY created Young Romance, inaugurating a golden age of romance comics. And it was during this five-year period that Timely and National Comics capitalized on the popularity of Westerns, that BILL GAINES plotted a new course for EC Comics in the wake of his father’s death, and that JERRY SIEGEL and JOE SHUSTER first sued for the rights to Superman. These are just a few of the events chronicled in this exhaustive, full-color hardcover, further documenting the ACBC series’ cohesive, linear overview of the entire landscape of comics history! Edited by KEITH DALLAS and JOHN WELLS. (264-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-099-1 NOW SHIPPING!

MARVEL COMICS In The EARLY 1960s

by PIERRE COMTOIS This new volume in the ongoing “MARVEL COMICS IN THE...” series takes you all the way back to that company’s legendary beginnings, when gunfighters traveled the West and monsters roamed the Earth! The company’s output in other genres influenced the development of their super-hero characters from Thor to Spider-Man, and featured here are the best of those stories not covered previously, completing issue-by-issue reviews of EVERY MARVEL COMIC OF NOTE FROM 1961-1965! Presented are scores of handy, easy to reference entries on AMAZING FANTASY, TALES OF SUSPENSE (and ASTONISH), STRANGE TALES, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, RAWHIDE KID, plus issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and others that weren’t in the previous 1960s edition. It’s author PIERRE COMTOIS’ last word on Marvel’s early years, when JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, and DON HECK, together with writer/editor STAN LEE (and brother LARRY LIEBER), built an unprecedented new universe of excitement! (224-page TRADE PAPERBACK) $29.95 • (Digital Edition) $12.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-126-4 NOW SHIPPING!

ZOWIE!

HOLY PHENOMENON! In the way-out year of 1966, the action comedy “Batman” starring ADAM WEST premiered and triggered a tsunami of super swag, including toys, games, Halloween costumes, puppets, action figures, and lunch boxes. Meanwhile, still more costumed avengers sprang forth on TV (“The Green Hornet,” “Ultraman”), in MOVIES (“The Wild World of Batwoman,” “Rat Pfink and Boo Boo”), and in ANIMATION (“Space Ghost,” “The Marvel Super Heroes”). ZOWIE! traces the history of the superhero genre from early films, through the 1960s TV superhero craze, and its pop culture influence ever since. This 192-page hardcover, in pop art colors that conjure the period, spotlights the coolest collectibles and kookiest knockoffs every ’60s kid begged their parents for, and features interviews with the TV stars (WEST, BURT WARD, YVONNE CRAIG, FRANK GORSHIN, BURGESS MEREDITH, CESAR ROMERO, JULIE NEWMAR, VAN WILLIAMS), the artists behind the comics (JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE GIELLA), and others. Written and designed by MARK VOGER (MONSTER MASH, HOLLY JOLLY), ZOWIE! is one super read! (192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-125-7 NOW SHIPPING!

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RETRO SCI-FI

A Hanna-Barbera Production in All but Name?!? BY JASON HOFIUS A Gatchaman promotional image. Artist unknown. Japan’s Gatchaman was the basis for Battle of the Planets. Photos accompanying this article are courtesy of Jason Hofius. Battle of the Planets © Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.

It was September 1978 and the previous year’s theatrical release of Star Wars had created an unexpected renewed interest in science fiction/adventure stories. Most television producers were caught off guard; there were no new programs in that genre being prepared to attract hungry viewers. The only existing science fiction series were well-worn reruns of things like The Twilight Zone (1959) or Star Trek (1966). Not many other shows in the genre survived long enough to make it as daily syndicated offerings. New programming was being sought out as quickly as possible, and only one company, Sandy Frank Entertainment, was ready by the 1978 series premiere season with their program, Battle of the Planets. It was a striking animated series that hit the ground running. Five days a week (in most markets), for 85 full episodes. Its rich, detailed animation, fantastic cosmos-soaring stories, quickpaced action, and rousing music were all immediately attractive to children. Each aspect set it apart from just about everything else on TV. The series became an instant ratings powerhouse that flattened competition across North America. It left a strong impression and achieved its goal of making rapt viewers of Television syndicator youngsters who wanted more Sandy Frank. outer space adventures.

What might be surprising to many are the origins of Battle of the Planets. Viewers didn’t know much about it at first, other than most of it looked nothing like the typical cartoon production they were familiar with. Children who grew up in North America knew a certain type of animation. A style from the most well-known and prolific cartoon studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions, had become standard. Some may also have noticed the phrase, “Produced in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.” and the odd little seahorse logo in its end credits. In fans’ eyes, Battle of the Planets clearly wasn’t another Hanna-Barbera show. Or... was it? The answer is a bit complicated. Battle of the Planets was the end result of a series created in both Japan and the United States. Many of the stateside personnel involved in its production did indeed have histories with Hanna-Barbera. Due to this, Battle of the Planets was actually steeped in the studio’s history. So much so that it could almost be considered as a project from them. But where did it come from and how did so many Hanna-Barbera veterans fit into the story of bringing it to air?

HISTORY

The basis for Battle of the Planets was a Japanese television show called Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Longtime American television syndicator Sandy Frank was looking to create his very first original syndicated series just as the Star Wars craze took hold. In 1977, he bought the licensing rights to Gatchaman and renamed it Battle of the Planets to capitalize on the trend. Gatchaman turned out to be far from the outer space adventure Frank had envisioned and had already been pre-selling to U.S. television program buyers. Its RETROFAN

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retro sci-fi

stories took place strictly on Earth. Not only that, it also had a lot of hard-hitting action and violence that would never be permitted to air in North America. Frank had to reshape Gatchaman into what he wanted and he needed people familiar with television animation production to do it. At the time, a number of studios were creating animation for American television, including Filmation, DePatie-Freleng, Rankin/Bass, the newly started Ruby-Spears, and a few others. But Hanna-Barbera reigned over them all in success and sheer number of series produced. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera met in the Thirties at MGM’s animated theatrical shorts section. Both were involved in different areas of production; neither was an animator. While there, they worked on the some of the studio’s most popular cartoon series, including Tom & Jerry and Droopy. The duo eventually headed the animated shorts department. But when MGM closed their animation section, Hanna and Barbera struck out on their own, formed Hanna-Barbera Enterprises (soon to be Hanna-Barbera Productions), and expanded into television animation. Their simplified style cut animation tasks to the bare minimum, which allowed them to more easily create weekly TV

Creator of Gatchaman, Tatsuo Yoshida. 34

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A Battle of the Planets promotional advertisement that listed contributors Alan Dinehart and Jameson Brewer and mentioned their work at Hanna-Barbera. series. Their first was The Ruff and Reddy Show in late 1957, then The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958), and The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959). Prime-time TV animation followed with The Flintstones in 1960, and Hanna-Barbera soon entered their busiest period. The need for creators was at an all-time high. Hanna-Barbera employed scores of production personnel; anyone a normal production studio would need, with the addition of many types of visual artists. It remained that way through the late Eighties, when weekly animation slowed. But in 1977, things were going strong and the thriving studio was putting out about ten shows a week. It was at that time Sandy Frank purchased Gatchaman. His main task was to find someone to translate the series for North American TV. When getting into something new, Frank always sought out guidance from the best sources he could. So, it was only natural that he looked toward Hanna-Barbera. A number of people involved in Battle of the Planets’ creation, including Sandy Frank himself

retro sci-fi

and eventual series head writer, Jameson Brewer, recalled Frank initially approached Hanna-Barbera to see if they would work on his new series. Their likelihood of agreeing was slim. The studio’s main business was creating their own content, and they had enough work with their productions to stay busy. They probably didn’t have much interest, let alone time, to adapt anyone else’s. At any rate, an agreement with Hanna-Barbera never happened. Without their involvement, Frank still needed experienced personnel for his series. What was his next solution? He knew if someone had spent any time at all in television animation in the U.S., it was likely they had passed through Hanna-Barbera’s doors. So, Frank looked for frequent Hanna-Barbera collaborators to see if they had interest in joining his production team.

PRODUCTION

The initial attempt to begin the translation fell to a then-current Hanna-Barbera employee named Alex Lovy. Sandy Frank’s friend, and future director of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Irvin Kershner, suggested Lovy. Lovy was with Hanna-Barbera from their late theatrical shorts era, collaborating on MGM’s Loopy De Loop (1960) films. He carried over with them to television where he acted as a story director for most of their shows through the late Sixties. He additionally served as an associate or co-producer for many programs, including a couple years on The Flintstones. But for Battle of the Planets, Lovy was approached to be head writer. It would have been the first time he held that role. For the production work of recording the voice actors and editing the series, Sandy Frank was put in touch with Fred Ladd. Ladd was a veteran in TV animation on the East Coast with no direct Hanna-Barbera involvement. But he was an important person in the field of another discipline... After Astro Boy (1963), Kimba, the White Lion (1965), and Gigantor (1966), he was one of the few who had success translating Japanese animation for American audiences. However, since Ladd was based in New York City, he was reluctant to take on the job. His reluctance turned to refusal when he

learned Lovy had never written any scripts for the very specific task of lip synching. Ladd knew from firsthand history that the combination of inexperience and distance would have meant a lot of time correcting things in the studio. He didn’t want to start a job with such obvious potential headaches. So, he turned it down and suggested Frank find an experienced synch writer and have the entire production done in one location. Frank followed the Jameson Brewer, head advice. He took Lovy out of creative and script superconsideration to write the series visor. and began a fresh search for help elsewhere in Hollywood. Via Frank’s social circles, he soon landed on Jameson Brewer, who would become the main creative force for Battle of the Planets. Brewer’s long history in animation started in 1940, when he began as an apprentice at Universal Studios for Walter Lantz. He eventually moved to Walt Disney Studios where he transitioned to writing. He found writing cartoons to be more creatively satisfying than drawing them. Brewer then went independent and created scripts for short subject cartoons, features like The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964), and live-action television, including episodes of The Addams Family (1964) and Branded (1965). Brewer came to Hanna-Barbera in 1972 to work on an Afterschool Special episode they animated, called “The Last of the Curlews.” Happy with his work there, he continued to write for the studio on the The New Scooby-Doo Movies that same year. Another employee of Hanna-Barbera and close friend to Jameson Brewer, Alan Dinehart, would become Battle of the Planets’ voice director and an actor for two of its main roles. Like

Hanna-Barbera series like these had large concentrations of people who later worked on Battle of the Planets. © Hanna-Barbera. RETROFAN

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He was one of the people who helped develop and write the script for The Flagstones, which eventually became The Flintstones. He later worked on the live-action The Addams Family with Jameson Brewer. Winkler and Brewer also worked on the same Hanna-Barbera projects, including The New Scooby-Doo Movies. By the mid-Seventies, Winkler had essentially retired, until he was brought on by Brewer to write for Battle of the Planets. Winkler wrote 14 scripts for the series, making him its most prolific writer.

EDITING

Battle of the Planets actors Janet Waldo, Ronnie Schell, and Casey Kasem with the author in 2002. Editor Warner Leighton in a frame from a 1963 Hanna-Barbera promotional film called Here Comes a Star. © Hanna-

CONCLUSION

Barbera.

SITES AND WORKS REFERENCED Personal interviews with: Sandy Frank, Ippei Kuri, Jameson Brewer, Franklin Cofod, Hoyt Curtin, Alan Dinehart, Jr., David Jolliffe, Casey Kasem, Alan Oppenheimer, Ronnie Schell, Alex Toth, Janet Waldo, Thomas Wogatzke, Alan Young Online sources: The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) For Hanna-Barbera program dates and cast lists: “Here Comes a Star or Six” by Don M. Yowp (4/9/2015) yowpyowp.blogslpot.com Animation Anecdotes #357 by Jim Korkis (4/16/2018) www.cartoonreseaerch.com Print sources: Billboard (The International Music-Record-Tape Newsweekly) December 14, 1974 “Kiddie Rock: Hoyt Curtin Uses Today’s Sounds in His TV Programs,” no author given Children’s Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946–1947—Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series by George W. Woolery (Scarecrow Press, 1983) 40

RETROFAN

Warner E. Leighton was the editor for Battle of the Planets’ pilot episode. His credits with Hanna-Barbera began on their Loopy De Loop theatrical shorts. After Hanna-Barbera switched their sights to television, Leighton followed and worked with them as editor or supervising editor on some of their key early series including The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, and Space Ghost and Dino Boy. Leighton continued to work freelance with the studio through the late Sixties. He was contacted by Alan Dinehart for the Battle of the Planets pilot in late 1977. He continued working on it through early 1978, until it was completed and shopped around to major media and television station buyers. When it came time to go to full series in mid-1978, Leighton was not available, so the editing was done through David Hanson’s Gallerie International Films.

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Could Battle of the Planets have been produced without the participation of anyone from Hanna-Barbera? Perhaps. But since it ended up being made in Hollywood, and because so many animation professionals in that area relied on Hanna-Barbera for their careers, it probably would have been an impossible assignment if someone had actually been asked to do it. Instead, Sandy Frank was wise to hire Jameson Brewer and Alan Dinehart, as those two men knew the correct people to bring to the project. Their longstanding and deep friendships with so many Hanna-Barbera employees enabled them to recruit the most reliable from the pool. They also knew who could produce results with minimal problems—which was another major factor in who was hired. As strange as it may seem, Hanna-Barbera was merely an arm’s length away in nearly every aspect of Battle of the Planets’ stateside production. Its stories, direction, music, acting, animation, logo design, and more were done by people who had histories there, many for a considerable time. It all just happened to be produced without Hanna-Barbera’s direct participation. But they had to have been aware of the program to some extent, having likely been approached by Sandy Frank, and later giving people like Hoyt Curtin permission to work on it. When all was done, the first Japanese animation to come to North America in about a decade owed quite a lot to the studio. Even though it didn’t happen under their official banner, the deep histories of the personnel involved in the creation of Battle of the Planets practically made it a Hanna-Barbera project. JASON HOFIUS has previously worked in advertising, but now writes from his home in sunny Southern California. His next project is a Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets art book for UDON Entertainment.

RETRO SPORTS

Chuck Connors Actor, Ballplayer, Legend

BY DAVID KRELL “Connors! He didn’t even play for the Padres! Connors was an Angel! Don’t you remember? The old Padres first baseman was Luke Easter!” So begins “The Deuce,” a 1979 episode of The Rockford Files starring James Garner [see RetroFan #27 for our look at The Rockford Files]. Mills Watson, who later starred as Deputy Perkins in The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo—a spin-off of B.J. and the Bear—offers the dialogue in a scene depicting his character betting a fellow bar patron that he can’t answer questions about the Pacific Coast League of the Forties. Their familiarity indicates that they’ve been through these types of conversations before.1 “Connors” refers to Chuck Connors. Yes, that Chuck Connors. Born on April 10, 1921, as Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors, he graduated from Seton Hall University in northern New Jersey and played professional baseball before he found fame and success as an actor. The Brooklyn native signed with his hometown Dodgers, who sent him to their Newport club in the Class D Northeast Arkansas League in 1940. He notched one hit in four games for an anemic .091 average. His next stint happened in 1942. Playing for the Norfolk Tars in the Yankees organization, Connors fared much better against competition in the Class B Piedmont League. Across 72 games, he batted .264. After the season ended, Connors enlisted in the U.S. Army and contributed to America’s World War II effort on the home front, where he became a tank training instructor. Semi-pro baseball and professional basketball in the American Basketball League were his athletic pursuits until after the war. In 1946, Connors returned to the Piedmont League and employment by the Dodgers. It was a productive year for the 6'5" first baseman, who played in 119 games and hit .293. A jump to the double-A Mobile Bears in the Southern Association followed in 1947; he hit .255 in 145 games. Connors ascended to triple-A with the 1948 Montreal Royals of the International League and a roster of future Major Leaguers including Sam Jethroe, Don Newcombe, Al Gionfriddo, Duke Snider, and Clyde King. He stayed with the Royals for two seasons, batting .307 and .319. Connors also played for the Boston Celtics in the Basketball Association of America from 1946 to 1948. The Dodgers front office called him to the Brooklyn club and he saw action in one game in

(LEFT) Chuck Connors on the set of The Rifleman in a signed publicity photo. (INSET) A Connors-signed baseball. © Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions. Both, courtesy of Heritage.

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ANDY MANGELS’ RETRO SATURDAY MORNING

TV Comic Ads

BY ANDY MANGELS

Welcome back to Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning. Prepare for a visual feast! Saturday morning television was appointment viewing for anyone growing up from the Sixties to the Nineties. From 8 a.m. to noon, while their parents slept in from the workweek, kids could sit in front of the television and enjoy a time just for them. Cartoons—and later, live-action series— were produced by studios like Filmation Associates, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Total Television, Jay Ward Productions, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Sid and Marty Krofft, D’Angelo Productions, Marvel Productions, Sunbow Productions, Ruby-Spears, DIC, Film Roman, and others. But how could the networks best reach kids to let them know when the new shows would be airing? Enter the television ads that ran in the comics, touting new and exciting fall seasons! It made sense, since many shows were adapted from comic books! For most kids, those two-page spreads were their first looks at future TV favorites, but by the mid-Seventies, comic ads were dropping and plain TV Guide ads were sometimes the only promotions. In the third of a yearly series, we’re offering you a rare look at every Saturday ad we can find from 1975–1977!

RETROFAN

(LEFT) This lackluster ad for ABC’s 1975 Saturday morning line-up season—beginning on September 7th— didn’t appear in any comic books; it only appeared in TV Guide! Artwork and photos are courtesy the collection of Andy Mangels.

The two-page color version of this ad for CBS’s 1975 season appeared in comic book centerfolds, and—as noted by text at the bottom—was meant to be a removed as a wall poster. (RIGHT) The black-and-white version for TV Guide was less busy. Art for both was by Neal Adams’ Continuity Associates, and as the artists were often working from black-and-white photos, the colors for some characters—especially Isis—were a bit off!

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(ABOVE) NBC’s ad in TV Guide wasn’t quite as dull as ABC’s, but it certainly failed to capitalize on popular elements like sea monsters, cats, dogs, dinosaurs, Planet of the Apes, and the Pussycats. (BELOW) ABC featured a variety of TV Guide ads for its Fall 1976 season, beginning with this one, but skipped the comics again, despite featuring two super-hero shows.

(ABOVE) CBS ran a gorgeous double-page ad in DC comics, with art again by Continuity Associates, for their fall season, beginning September 11, 1976. This year, Filmation dominated the CBS schedule with 2.5 hours of shows, while Warner offered 1.5 hours, and Hanna-Barbera came in with a minor half-hour.

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January 2025

SCOTT SAAVEDRA’S SECRET SANCTUM

BY SCOTT SAAVEDRA The catch phrase, a few words of little or great import that take on a life of their own by virtue of vigorous vocal repetition, is older than you may expect. My assumption was that it was a construct of our mass communication age, but no. Politics have long driven catch phrases like “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too,” a popular campaign slogan and song in 1840 that promoted the presidential candidate William Henry Harrison, who still lost to Martin Van Buren (embarrassing!). Some of us are old enough (not me) to remember Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “I Like Ike” campaign slogan and song (“I like Ike, you like Ike, we all like Ike…”). He won in a landslide. Going back to ancient Greece (I like to do research), the catch phrase “resting on laurels” had a positive meaning in that it described a person of achievement. It eventually became a negative when it described a person (often an athlete or popular performer) who sadly relives days of past glories, recounting some long-ago accomplishment (like when I won so, so many trophies while on my high school’s speech team with an informational speech about Superman… I was on top of the world then). “Painting the town red” is another

still-in-use catch phrase all due, so the story goes, to one man and some of his friends. Henry de la Poer Beresford, the third Marquis of Waterford (also known as the Mad Marquis), was a drunk and known troublemaker. In 1837, he and his hooligans were completely sloshed and messed up the sweet little English town of Melton Mowbray (where fine Stilton cheese is made). As part of their wanton foolishness, they removed knockers from doors, broke windows, and painted a post office with red paint. A toll-keeper and a constable were painted red as well. There was more, but you get the idea. Brazen debauchery, to say the least. Modern mass communication has allowed catch phrases to appear and quickly become part of daily conversation. Newspaper comic strips had them. Popeye said, “I am what I am.” Radio shows have faded in our cultural memory, but somebody somewhere is saying, “Say goodnight, Gracie.” Movie catch phrases are some of my favorite words to use in conversation, “Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!” But our focus today will be on television catch phrases, which are abundant. As you will soon see. The following is just a sampling though (I do have a life you know). What is it about catch phrases that we seem to like? According to Christopher Peterson, Ph.D., writing for Psychology Today in 2012, it’s because they make us happy, especially when encountering others familiar with the phrase, and that’s good enough for me. Maybe some of the following catch phrases will make you happy, too. Aaay! Henry Winkler, who played Arthur “Fonz” Fonzarelli on Happy Days (1974–1984), had dyslexia, a learning disorder that made reading and learning his lines difficult. He decided to reduce his verbiage to expressive versions of “aaay!” The blog popculturereferences.com notes that Happy Days pushed for catch phrases to the show’s detriment. “Sit on it,” “Exactamundo” and its variants, Ralph Malph’s “I still got it!,” and Chachi’s mysterious “Wa, wa, wa” (before he became a show regular) were used, overused, and even discarded by later seasons.

RETROFAN RETROFAN

January 2025

Exterminate! - Daleks, nemeses of Dr. Who (Dr. Who first broadcast in U.S. in 1972)

Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids! Trix is a colorful breakfast cereal from General Mills that has been around since 1954. The Trix rabbit and the product’s catch phrase, usually spoken by crummy little children, were introduced in 1959. The design of the rabbit and the catch phrase was created by Joe Harris, one of the founders of Total Television (producer of cartoon shows) and creator of Underdog (whose own catch phrase is, “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!”). RELATED: “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” can be heard in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. One (2003).

The thrill of victory… the agony of defeat This catch phrase is actually a portion of the opening to ABC’s The Wide World of Sports spoken by original show host Jim McKay: “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition…This is ABC’s Wide World of Sports!” Actor and screenwriter Stanley Ralph Ross wrote the introduction but is better know for his work on Batman as well as other RetroFan-era classics like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Monkees, and Wonder Woman. RELATED: “What in the wide, wide world of sports is a-goin’ on here?” Spoken by Slim Pickens as Taggart in Mel Brooks’ motion picture comedy Blazing Saddles (1974).

How sweet it is! First uttered by Jackie Gleason is the 1963 film Papa’s Delicate Condition. He would use it as one of his signature phrases from then on. His other, earlier catch phrase from The Jackie Gleason Show (1952–1957) was “And away we go!”

Meathead! - Archie Bunker (Carroll O’ Conner) to son-in-law Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner) on All in the Family

RETROFAN

January 2025