Tag: June Foray

Moose and Squirrel

It was 66 years ago that we were first introduced to Rocky and His Friends. Rocky debuted on this day in 1959 along with his friend Bullwinkle, the evil Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, Dudley Do-Right, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, and even Aesop! They debuted on the ABC Network.

The show was sort of a variety show which featured Rocky and Bullwinkle on an adventure that always ended in a cliffhanger. Their portion of the show was surrounded by Fractured Fairy Tales (narrated by Edward Everett Horton), Peabody’s Improbable History, and the adventures of Dudley Do-Right. The show has been described as “a radio show with pictures” and I would tend to agree.

While the animation isn’t all that great (it was done by Gamma Productions in Mexico and there were plenty of mistakes), the series is still held in high esteem. The show was fun for kids and adults. The humor consisted of puns, satire, and characters poking fun at themselves.

Production on the show began in 1958 with voice work being done by the amazing June Foray, Bill Scott, Paul Frees, Hans Conried and William Conrad. Conrad acted as narrator for the show and his frantic narration was a highlight for me. Wiki says at the end of the episode (at the cliffhanger) he would announce two humorous titles for the next episode that typically were puns of each other (and usually related more to the current predicament than to the plot of the next episode). For example, during an adventure taking place in a mountain range, Conrad would say, “Be with us next time for ‘Avalanche Is Better Than None,’ or ‘Snow’s Your Old Man.'”

https://youtu.be/0yZ3hEpyaD8?si=Pll5MhjWc373v9QX

Here is Conrad and Paul Frees in a promo for the show:

https://youtu.be/uEzTYtzLRz0?si=2kGD-4ux_9rSbsuP

In between the various acts of the show, we’d be treated to Bullwinkle as Mr. Know It All. He would claim to be an authority on just about any topic. Things never seem to go his way in the segment.

Then there was a segment where Bullwinkle would tell Rocky he was going to pull a rabbit out of his hat. Often times it would be a rhino or a lion. Bullwinkle would then say, something about the hat.

https://youtu.be/kRW7pITY5Cg?si=3XBnbIYAPouEZbAU

As a kid, I loved that the characters would break the fourth wall.  They either spoke to you, the viewer, or interacted with the narrator, which was always funny…

https://youtu.be/oUf7YR7gl64?si=CVioEoGyDwZlT99v

I used the music from Fractured Fairy Tails as an open to my radio show.  I had Richard D, my program director, do a hokey British accent and say, “WHND now cautions you that the following program may contain extreme silliness, ridiculous situations and partial nudity. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Keith Allen Experience.”. The music made it sound even more ridiculous.

This was the version I used:

https://youtu.be/PcSpOonwsJo?si=TPpO6oBPZNi8eNZR

There were three other versions with different music:

https://youtu.be/H926TwAkhjM?si=G1dFH9Id9oReKhAB

Mr. Peabody and Sherman also had three different themes:

https://youtu.be/HWXEM2Qo1c0?si=tqaGo05-DiUyGpt4

I love how Dudley Do Right’s theme has that section with music that is so reminiscent of the old movie and radio melodramas.

https://youtu.be/Npfi0UZL2ow?si=n1cIMayF4lpWlNq8

The Rocky and Bullwinkle show was a groundbreaking. And though there have been many attempts at rebooting the cartoon, and movies based on the characters, nothing tops the original!

Christmas Dragnet

I will be offering up a couple of my favorite Christmas songs as part of the Turntable Talk feature hosted by Dave at a Sound Day. My entry will show up on Saturday. You can read my entry here and on his site.

This post will also feature a Christmas favorite that many have never heard before. I wouldn’t consider it a Christmas “song,” but more of a “sketch.” I heard this many years ago on a “best of” collection from Stan Freberg.

Let me give you a little back ground. Stan was a was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. He was a master satirist and was recruited by Capitol Records when they launched their Spoken Word division in the early 1950’s. He had been doing voice work in cartoons in the 1940’s and began producing satirical records in 1951.

In 1949, Jack Webb debuted on radio as Sgt. Joe Friday on the program Dragnet. It was a huge hit and it was perfect for a satirical parody. In 1953, Stan’s first Dragnet release was St. George and the Dragonet – set in medieval days where a night is searching for a Dragon. The recording featured June Foray and the great Daws Butler – two of cartoon’s most famous voices!

Stan wanted to use the Dragnet theme (written by Walter Schumann) for his production. Capitol Records insisted he get the permission of Dragnet star and Jack Webb. Being a Freberg fan, Webb liked the idea, approved the use of the theme and allowed Freberg to use the same orchestra from the Dragnet series with Schumann conducting.

For Christmas Dragnet (also called Yulenet), Freberg once again played the “Joe Friday” character and Daws Butler was his partner Frank. This simple six minute recording always makes me laugh and always makes me smile. In a nutshell, it’s Christmas Eve and Joe and Frank are working the “holiday watch.” The story focuses on a guy named Grudge, who was picked up by the squad for refusing to believe in Santa Claus.

Even if you are not familiar with Dragnet, I think you will enjoy this. And you will always question what to call green onions after hearing this! Enjoy!

“This is the season ….”