The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty

Last updated
The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty
The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty.gif
Genre Animation
Live action
Created byLorna Smith
Directed by Don Christensen
Rudy Larriva
Voices of Howard Morris
Jane Webb
Allan Melvin
Theme music composer Yvette Blais
Jeff Michael
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Producers Lou Scheimer
Norm Prescott
Running time30 minutes
Production company Filmation
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 6 (1975-09-06) –
November 29, 1975 (1975-11-29)

The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty (later called The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty) is an American animated and partially live-action television series, produced by Filmation, which originally aired for one season on Saturday mornings on NBC from September 6 to November 29, 1975. [1] Howard Morris, Jane Webb, and Allan Melvin provided voices for the three main characters on the series. The show follows a cat named Waldo who daydreams of being a superhero and defeating the villainous bulldog Tyrone. It was inspired by James Thurber's 1939 short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and his widow Helen Thurber sued Filmation in 1975 for creating the series without the permission of her husband's estate. The outcome of the decision resulted in the series being retitled in future broadcasts as The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty. [2]

Contents

The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty was produced by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott and directed by Don Christensen and Rudy Larriva. Critically, a positive response was aimed at the show's imaginative story lines and its ability to parody pop culture events well. However, producer Scheimer was extremely upset by the series' final result, listing the issues that arose during production and the minimal number of episodes produced as reasons for this, among others. The series has a total of just 13 episodes. In 1989, three episodes from The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty were featured on a VHS tape released by United American Video.

Premise and description

The series was inspired by Walter Mitty, the main character in James Thurber's 1939 short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". [3] Each episode began with live action footage of Waldo and Felicia, who were usually being bullied by Tyrone. [4] Waldo would then daydream about being a superhero and coming to the rescue of others. The series contained a lot of satire per the request of Filmation and cited television series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and magazine Mad as the reason why. [5]

Characters

The series features the following three main characters throughout its run:

Production and filming

The concept for The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty was first developed by Lorna Smith, who was in charge of the layout of several Filmation series at the time. Being a "big cat lover", she suggested to Scheimer that they create a series led by cats; however, according to Scheimer, he didn't remember their conversation but because "she raised a fuss" regarding the issue, Smith ultimately received credit for the idea in the show's credits. [5] Scheimer claimed in a 2012 autobiography, co-written by Andy Mangels, that the production of the series was also extremely problematic. In 1974, NBC reduced the episode orders on its green-lit series from sixteen to thirteen episodes, which Scheimer felt made it very difficult to sell the show to different markets around the world. He said that with just thirteen episodes, "you were always taking a chance that you were producing something that was going to have no value except on commercial television in the United States". [5]

Executively produced by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott's Filmation, Don Christensen and Rudy Larriva served as the series' two directors. [4] Additionally, Jim Ryan and Bill Danch contributed as head writers to the series, [4] while Ray Ellis (under the alias name Yvette Blais) and Jeff Michael composed the opening theme music for the show. [9] Since the series' title and story were a play on Thurber's short story without the permission of his estate, his wife Helen Thurber filed a lawsuit against Filmation in 1975. She cited that the company "debas[ed] and distort[ed]" her late husband's story. [10] Due to the controversy, Filmation ultimately settled with Thurber and changed the title to The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty in syndication. [11]

In the early 1970s, Filmation began producing several new series for the Big Three television networks. They started creating live action series, instead of just animation ones, and also series that combined both. While a majority of the series was animated, live-action segments involving actual animals were also included to separate different scenes in an episode. [12] According to Scheimer, filming with the animals was tough, as the bulldog who portrayed Tyrone would often chase the cats on set around and not stay still during filming. [5]

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Cat Man"September 6, 1975 (1975-09-06) [13]
Daydreaming as Catman, Waldo learns that Tyrone is holding Felicia captive in a cage in an abandoned barn. Despite being under the watch of Tyrone's friends, Catman tries different methods to come to Felicia's rescue and save her.
2"Catzan of the Apes"September 13, 1975 (1975-09-13) [14]
Catzan, a protector of the jungle he resides in, learns that Tyrone plans to reutilize space in the jungle to make way for construction. So Tyrone chases Catzan down in hopes that his plan will go through as planned without any interference.
3"The Lone Kitty"September 20, 1975 (1975-09-20) [15]
A cowboy-version of Tyrone and his crew begin terrorizing the inhabitants of a small rural, desert town with their horses, so the Lone Kitty promises to save the town and lock up Tyrone and his friends for good.
4"Robin Cat"September 27, 1975 (1975-09-27) [16]
A hungry pig king, who is the ruler of a kingdom, sends Tyrone on a mission to catch the infamous Robin Cat, who has been stealing food and wealth from the queen and distributing it to the poor. Tyrone and his gang vows to track down him and return the food and her goods to her.
5"Cat Trek"October 4, 1975 (1975-10-04) [17]
In a parody of Star Trek , Waldo and his friends aboard a spaceship which is actively being watched and followed by a spaceship named Tyronious. Tyrone, the leader of this spaceship, threatens Waldo to give up his own ship or face the consequences, but all of Tyrone's attempts to gain his hovercraft are unsuccessful.
6"Cat Man Meets the Poochquin"October 11, 1975 (1975-10-11) [18]
Tyrone a.k.a. the Poochquin locks Felicia up in a prison, hoping to gain the attention of her uncle, their town's mayor. Catman and his friend Sparrow, a yellow sparrow bird, travel around the city in search of Felicia; the major, impatiently waiting for his niece's return, also becomes locked up in a trap set by Tyrone.
7"Catzan or Not Catzan"October 18, 1975 (1975-10-18) [19]
While adventuring in the jungle with Sparrow, Catzan comes across Tyrone who has returned to hunt the various species of animals that live there; in order to save the other animals, Catzan cleverly leads Tyrone's gang out of the jungle without them even knowing it.
8"The Lone Kitty Rides Again"October 25, 1975 (1975-10-25) [20]
The Lone Kitty returns to save Felicia, who was recently captured by Tyrone while wandering in the desert. With his trusty horse Sterling and a rabbit named Pronto, he visits an old jailhouse to save Felicia and lock up Tyrone for good.
9"Sheriff of Sherwood"November 1, 1975 (1975-11-01) [21]
Awarded as "Sheriff of the Day", Robin Cat patrols Sherwood and finds out that Tyrone is scheming a way to mess with his special award; he decides to stop his plans before anything serious occurs.
10"Cat Man Meets the Puzzler"November 8, 1975 (1975-11-08) [22]
Tyrone, who has become the super-villain known as the Puzzler, kidnaps Felicia and holds her in his underground lair, so Catman must step in and save the day.
11"Dr. Livingstone, I Perfume?"November 15, 1975 (1975-11-15) [23]
Tyrone, who overheard about the powerful Dr. Livingstone, is wanting to track him down so he can obtain his secret oil, which is capable of producing large quantities of an expensive perfume. Catzan, on the other hand, vows to stop Tyrone before any harm is done.
12"Ping or Pongo"November 22, 1975 (1975-11-22) [24]
While traveling throughout the Solar System, Waldo learns that Tyrone is, once again, searching for his spaceship. Tyrone hopes to scare Waldo away by using a hologram to produce an artificial version of him, so Waldo (as Captain Herc) similarly creates an android version of himself which is used to frighten Tyrone and his crew.
13"Chaw the Bullet"November 29, 1975 (1975-11-29) [25]
The Lone Kitty and his rabbit companion Pronto must work together to stop Tombstone Tyrone and his henchdogs from taking over a settlement of land in the Old West.

Reception

Broadcast history

The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty was broadcast on NBC as part of their Saturday morning children's lineup between September 6 and November 29, 1975, [13] [25] and before being cancelled, it continued to air regularly on the network until September 4, 1976. [4] In March 1976, Filmation received news from NBC that they had decided not to renew the series for a second season and instead chose to focus on "spread[ing] their schedule between reruns of vintage toons and new live-action shows". [5] At its original allocated time slot, the series aired immediately after syndicated repeats of Josie and the Pussycats (1970–1971) and right before new episodes of The Pink Panther Show (1969–1980). [26]

In August 1989, United American Video released several Filmation series on VHS in the United States. As part of their limited line of "budget" VHS tapes, they released The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty, Groovie Goolies (1970), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–1985), My Favorite Martians (1973), Space Sentinels (1977), and Blackstar (1981) for the first time ever. The tape featuring The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty contained just three of the thirteen episodes. [27]

Critical reception

Many years later, authors Timothy Burke and Kevin Burke wrote in Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up with Cartoon Culture called the show a "special treat" and appreciated it for being able to parody "pop culture stables" cleverly. They enjoyed that Waldo was selected as the main character because there was "no more perfect a character for kids to empathize with than a shy dreamer who lives out a thousand adventures in his or her head". They also speculated that Wishbone (1995–1997) contained the same premise as The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty, but with a dog as the main character instead of a cat. [3] Producer Scheimer was hugely disappointed by the entire series, calling it "a mistake on many levels". [27]

Related Research Articles

<i>My World and Welcome to It</i> Sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber that ran for one season in 1969-70

My World ... and Welcome to It is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filmation</span> American production company

Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and principal producers were Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott.

<i>Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids</i> American animated television series

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an American animated television series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and aired until 1985. The show, based on Cosby's remembrances of his childhood gang, focused on Fat Albert, and his friends.

<i>Groovie Goolies</i> Television series

Groovie Goolies is an American animated television show that had its original run Saturday mornings on CBS between 1970 and 1972. It was rebroadcast the following season on Sunday mornings. Set at a decrepit castle, the show focused on its monstrous but good-natured and mostly friendly inhabitants. Created by Filmation, Groovie Goolies was an original creation of the studio; its characters would cross over with Filmation's Archie Comics adaptations including Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Archie Show, as well as with the Looney Tunes cast.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It. It has since been reprinted in James Thurber: Writings and Drawings, is available on-line on the New Yorker website, and is one of the most anthologized short stories in American literature. The story is considered one of Thurber's "acknowledged masterpieces". It was made into a 1947 film of the same name, with Danny Kaye in the title role, though the film is very different from the original story. It was also adapted into a 2013 film, which is again very different from the original.

<i>Help!... Its the Hair Bear Bunch!</i> American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera

Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! is an American animated television series, created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on CBS from September 11, 1971, to January 8, 1972. Daws Butler, Paul Winchell and William Callaway voice the three bears that comprise the Hair Bear Bunch, while John Stephenson and Joe E. Ross voice Mr. Eustace P. Peevly and Lionel J. Botch, respectively, the two individuals who patrol the zoo in which the bears live. The series' producer was Charles A. Nichols, with William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directing, and Hoyt Curtin serving as the composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Melvin</span> American actor (1923–2008)

Allan John Melvin was an American actor and impressionist, who was cast in hundreds of television episodes from the 1950s to the early 1990s, often appearing in recurring roles on various series. Some of those roles and series include portraying various characters on The Andy Griffith Show, as real estate salesman Pete Dudley in My Favorite Martian, as Corporal Henshaw on The Phil Silvers Show, Sergeant Hacker on Gomer Pyle, USMC, Alice's boyfriend Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, and as Archie Bunker's friend Barney Hefner on both All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place. He has also voiced Tyrone the Bulldog, an arch-villain in the live action/animated series The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty and was Magilla Gorilla on The Magilla Gorilla Show, as well as Drooper on The Banana Splits.

Norman Zachary Prescott was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Associates, an animation studio he created with veteran animator Lou Scheimer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Scheimer</span> American animator and voice actor

Louis Scheimer was an American producer and voice actor who was one of the original founders of Filmation. He was also credited as an executive producer of many of its cartoons.

<i>The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show</i> 1980 American animated television program

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show is an American animated television series produced by Filmation for MGM Television featuring the popular cartoon duo Tom and Jerry. The show first aired on September 6, 1980 on CBS and continued until December 13 the same year. Its episodes were eventually added to syndicated Tom and Jerry packages in 1983. Episodes of the show also occasionally appeared on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

<i>Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch</i> American animated television series

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on NBC from September 7 to November 30, 1974. The show aired for 13 half-hour episodes.

<i>Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down</i> 1970 American TV series or program

Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down is a 1970 animated showcase for various caricatured Jerry Lewis characters, all based on characters from the 1965 film The Family Jewels, and styled in a fashion similar to Archie's TV Funnies and the Groovie Goolies. The title is a variant of the deciding question on the game show To Tell the Truth: "Will the real __________ please stand up?" Like most 1970s-era Saturday morning cartoon series, Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down contained an adult laugh track.

<i>The Secret of the Sword</i> 1985 US animated film directed by Bill Reed and Gwen Wetzler

The Secret of the Sword, also known as He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword, is a 1985 American animated superhero film produced by Filmation. Although released before the series She-Ra: Princess of Power began, the film was a compilation of the first five episodes with minor edits made. The film was part of a trend of theatrically released animated films created by producers of TV shows and toys during the 1980s. It is part of the same continuity as the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series, and was created by the same Filmation production team and cast. It was the first He-Man theatrical film, and the first theatrical release to feature She-Ra or any Masters of The Universe/Princess of Power characters.

<i>The New Adventures of Gilligan</i> American TV series or program

The New Adventures of Gilligan is an American Saturday morning animated series produced by Filmation, which aired on ABC during the 1974–75 seasons. The show was based on the 1964–67 sitcom Gilligan's Island. A few years later, Filmation produced a sequel, Gilligan's Planet.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a 1939 short story by James Thurber. It may also refer to:

<i>Uncle Crocs Block</i> American TV series or program

Uncle Croc's Block is an hour-long live-action/animated television series. It was produced by Filmation, and broadcast on ABC in 1975–76.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Mangels</span> American science fiction writer (born 1966)

Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comic books, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture. As an openly gay man, he has been a longtime advocate for greater visibility of gay and lesbian characters in various media, especially comics, including the coordination and moderation of the annual "Gays in Comics" panel for Comic Con International since it was begun in 1988. He is the founder of an annual "Women of Wonder Day" event, which raised over $136,000 in funds for domestic violence shelters and related programs during its seven-year run. As of 2011 he has had three books on the USA Today "best-selling books" list.

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies is a 1972 animated one-hour TV-movie that was aired on December 16 as an episode of the anthology series The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. In this Filmation-produced movie, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and other Looney Tunes characters interact with the characters from the Filmation series Groovie Goolies.

Waldo is a masculine given name. It derives from the Anglo-Saxon name Waltheof. It may refer to:

James Francis Ryan was an American screenwriter in the DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, also the Filmation studios and Hanna–Barbera.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 255–256. ISBN   0-8108-1557-5 . Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 540–541. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  3. 1 2 Burke & Burke 1998 , p. 153
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Erickson 2005 , p. 730
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Scheimer & Mangels 2012 , p. 118
  6. ↑ Bass, Hampshire & Paximadis 2011 , p. 138
  7. ↑ Choron, Choron & Moore 2007 , p. 103
  8. ↑ Terrace 1976 , p. 279
  9. ↑ Terrace 1981 , p. 177
  10. ↑ Hyatt 2006 , p. 222
  11. ↑ Scheimer & Mangels 2012 , p. 125
  12. ↑ McNeil 1991 , p. 673
  13. 1 2 "Local Programs Sept. 6–12". TV Guide . 23 (35). September 6, 1975.
  14. ↑ "Local Programs Sept. 13–19". TV Guide. 23 (36). September 13, 1975.
  15. ↑ "Local Programs Sept. 20–26". TV Guide. 23 (37). September 20, 1975.
  16. ↑ "Local Programs Sept. 27–Oct. 3". TV Guide. 23 (38). September 27, 1975.
  17. ↑ "Local Programs Oct. 4–10". TV Guide. 23 (39). October 4, 1975.
  18. ↑ "Local Programs Oct. 11–17". TV Guide. 23 (40). October 11, 1975.
  19. ↑ "Local Programs Oct. 18–24". TV Guide. 23 (41). October 18, 1975.
  20. ↑ "Local Programs Oct. 25–31". TV Guide. 23 (42). October 25, 1975.
  21. ↑ "Local Programs Nov. 1–7". TV Guide. 23 (43). November 1, 1975.
  22. ↑ "Local Programs Nov. 8–14". TV Guide. 23 (44). November 8, 1975.
  23. ↑ "Local Programs Nov. 15–21". TV Guide. 23 (45). November 15, 1975.
  24. ↑ "Local Programs Nov. 22–28". TV Guide. 23 (46). November 22, 1975.
  25. 1 2 "Local Programs Nov. 29–Dec. 5". TV Guide. 23 (47). November 29, 1975.
  26. ↑ Shapiro 1992 , p. 84
  27. 1 2 Scheimer & Mangels 2012 , p. 259

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.