The New Alice in Wonderland (1966)

On March 30, 1966, ABC Television broadcast a one-hour special called The New Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?). Produced by Hanna-Barbera and sponsored by Rexall Drugs and Coca-Cola, the animated TV movie featured a stellar voice cast as well as songs by the acclaimed composing team of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams (Bye Bye Birdie). The movie was written by Bill Dana, who also voiced the White Knight.

Along with such luminaries as Sammy Davis, Jr. (Cheshire Cat), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Queen of Hearts) and Hedda Hopper (Hedda Hatter), several well-known Hanna-Barbera voice actors had roles in the movie. Two characters from The Flintstones, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, appeared in the special as the two-headed caterpillar. Their voices were provided by Alan Reed and Mel Blanc, respectively, just as in the TV series (Henry Corden lent his talents as Fred's singing voice). Below is the full cast:

• Mel Blanc: Barney Rubble
• Daws Butler: King of Hearts, March Hare
• Henry Corden: Fred Flintstone (singing voice)
• Bill Dana: White Knight
• Sammy Davis, Jr.: Cheshire Cat
• Doris Drew: Alice (singing voice)
• Zsa Zsa Gabor: Queen of Hearts
• Hedda Hopper: Hedda Hatter
• Harvey Korman: Mad Hatter
• Allan Melvin: Alice’s Father, Humphrey Dumpty
• Don Messick: Dormouse, Fluff
• Howard Morris: White Rabbit
• Alan Reed: Fred Flintstone (speaking voice)
• Janet Waldo: Alice (speaking voice)

Although the movie is not currently available on home video, several clips have been posted on YouTube, as has the audio adaptation. Below is my YouTube player featuring all of these. (The audio adaptation LP was not a soundtrack, due to a handful of cast changes made necessary by contractual and other factors).

The Flintstones: The Hit Songwriter

The first episode of The Flintstones' second season, "The Hit Songwriter" originally aired on September 15, 1961. This episode is notable for two things—it is the first of several episodes in which Daws Butler, rather than Mel Blanc, provides the voice of Barney Rubble (due to Blanc having been seriously injured in an auto accident in January of 1961); and legendary composer Hoagy Carmichael appears as himself, without a stone-age name change! Carmichael wrote and performed the song "Yabba-Dabba-Dabba-Dabba-Doo" for this episode, which involves Fred and Barney; a get-rich-quick-by-writing-lyrics scheme; a scammer; and a hit songwriter who is kindly willing to forgive the guys' unwitting plagiarism of his composition ("Stardust").




Click to watch the full episode

The Archie Show

Remember The Archie Show (1968), featuring the gang from the Archie comics? In order of appearance in the theme song, the players are: Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Jughead, and Hot Dog, the first five of whom comprise the band The Archies (Hot Dog is their mascot). The series also featured other characters from the comic book, including Miss Grundy, Mr. Weatherbee, Moose, Dilton, and Big Ethel. The show aired for several years in various formats, but its initial season, 1968-1969, was a half-hour show featuring two cartoons of approximately ten minutes in length, and between them the Dance and the Song of the Week. The songs were released on the first two Archies albums, The Archies and Everything's Archie; the group's third single, "Sugar, Sugar," became the #1 song across the country and the RIAA Record of the Year. Lead vocals for the fictional group were provided by Ron Dante, with Toni Wine providing the female second lead for most of the recordings. Most of the songs, including the dance segments, were written by Jeff Barry, who also produced the group's records; "Sugar, Sugar" was co-written by Barry with Andy Kim.

Comics, Cartoons and Animation

Below is one of a bunch of images I have "pinned" on my Comics, Cartoons & Animation board on Pinterest—a "Laugh" comic from 1965, featuring Veronica and Betty from the Archie series. Pinterest is a fun place to share your interests with other people via "pinning" images and videos from around the World Wide Web onto "boards" that you create. Please stop by and check it out!

Source: weheartit.com via Laura on Pinterest

The Flintstones: The Split Personality

An early episode of The Flintstones - episode #5, to be exact. First airing on October 28, 1960, "The Split Personality" features Fred's alter-ego, Frederick, the result of an accidental hit on the head.