The Quick Draw McGraw Show

The Quick Draw McGraw Show remains one of the greatest cartoon shows ever, and certainly the most underrated cartoon show in the Hanna-Barbera library.   Quick Draw himself was a cockeyed combination of cowboy caricatures, brilliantly voiced by Daws Butler.  Unlike Huck and Yogi, whose voices were parodies of Andy Griffith and Art Carney, Quick Draw's voice was an original and one of a kind.  And the stories were provided by Mike Maltese and Warren Foster, who wrote many of the best of the Looney Tunes at Warner Bros. 

Above is a lineup of the cast from the Quick Draw series.  From left to right, that's Blabber, Baba Looey, Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie with his father Doggie Daddy, and Snooper.  Snooper and Blabber were a team of "detecatives."  Baba was Quick Draw's sidekick.  But you knew that.  

The character pose is taken from an old Hanna-Barbera press release.  The background photo was taken during a family trip last month to the Grand Canyon.  Quick Draw and Baba Looey certainly fit into the terrain. 

Surprisingly,  there were some other Hanna-Barbera characters on hand at the Grand Canyon.  Near the entrance to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, we came upon the roadside attraction pictured below...

Um...Yabba-Dabba-Doo? 

The People Who Made "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs" -- Part Three

Earl Kress

Earl Kress and his wife Denise

Earl Kress was a major contributor to the writing of both Animaniacs and Pinky & the Brain.   Earl wrote or co-wrote many episodes which have become fan-favorites of the Animaniacs series, including the Slappy cartoon “Smell Ya Later” (co-starring Sherri Stoner and Jonathan Winters) and that Christmas gem "Little Drummer Warners" (directed by Lenord Robinson).  Earl was also part of the team that wrote the DVD animated feature “Wakko’s Wish.”

During the 90’s at Warner Bros, Earl also scripted some great segments for Tiny Toon Adventures (“Turtle Hurdle,” “Class Cut-up,” “Day for Knight”) and a handful of Road Rovers episodes.   Earl took home Emmy Awards for his writing on both Pinky and the Brain and  Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain.”  

I’ve known Earl since the early 80’s and have had the pleasure of working with him on a bunch of different animated series over the years, including Pound Puppies and Yogi’s Treasure Hunt during our time together at Hanna-Barbera.

Of course, Earl has worked on many cartoons outside of the Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera spheres.  At Disney, for instance, he co-wrote the animated feature film “The Fox and the Hound.”

Earl and I grew up during the same era, and we were both big fans of the early Hanna-Barbara series starring Huck and Yogi and Quick Draw.  Earl is one of the world’s leading experts on Hanna-Barbara history and lore, and also studied voice-over acting with the legendary voice of Yogi, Huck and Quick Draw, Daws Butler.  Beyond these studies, Earl and Daws became good friends.    

You can hear some of Earl’s voice work on “Hanna-Barbera’s Pic-A-Nic Basket,” the definitive 3-CD collection of music and sfx from Hanna-Barbera shows of the late 50’s to the 70’s.  Earl not only performs on the album, he also hunted down and preserved many of the rare tracks, and produced the album as well.   

I’ve known Earl for 31 years and I’m proud to call him one of my best friends in this world of cartoons. 

 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 2

More images from my 2008 pitch to Warner Bros. for a new animated TV series starring not only the Looney Tunes but the Hanna-Barbera stars as well:  "Mixed Nutz."

In "Mixed Nutz," Yogi's pic-a-nic basket filching has brought him fame as "the world's most successful moocher."  He travels the globe giving seminars on pan-handling, like a grifter-version of  Tony Robbins.  Above:  When Yogi overstays his welcome at Bugs' Malibu beachfront home, the rabbit gives the bear a nudge toward the door.  

I kept Daffy and Porky together as a team for this parody of "The Terminator."  Rosey the Robot returns from the future to prevent Daffy from screwing up the world.

In the southwest, El Kabong is hired by the Highway Patrol to put the kibosh (and the "kabong") on the freeway speeder...the Roadrunner.

(I do so love El Kabong's rope from nowhere.)

More to come... 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2: "The Trio of Triumph" Bible

Below is the preliminary "series bible" created for "The Trio of Triumph."  I worked on this with John Ludin, Scott Jeralds and Alfred Gimeno at Hanna-Barbera back in the late 80's.  Earl Kress and Wayne Kaatz had some input as well.  We'd leave this document behind after pitching the show concept to network execs. 

The words and drawings are circa 1987.  The color, for the most part, is new... 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #1: "The Trio of Triumph"

Back around 1986, I had been working on "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" with, among others, two of the legends of cartoon voice overs, and certainly two of the voice actors who helped make Hanna-Barbera Productions the success that it was:  namely, Daws Butler and Don Messick.   

Both Daws and Don were famously talented as well as renown for being among the nicest people working in show business.  On occasion, before or after a "Treasure Hunt" recording session, Daws would stop by the office and give us writers, including John Ludin, Earl Kress and me, a few pointers on how one of his HB characters turns a phrase.  By this time, Daws had been performing these roles for over 25 years, so you can bet he knew his stuff.   He was particularly helpful in getting us in tune with Quick Draw's cadence and word pronunciation.  Since Quick Draw was one of my favorite characters, I was always grateful for these entertaining tips and lessons from the master.  

Anyway...

...When we heard that "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" would be drawing to a close, John and Earl and Scott Jeralds, Alfred Gimeno and I started thinking about some new show concepts for the classic Hanna-Barbera characters.  We loved these characters and the people who voiced them, and wanted to keep that association going.  We came up with a number of show ideas.

One that made it through several development stages and was ultimately pitched to the networks was "The Trio of Triumph," which cast Quick Draw, Huck and Boo Boo as modern day superheroes.  Quick Draw played El Kabong, now in the city, in a Batman-ish role.  Huck played Huckle-Hero, a flying canine persona we had introduced in "Yogi's Treasure Hunt."  And Boo Boo became Ram-Boo-Boo, our cross between the Hulk and John Rambo.

Unfortunately, the series didn't sell... 

What remains is a show bible and pitch document for the series that I will post if there proves to be keen interest.  

But, for the time being, here, above, is the cover art from the pitch.