Tony Benedict: A Tribute

The animation community lost one of its great veterans this Saturday.

This weekend, we were shocked and saddened to learn that Tony Benedict, one of the great writers of television animation's early years, had passed away. It's actually unclear how old he was, but Mark Evanier and others believe that he was 88. Over the course of his life, he worked at various animation companies and brought many beloved characters to life through his clever writing. 

Tony's career in animation started in the late 1950s at Disney. He worked on films like Sleeping Beauty, but soon departed for UPA, where he wrote several episodes of Mr. Magoo. Not long after that, he hooked up with Hanna-Barbera and contributed to practically every other show they did throughout the first half of the decade. He wrote episodes for The Flintstones, Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, The Jetsons, Atom Ant, Yogi Bear, and many more. His most notable work for the studio might be his Jetsons stories. More than anyone else, he developed and molded Astro into the lovable mutt we know today.

Around the time the studio was bought by Taft, Benedict left them for Depatie-Freleng, and bounced around other studios afterwards. When The Jetsons was revived in the eighties, Benedict, like many other original writers, was brought back to write new episodes. He continued working into the 1990s before retiring from the industry.

While Tony is remembered by animation fans for his great writing and storytelling, those who knew him best spoke of a man who was nothing short of a pleasure to be around. I never knew him myself, but everything I've seen of him over the years made him seem like a genuine great guy. 

If you'd like to know about Tony Benedict and his career, there's no better place than from the man himself. He's done lots of interviews over the years, including several on Stu's Show. Yowp uploaded a tribute this weekend that included an interview he conducted with him. I'll also link a video showcasing an interview he did with the Animation Guild. 

Rest in peace, Tony Benedict. My heart goes out to all of his friends and family in this trying time. I hope he knows how much joy and laughter he brought to people with his writing throughout the years.

A Spooky Thanksgiving with Scooby-Doo

 Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! To celebrate, I thought I'd share this video featuring some of the many appearances Scooby-Doo made during the Macy's Thanksgiving parade throughout both the 1980s and 2000s. I've discussed Hanna-Barbera's presence at this parade before (check those posts out here and here), but I've never shown any footage of these events. I think now's a perfect time to change that. Five different parades are shown in the video: 1983, 1984, 2005, 2006, and 2007. While Scooby is the focus, you'll also see floats and balloons based on other Hanna-Barbera characters. Give it a watch, and I hope you all enjoy the holiday!

Wally and Friends Make Their Way to Blu-Ray

 It looks like Christmas is coming earlier for Hanna-Barbera fans. Well, certain Hanna-Barbera fans, that is. On December 16th, both Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har and Wally Gator will come to Blu-Ray for the first time ever. Both releases will consist of two discs, derived from 4K restorations of the shows.

While I'm glad to see Warner Archive continue to pump out titles related to the Hanna-Barbera library, I must say I'm not the biggest fan of these toons. Wally Gator has its moments, and I very much enjoy the title character, but Lippy the Lion? My feelings on that show can best be summed up by a single "meh." It's also a little disappointing that neither release includes any bonus features, but given that the DVD releases didn't either, I cannot say I'm shocked. I don't even have a clue as to what they'd include.

Even though I'm not crazy about these shows, they clearly have their fans. If they didn't, WB wouldn't bother putting these out. I'm happy they're making them available to those who want them, and I hope they continue the solid work on these releases. 2025 saw plenty of great titles, including one none of us saw coming. I'm optimistic that 2026 will continue the trend.

Hanna-Barbera Heads to TCM

 Turner Classic Movies has got plenty in store for fans of Hanna-Barbera this December. On December 3rd and 10th, viewers will be treated to a trio of feature films from the animation studio. The films will be presented by TCM regular Jacqueline Stewart and animation historian Greg Ehrbar. You may also know Greg for his fantastic podcast and last year's excellent Hanna-Barbera, the Recorded History.

December 3rd will see the channel air Hey There, It's Yogi Bear, The Man Called Flintstone, and A Christmas Story. Then, a week later, viewers can check out Jack and the Beanstalk, Charlotte's Web, and The Gathering. All six films will be airing for the first time on the network.

Considering the HB library and TCM are under the same umbrella, it's a little crazy that something like this hasn't happened before. Regardless, I'm quite excited for this, and I'm sure a lot of you will be as well. I'm particularly interested in seeing what insight Stewart and Ehrbar will bring when discussing the movies. 

Video of the Week: Daws Butler in "Lapwing"

 During my first "Daws Butler week", I featured a short film Daws made in the fifties titled "Nice Try, Virgil." If you haven't seen it, it's an odd little flick, but it's got nothing on today's movie. 

This film, "Lapwing," was made in the mid-sixties. It's totally silent, and its background is largely unknown. Like Virgil, the only reason we even have it is because Mark Kausler found it in his closet. It's far more downbeat than the earlier film, and Daws' character, an alcoholic, is quite a departure from the likes of Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw. If nothing else, it's a fascinating oddity in the career of Daws Butler.

Daws Butler's Honey Fried Chicken

Daws Butler voiced a great many cartoon characters, but only one can say he has his own chicken restaurant. That honor belongs to Yogi Bear and Yogi alone. And as the restaurant began to take shape, Daws was there to give it his blessing, alongside Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Take a look at this photo of the trio alongside the restaurant's founders, Gene Lewis and Jack Bailey, from when the latter journeyed to Hanna-Barbera's headquarters. Lewis is the fellow behind Butler, while Bailey stands between Daws and Joe. Interestingly, Warren Foster, who wrote many early Hanna-Barbera toons, was also on hand for the visit, but was not photographed.

Despite the backing of the men who gave Yogi life, the chain wasn't built to last. Only around twenty stores were ever opened, and today, just a single one still stands. While it wasn't the success its creators hoped for, the fact that even one remains after all this time is pretty impressive.

Daws Butler Writes In

Today's post is going to be quite an interesting one. I've posted several newspaper articles on Daws Butler here, but what about a time Butler wrote in? Today's focus is on a piece from Butler himself, sourced from the October 9th, 1977 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Before I show it, let me give a quick backstory.

This writing is in response to a piece that ran in the paper a month earlier by Charles Solomon. He's a well-known animation historian, but the focus of this particular story was the state of children's animation. Solomon didn't hold back in trashing much of that season's programming and pointed out Hanna-Barbera as the most notable offender. Daws has his disagreements, but I find his response to be a very intriguing look at how much the television animation industry had changed since the fifties. I'll let him take over now.

    "I've got to take issue with Charles Solomon. He writes very amusingly, and he cites many truths—but there's more to it. I want to talk about funny cartoons—or when cartoons were funny—the early Huckleberry Hounds, Yogi Bears, Snagglepusses, Hokey Wolfs, Mr. Jinks, voices that I did, as well as the humorous product from the Jay Ward studios.
    I've been an actor in the animation field (among others) for many years. I was the original "Reddy" mentioned at the top of Solomon's article as being the template of the whole limited animation syndrome. Don Messick, a gifted colleague, was "Ruff." Charlie Shows wrote all of the episodes, funny concepts with comedy rhythms which today seem to be supplanted by a humorless quest for "continuity" and the dry pithiness of a mundane "storyline." Unfortunately, it is usually the same story, told again and again, year after year, with a "new" character doing an imitation of an imitation. Let the writer create.

    There are funny writers around. I can hear them breathing. I can sense their presence—but they aren't allowed to write "funny"—to create provocative character complexities, which sensitive comic-actors can interpret. Let the writer write."

                                                                                                                    Daws Butler
                                                                                                                       Beverly Hills