Boomerang's Beginnings

 25 years ago today, viewers across the world were given a new avenue to watch their favorite cartoons of yesteryear. It was on that day that Boomerang was launched by Turner. After several years of classic WB, MGM, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons being set aside in favor of newer programming, the decision was made to give these shows a new home. Boomerang became that home, and it's been going ever since.

While the channel launched in 2000, Boomerang's origins could be traced back to December 1992, a mere two months after Cartoon Network launched. Boomerang began as a programming block that ran for four hours every weekend. Each airing would focus on toons from a particular year and featured no commercial interruption. Below is a sample of the promos that aired for the block in its earliest format.

The block would continue to air in some form or another until October 3rd, 2004, when it was finally discontinued. In those twelve years, much had changed on the network. Though CN was created to give these classic shows a new home, that didn't last long. As the nineties continued, the network expanded its programming with new shows made in-house. Other blocks like Toonami saw the channel acquire anime and action cartoons. The 1996 Warner-Turner merger further deepened their catalog, allowing them a vast library of WB cartoons previously off-limits. With all these new shows on the schedule, it became harder for the old ones to find space. So in 1999, it was announced that Boomerang would become its own network. Much like the block, it would feature zero commercials. The focus was on classic cartoons, and only classic cartoons (it wouldn't be that way for long, though that's another story).

When the channel was launched, an event was held that saw many Hanna-Barbera alumni come together and celebrate the occasion. These photos come from Brian Levant, who directed the two live-action Flintstones flicks (and is pictured next to the original CN head, Betty Cohen). Everyone from Tony Curtis to Genndy Tartakovsky was in attendance. It doesn't get much better than that!

Finally, to end this post on a high note, and start "Boomer-April" off in style, we have this video of the channel's launch. I wonder if anyone watching this back in the day thought they were still going to use this branding fifteen years later. Stay tuned, as this celebration is just getting started!

The Almost Jetsons

 We are all more than familiar with the cast of The Jetsons. Whether it's George O'Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Daws Butler, or someone else, just seeing their names will make us imagine their character and voice. But The Jetsons cast came very close to looking a lot different.

Below is a clip from the May 15th, 1962 edition of The San Francisco Examiner. The piece focuses on the cast of the series, but of the five names mentioned, only two would be heard in the finished series.

I'm sure most of you know Amsterdam and Carroll were the original choices for George and Jane Jetson, respectively. The pair recorded a single episode before being replaced. The reason for their departure has never been clear. Some have theorized it was due to a conflict with sponsors on another Amsterdam show, The Dick Van Dyke Show. Others feel the folks at Hanna-Barbera just weren't pleased with their performances. Whatever the reason was, the two were gone, and because they were contracted for twenty-four episodes, they soon fought back with a lawsuit. Hanna-Barbera would win the suit by 1965. Years later, Carroll would discuss the saga in an interview (which you should check out here). She described it bluntly as a "waste of everybody's time."

But what about Lucille Bliss? Like Carroll and Amsterdam, she was announced for the show, but was gone by the time the series premiered. Her involvement is much stranger. Bliss mentioned that she was cast as Elroy, but was to be billed as "Little Lou Bliss," as a young boy was wanted for the part. Her agent wasn't a fan of this idea, wanting her to be properly credited, and soon after that, she was fired. She had been involved in six weeks of recording sessions before leaving the show.

As you've probably noticed, the San Francisco Examiner piece does not mention a "Little Lou Bliss." Perhaps that idea was conceived at a later point? But even in that case, with the real story already being out, what would be the point in this story? Yowp covered this story on his blog years ago, and also noted a few discrepancies with her story. It could be she was thinking of another show, and had thought it was Jetsons instead, but that might create even more questions. 

On another note, it's interesting to see Howie Morris mentioned as being a regular cast member. While he was heard more often than not in the original series, I wouldn't describe any of his roles as a "regular." Maybe he was cast as another character early in production? Or, more likely, they were under the impression one of his characters would be a recurring role. 

And there's the "almost" Jetsons. While the cast we have is more than perfect, I do wonder what the show would have been like had it been with the originally announced cast. Would we still be discussing it today? Would it have been brought back two decades later? Your guess is as good as mine. 

A Spring Break Announcement

 After a particularly lengthy first two months, spring break is finally here. My workplace tends to get pretty busy around this time, so I'll be taking a week-long break from posting. I've also got some exciting posts planned to come out within the next two months, and I intend to finish those up. Posts will resume on the 31st, and then after that, "Boomer-April" begins. Yes, an entire month dedicated to everything Boomerang!

But that's enough about my life. I hope you all have a fantastic spring break. Until next week, I leave you with this amazing Flintstones thermos from 1962. You've gotta love Fred's reaction to those steaks! See you guys soon, and take care!

Video of the Week: Bigger Than The Average Soup!

 Yogi Bear's the star of this week's video once again, but this time, he's not selling loans or insurance. Instead, he's advertising Heinz Big Soup. This commercial was originally broadcast in 1978 and shows Yogi running off with the soup after scaring two campers away. Daws Butler and Don Messick return to voice their classic characters, and they also portray the campers. A charming commercial, and if we're being honest, probably one of the best things featuring Yogi to come out around this time. 

Catching Up with Arnold Stang

He did radio. His voice was heard in commercials. He appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. But we all know him best as the boss, the pip, and the championship, Top Cat. I'm discussing none other than the wonderfully talented Arnold Stang.

Today, I'm sharing a piece focusing on Stang that appeared in the Jackson Citizen Patriot on September 12th, 1983. At this point in Stang's career, he was beginning to step away from acting, though he would continue to appear in various roles until the 2000s. This piece allowed the reader to catch up with Stang, detailing several recent events in his life. We also get a great look at his early life and a look at his most famous roles, Top Cat included. Stang is a pure delight in this interview, so I definitely recommend you give it a read. 

As a minor note, Arnold is said to be fifty-five here. He was born in 1918 though, so he would have actually been ten years older. I'm assuming this was just one of those little errors that nobody caught. 

Where's Arnold Stang? Just listen to Top Cat

    By Dolores Barclay

    NEW YORK (AP) —Three decades ago, he was that skinny little guy with horn-rimmed glasses, bow tie and coveralls who endeared himself to millions of TV fans as Francis, the badgering stagehand on Milton Berle's "The Texaco Star Theater."
    Today, Arnold Stang is 55, still diminutive, and still fond of bowties. But the eyeglasses are more up-to-date and the high-pitched, nasal voice that made him famous is really softer and lower.
    "I know, you're looking for relics," says Stang, somewhat mystified that he's being interviewed. "It must be some sort of an archaeological dig, right?"
    Not quite.
    He's alive and well and living in Connecticut with his wife, JoAnne, and their two children, and going quietly about the business he started in 46 years ago. He may be a funny guy, but above all else, he's an actor.

    He recently did regional theater productions in Massachusetts of "Harvey" and "The Diary of Anne Frank."
    Stang also does voiceovers for television commercials, and has recorded the voice for the cartoon character Top Cat, the sassy, hipster of the feline set. "I prefer doing voiceovers because first of all, you don't get makeup on your collar and you don't get overexposed," Stang says.
    "I prefer radio to television," he says. "Radio depends on your intelligence. TV dinners really describe what television is."
    Still, he once enjoyed live television, appearing on such critically acclaimed dramatic series as "Playhouse 90," "Alcoa Presents," "Hallmark Television Playhouse" and "The U.S. Steel Hour."
    In film, he gave a first-rate performance as Sparrow, the street hustler in "Man With the Golden Arm."
    As a child growing up in Chelsea, Mass., Stang wanted to become a dramatic actor. When he was 9, he sent a penny postcard to "Horn and Hardart's Children's Hour," asking to be on the popular radio show. The response invited him to stop by for an audition the next time he was in New York.
    "The weekend later, I took money I had saved up to buy my mother and father an anniversary present and got on the bus and went to New York," he says. "I got lost a few times, but finally made it to the station. I recited Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' with gestures because I was going to be a SERIOUS actor. They cracked up and hired me."

Great Gazoo Day

 Today is St. Patrick's Day, and let us celebrate it the best way possible: By talking about the Great Gazoo. The original Scrappy Doo, Gazoo is a pretty infamous character among Flintstones fans, but in 2004, Cartoon Network gave him his own day.

That St. Patrick's Day, Cartoon Network hosted "Great Gazoo Day." It was a marathon that ran for five hours, consisting of Flintstones episodes with Gazoo and The Man Called Flintstone film. This was probably the last time that movie aired on the channel, and I imagine it was one of the last times they gave much attention to The Flintstones period. Only a few months later, Cartoon Network would rebrand and kick most of their older shows to Boomerang, Flintstones included.

Video of the Week: Portrait of a Cartoon Star

 Cartoon Network has hosted a lot of sweepstakes and giveaways, and in 1995, they allowed Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey to help out. Below is a commercial promoting their "Big Fridge" event, which urged viewers to draw artwork of their favorite cartoon characters and send it in. Several lucky artists would then get their art featured on the channel, and a prize pack of Crayola art supplies. It's not too bad of a deal if you ask me. I'll now let Quick Draw and Baba Looey take it from here.