Hanna-Barbera Stars and Their Voice Actors, Side by Side

 August is coming to an end, and unfortunately, I don't have anything particularly earth-shattering to share with you to round out the month. Don't worry, I have some exciting stuff planned for this blog in September, and today, I thought I would share a couple of photos based around a time-honored tradition in animated press: actors standing next to their animated counterparts! You see images like these a lot nowadays for animated movies and their celebrity voices, but they've been around for way longer than that. Scroll down below to see Fred, Yogi, Jonny Quest, and many more, right next to the people who gave them life!

First off is the modern stone-age family, the Flintstones, as well as their next-door neighbors, the Rubbles. This came from the April 1961 edition of a magazine called "TV Mirror."

Just a few months later, in September of 1961, we got this great image of the entire cast of Top Cat. I couldn't find where this image was sourced from, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was the same magazine the Flintstones photo came from.

Jumping forward two decades, we have a photo of not one, but two Jonny Quests! This was a press photo for the 1980s revival episodes, and features the original Jonny, Tim Matheson, meeting his successor, Scott Menville. Menville also supplied the voice of Fred Flintstone in the later episodes of The Flintstones Kids, but you probably know him best for voicing Robin in Teen Titans and its spin-offs. Also featured in this picture is the man himself, Joe Barbera.

Last but most certainly not least, we have the always lovable Daws Butler, standing between probably his two most famous characters, Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound. This is one I imagine a lot of you have seen before, but I couldn't do a post like this and not feature Daws, so here it is again!

That's all I've got for you today, but I know for sure that there are more photos like these out there, so maybe I'll do a follow-up sometime in the future. Until we meet again, have a funtastic day!

Cartoon Network's All-Star Slam Interviews

 Back in the 2000s, Cartoon Network held a marathon known as the "Cartoon Network NBA All-Star Slam." The marathon ran over several years, but the most famous marathon was the first one, which aired in 2003. A big reason as to why this is the one people remember the most is because of a series of interviews that aired during the marathon. Each of these promos sees an NBA player come face-to-face with their favorite cartoon character, and interview them. For the longest time, these ads were apparently considered lost media, but just recently, the entire 2003 series has been uncovered. I'm sharing them here today because, despite airing at the time when CN began phasing out older programs like the Hanna-Barbera library, almost all of the characters featured here come from there, probably since those are the cartoons the NBA players would be most familiar with. We see the likes of Fred Flintstone, George Jetson, Scooby-Doo, and even Godzilla! Other classic characters featured include Bugs Bunny and Droopy. It's also interesting to see Hong Kong Phooey in one of his few speaking appearances since the original series. He's played by Greg Eagles here, who you probably know best as The Grim Reaper on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. With that rather lengthy introduction out of the way, check out all thirteen of the interviews below!

The Lost Top Cat Interviews

 

If there are two things I love to learn more about, it's Hanna-Barbera Productions and Lost Media. Luckily for me, those two have crossed paths more than a few times. Why, just recently Rock Odyssey, a 1987 TV movie the animation studio created was found after having been lost since its first (and last) airing. But that's not what I'm talking about today. Instead, I'll be discussing an animated series that only seems to be referred to as The Top Cat Interviews.

The above image comes from a Reddit thread on r/LostMedia, highlighting the interview. According to the creator of the thread, LaxJackson, they were able to find an IMDB page for the animation. All it says is that it was created in 1995. Beyond that, the page is completely devoid of additional info. Another user found a Variety obituary for TV producer Douglas Rask, which tells a little bit more about where this came from. Here is the original text pertaining to the Top Cat Interviews.

"In 1995, (Rask) formed Craftsman Prods. with Malcolm Bird. The company produced "The Top Cat Interviews" for Hanna-Barbera Intl., which made the first use of a technique known as performance animation to juxtapose animated and live actors in real-time."

Also mentioned in this Variety article is that the company's next production was a teen talk show titled It's My Life. This project is featured on Malcolm Bird's IMDB page, but I can find no clips or episodes of this show anywhere online either. Info regarding Craftsman Productions seems to be nonexistent as well. I also find the fact that it was produced by the international branch of Hanna-Barbera to be particularly fascinating. Maybe this was intended to play on an international version of Cartoon Network or something? Top Cat is especially popular in territories like Mexico, so that's not totally out of the realm of possibility. However, it doesn't seem like anyone has any archived recordings of CN during that period featuring these interviews. Perhaps these were made simply to test out the technique of performance animation, and were never intended to be seen publicly? I have no idea, but maybe one of you do! Have any of my readers ever heard of or seen these before? If so, I would love to hear more about them!

Howard Morris: An All-Round Entertainer

 To most, he was Ernest T. Bass, a recurring character on The Andy Griffith Show whose appearance was a sure sign that trouble was afoot. But to viewers of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, he was Atom Ant, Jet Screamer, Mr. Peebles, and many more. Morris actually did voices for several animation studios, from Filmation to Nickelodeon, but it was his relationship with Bill and Joe that cemented him into the halls of great cartoon voice actors. While he had many disagreements and falling-outs with the duo (this is why Don Messick succeeded him as the voice of Atom and Peebles), he remained with the company until its very end, even being among the few voice actors from HB's early years to work on their Cartoon Network original series. For the unaware, he voiced Flem, one of the bully characters, on Cow and Chicken.

Even after the studio shut its doors, Morris continued to be heard in various animated series. His last performance was as a doctor in a 2004 episode of the Nicktoon All Grown Up. The following year, on May 21st, 2005, Morris passed away due to heart failure. He was 85 years old at the time of his death. Whether he was in front of the camera, behind it, or simply one voice among many, Howie Morris was sure to leave audiences laughing, and remains an icon of classic television.

As I mentioned earlier, when most think of Howie Morris, the focus tends to be on his live-action credits, not so much his animated ones. That isn't to say he never discussed his voice work in interviews, however. Below is an interview with Morris that appeared in the September 15th, 1985 edition of The Tennessean Sun. In it, he reflects on his voice-acting career, his acting journey, and his many forrays into directing. An all-around great piece about an equally great performer!

Howard Morris Good For A Million Laughs

By KEN BECK

    Talented Howard Morris has made millions of people laugh during his 50-year career, and yet most would never recognize the funnyman's name or face.

    Why? For the simple reason that Morris is one of Hollywood's top voice actors. His vocals have been heard in the past on "The Jetsons." "Atom Ant," "Magilla Gorilla," "Peter Potamus," "The Archie Show," and "The Groovie Goolies" to name just a few of his credits. Now, hundreds of voices later, he returns to the Hanna-Barbera cartoon corral with a new character, Trembly Paw, on "The Paw Paws," which debuts this morning (9:30, Ch. 30), as part of "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera."

    "He's a coward, a kind of a Don Knotts type, this Trembly Paw," Morris said of his latest vocal creation. "He can show bravado—suggesting some real great heroic action—and then his voice crumbles mid-sentence.

    "He's a blow-hard who blows really soft."

     Morris began doing voices in 1959 when he talked for more than 20 characters in a 10-minute cartoon, "Monroe." It won an Academy Award for Best Cartoon. Perhaps his most recognizable voice is the koala bear in the Qantas Airlines commercials. He's filled that role for 19 years.

    He's also done Grandpa and Jet Screamer on "The Jetsons," as well as filling multiple roles on "The Flintstones" and "Scooby-Doo."

    "It's mostly luck," the voice veteran says, about coming up with the right voice for the right character. "You get a look at the cartoon. The script tells you what's going on. You try voices out. You work fast.

    "It's a highly competitive field," he said of voice actors. "It's a small group of people who know what to do and do it fast. Maybe a group of 50 who do the bulk of it."

    But the career of Howard Morris spans much more than just a couple of hundred cartoon voices. He's an all-round entertainer who has acted and directed in everything from the Golden Era of television in the 1950s to feature films and award-winning commercials of the '70s and '80s.

    "When I was five my mother took me to this silent movie theater where she played organ," the New York native recalled. "I would sit in the front row and stare up at that huge silver screen. I think that's where it all began."

    Morris acted in the dramatic club in high school, and then he earned a scholarship to New York University in dramatic arts. That led to membership in the Washington Square Players, which spawned the careers of Jimmy Steward and Henry Fonda. Morris worked his way through classical repertory including "all kinds of Shakespeare."

    Then World War II broke out and Morris was drafted into the Army for four years. After the service, he returned to the Big Apple and worked in plays until television beckoned. On the tube, he displayed his comedic genius on "Your Show of Shows" swapping wit with such greats as Sid Caesar, Imogene Coco, and Carl Reiner.

    Throughout the 1950s and into the '60s, the comedian continued to act on a multitude of television comedies but he also began to direct and produce. His directing credits include the pilot episode of "Get Smart," dozens of "Hogan's Heroes," a dozen "Love Boats," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," " Laredo," and many more TV sit-coms.

    Morris also directed four feature films: "Who's Minding the Mint," "With SIx You Get Egg Roll," "Don't Drink the Water," and "Going Coconuts."

    He began directing commercials in the 1970s and has done hundreds including award-winning ones for McDonald's and Kelloggs. His next directing assignment will be an episode of "Trapper John, M.D."

    In reminiscing over his years in show biz, Morris acknowledged that a crazy hillbilly character he played in "The Andy Griffith Show" might be his most recognizable. "That Ernest T. Bass," he remembered, laughing, "the guy was such a nut, you had to love him. He was a Southern cuckoo."

    Morris is presently working on a book he's titled It's a Living. It will be full of anecdotes from his career. "Some funny and some kind of sad," he said.

    One of the actor/director's most recent roles was a small part as a professor in the feature film "Splash," which was directed by Griffith Show alumnus Ron Howard.

    "Ron was so sweet to me," Morris said. "He called me for the part. We embraced and talked about the old days. I read the script. Then I left. I was walking across the parking lot when I heard, 'Howie, Howie, Wait up. Could you do the part?' It was Ron. It was a lovely sweet thing to do."

Daws Butler on You Bet Your Life

 For whatever reason, it seems like the voice actors of Hanna-Barbera were common guests on TV game shows. I showed you all one from the eighties last week, so here's another featuring Daws Butler way back in 1960. Here, we see Daws alongside host Groucho Marx and actress Marie Gomez. Although it's not a particularly long appearance from Butler, it's always a great treat to see the man behind so many of Hanna-Barbera's beloved characters. Give the episode in its almost entirety a watch right below!

Happy Belated Birthday, Alan Reed

 Yesterday August 20th marked the birthday of the late, great Alan Reed, the original (and in my opinion, definitive) voice of Fred Flintstone. So why don't we celebrate the occasion with an interview with Fred himself? Originally recorded in 1975, just two years before his passing, here is a lengthy interview with Alan Reed. Chuck Schaden is the man interviewing him. The interview focuses primarily on his voice-over work, both in the land of Bedrock and on the radio. I've also gotta say, it's pretty hard not picturing Fred when hearing him here!

If you are interested in knowing more about Reed's long career and life, I highly recommend you check out Yabba Dabba Doo! or, Never a Star: The Alan Reed Story. It's an autobiography he wrote that was only published years after he passed away, and it's a great read from start to finish. Any fan of either The Flintstones or classic cartoon voice actors should definitely give it a look!

Video of the Week: Two Hanna-Barbera Voice Actors on 3rd Degree

     It's time for this week's video, and today, I've got a pretty cool one to share with you guys. Coming from all the way back in 1989, here are two classic Hanna-Barbera voice actors on the gameshow 3rd Degree. For the uninitiated, which is probably most of you, 3rd Degree was a short-lived series that featured a panel of celebrities trying to guess the relationship between two contestants. The segment with the two actors starts at 14:30. I won't say who the actors are, but let's just say they're a page right out of history!

Interestingly enough, they weren't the only two Hanna-Barbera actors to appear on this show during its short run. According to the series' Wikipedia page, Don Messick and Lucille Bliss, best known for their work on The Smurfs at this time, also made an appearance. I couldn't find any footage of that segment, and since this is from Wikipedia, that could very well be fake, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Before I wrap this post up, I leave you with a press image from the show featuring Mr. and Mrs. Flintstones themselves, taken from an archived fansite for the series. And, if you happened to have seen the Messick/Bliss segment in this series, I would love to hear about it to confirm its legitimacy! TV appearances with Don Messick aren't too common (I actually know of another that also seems lost), so it would be fantastic if someone had ahold of it!

The Not-So New, Not-So Affordable Flintstones Pedal Car

 Any fan of The Flintstones has probably thought more than once about what it would be like to ride around Bedrock in the foot-powered cars Fred and friends use, but what if I told you a real Flintstones car did exist? Released back in 1962 and aimed at tots, below is a Sears ad from that year promoting the vehicle. 

Next up is an image of what the product actually looked like, and I have to say, I'm somewhat underwhelmed. Sure, it's a kid's toy, but surely they could've done something a tad more dynamic! Seems like if you didn't fit into the extremely specific demographic of young Flintstones fans in 1962, you weren't missing much here.

What Could Have Been: Hanna-Barbera Under Cartoon Network Studios

 In the years following the merger between Time Warner and Turner, Hanna-Barbera slowly but surely became a thing of the past. By the time the 2000s rolled around, the HB library had fallen into the hands of Warner Brothers, while the creative teams behind their Cartoon Network original series transferred to the newly formed Cartoon Network Studios. But what if I told you things could've gone differently? For a time, there were talks of having the HB library fall under Cartoon Network, rather than WB.

In the above video uploaded by Youtube user 47CartoonGuy, he discusses this possible scenario, complete with a few comments from Brian A. Miller, who was a longtime producer at the CN studio. Of course, this whole idea is rather moot at this point, as Cartoon Network Studios has also fallen under the WB Animation umbrella (thank you once again, corporate mergers). Still, it's an interesting bit of trivia I had never heard of until this video, and I thought you would all feel the same. I also highly recommend checking out the rest of this user's videos. He has an extensive retrospective on Hanna-Barbera productions, and I am always willing to shout out anyone else online who's keeping the HB flame alive!

Video of the Week: An Interview With William Hanna

 Friday has arrived once again, and with it comes a new video for the week! Today, I've decided to showcase a 1979 television interview with one of the founders of Hanna-Barbera, William Hanna! Here, he is interviewed by Jim Longworth, and discusses with him his long career in animation. Check it out right on below!

Strolling Through the Homes of Cartoon Network Classics

 I've always loved finding old and rare Cartoon Network bumpers from over the years, and recently, I came across probably one of the more obscure sets they did. Airing in 2003, these bumpers take viewers through the households of some of their most famous characters during the dead of night. While the focus of these is on Cartoon Networks original programming, there are ones included in this video for The Flintstones and The Jetsons. Seeing as 2003 was the last year both of these shows aired on the network before playing exclusively on Boomerang, these may also be the last CN bumpers created for both series. Give the set a watch below!

Remembering John Stephenson

 It was 100 years ago today in the town of Kenosha, Wisconsin that voice actor John Stephenson was born. That name might not ring a bell for the average person, but for Hanna-Barbera fans, Stephenson was one of their most prolific and recurring voice actors. He's best remembered for portraying Mr. Slate, Fred Flintstone's boisterous boss on The Flintstones, but he voiced a whole host of other characters for the company. In celebration of his career and the occasion, I thought it was only appropriate to share a post highlighting the life of one of Hanna-Barbera's longest-lived voice actors.

A native of Wisconsin, not much is known about Stephenson's early life, or even his later years. From what I've heard, he liked to keep a low profile, and seldom made public appearances. One thing we do know about him before his entertainment career, however, is that he served in World War II as both a gunner and radio operator, not unlike fellow HB voice actors Daws Butler and Don Messick. He also attended Northwestern University in Illinois and left with a theater degree. After that, Stephenson's next trip was to Hollywood.

Like a lot of the other voice actors Hanna-Barbera employed, John Stephenson made several onscreen appearances in various TV shows of the 1950s and 60s, including The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, and Dragnet, just to name a few. Stephenson even made a feature film appearance, albeit uncredited, in 1960's Spartacus. But it was his working relationship with Hanna-Barbera that truly sealed Stephenson's place in entertainment history. The first show he worked on was, of course, The Flintstones. Most know him for voicing Mr. Slate, but he also portrayed many incidental characters over the show's six-season run. After that, Stephenson began to appear in more and more Hanna-Barbera productions. He voiced Fancy Fancy on Top Cat, Blubber Bear on Wacky Races, and several villains in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! As the 70s began, John also took over the role of Doggie Daddy, who had been previously voiced by Doug Young. Stephenson would continue to voice the character all the way through to Yo Yogi! in 1991.

John Stephenson continued to do voicework for HB throughout the 1970s (even getting the chance to voice Tom and Jerry in their 1975 outing), but it was the 1980s that saw him branch out and begin to provide voices for other animation production companies. He worked with Marvel Productions on shows like The Transformers, DIC Entertainment for Inspector Gadget, and even had a few gigs at Disney on TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck. As we reached the 90s, he also lent his voice to a few Nickelodeon productions, like Rugrats and AAAHH!!! Real Monsters.

Despite all of these other voices he was doing throughout this time, Stephenson never let go of the chance to voice his most famous character, Mr. Slate. In every Flintstones production of the era, he was always there to give Fred a hard time. Even by the time the 2000s hit, Stephenson continued to voice the character, making him the last major cast member of the show to still be voicing their character. In 2004, he voiced Slate in a crossover episode of Johnny Bravo (Above is a photo of him with the show's crew). It was the last time he voiced him, ending an astounding 46-year run as the character. This also made him the only actor to play opposite three different incarnations of Fred Flintstone: Alan Reed, Henry Corden, and Jeff Bergman.  In 2010, Stephenson provided his final role, a sheriff for the direct-to-DVD movie Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo. On May 23rd, 2015, John Stephenson passed away following complications from Alzheimer's. He was 91 years old. At the time of his passing, he was survived by his wife, a son, a daughter, and a granddaughter.

As I mentioned at the start of this piece, Stephenson liked to keep his life private, so interviews and even photos of him can be hard to come across. That isn't to say they are nonexistent, however. Above is a photo of Stephenson at Joe Barbera's 94th birthday celebration in 2005, alongside Gary Owens and Janet Waldo. Also below is a video of one of Stephenson's rare public appearances at the Transformers convention Botcon 2001, alongside voice actors Gregg Berger and Michael Bell. While the focus is obviously on The Transformers, Stephenson does discuss his work at Hanna-Barbera, so I highly recommend checking this one out. I also recommend reading this post on Yowp's blog, featuring one of the few interviews Stephenson ever gave in his life (it's also the source of the first image in this post!).

And with that, our look back on the career of John Stephenson comes to an end. My heart goes out to Stephenson and his entire family on this occasion, who I hope are all doing well wherever they may be!

The Toons Go On Strike

 

If you are at all interested in the modern entertainment industry, then you're probably well aware of both the writer and actor strikes being the current talk of Hollywood. Of course, these aren't the first-ever strikes to happen in Hollywood, but this does mark the first time both of these unions have gone on strike since the 1960s. All this talk of strikes in Hollywood made me interested in some of these previous ones, but one that particularly fascinates me is one that seems to have been forgotten to time. That, my friends, was the animation voice actor strike of 1987.

Starting on June 15th of that year and ending on July 24th, the strike affected the five biggest animation houses at that time: Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Marvel, Filmation, and DIC. But what was the cause of this particular strike? It wasn't related to fears of AI or a lack of residuals, but instead a desire to receive more payment for doing more than one character's voice, and an interest in seeing the standard workday shortened from eight hours to four. Below is an article from The Odessa American that covered the strike just two days after it began. Included in it are a few comments by Don Messick, who helps illuminate why the voice actors of SAG have these requests.

Cartoon voice characters go on strike, Actors want four-hour days

By Richard De Atley

Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES - The major animation studios have been struck by about 200 actors who create the voices for such Saturday morning cartoon characters as The Smurfs, Fred Flintstone, Scooby Doo, and Boo Boo Bear.

    The actors, represented by the Screen Actors Guild, say they want more money for doing more than one principal character's voice for a cartoon show. They also want the standard work day cut from eight hours to four.

    Affected by the strike are the top animation houses: Disney Studios, Filmation, DIC, Hanna-Barbera and Marvel.

    The guild has been bargaining separately for cartoon voice characters since 1967. The current contract actually was to have expired June 30, but was extended while there was hope for a settlement.

    The guild's national executive committee voted unanimously Saturday to call the strike, which officially began at 12:01 a.m. PDT Monday.

    Under the current contract, voice character actors receive a base fee of $361 a day for doing the voices of up to three characters on a show. The guild wants to change that to one main voice and two incidentals for one day's pay, and an additional day's pay for each additional main character's voice.

    Producers offered a 5 percent increase over the current $361 rate.

    Ed Prelock, chief negotiator for the five animation houses, said the guild actually seeks better conditions for the voice-actors than it has for members covered by its television contract.

    "It's unfortunate," said Prelock, "that a small group of SAG members feel they should be treated in a more favorable way than the general membership."

    Don Messick, the voice of Papa Smurf, Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo, Boo-Boo Bear and Jellystone's Ranger Smith, said a four-hour workday is needed because of the vocal strain of "doing the crazy, squeeky things we do."

    Among the shows affected by the strike are "The Smurfs," "Cabbage Patch Kids," "The Jetsons," "The Flintstones," "Gummibears," "Teddy Ruxpin," "Ghostbusters," "Huckleberry Hound," "Yogi Bear's Treasure Hunt," "Scooby Doo," "Top Cat," "The GoBots," "Rambo," "Lazer Tag Academy," "Popeye," "Masters of the Universe," "Heathcliff," "Punky Brewster" and "The Wuzzles."

All in all, the strike lasted only about five weeks, ending on July 24th when SAG and the animation production houses came to an agreement. This agreement featured the actors earning a pay raise of 10%, sessions shorted to four hours, and an additional 10% bonus for sessions where an actor has to do three characters. It's also worth noting that this deal affected all of the animation studios sans Hanna-Barbera, who came to a nearly identical agreement earlier in July. The voice actors who went on strike, now around 300, had succeeded in their efforts, and went back to work the following Monday. 

One other interesting tidbit I found while researching this story was this old news excerpt on ITN that covered the strike. It's only a small part of what I imagine was a more extensive story, but in this clip, we see Henry Corden, the second voice for Fred Flintstone, on the picket line! Give it a watch below, and if you by any chance have seen other news footage on this subject, I'd love to hear about it! I'd also like to credit UPI Archive and The Los Angeles Times, both of whom were great resources in putting this together. That's all for today, and remember: support unions!

Jon Snow finds out that The Flintstones were going on strike in ITN's News at One in 1987 pic.twitter.com/CLBlVphlpC

— UKPRES (@UKPRES1) July 17, 2023

Video of the Week: The Oddest Commercial Featuring a Classic Toon Actor?

 For this week's featured video, I'm going to share with you all a video I originally planned on including in my last "Classic Cartoons in Advertising" article. However, there's a lot more to this video than meets the eye, so I've now decided to give it its own post. Believe me when I say it earns that. Out of the many advertisements featuring the actors who voiced the most classic of cartoon characters, this may very well be one of the strangest I've seen yet.

Ever heard of the video game Taz-Mania? Probably not, but it's the focus of the commercial we'll be looking at today. Based on the early 90's animated series of the same name, Taz-Mania was a Sega Genesis game released in 1992. Take a look at the commercial below, and see if you recognize anyone familiar (be warned: the audio on this video is a tad on the loud side).

Does the man who appears around five seconds into the ad look familiar by any chance? He certainly did to me when I watched this in a collection of old gaming advertisements. I thought he looked a lot like George O'Hanlon, who, among many other things, was the original voice of George Jetson. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that my eyes were most definitely not deceiving me. This is George O'Hanlon as he appeared in a PSA entitled "Mr. Ed: Wilbur Gets The Message...About Payroll Savings!" Here is the PSA in its entirety, but if you want to see the exact clip used in commercial, jump to about 12 minutes and 30 seconds into the video.

Like I said, this has easily got to be one of the strangest examples of a cartoon voice actor appearing in a commercial, and it more than warranted an article all to its own. It's also a bit odd that the clip as it appears in the advertisement features another actor dubbed over O'Hanlon's original dialogue, even though the original version would have fit just fine. But you want to know what's even odder than that? The fact that George Jetson and Taz nowadays share a voice actor: Jeff Bergman! He succeeded O'Hanlon as Mr. Jetson, and he's voiced Taz in several projects since the 90's began. Maybe this commercial was foreshadowing?

A Look Inside the Hanna-Barbera Studio

 Despite operating for four decades, it's not easy to find videos of the Hanna-Barbera Studios building in Los Angeles, California. Apart from the occasional news report that featured a behind-the-scenes look at the studio, videos that take you inside the building during its many years are next to impossible to come across. Even videos showcasing the building as it exists today can be hard to find! However, they aren't nonexistent. If you want proof, look no further than this video that tours the studio during the production of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron. The description for this video says it was from either 1994 or 1995. I would imagine it was the former, as SWAT Kats finished its run at the beginning of '95. Regardless, the tour provides a nice look at the goings on at the studio during that time. Check it out below, and be transported back to 3400 Cahuenga Boulevard, thirty years in the past!

I hope you all enjoyed this video. As a quick disclaimer, I'm starting a new job within the week, so posts on this blog may slow down for a time. That being said, I've got lots of cool stuff planned for this blog in August, so please be patient, and stay tuned for more exciting articles on the funtastic world of Hanna-Barbera!