Meet Jonny and Hadji

While Jonny Quest had a colorful cast of heroes and villains, there were two characters in particular that the main age demographic identified with. Those were the main character Jonny Quest and his best friend, Hadji. Unlike most Hanna-Barbera kid characters like Elroy Jetson, they were both voiced by actual child actors. Quest was portrayed by Tim Matheson, while Hadji was Danny Bravo.

Nowadays, Matheson is well known for his acting and directing credits, but Jonny Quest was his first leading role. He worked with Hanna-Barbera on a few more adventure series before moving on to bigger projects, but he continues to credit Quest for kickstarting his career. Matheson still does the occasional voice role, too, and has even lent his voice to some of the later Jonny Quest projects. Today, I share a piece that ran in the September 13th, 1969 edition of the Quad-City Times focusing on Matheson and his many talents in the entertainment industry. It's not focused on his animation work, but it does contain some interesting tidbits about that period of his career along the way.

Tim Matheson Is A Double Threat

By Marilyn Lane
Entertainment Editor

    

An engaging young man—both in smile and personality—visited the Quad-Cities to introduce a new character to TV this fall. Tim Matheson will play the continuing role of 19-year-old Jim Horn beginning Wednesday on "The Virginian" on Ch. 6.
    "I play a partner of an older sidekick who likes to roam around. We stop by Shiloh Ranch and I decide to stay. I guess it's because of the good cooking," Matheson said as a grin easily engulfed his entire face creating deep "laugh creases."
    Matheson didn't exactly look like a cowboy. Light gray, wide wale corduroy slacks were topped by a brown and gold striped sweater and grey-green jacket distributed over his 6 '1 1/2' frame.
    Matheson is only 21, but his entry into what he calls a "great business" began at age 13, and then in a writing capacity. He supplied scripts to Hanna-Barbera for cartoons and also served as cartoon voice. He was involved with "Jonny Quest," "Sinbad Jr.," "Young Sampson," "Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines," and worked on "Space Ghost" with Gary Owens of "Laugh-In" fame. 

    The Burbank native wrote two novels as a youngster but they didn't get published. He is now working on a script for the "Virginian" which he hopes will be purchased. The show is his first regular series work and has cut into his writing time so he has given up most of the cartoon work.
    Matheson thinks of series work as a great opportunity for honing his craft. "I'm pleased to be on the series. We've done 10 shows and you learn so fast. You get a couple of years training in a season."
    Matheson spent a year at San Fernando College and is now taking voice lessons. But some things have to be learned the hard way. He had riding lessons as a child, but in one scene during filming of the "Virginian" he sat on a rein.
    He didn't want to make the obvious correction on camera, but he couldn't control the direction of the horse which proceeded to knock over some fake shrubbery. Obviously, the scene had to be reshot.
    Married a year this month, the couple have just purchased an old English cottage in Hollywood. His wife is actress Jennifer Leak whom he met while both were making the movie "Yours, Mine and Ours." The 5 '7" redhead from Wales has interested her husband in antique collecting and one of their weekend leisure activities includes attending antique auctions.

With Jonny discussed, let's take a look at his best friend, Hadji, who I'd argue was the most groundbreaking character in the entire series. He was perhaps the first recurring person of color character in an animated series, and while there are elements to his character that are undoubtedly stereotypical, this is something that should not be overlooked when discussing the series. Hadji was every bit as smart and as skillful as Quest, making him a good equal to the character, rather than a mere sidekick. He was portrayed by child actor Danny Bravo. Bravo was frequently featured in Latino roles, and was great at utilizing accents, which likely led to his role as Hadji. He continued to act for a few years after Quest's cancellation, with his final role being an uncredited voice on an episode of The New Adventures of  Huckleberry Finn in 1969. He subsequently retired from the industry. 

This is where I'd share an interview with Bravo, but unfortunately, I couldn't find anything on him. Because of this, I thought I'd instead share this short clip of Bravo in an on-camera role. This is from the 1966 film For Pete's Sake, which was also Bravo's final movie role. It's a brief scene, but for many of you, it may very well be the first time you've seen Bravo. Enjoy!