Linus the Lionhearted

Linus the Lionhearted
Genre	Animated television series
Created by	Ed Graham
Developed by	Gene Schinto
Directed by	Ed Graham
Voices of	Sheldon Leonard Ed Graham Carl Reiner Ruth Buzzi Bob McFadden Jesse White Jonathan Winters Gerry Matthews "Bashful Bigshots"
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	39
Production
Producer(s)	Ed Graham
Production company(s)	Ed Graham Productions, in association with General Foods CBS Television Distribution (Syndication rights)
Release
Original network	CBS ABC
Picture format	Black-and-white (CBS)
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 26, 1964 (1964-09-26) – September 7, 1969 (1969-09-07)

Linus the Lionhearted is an American animated television series featuring a main character of the same name. The character was created in 1959, by the Ed Graham advertising agency, originally as a series of ads for General Foods' Post Cereals. At first, Linus was the spokesman for the short-lived Post cereal "Heart of Oats" (a Cheerios imitation). Eventually, the lion was redesigned and reintroduced in 1963, to sell Crispy Critters, which featured Linus on the box. The ads were so popular that a television series was created in 1964 (with General Foods as sponsor), and ran on the CBS network until 1966, then reruns [in color] aired on ABC from 1966, until it was cancelled three years later. A coloring book was published which detailed the adventures of So-Hi going on a scavenger hunt in order to break a curse on a two-headed bird, who is then transformed into a boy due to So-Hi's dedication.

In addition to Linus, a rather good-natured "King of the Beasts" who ruled from his personal barber's chair and voiced by Sheldon Leonard, there were other features as well, all based on characters representing other popular Post cereals (Sugar Crisp, Alpha-Bits, Rice Krinkles, Post Toasties, etc.). The best-known of these was Sugar Bear, who sounded like Bing Crosby and was voiced by actor Gerry Matthews. There was also a postman named Lovable Truly, a young Asian boy named So Hi, and Rory Raccoon.

A long-play record album was also released as a premium in the year of the show's debut featuring the characters (voiced by the same stars as the animated cartoon) singing with re-written lyrics familiar songs such as "Jimmy Cracked Corn."

Vocal talent

The show was perhaps best noted for its abundance of well-known vocal talent. In addition to Leonard, Carl Reiner voiced several characters, most notably Linus' friend Billy Bird; Ruth Buzzi voiced an old woman who'd befriended Lovable Truly, as well as Sugar Bear's sometime nemesis, Granny Goodwitch; and veteran Bob McFadden voiced So Hi, Rory and Lovable Truly. Jonathan Winters made a number of guest appearances, as did Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara. Also credited was the later "Maytag Repairman," Jesse White.

End Theme

As opposed to the standard cartoon opening, which promoted "Linus the King, Linus the Star, Linus the Lionhearted," the end theme was an unusual, nearly-operatic form. (This was likely by the Johnny Mann Singers.) As the theme played, the cartoon characters packed a trunk within a spotlight. As the lyrics ended, the Billy the Bird character "mopped up" the white spotlight circle until it faded to black.

"Linus and his friends must go, so we leave you with a song,

We're all kind of sad to go, glad to know it won't be long...

Lion-hearted friendships don't end, we'll all be back and then...

Linus and his friends will go, on with the show a-gain!"

Cancellation

The FCC made a ruling in 1969 that forbade children's show characters from appearing in advertisements on the same program and ABC was forced to cancel the program.

Credits

Season 1

• Supervising Director: Irv Spector
• Production Supervision: Lew Irwin
• Character Models: George Cannata
• Head Writer: Bill Schnurr
• Associate Producer: Rick Herland
• Produced and Directed by Ed Graham, Jr.
• Animation Directors: John Freeman, Clyde Geronimi, Rube Grossman, Ed Rehberg, George Singer, Marvin Woodward
• Layouts: Corny Cole, Bob Dranko, Burt Freund, Dave Hanan, Homer Jonas, Tony Rivera, Sam Weiss, Bob Singer
• Storyboards: Tom Dagenais, Art Diamond, Bob Givins, Cal Howard, Bob Kurtz, Mike Smollim
• Backgrounds: Bill Butler, Boris Gorelick, Erv Kaplan, Bob McIntosh, Lorraine Morgan, Curt Perkins
• Editors: Hank Goetzenberg, Jerry MacDonald, George Marana
• Sound Engineer: Gil Arion
• Ink and Paint by Connie Crawley, Dea Shirley
• Character Layouts: Stan Green
• Special Music Arrangements: Johnny Mann
• Production Assistants: Ruth Kennedy, Armand Shaw
• Animators: Ray Abrams, Frank Andrina, Tom Baron, Warren Batchelder, Bob Bentley, Dan Bessie, Frank Braxton, Brad Case, Jim Davis, Ed Friedman, Bob Goe, Frank Gonzales, Manny Gould, Bill Hajee, Ken Hultgren, Tom McDonald, Dan Mills, Chic Otterstrom, Amby Paliwoda, Manny Perez, Virgil Ross, Ed Solomon, Russ von Neida, Ray Young, Rudy Zamora

Season 2

• Direction: Gerard Baldwin, Clyde Geronimi, George Singer, Marvin Woodward
• Music: Hoyt Curtin
• Head Writer: Bill Schnurr
• Character Models: George Cannata Jr.
• Production Supervision: Lew Irwin
• Production Assistants: Henry Hof III, Ruth Kennedy, Armand Shaw
• Film Editing: Hank Gotzenberg, George Mahana
• Sound Engineer: Gil Arion
• Inking & Painting: Connie Crawley
• Storyboards: Tom Dagenais, Tom Henderson, Lee Mishkin, Irv Spector
• Layout: Stan Green, Burt Freund, Don Jurwich, Tony Rivera, Sam Weiss
• Animation: Bob Bentley, Ted Bonnicksen, Herm Cohen, Ed Friedman, Bob Goe, Manny Gould, Bill Hajik, Ken Hultgren, Fred Madison, Amby Paliwoda, George Rowley, Ed Solomon, John Walker, Rudy Zamora
• Background: Erv Kaplan, Curt Perkins
• Associate Producer: Rick Herland
• Produced and Directed by Ed Graham Jr.

Voices

• Carl Reiner-Billy Bird, Dinny Kangaroo and various other characters
• Sheldon Leonard-Linus the Lionhearted
• Jonathan Winters
• Bob McFadden-So Hi, Rory Raccoon, and Lovable Truly
• Gerry Matthews-Sugar Bear
• Jesse White-Claudius Crow
• Ruth Buzzi-Granny Goodwitch
• Stiller & Meara
• "Bashful Bigshots" (various big name guest stars, usually not credited)

External links

• Linus the Lionhearted at IMDb
• Linus the Lionhearted at TV.com