Huckleberry Hound
Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue anthropomorphic coonhound that speaks with a North Carolina Southern drawl and has a relaxed, sweet, and well-intentioned personality. He first appeared in the series The Huckleberry Hound Show. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to win an Emmy Award in 1960[6] as an "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming";[7] the first animated series to receive such an award.[8]
| Huckleberry Hound | |
|---|---|
| The Huckleberry Hound Show character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Huckleberry Hound Meets Wee Willie (September 29, 1958) |
| Created by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Voiced by | Daws Butler (1958–1988) Gilbert Mack (Quick Draw McGraw and Huckleberry Hound LP (1959))[1] Jack Mercer (Movie Wheels Present Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear (1960))[2] Paul Frees (Huckleberry Hound Tells Stories Of Uncle Remus (1965))[3] Chuck McCann (Wake Up, America! LP (1965))[4] Greg Burson (1989-2003) Greg Berg (Yo Yogi!) Keith Scott (Hanna-Barbera Gala Celebrity Nite) Karl Wiedergott (The Simpsons)[5] Maurice LaMarche (Sound Hound) James Arnold Taylor (Johnny Bravo) Tom Kenny (Evil Con Carne, 2020-present) Jeff Bergman (commercials) Billy West (Wacky Races) |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Bluetick Coonhound |
| Gender | Male |
| Spouse | Desert Flower (wife) |
| Relatives | Yogi Bear (friend) Boo-Boo Bear (friend) Snagglepuss (friend) Hokey Wolf (friend) Pixie and Dixie (friends) Quick Draw McGraw (friend) Baba Looey (friend) Yakky Doodle (friend) Ranger Smith (friend) Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy (friends) |
Most of his short films consisted of Huck trying to perform jobs in different fields, ranging from policeman to dogcatcher, with results that backfired, yet usually coming out on top, either through slow persistence or sheer luck. Huck did not seem to exist in a specific time period as he has also been a Roman gladiator, a medieval knight, and a rocket scientist. He never appeared in futuristic cartoons, only those set in the present or the past.
One regular antagonist in the series was Powerful Pierre, a tall and muscular unshaven character with a French-Canadian accent. Another regular villain was Dinky Dalton, a rough and tough western outlaw that Huck usually has to capture, and Crazy Coyote, a wild Native American who Huck often had to defeat who was his match. There were also two crows with Mafia accents who often annoyed Farmer Huck. Another trademark of Huck was his tone deaf and inaccurate rendition of "Oh My Darling, Clementine", often used as a running gag.
Concept and creation
In 1953, Tex Avery created a character known as the Southern Wolf for his MGM cartoons The Three Little Pups and Billy Boy. Introduced as an antagonist to Droopy, the wolf had a southern drawl and laid back mannerisms provided by Daws Butler. The most memorable trait of the character was that whenever something painful or unpleasant happened to him he never lost his cool, instead, he calmly talked to the audience or kept whistling the song 'Year of Jubilo'. After Avery left MGM, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera produced two more shorts with the character. In two of his cartoons (Billy Boy and Blackboard Jumble) the wolf plays a role that was exactly like a usual Huckleberry Hound short, aside from his frequent use of slang, and the echo-like repetition of words he only had in Billy Boy. While Sheep Wrecked was the wolf's final appearance, Huckleberry can be considered his reincarnation.
Huckleberry's name is a reference to classic American novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain. Hanna and Barbera almost named Yogi Bear "Huckleberry Bear".[9]
He was voiced in the original cartoons in 1958 by Daws Butler, who had given a similar voice and characterization to the dog character in Ruff and Reddy. The voice for Huck was actually inspired by a neighbor of Butler's wife, Myrtis Martin, in Albemarle, North Carolina, her hometown. Butler would visit Myrtis and her family and would talk to the neighbor who was a veterinarian. Butler found the man's voice amusing, and would remember it when it came time to voice Huck.[10] The voice bore similarities to that of Andy Griffith, who likewise based his character accent on a rural North Carolina town (in Griffith's case, Mount Airy), and Hanna-Barbera was known for its characters' voices being parodies of known celebrities; Butler, who had been using the accent for about a decade before Griffith became famous, denied using Griffith as an inspiration.[9]
Role in later productions
- Huckleberry, Yogi, Boo Boo, Quick Draw McGraw, Magilla Gorilla, and Snagglepuss traveled around America in the half-hour series Yogi's Gang. Debuting in 1973, the characters traveled in Ark Lark, a hot air balloon. They solved problems including Mr. Waste and pollution, Mr. Bigot's bigotry, and other various issues.[9]
- Huckleberry appeared as a member of "The Yogi Yahooeys" team on Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics / Scooby's All-Stars from 1977–1979.
- The Galaxy Goof-Ups segment of the 1978 series Yogi's Space Race featured new characters Captain Snerdley, Scare Bear, and Quack-Up the Duck with returnees Huckleberry and Yogi, traveling through space to multiple planets in a race throughout the galaxy. The series soon split off to its own half-hour program where Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Scare Bear, and Quack-Up are bumbling intergalactic police officers.[9]
- Yogi's First Christmas featured Huckleberry and others helping Yogi Bear prevent Jellystone Lodge's owner from tearing it down.[9]
- Syndicated series The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera included a segment in 1985 called Yogi's Treasure Hunt; Huckleberry appeared alongside characters including Yogi and Boo Boo, Snagglepuss, Dick Dastardly and Muttley, and Top Cat.[9]
- In 1987, he appeared in the television film Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose, traveling around the world, saving animals and fending off the Dread Baron and Mumbly.[9]
- Huck's lead role comeback was in the Western television film The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, released in 1988, where he was portrayed as a "mysterious stranger" who ends up becoming a town sheriff and falls in love with the Indian chief's daughter, Desert Flower.[9]
- Huckleberry appeared as a teenager in the series Yo Yogi!, voiced by Greg Berg. Wee Willie was also featured as a teenager with his vocal effects done by Rob Paulsen.
- Huckleberry along with other Hanna-Barbera characters including Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Wilma Flintstone, Betty Rubble, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and George Jetson made appearances in the live show Hanna-Barbera Gala Celebrity Nite at the Australian amusement park Wonderland Sydney in 1997. Keith Scott provided the voices of all the characters (except Wilma and Betty, who were voiced by Robyn Moore) including Huckleberry himself.
- A late 2000s (decade) short animated film "Sound Hound" features Huckleberry as the lead character, voiced by Maurice LaMarche. Attempting to sing his signature song "Oh My Darling Clementine," he is repeatedly interrupted by the sounds of New York City, like car horns, jackhammers, and birds, and a visibly irritated Huckleberry zips a singing man's mouth closed, interrupts a man and woman's phone calls, and silences two teenagers rocking in a car, all rendered with cutout animation. As he begins to sing, all of the people he silenced begin to scream in agony.[9]
- Huckleberry Hound appears in the Johnny Bravo episode "Back on Shaq," voiced by James Arnold Taylor. He appears as Seth Green's good luck charm in his basketball match against Shaquille O'Neal and Johnny Bravo.
- Huckleberry made a pictured cameo in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Droopy Botox".
- Huckleberry appeared as a guest star in the 2017 reboot Wacky Races, voiced by Billy West. In the episode "Hong Kong Screwy", he appears as Peter Perfect's stunt double in scenes where the racers and Hong Kong Phooey fight the soldiers of the evil organization K.I.T.T.Y. led by Golden Paw. And in "Slow and Steady", Huck joins the racers and Ricochet Rabbit in a romp through the Appalachian Mountains.
- Huckleberry appeared as Snagglepuss' friend and Quick Draw McGraw's lover in the 6-issue comic book miniseries Exit, Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles.[11]
- Huckleberry appeared in Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound #1.[12]
- Huckleberry will appear in the upcoming series Jellystone![13]
In other media
Huckleberry Hound in Hollywood Capers is a 1993 computer game for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST, released only in Europe. It was in fact adapted from an earlier game, Dino Jnr. in Canyon Capers.[14]
In other languages
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See also
References
- "Golden Records First (and Last) Cartoon Music Compilation". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Felix, Huck, Yogi & Jack Mercer on Movie Wheel Records". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Huckleberry Hound – Tells Stories Of Uncle Remus (1965, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Chuck McCann, Yogi Bear And His Friends - Wake Up America! (1965, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- "Voice of Huckleberry Hound in The Simpsons". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- "HB Screen Gems Emmys". Variety. Screen Gems: 38. June 1, 1960. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
Outstanding program achievement in the field of children's programming
- "Primetime Emmy Awards (1960)". Imdb.com. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- "Hanna-Barbera - Television Academy". Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- Ted Sennett, The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. Viking Studio Books, 1989. ISBN 0-670-82978-1, 274 pages.
- Beamon, Shannon (May 31, 2015). "Stanly has famous ties near and far". Stanly News and Press. p. 1A.
- "DC's Gay Snagglepuss Is Now Officially Hanna-Barbera Canon".
- "GREEN LANTERN/HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SPECIAL #1". DC. July 23, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- https://deadline.com/2019/10/hbo-max-looney-tunes-jellystone-the-fungies-tig-n-seek-kids-family-series-1202771895/
- "Huckleberry Hound in Hollywood Capers for Amiga (1993)". MobyGames. Blue Flame Labs. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
