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It was around this time 60 years ago that Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera's second syndicated show made it's debut.
"The Quick Draw McGraw Show" starred a bumbling horse (and sometimes sheriff) McGraw and his sidekick Baba Looey, a prairie dog. Their adventures were parodies of westerns with Quick Draw getting the worst of it in shoot-outs (usually by his own hand) and usually saving the day by accident or by the competent Baba Looey.
The show also featured shorts starring Augie Doggie and his father Doggie Daddy and also the bumbling private detectives Snooper and Blabber.
Just a recent sketch of my favorite super-hero.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the second Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. Premiering in Showcase #22 and drawn by the great Gil Kane, this version of the Green Lantern was more based in science-fiction than Alan Scott was in the 1940's.
Hanna-Barbera's last foray into prime-time television was the realistic adventure series "The Adventures of Jonny Quest", premiering September 18, 1964.
Created by cartoonist Doug Wildey, Jonny Quest is about the globe-trotting adventures of an 11 year old boy, his scientist father Dr. Benton Quest, his adopted brother Hadji (from Calcutta, India), his government bodyguard Race Bannon and fearless bulldog, Bandit.
Together this "family" traveled all around the world solving mysteries usually involving Dr. Quest's experiments, research and inventions. They took on many evil-doers including Dr. Quest's biggest rival, Dr. Zin.
Popular since it's debut, the show would be revived a couple of times and also a long running comic book series in the 80's as well as other merchandise.
It started out as a one-shot parody of all the chase cartoons that have been popular since animation started. But the popularity of the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote proved to much for Chuck Jones and Warner Bros. Studios to let go at just one cartoon.
Over the course of thirteen cartoons starting with "Fast and Furry-ous, Chuck Jones created a series of classic cartoons that would help define the humor of Warner's "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" shorts and remain as popular today as they were when they were first released to movie theaters.
On a Saturday morning (September 13, 1969) Scooby Doo and The Mystery Inc. Gang made there debut. One of the longest running shows on Saturday mornings Scooby and his gang solved crimes of all types especially those who tried to disguise themselves as ghosts or monsters.
Having a huge resurgence with the start of Cartoon Network, Scooby and friends have endured for fifty years and still is as popular today as when he debuted.
September 9th, 1939 saw the release of Walter Lantz's newest cartoon star, Andy Panda. "Life Begins for Andy Panda" would start a whole new era for Lantz's cartoons and pave the way to introduce new series and stars in the coming years.
September 8th, 1949 saw the release of the first ever Mr. Magoo cartoon "The Ragtime Bear". Magoo would go on to win two Oscars for his theatrical cartoons and have a long history on TV including the Christmas special adaption of Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol".
Here's to 70 years of the nearsighted cartoons birthday!
