King Leonardo and His Short Subjects

King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (also known as The King and Odie Show) is a 1960–63 American Saturday-morning animated television series that aired on NBC, sponsored by General Mills. It was created by Total Television (which would later rename itself Leonardo Productions after the main character) and is among the first Saturday-morning cartoon programs.[1]

King Leonardo and His Short Subjects
GenreAnimation
Voices of
Narrated by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes
Production
Executive producerPeter M. Piech
Producers
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 15, 1960 (1960-10-15) –
September 28, 1963 (1963-09-28)

Plot

The show focuses on Leonardo the lion (voiced by Jackson Beck), the well-meaning but often inept king of Bongo Congo, a fictional African nation notable for its bongos.[2] King Leonardo is assisted in all things by a calm, competent skunk named Odie Cologne (a play on Eau de Cologne) or "Odie O. Cologne" (voiced by Allen Swift impersonating Ronald Colman).[3] Odie, the one who really keeps the kingdom on an even keel, has been by the king's side since they were children.[4]

King Leonardo's main archenemy is the gangster-type character Biggie Rat (voiced by Jackson Beck impersonating Edward G. Robinson), who routinely attempts to overthrow Leonardo and take over Bongo Congo for himself, with Leonardo's dimwitted sibling Itchy Brother (voiced by Allen Swift) being his puppet king. Biggie is often also assisted by an evil German inventor named Professor Messer (voiced by Jackson Beck) or Odie's flirtatious sister Carlotta. Biggie and Itchy's schemes always end with them either landing in the dungeon or escaping.

Episodes of The King and Odie that were exclusive to Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales feature Biggie Rat and Itchy Brother employed by Mr. Mad (voiced by Norman Rose), a mad scientist with a domineering personality. Mr. Mad has his own plans for Bongo Congo and indulges in his diabolical studies of behavior where he collected different types of people while lacking a King for his studies. Mr. Mad also threatened to throw Biggie and Itchy in "The Room" which contains unseen stuff that frightens both of them should they fail him. When his schemes fail, Mr. Mad disappears "as if by magic" before he can be apprehended.

Other segments

Each half-hour episode of King Leonardo consisted of five animated segments. Each half-hour included a two-part King and Odie episode, with other characters featured in between:

  • Tooter Turtle: The adventures of a turtle (voiced by Allen Swift) who has Mr. Wizard the Lizard (voiced by Sandy Becker) transport him to various settings, only to realize he was better off at home after all. When Tooter was trapped in a situation he couldn't get out of, he would call to the wizard, who sent him home with this incantation: "Drizzle drazzle druzzle drome, time for this one to come home."[5]
  • The Hunter: A Southern-accented, crime-fighting bloodhound detective (voiced by Kenny Delmar, reprising his Senator Claghorn voice from The Fred Allen Show) chases after a criminal fox named The Fox (voiced by Ben Stone). The Fox would often commit a scheme which always ends with him being apprehended in the end.

Another segment of the original King Leonardo show was Twinkles, an orange elephant who served as the mascot of Twinkles Cereal, a product of the show's chief sponsor, General Mills.[6] The 90-second Twinkles segments continued to air in syndication during the 1960s, and were presented in a 15-minute format under the title The King and Odie with George S. Irving narrating each segment. It later phased out after a firefighter character replaced the elephant as the cereal's mascot. The segments also appeared during some NBC network rebroadcasts of Underdog. The Twinkles segments were not included when King Leonardo And His Short Subjects was syndicated in a half-hour format during the 1980s.

Early in the series' NBC run, selected Columbia Pictures theatrical cartoons were aired on the program, some featuring The Fox and the Crow and Li'l Abner.

These shorts were added to fill time when production of the early shows was delayed. The Columbia cartoons were featured during NBC showings of Hanna-Barbera's Ruff and Reddy, but not included in subsequent syndicated versions of the series.

The animation for the show's early segments was produced by TV Spots, with later episodes by Gamma Productions, the same Mexico-based studio that did much of the work for Jay Ward Productions. For this reason, and due to shared sponsorship by General Mills, Gamma has often been associated with both Total Television Productions and Jay Ward Productions. TV Spots was primarily a producer of animated commercials, but also was contracted for some segments of Rocky and His Friends for Jay Ward Productions.

Later appearances

After King Leonardo and his Short Subjects ended, one season of new segments of "The King and Odie" and "The Hunter" continued to be produced and aired on Total TV's Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, which premiered in 1963. The following year, Total TV launched its most popular series, Underdog. When Underdog premiered in 1964, it featured repeats of The Hunter, while The Hunter's former spot on the Tennessee Tuxedo program was filled by repeats of Tooter Turtle.

In reruns, Total Television shorts often have been packaged alongside Jay Ward cartoons. Despite similar limited-animation styles, they were two separate studios. The animation for both studios was done by a small startup company called Gamma Productions; hence, the similar "look."

King Leonardo, despite its earlier episodes repackaged for syndication as The King and Odie during the mid-1960s, never attained the popularity of Total Television's other series, Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo, and is rarely seen on television today. Beginning in 2006, the Black Family Channel aired this show on its BFC Kids TV programming block until the channel's demise a year later. The characters of this show were also featured in an eight-issue comic book produced by Dell Comics and Gold Key.

Episodes

The King and Odie

All cartoons follow a two-part format, with (for example) the first half in "Riches To Rags" and the conclusion in "Nose For The Noose." However, the final four cartoons ("S.O. Essex Calling," "The Big Falling Out," "Long Days Journey Into Fright" and "Making A Monkey Shine") form a four-part storyline.

The following cartoons originally aired on King Leonardo And His Short Subjects:

  1. Riches To Rags
  2. Nose For The Noose
  3. Drumming Up The Bongos
  4. How High Is Up?
  5. Royal Amnesia
  6. Loon From The Moon
  7. Royal Bongo War Chant
  8. Showdown At Dhyber Pass
  9. Duel To The Dearth
  10. Ringside Riot
  11. Bringing In Biggie
  12. Confound It Confusion
  13. Paris Pursuit
  14. The Awful Tower
  15. Beatnik Boom
  16. Call Out The Kids
  17. Trial Of The Traitors
  18. Battle Slip
  19. Heroes Are Made...With Salami
  20. The Big Freeze
  21. Perfume Panic
  22. Style Awhile
  23. Sticky Stuff
  24. Am I Glue
  25. Double Trouble
  26. Switcheroo Ruler
  27. The Legend of Leonardo The Neat
  28. Home Neat Home
  29. No Bong Bongos
  30. The Ad Game
  31. Debased Ball
  32. Bats In The Ballpark
  33. Long Lost Lennie
  34. Ghosts Guests
  35. Fatal Fever
  36. Pulling The Mane Switch
  37. Dim Gem
  38. The Clanking Castle Caper
  39. The King And Me
  40. The Loves Of Lynetta Lion
  41. The Sport Of Kings
  42. Black Is White
  43. True Blue Blues (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2727)
  44. My Dog Has Fleas (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2728)
  45. Lead Foot Leonardo (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2729)
  46. The Rat Race (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2730)
  47. The Obey Ball (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2731)
  48. Out Of The Depths (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2732)
  49. The Loco Play (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2733)
  50. Romeo And Joliet (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2734)
  51. If At First You Don't Succeed (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2735)
  52. Try, Try Again (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2736)
  53. Long Laugh Leonardo (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2737)
  54. He Who Laughs Last (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends show #2738)
  55. East Side, West Side
  56. Coney Island Calamity
  57. An Ode In Code
  58. Two Beneath The Mast
  59. Hip Hip Hypnosis
  60. Odie Hit The Roadie
  61. Hunting A Hobby
  62. Teeing Off
  63. Smarty Gras
  64. Bayou Blues
  65. Stage Struck
  66. One Way Ticket To Venus
  67. Back To Nature
  68. My Vine Is Your Vine
  69. The Tourist Trade
  70. Bye Bye Bicycle
  71. Chicago Shenanigans
  72. Loop The Loop
  73. Uranium On The Cranium
  74. Mistaked Claim
  75. The Trail Of The Lonesome Mine
  76. The Treasure Of Sierra Bongo
  77. Fortune Feller
  78. Wild And Wobbly

The following cartoons were first aired during the 1963–1964 season on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and are syndicated as part of Dudley Do-Right and Friends. The Dudley Do Right And Friends syndicated episode number follows each title in parentheses.

  1. Introducing Mr. Mad (2701)
  2. Falling Asleep (2702)
  3. Hup-2-3-Hike (2703)
  4. Spring Along With Itch (2704)
  5. Left Alone Leonardo (2705)
  6. A Tour de Farce (2706)
  7. Get 'Em Up Scout (2707)
  8. The King Camps Out (2708)
  9. Offensive Defensive (2709)
  10. A Long Long Trail A-Binding (2710)
  11. Treasure Train (2711)
  12. Handcar Heroes (2712)
  13. Honey Hungry (2713) (misidentified as "Honey Business" on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales: The Complete Collection DVD case and booklet)
  14. Bye Bye Bees (2714)
  15. The Royal Race (2715)
  16. The Shifty Sail (2716)
  17. Asleep on the Deep (2717)
  18. An Ace for a King (2718)
  19. Odie Takes a Dive (2719)
  20. Go and Catch a Falling King (2720)
  21. Royal Rodeo (2721)
  22. Ride 'em Cowboy (2722)
  23. S.O. Essex Calling (Part 1 of 4) (2723)
  24. The Big Falling Out (Part 2 of 4) (2724)
  25. Long Days Journey Into Fright (Part 3 of 4) (2725)
  26. Making A Monkey Shine (Part 4 of 4) (2726)

(The Columbia Pictures theatrical cartoons Midnight Frolics, Tito's Guitar, Fiesta Time, The Carpenter, Cat-Nipped and Dog, Cat And Canary have been erroneously included in previous episode lists. A selection of Columbia cartoons appeared in early NBC telecasts of King Leonardo And His Short Subjects, and were a holdover from the network's run of Hanna-Barbera's Ruff And Reddy. Despite this, these erroneous Columbia titles appear to be part of the series' official records and are even used to identify certain cartoons in episode descriptions for King Leonardo And His Short Subjects on AOL's In2TV.)

Tooter Turtle

"Tooter Turtle" cartoons were repeated on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, replacing "The Hunter" at the start of the 1964–1965 season. "Tooter Turtle" later resurfaced on The Dudley Do-Right Show, which aired Sunday mornings on ABC-TV from April 27, 1969 to September 6, 1970 ("Tooter" does not appear in the syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends). The cartoons are also part of the current U.S. syndicated versions of King Leonardo And His Short Subjects and Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales. The number following each cartoon title refers to the syndicated Tennessee Tuxedo episode in which that cartoon appears.

  1. Two Gun Turtle (*Fast On The Flaw) (*subtitle not shown on screen) (901, 946)
  2. Tailspin Tooter (Plane Failure) (902, 947)
  3. Sea Haunt (*Follow The Fish) (*subtitle not shown on screen) (903, 948)
  4. Highway Petrol (Road Block-Head) (904, 949)
  5. Knight Of The Square Table (905, 950)
  6. Mish-Mash-Mush (Panting For Gold) (906, 951)
  7. The Unteachables (The Lawless Years) (907, 952)
  8. Kink Of Swat (Babe Rube) (908, 953)
  9. One Trillion B.C. (Dinosaur Dope) (909, 954)
  10. Olimping Champion (Weak-Greek) (910, 955)
  11. Stuper Man (Muscle-Bounder) (911)
  12. Buffaloed Bill (Custard's Last Stand) (912)
  13. Moon Goon (Space Head) (913)
  14. Robin Hoodwink (Thimple Thief) (914)
  15. Steamboat Stupe (Captains Outrageous) (915)
  16. Souse Painter (Brush-Boob) (916)
  17. Railroad Engineer (Stupefied Jones) (917)
  18. Quarterback Hack (Pigskinned) (918)
  19. Drafthead (Overwhere?) (919)
  20. Lumber-Quack (Topped) (920)
  21. Jerky Jockey (Kenducky Derby) (921)
  22. Fired Fireman (Hook And Batter) (922)
  23. Sky Diver (Jump, Jerk, Jump!) (923)
  24. Tuesday Turtle (Private Pie) (924)
  25. Snafu Safari (Trackdown Tooter) (925)
  26. Anti-Arctic (North Pole Nuisance) (926)
  27. The Master Builder (Rivet Riot) (927)
  28. Taxi Turtle (My Flag Is Down) (928)
  29. Canned Camera (Peek-A Boob) (929)
  30. Muddled Mountie (One, Two, Buckle My Snowshoe) (930) ("Slowshoe Mountie" is an alternate title, possibly a working title)
  31. Duck Haunter (931)
  32. Bull Fright (Olay Down) (932)
  33. News Nuisance (Sub Scribe) (933)
  34. The Sheep Of Araby (Beau Geste Goes West) (934) ("Foreign Fleegion" is an alternate title, possibly a working title)
  35. Waggin' Train (California Bust) (935)
  36. Anchors Awry (Nautical Nut) (936)
  37. Vaudevillain (Song And Dunce Man) (937)
  38. Rod And Reeling (Field & Scream) (938)
  39. The Man In The Blue Denim Suit (Hay! Hay!) (939)

The Hunter

The following cartoons originally aired on King Leonardo And His Short Subjects:

  1. Brookloined Bridge (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2733)
  2. Counterfeit Wants (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2734)
  3. Haunted Hunter (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2735)
  4. Fort Knox Fox (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2736)
  5. Stealing A March (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2737)
  6. Horn-A-Plenty (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2738)
  7. Concrete Crook
  8. Subtracted Submarine
  9. Risky Ransom
  10. Unfaithful Old Faithful
  11. The Armored Car Coup
  12. Telephone Poltergeist
  13. Sheepish Shamus
  14. Rustler Hustler
  15. The Case Of The Missing Muenster
  16. The Great Train Robbery
  17. Florida Fraud
  18. The Great Plane Robbery
  19. Girl Friday
  20. Stamp Stickup
  21. Statue Of Liberty Play
  22. The Frankfurter Fix
  23. The Case Of The Missing Mower
  24. Fancy Fencing
  25. Racquet Racket
  26. Seeing Stars
  27. The Elevator Escapade
  28. Hula Hoop Havoc
  29. The Counterfeit Newspaper Caper
  30. Diamond Dither
  31. Grand Canyon Caper
  32. Borrowed Beachland
  33. Peek-A Boo Pyramids
  34. Lincoln Tunnel Caper (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2727)
  35. TV Terror (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2728)
  36. Bye Bye Bell (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2729)
  37. Time Marches Out (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2730)
  38. Fox's Foul Play (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2731)
  39. Bow Wow Blues (appears in syndicated Dudley Do Right And Friends Show #2732)

The following cartoons were first aired during the 1963–1964 season on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and are syndicated as part of Dudley Do-Right and Friends. The Dudley Do-Right and Friends syndicated episode number follows each title in parentheses. ("The Hunter" was featured as a segment on Tennessee Tuxedo during the 1963–1964 season. Repeats of "Tooter Turtle" replaced "The Hunter" on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales when "The Hunter" moved to The Underdog Show in 1964. "Tooter Turtle" and "The Hunter" were also featured on The Dudley Do-Right Show on ABC-TV between 1968 and 1970. "The King and Odie" appears in the syndicated Dudley Do-Right and Friends, but was not part of The Dudley Do-Right Show.)

  1. Breaking In Big (2701)
  2. The Bank Dicks (2702)
  3. Eye On The Ball (2703)
  4. Breakout At Breakrock (2704)
  5. Getting The Business (2705)
  6. An Uncommon Cold (2706)
  7. The Pickpocket Pickle (2707)
  8. Goofy-Guarding (2708)
  9. The Big Birthday Blast (2709)
  10. Under The Spreading Treasure Tree (2710)
  11. School Days, Fool Days (2711)
  12. Fall Of The House Of The Hunter (2712)
  13. Oyster Stew (2713)
  14. The Stolen Spoon Saga (2714)
  15. Under Par (2715)
  16. Chew Gum Charlie (2716)
  17. Using The Ole Bean (2717)
  18. The Case Of The Hunted Hunter (2718)
  19. The Purloined Piano Puzzle (2719)
  20. Record Rocket (2720)
  21. The Hunter's Magic Lamp (2721)
  22. Hunter Goes Hollywood (2722)
  23. Two For The Turkey Trot (2723)
  24. Captain Horatio Hunter (Part 1 of 2) (2724)
  25. The Horn Of The Lone Hunter (Part 2 of 2) (2725)
  26. Little Boy Blues (2726)

Twinkles
  1. Twinkles and the Houseboat
  2. Twinkles and the Haunted House

Cast
  • Jackson Beck – King Leonardo, Biggie Rat, Professor Messer
  • Allen Swift – Odie Cologne, Itchy Brother, Duke, Earl, Tooter Turtle, Narrator ("The King and Odie")
  • Sandy Becker – Mr. Wizard
  • Kenny Delmar – The Hunter, Narrator ("The Hunter")
  • Ben Stone – The Fox, Officer Flim Flanigan
  • Norman Rose – Mr. Mad, Narrator (several 1962 episodes of "The King and Odie")
  • Delo States – various female and children's voices
  • George S. Irving – Narrator ("Twinkles"), various voices

References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 343. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 165–166. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  3. Markstein, Don. "King Leonardo and His Short Subjects". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  4. Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 250. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 478–479. ISBN 978-1476665993.
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