Hokey Wolf
Encyclopedia
Hokey Wolf is a Hanna-Barbera
cartoon
about the adventures of a con-artist
wolf
(voiced by Daws Butler
and based on Phil Silvers
' "Sgt. Bilko" character) who is always trying to cheat his way into the simple life. He is often accompanied alongside by his young, diminutive, sidekick Ding-A-Ling Wolf (voiced by Doug Young
imitating Buddy Hackett
), both of whom are featured as part of The Huckleberry Hound Show in their own segment.
's rising popularity in preceding appearances warranted a promotion to his own self-titled show. As a result of the change in schedule, Hokey Wolf had made its debut in the premiere of the third season of The Huckleberry Hound Show on and became a regular appearance afterward on this segment. Hokey's theme music for his segment of the show was composed by Hoyt Curtin
and used an instrumental
version of the refrain
from Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here
.
The segment follows the everyday misadventures of its main protagonist, Hokey Wolf, and his young companion, Ding-A-Ling Wolf, through their typical con-artist routines of getting what they need in their daily lives. Through each episode, Hokey would usually try to fool farmers and other antagonists with food-stealing schemes and/or finding a place to stay without cost, only for most of these tricks to back-fire on him in one way or another.
.
with white collar
and a violet-colored hat. His personality would later be recycled for fellow Hanna-Barbera characters, Top Cat
,and Yogi Bear
who starred in a prime-time sitcom that ran from 1961 to 1962 that followed a very similar concept.
(sometimes red, sometimes black), a sleeveless green shirt, and a black vest
.
, which aired on . The Hokey Wolf series would come to an end with the episode Bean Pod’ners, airing on . Below is a complete listing of all cartoon shorts with the main protagonist Hokey Wolf:
series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
(2000-2007):
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
about the adventures of a con-artist
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
(voiced by Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
and based on Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
' "Sgt. Bilko" character) who is always trying to cheat his way into the simple life. He is often accompanied alongside by his young, diminutive, sidekick Ding-A-Ling Wolf (voiced by Doug Young
Doug Young (voice actor)
Douglas "Doug" Young is an American voice actor who has worked on radio programs and in animated cartoons.-Career:Early in his career, Young appeared in classic radio shows including The Cisco Kid, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Red Ryder, and The Whistler...
imitating Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
), both of whom are featured as part of The Huckleberry Hound Show in their own segment.
History
The initial creation of Hokey Wolf occurred when another follow-up segment was needed, because Yogi BearYogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
's rising popularity in preceding appearances warranted a promotion to his own self-titled show. As a result of the change in schedule, Hokey Wolf had made its debut in the premiere of the third season of The Huckleberry Hound Show on and became a regular appearance afterward on this segment. Hokey's theme music for his segment of the show was composed by Hoyt Curtin
Hoyt Curtin
Hoyt Stoddard Curtin was an American composer and music producer, the primary musical director for the Hanna-Barbera animation studio from its beginnings with The Ruff & Reddy Show in 1957 until his retirement in 1986, except from 1963-1973, when the primary music director was Ted Nichols...
and used an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
version of the refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
from Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here
Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here
"Hail, hail, the gang's all here" is the popular refrain from the 1915 American song, "Alabama Jubilee" made famous by Fred Astaire.The lyrics were written by D. A. Esrom to a tune originally written by Arthur Sullivan for the 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance...
.
The segment follows the everyday misadventures of its main protagonist, Hokey Wolf, and his young companion, Ding-A-Ling Wolf, through their typical con-artist routines of getting what they need in their daily lives. Through each episode, Hokey would usually try to fool farmers and other antagonists with food-stealing schemes and/or finding a place to stay without cost, only for most of these tricks to back-fire on him in one way or another.
Character Information
Both of the cartoon's feature characters were designed by animation artist and character designer Ed BenedictEd Benedict
Ed Benedict was an American animator and layout artist. He is best known for his work with Hanna-Barbera Studios, where he helped design Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, and Ruff and Ready....
.
Hokey Wolf
Hokey Wolf is the smooth-talking title character throughout each cartoon. His main hobby in life was to outsmart and coax the clueless out of free meals or places to stay, much of which he seemed to do so with ease, despite possible consequences later on. Hokey typically wears his trademark green bow tieBow tie
The bow tie is a type of men's necktie. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar in a symmetrical manner such that the two opposite ends form loops. Ready-tied bow ties are available, in which the distinctive bow is sewn into shape and the band around the neck incorporates a clip....
with white collar
Collar (clothing)
In clothing, a collar is the part of a shirt, dress, coat or blouse that fastens around or frames the neck. Among clothing construction professionals, a collar is differentiated from other necklines such as revers and lapels, by being made from a separate piece of fabric, rather than a folded or...
and a violet-colored hat. His personality would later be recycled for fellow Hanna-Barbera characters, Top Cat
Top Cat
Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
,and Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
who starred in a prime-time sitcom that ran from 1961 to 1962 that followed a very similar concept.
Ding-A-Ling Wolf
Ding-A-Ling is the younger sidekick to Hokey Wolf who always accompanies him throughout each misadventure. He is usually eager to follow in Hokey's ambitious con-artist footsteps, but often reconsiders the plans Hokey will come up with in many situations. Ding typically wears a bowler hatBowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
(sometimes red, sometimes black), a sleeveless green shirt, and a black vest
Waistcoat
A waistcoat or vest is a sleeveless upper-body garment worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear, and as the third piece of the three-piece male business suit.-Characteristics and use:...
.
Original Segment on The Huckleberry Hound Show
In total, both Hokey and Ding-A-Ling Wolf have starred in 29 seven-minute cartoons throughout the third and fourth seasons (1960-1961) of The Huckleberry Hound Show. Their pilot episode was Tricks And TreatsTricks And Treats
Tricks And Treats is the very first pilot episode of the Hokey Wolf cartoon series, debuting in the premiere third season of The Huckleberry Hound Show on September 11, 1960...
, which aired on . The Hokey Wolf series would come to an end with the episode Bean Pod’ners, airing on . Below is a complete listing of all cartoon shorts with the main protagonist Hokey Wolf:
1960 season
| № | Episode Name | First Showing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Tricks And Treats Tricks And Treats Tricks And Treats is the very first pilot episode of the Hokey Wolf cartoon series, debuting in the premiere third season of The Huckleberry Hound Show on September 11, 1960... " |
|
| 2 | "Hokey Dokey" | |
| 3 | "Lamb-Basted Wolf" | |
| 4 | "Which Witch Is Witch" | |
| 5 | "Pick a Chick" | |
| 6 | "Robot Plot" | |
| 7 | "Boobs In the Woods" | |
| 8 | "Castle Hassle" | |
| 9 | "Booty on the Bounty" | |
| 10 | "Hokey in the Pokey" | |
| 11 | "Who’s Zoo" | |
| 12 | "Dogged Sheep Dog" | |
| 13 | "Too Much to Bear" |
1961 season
| № | Episode Name | First Showing |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | "Movies are Bitter than Ever" | |
| 15 | "Poached Yeggs" | |
| 16 | "Rushing Wolf Hound" | |
| 17 | "The Glass Sneaker" | |
| 18 | "Indian Giver" | |
| 19 | "Chock Full Chuck Wagon" | |
| 20 | "Bring ’Em Back a Live One" | |
| 21 | "A Star Is Bored" | |
| 22 | "West of the Pesos" | |
| 23 | "Phony-O and Juliet" | |
| 24 | "Hokey’s Missing Millions" | |
| 25 | "Loot to Boot" | |
| 26 | "Guesting Games" | |
| 27 | "Sick Sense" | |
| 28 | "Aladdin’s Lamb Chops" | |
| 29 | "Bean Pod’ners" |
Hanna-Barbera series
While the initial series ended in December 1961, Hokey Wolf went on to appear in four other animated Hanna-Barbera series alongside other classic characters. These were as follows:- Yogi's GangYogi's GangYogi's Gang is a 30-minute animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from , to . The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972...
(1973-1975) – Hokey was a member of the crew. - Laff-A-LympicsLaff-A-LympicsLaff-A-Lympics was the co-headlining segment, with Scooby-Doo, of the package Saturday morning cartoon series Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show was a spoof of the Olympics and the ABC television series Battle of the Network Stars, which debuted one...
(1977-1979) – Hokey Wolf played as a team member of The Yogi Yahooeys. - Yogi’s Treasure HuntYogi's Treasure HuntYogi's Treasure Hunt is a segment that kicked-off in 1985 as the first of the programming block, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. It also ran as a regular series in syndication from 1985 to 1988.-Plot:...
(1985) – Hokey was a regular guest star in several episodes. - Yo Yogi!Yo Yogi!Yo Yogi! is an animated series first aired on NBC on Saturday mornings during the 1991-92 season. It is, to date, the last television series to feature or star Yogi Bear. It is also the last Hanna-Barbera show to premiere on NBC to this date...
(1991-1992) – Hokey Wolf (voiced by Matt Hurwitz) co-starred as the mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Jellystone Town. His younger companion, Ding-A-Ling, also made a brief non-speaking cameo as Hokey's sidekick in the episode "Super Duper Snag".
Hanna-Barbera films
- In the last episode of The Yogi Bear ShowThe Yogi Bear ShowThe Yogi Bear Show is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions about a fast-talking picnic basket stealing bear named Yogi. The show debuted in syndication on January 30 and ran for 33 episodes until December 30 in 1961 and included two segments, Snagglepuss and Yakky...
(1962), Hokey Wolf, along with his sidekick Ding-A-Ling, were among the guests who showed up to wish their friend Yogi BearYogi BearYogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
a happy birthday. - In the 1972 television movieTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Yogi's Ark LarkYogi's Ark LarkYogi’s Ark Lark is an animated Hanna-Barbera television movie, intended to raise ecological awareness. Broadcast in 1972, it was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and served as the pilot for Yogi's Gang.-Plot:...
, both Hokey Wolf and Ding-A-Ling appeared together as part of the gang. The film was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar MovieThe ABC Saturday Superstar MovieThe ABC Saturday Superstar Movie — renamed The New Saturday Superstar Movie in its second season — is a series of one-hour animated TV-movies , broadcast on the ABC television network on Saturday mornings from September 9, 1972, to November 17, 1973.Intended as a "Movie of the Week" for kids, this...
and also the pilotTelevision pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
for Yogi's GangYogi's GangYogi's Gang is a 30-minute animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from , to . The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972...
. - In the 1982 television special Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas CaperYogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas CaperYogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper is an animated television special starring Yogi Bear and company. It is the third and final Yogi Bear Christmas special...
, Hokey Wolf co-starred as a member of the group that visited Yogi in Jellystone Park. - In the 1988 feature length television film The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry HoundThe Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry HoundThe Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 American animated television movie that stars Huckleberry Hound. It was a part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series of televised movies. This television feature is a parody of various western movies, the title is a take-off of The Good, the...
, Hokey Wolf co-starred in and played the mayor of a western town named Two-Bit.
Other appearances
Like many other Hanna-Barbera characters, both Hokey Wolf and Ding-A-Ling have each appeared in the Adult SwimAdult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American animated television series comedy created by Williams Street and produced by Cartoon Network Studios that aired on Cartoon Network during its Adult Swim late night programming block. The series' pilot first aired in 2000, and later became a series in...
(2000-2007):
- Hokey made non-speaking cameo appearanceCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in the episodes Peanut Puberty, Evolutionary War, Juror in Court, and The Death of Harvey. - Ding-A-Ling Wolf (voiced by Neil RossNeil RossTheodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
) appeared as a plaintiffPlaintiffA plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
in the episode "SPF," and briefly reprised this role in "The Death of Harvey." He’s also seen in a brief flashbackFlashback (narrative)Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
in the episode "Identity Theft."
Hokey Wolf in other languages
- Brazilian PortugueseBrazilian PortugueseBrazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
: Joca & Dingue-Lingue - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Garoup le Loup - ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Ugo Lupo - JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
: Hokeyのオオカミ (Hokey urufu) - SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: El Lobo Hokey - HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Lompos Lajos - SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Vuk Vučko
See also
- The Huckleberry Hound Show
- List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera
- List of Hanna-Barbera characters
External links
- The Cartoon Scrapbook – Profile on Hokey Wolf
- Don Markstein’s Toonopedia – Hokey Wolf at Toonopedia
- The Big Cartoon Database – A complete detailed listing of each Hokey Wolf episode.
- Toonarific – Toonarific profile on Hokey Wolf.
- Wing Nut Toons – Basic information about Hokey Wolf.