King Vitaman is a brand of pre-sweetened breakfast cereal

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...

 produced by Quaker Oats and sold in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The cereal entered the marketplace in 1970, and although it has changed mascots over the years, it is still in production.

King Vitaman Cereal boasts high vitamin and iron content, in addition to a more modest amount of sugar (only 6 grams - more popular breakfast cereals, such as Cap'n Crunch

Cap'n Crunch

Cap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...

 and Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms is a brand of cereal produced by the General Mills food company of Golden Valley, Minnesota, United States. It first appeared in stores in 1964. The cereal consists of two main components: toasted oat-based pieces and multi-colored marshmallow bits in various shapes, the latter making...

 contain 13 grams or more). The early television commercials for the cereal were animated by Jay Ward Productions

Jay Ward Productions

Jay Ward Productions was an Amercian animated television cartoon series production company, founded in 1949 by American animator Jay Ward. It made extensive use of limited animation techniques....

, the creators of Rocky and Bullwinkle. The advertising featured King Vitaman and his knights: Sir Laffitup & Sir Cravenleigh and their foes Blue Baron & Not-So-Bright Knight. Subsequent non-animated advertisements ended with a jingle inviting children to "Have Breakfast with the King."

The depiction of King Vitaman has changed over the years. Jay Ward Productions

Jay Ward Productions

Jay Ward Productions was an Amercian animated television cartoon series production company, founded in 1949 by American animator Jay Ward. It made extensive use of limited animation techniques....

 created the first mascot for King Vitaman cereal in 1970, voiced by character actor Joe Flynn

Joe Flynn (US actor)

Joseph A. Flynn was an American character actor. He was best known for his role in the 1960s ABC television situation comedy, McHale's Navy. He was also a frequent guest star on 1960s TV shows such as Batman and appeared in several Walt Disney film comedies...

. From 1971 to 2000 actor George Mann, an ex-vaudevillian

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 in the comedic dance act Barto and Mann

Barto and Mann

Barto and Mann: Dewey Barto and George Mann , known as the "laugh kings" of vaudeville, were a comedic dance act from the late 1920s to the early 1940s...

, depicted King Vitaman on the cereal box and in television commercials until his death in 1977. In 2000 Quaker Oats returned to an illustrated character on their King Vitaman cereal boxes.