Linus the Lionhearted
Encyclopedia
Linus the Lionhearted was an animated cartoon
featuring a main character of the same name. The character was created in 1960 by the Ed Graham advertising agency, originally as a series of ads for General Foods
' Post Cereals
. At first, Linus was the spokesman for the short-lived Post cereal "Heart of Oats" (a Cheerios
imitation). Eventually, the lion was redesigned and reintroduced in 1963 to sell Crispy Critters
, which featured Linus on the box. The ads were so popular that a television
series was created in 1964 (with General Foods as sponsor) and ran on the CBS
network until 1966, then reruns [in color] aired on ABC
from 1966, until it was cancelled three years later. A coloring book
was published which detailed the adventures of So-Hi going on a scavenger hunt
in order to break a curse on a two-headed bird, who is then transformed into a boy due to So-Hi's dedication.
In addition to Linus, a rather good-natured "King of the Beasts" who ruled from his personal barber's chair and voiced by Sheldon Leonard
, there were other features as well, all based on characters representing other popular Post cereals (Sugar Crisp, Alpha-Bits
, Rice Krinkles, Post Toasties
, etc.). The best-known of these was Sugar Bear
, who sounded like Bing Crosby
and was voiced by actor Gerry Matthews. There was also a postman named Lovable Truly, a young Asian boy named So Hi, and Rory Raccoon.
A long-play record album was also released as a premium in the year of the show's debut featuring the characters (voiced by the same stars as the animated cartoon) singing with re-written lyrics familiar songs such as "Jimmy Cracked Corn."
voiced several characters, most notably Linus' friend Billy Bird; Ruth Buzzi
voiced an old woman who'd befriended Lovable Truly, as well as Sugar Bear's sometime nemesis, Granny Goodwitch; and veteran Bob McFadden
voiced So Hi, Rory and Lovable Truly. Jonathan Winters
made a number of guest appearances, as did Jerry Stiller
and his wife Anne Meara
. Also credited was the later "Maytag Repairman," Jesse White
.
.) As the theme played, the cartoon characters packed a trunk within a spotlight. As the lyrics ended, the Billy the Bird character "mopped up" the white spotlight circle until it faded to black.
"Linus and his friends must go, so we leave you with a song,
We're all kind of sad to go, glad to know it won't be long...
Lion-hearted friendships don't end, we'll all be back and then...
Linus and his friends will go, on with the show a-gain!"
made a ruling in 1969 that forbade children's show characters from appearing in advertisements on the same program and ABC was forced to cancel the program.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
featuring a main character of the same name. The character was created in 1960 by the Ed Graham advertising agency, originally as a series of ads for General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
' Post Cereals
Post Cereals
Post Foods, LLC, also known as Post Cereals is a food company that was founded by C.W. Post in 1895 with the first Postum, a "cereal beverage," developed by Post in Battle Creek, Michigan. The first cereal, Grape-Nuts, was developed in 1897. Post has its headquarters in the Bank of America Plaza...
. At first, Linus was the spokesman for the short-lived Post cereal "Heart of Oats" (a Cheerios
Cheerios
Cheerios is a brand of breakfast cereal by General Mills introduced on May 1, 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal. Originally named CheeriOats, the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 because of a trade name dispute with Quaker Oats. The name fit the "O" shape of the cereal pieces...
imitation). Eventually, the lion was redesigned and reintroduced in 1963 to sell Crispy Critters
Crispy Critters
Crispy Critters was a breakfast cereal, which was re-issued by Post Cereals in 1987 after having been tested unsuccessfully during the 1960s. This second attempt to popularize this cereal was also unsuccessful and it was discontinued shortly thereafter....
, which featured Linus on the box. The ads were so popular that a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series was created in 1964 (with General Foods as sponsor) and ran on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network until 1966, then reruns [in color] aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 1966, until it was cancelled three years later. A coloring book
Coloring book
A coloring book is a type of book containing line art for a reader to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media...
was published which detailed the adventures of So-Hi going on a scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunt
A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items, using which the participants — individuals or teams — seek to gather all items on the list — usually without purchasing them — or perform tasks or take photographs of the items, as specified...
in order to break a curse on a two-headed bird, who is then transformed into a boy due to So-Hi's dedication.
In addition to Linus, a rather good-natured "King of the Beasts" who ruled from his personal barber's chair and voiced by Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
, there were other features as well, all based on characters representing other popular Post cereals (Sugar Crisp, Alpha-Bits
Alpha-Bits
Alpha-Bits, also known as Frosted Alpha-Bits, is a breakfast cereal made by Post Cereals, which contains frosted alphabet-shaped corn cereal bits. Post Cereals also started producing Marshmallow Alpha-Bits in 1990....
, Rice Krinkles, Post Toasties
Post Toasties
Post Toasties is an American breakfast cereal that is made by Post Cereals. It was named for its originator, C. W. Post. It was the Post version of corn flakes, popularized by Kellogg's.Post Toasties were previously called Elijah's Manna Post Toasties is an American breakfast cereal that is made...
, etc.). The best-known of these was Sugar Bear
Sugar Bear
Sugar Bear is the advertising cartoon mascot of Post Super Sugar Crisp cereal, appearing in commercials for the cereal.-History:...
, who sounded like Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and was voiced by actor Gerry Matthews. There was also a postman named Lovable Truly, a young Asian boy named So Hi, and Rory Raccoon.
A long-play record album was also released as a premium in the year of the show's debut featuring the characters (voiced by the same stars as the animated cartoon) singing with re-written lyrics familiar songs such as "Jimmy Cracked Corn."
Vocal talent
The show was perhaps best noted for its abundance of well-known vocal talent. In addition to Leonard, Carl ReinerCarl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
voiced several characters, most notably Linus' friend Billy Bird; Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Buzzi
Ruth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:...
voiced an old woman who'd befriended Lovable Truly, as well as Sugar Bear's sometime nemesis, Granny Goodwitch; and veteran Bob McFadden
Bob McFadden
Robert "Bob" McFadden was a singer and voiceover actor best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons. His best known characters were Milton the Monster, Cool McCool, and the ThunderCats' Snarf...
voiced So Hi, Rory and Lovable Truly. Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
made a number of guest appearances, as did Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
and his wife Anne Meara
Anne Meara
Anne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
. Also credited was the later "Maytag Repairman," Jesse White
Jesse White (actor)
Jesse White was an American television, film, and stage character actor. He is best remembered for portraying the Maytag repairman in television commercials, a role he played from 1967 to 1988.-Life and career:...
.
End Theme
As opposed to the standard cartoon opening, which promoted "Linus the King, Linus the Star, Linus the Lionhearted," the end theme was an unusual, nearly-operatic form. (This was likely by the Johnny Mann SingersJohnny Mann
Johnny Mann is an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, and recording artist.-Career:...
.) As the theme played, the cartoon characters packed a trunk within a spotlight. As the lyrics ended, the Billy the Bird character "mopped up" the white spotlight circle until it faded to black.
"Linus and his friends must go, so we leave you with a song,
We're all kind of sad to go, glad to know it won't be long...
Lion-hearted friendships don't end, we'll all be back and then...
Linus and his friends will go, on with the show a-gain!"
Cancellation
The FCCFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
made a ruling in 1969 that forbade children's show characters from appearing in advertisements on the same program and ABC was forced to cancel the program.
Season 1
- Supervising Director: Irv Spector
- Production Supervision: Lew Irwin
- Character Models: George Cannata
- Head Writer: Bill Schnurr
- Associate Producer: Rick Herland
- Produced and Directed by Ed Graham, Jr.
- Animation Directors: John Freeman, Clyde Geronimi, Rube Grossman, Ed Rehberg, George Singer, Marvin Woodward
- Layouts: Corny Cole, Bob Dranko, Burt Freund, Dave Hanan, Homer Jonas, Tony Rivera, Sam Weiss, Bob Singer
- Storyboards: Tom Dagenais, Art Diamond, Bob Givins, Cal Howard, Bob Kurtz, Mike Smollim
- Backgrounds: Bill Butler, Boris Gorelick, Erv Kaplan, Bob McIntosh, Lorraine Morgan, Curt Perkins
- Editors: Hank Goetzenberg, Jerry MacDonald, George Marana
- Sound Engineer: Gil Arion
- Ink and Paint by Connie Crawley, Dea Shirley
- Character Layouts: Stan Green
- Special Music Arrangements: Johnny Mann
- Production Assistants: Ruth Kennedy, Armand Shaw
- Animators: Ray Abrams, Frank Andrina, Tom Baron, Warren Batchelder, Bob Bentley, Dan Bessie, Frank Braxton, Brad Case, Jim Davis, Ed Friedman, Bob Goe, Frank Gonzales, Manny Gould, Bill Hajee, Ken Hultgren, Tom McDonald, Dan Mills, Chic Otterstrom, Amby Paliwoda, Manny Perez, Virgil Ross, Ed Solomon, Russ von Neida, Ray Young, Rudy Zamora
Season 2
- Direction: Gerard Baldwin, Clyde Geronimi, George Singer, Marvin Woodward
- Music: Hoyt Curtin
- Head Writer: Bill Schnurr
- Character Models: George Cannata Jr.
- Production Supervision: Lew Irwin
- Production Assistants: Henry Hof III, Ruth Kennedy, Armand Shaw
- Film Editing: Hank Gotzenberg, George Mahana
- Sound Engineer: Gil Arion
- Inking & Painting: Connie Crawley
- Storyboards: Tom Dagenais, Tom Henderson, Lee Mishkin, Irv Spector
- Layout: Stan Green, Burt Freund, Don Jurwich, Tony Rivera, Sam Weiss
- Animation: Bob Bentley, Ted Bonnicksen, Herm Cohen, Ed Friedman, Bob Goe, Manny Gould, Bill Hajik, Ken Hultgren, Fred Madison, Amby Paliwoda, George Rowley, Ed Solomon, John Walker, Rudy Zamora
- Background: Erv Kaplan, Curt Perkins
- Associate Producer: Rick Herland
- Produced and Directed by Ed Graham Jr.
Voices
- Carl ReinerCarl ReinerCarl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
-Billy Bird, Dinny Kangaroo and various other characters - Sheldon LeonardSheldon LeonardSheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
-Linus the Lionhearted - Jonathan WintersJonathan Winters-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
- Bob McFaddenBob McFaddenRobert "Bob" McFadden was a singer and voiceover actor best known for his many contributions to animated cartoons. His best known characters were Milton the Monster, Cool McCool, and the ThunderCats' Snarf...
-So Hi, Rory Raccoon, and Lovable Truly - Gerry Matthews-Sugar Bear
- Jesse WhiteJesse White (actor)Jesse White was an American television, film, and stage character actor. He is best remembered for portraying the Maytag repairman in television commercials, a role he played from 1967 to 1988.-Life and career:...
-Claudius Crow - Ruth BuzziRuth BuzziRuth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:...
-Granny Goodwitch - StillerJerry StillerGerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
& MearaAnne MearaAnne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :... - "Bashful Bigshots" (various big name guest stars, usually not credited)