That's Cat
Encyclopedia
That's Cat was a children's television show that premiered on Saturday, September 18, 1976. It was both produced by and aired on KNBC
, the NBC
owned and operated (O&O) station in Los Angeles, California
; it was also syndicated to selected NBC O&O stations.
That's Cat was created by Executive Producer Giovanna Nigro-Chacon who wrote the weekly feature "Grandpa". Ms. Nigro-Chacon also wrote and produced the only special in the series - the hour-long "That's Cat Christmas". She received a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award nomination for her work.
The show's first episode credits Susan Cuscuna (co-producer), Perry Krause (co-producer), and Myra Cohen as writers. It starred Alice Playten
(as "Alice"), Frank Cala (as "Me", a mime), and Whitman Mayo
(as "Grandpa"). The show interspersed segments involving stories, music, humor, and various learning-centered activities. The word "Cat" in the title is connotatively used in place of "Cool."
The show's first episode debuted at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night, a move intended to interest parents. The second episode aired in its regular Sunday morning 8:00 a.m. time slot the following day. That same night, a compilation episode of segments from the first two episodes aired at 6:30 p.m. The show moved to the 7:30 a.m. time slot a few episodes later.
Among the more notable features of the first episode was a segment with a song in Spanish; a clip of Woody Allen
describing where mustard comes from (likely from a 1970 NBC series Hot Dog
); and a feature on the importance of garbagemen.
The show's theme song ("That's Cat") was sung by John Sebastian
, and his son, who echoed the words "That's Cat", during the repeated chorus. The lyrics begin with:
Recurring segments on the show included "Can you find 'Me/me' in this picture" ("Me" being "Alice's" sidekick on the show); and a segment where "Grandpa" spoke directly to the camera offering sage advice in a sweet manner to the main character, Alice.
The show received a nomination for a 1976 Los Angeles Area Emmy award (for film editor Donn Hoyer). In 1979, a Los Angeles-based consumer group—Coalition on Children and Television—selected the show for an award for excellence.
KNBC
KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson...
, the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
owned and operated (O&O) station in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
; it was also syndicated to selected NBC O&O stations.
That's Cat was created by Executive Producer Giovanna Nigro-Chacon who wrote the weekly feature "Grandpa". Ms. Nigro-Chacon also wrote and produced the only special in the series - the hour-long "That's Cat Christmas". She received a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award nomination for her work.
The show's first episode credits Susan Cuscuna (co-producer), Perry Krause (co-producer), and Myra Cohen as writers. It starred Alice Playten
Alice Playten
Alice Playten was an American actress and singer.-Life and career:Born Alice Plotkin in New York City, Playten began her career in the Broadway musical Gypsy...
(as "Alice"), Frank Cala (as "Me", a mime), and Whitman Mayo
Whitman Mayo
Whitman B. Mayo was an American actor best known for his character Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom Sanford and Son....
(as "Grandpa"). The show interspersed segments involving stories, music, humor, and various learning-centered activities. The word "Cat" in the title is connotatively used in place of "Cool."
The show's first episode debuted at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night, a move intended to interest parents. The second episode aired in its regular Sunday morning 8:00 a.m. time slot the following day. That same night, a compilation episode of segments from the first two episodes aired at 6:30 p.m. The show moved to the 7:30 a.m. time slot a few episodes later.
Among the more notable features of the first episode was a segment with a song in Spanish; a clip of Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
describing where mustard comes from (likely from a 1970 NBC series Hot Dog
Hot Dog (TV series)
Hot Dog was a Saturday morning documentary series for children, seen on NBC from September 12, 1970 to September 4, 1971. Created by Frank Buxton and co-produced by Buxton and Lee Mendelson, the program was notable for its hosts -- Jo Anne Worley, comedian Jonathan Winters and writer and actor...
); and a feature on the importance of garbagemen.
The show's theme song ("That's Cat") was sung by John Sebastian
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
, and his son, who echoed the words "That's Cat", during the repeated chorus. The lyrics begin with:
- Hey Pumpkin, come along with me
- Been thinkin' 'bout some things to see
- Take a look at this and that
- We'll find something that's cat
- That's Cat - That's Cat
- It a-means that you like that!
- Like an Indian drum or a kiss from your mom,
- or gettin' something under your hat...
Recurring segments on the show included "Can you find 'Me/me' in this picture" ("Me" being "Alice's" sidekick on the show); and a segment where "Grandpa" spoke directly to the camera offering sage advice in a sweet manner to the main character, Alice.
The show received a nomination for a 1976 Los Angeles Area Emmy award (for film editor Donn Hoyer). In 1979, a Los Angeles-based consumer group—Coalition on Children and Television—selected the show for an award for excellence.