The Adventures of Superpup
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Superpup, a 1958 pilot which never aired on TV, was meant to capitalize on the success of Adventures of Superman
. Superpup featured the first television portrayal of the Superman
characters as non-humans.
created a pilot that placed the Superman mythos into a fictional universe populated by dogs instead of human beings. The live-action actors were placed in dog-suits to portray the canine versions of the characters of Superman. The pilot was filmed on the same set as The Adventures of Superman, and the characters were portrayed by little people
. Whitney Ellsworth later produced The Adventures of Superboy
television pilot.
The Clark Kent
character was renamed "Bark Bent", who worked for the Daily Bugle (not to be confused with Peter Parker
's workplace
) under editor "Terry Bite" and the female lead was named "Pamela Poodle". Superpup/Bark Bent himself was played by actor Billy Curtis
, who was also in Superman and the Mole Men
with George Reeves.
A book titled Superboy and Superpup: The Lost Videos, written by Chuck Harter, was published in 1993
by Cult Movies Press. Employees had seen the obscure pilots for both of the proposed replacements for the Reeves series: The Adventures of Superpup and The Adventures of Superboy
, as well as twelve un-produced Superboy scripts. Both were released unofficially to the public domain on the VHS
format. It is also available as part of Warner Home Video's
fourteen-disc DVD
set, Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition. Half of the episode is presented in the collection in color from a surviving print, while the other half of the pilot is presented in black & white from a video master of lesser quality.
An animated series with a somewhat similar premise, Krypto the Superdog
, aired on Cartoon Network
decades later.
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
. Superpup featured the first television portrayal of the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
characters as non-humans.
Overview
Television producer Whitney EllsworthWhitney Ellsworth
Fredric Whitney Ellsworth was an American comic book editor, and sometime writer and artist for DC Comics during the period known to historians and fans as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
created a pilot that placed the Superman mythos into a fictional universe populated by dogs instead of human beings. The live-action actors were placed in dog-suits to portray the canine versions of the characters of Superman. The pilot was filmed on the same set as The Adventures of Superman, and the characters were portrayed by little people
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
. Whitney Ellsworth later produced The Adventures of Superboy
The Adventures of Superboy
The Adventures of Superboy was a proposed TV series that was put into production in 1961. It was meant to capitalize on the success of Adventures of Superman, which was cancelled years earlier. A revival was planned, but abandoned following the death of George Reeves, but only a pilot episode,...
television pilot.
The Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
character was renamed "Bark Bent", who worked for the Daily Bugle (not to be confused with Peter Parker
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
's workplace
Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media...
) under editor "Terry Bite" and the female lead was named "Pamela Poodle". Superpup/Bark Bent himself was played by actor Billy Curtis
Billy Curtis
Billy Curtis was an American film and television actor. He was a dwarf who had a 50-year career in a variety of roles...
, who was also in Superman and the Mole Men
Superman and the Mole Men
Superman and the Mole Men is a 1951 superhero film starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics character Superman, although two live-action Superman films had already been shown in cinemas, they appeared in a...
with George Reeves.
A book titled Superboy and Superpup: The Lost Videos, written by Chuck Harter, was published in 1993
1993 in literature
The year 1993 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Professor Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time, becomes the longest running book on the bestseller list of The Sunday Times....
by Cult Movies Press. Employees had seen the obscure pilots for both of the proposed replacements for the Reeves series: The Adventures of Superpup and The Adventures of Superboy
The Adventures of Superboy
The Adventures of Superboy was a proposed TV series that was put into production in 1961. It was meant to capitalize on the success of Adventures of Superman, which was cancelled years earlier. A revival was planned, but abandoned following the death of George Reeves, but only a pilot episode,...
, as well as twelve un-produced Superboy scripts. Both were released unofficially to the public domain on the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
format. It is also available as part of Warner Home Video's
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
fourteen-disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set, Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition. Half of the episode is presented in the collection in color from a surviving print, while the other half of the pilot is presented in black & white from a video master of lesser quality.
An animated series with a somewhat similar premise, Krypto the Superdog
Krypto the Superdog
Krypto the Superdog is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the DC Comics character Krypto. The show premiered on Cartoon Network on March 25, 2005 and aired on Kids' WB! in September 2006...
, aired on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
decades later.
External links
- Superman on TV Adventures of Superpup trailer
- Superpup Video Rarities
- The New Adventures of Superpup Superman Supersite