Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tooniversary: Calvin & The Colonel (1961)

Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll are better known as the creators of Amos & Andy, the legendary radio show which later made a brief transition to television with an all-African American cast. (Gosden & Correll, ironically, were white).  The TV version didn't have the staying power of its radio counterpart, however.

Undaunted, Gosden & Correll took one more whack at TV with an animated series that was in part inspired by Amos & Andy. Calvin & The Colonel debuted on ABC in 1961 as one of two new primetime series that year (Top Cat was the other). However, only one season's worth of episodes were produced, and then the show was moved to Saturday mornings the following year, hence its inclusion here.

Calvin came from producers Joe Connolly & Bob Mosher (Leave it to Beaver), who'd been writers for Amos & Andy, and their production company, Kayro, which was affiliated with Revue Studios (Universal). Creston Studios handled the animation.

Here's a sample episode:



Based on what I've seen via YouTube, this show deserved a better fate. I am not sure if it's been released on DVD as of this writing.

Rating: B.

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