Coming Soon to the Yowp Blog...

Okay, we’ll get to “Coming Soon” in a moment. But first...

The blog suddenly got a stream of hits today and what’s happened is Mark Evanier.

Apparently, Mark has run out of tales of wild cats invading his porch/heart, brands of tomato soup and telling us where to find analysis of some American politician writing on her hand to turn his attention to some newspaper clippings here about Morey Amsterdam and Pat Carroll being hired—and fired—as the voices of George and Jane Jetson. It’s nice of Mark to link here; he’s been helpful over the years in conversations on Usenet, in forums and e-mail answering a variety of arcane questions about Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

This has brought readers to the blog as well as some helpful e-mails.

Bill Mullins brought a little more to the above story, as he managed to find a link I couldn’t—to the AP story in the Oxnard Press-Courier, dated Jan. 25, 1965:

TV firm sued
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Comedian Morey Amsterdam and actress Pat Carroll are seeking $12,000 each from Hanna-Barbera Productions, charging the firm signed them to provide the voices for an animated television show called “The Jetsons”—but used their services only once, not 24 times as called for in their contracts.
The case went to trial Tuesday, Amsterdam and Miss Carroll said their contracts called for them to get $500 each for each of the shows, planned for the 1962-63 season.

Today, $12,000 probably wouldn’t cover legal fees.

Regarding the Doug Young birthday post, Greg Ehrbar has lent some assistance about Doug’s past, via the folks at Shokus Internet Radio. I’ll make some notes when I get a chance. Doug revealed in the interview with Stu Shokus he had been in the Army in World War Two, and then caught the tail end of the Golden Days of Radio. A quick quote about Hanna Barbera:

I was driving a truck, you know, and ran into him [Daws Butler] at a book store. I had a little delay. He said “What are you doing?” I told him. He says “Forget it.” Come to my place. We’re going to make a tape, take you out to H-B and that’s it.

Doug revealed he and Peter Leeds auditioned for Joe Barbera. Leeds, of course, was one of a number of itinerate radio actors and one of Stan Freberg’s regulars. He made it into one Quick Draw McGraw cartoon—Scat, Scout,Scat—as a narrator. That was it. Doug’s career was considerably longer.

Anyway, these “Coming Soon” posts are only temporary. I’ll add the information to the appropriate posts. In the meantime, this post will be replaced on the weekend with a review of the first adventure of Quick Draw as that masked freedom fighter and guitar strummer, El Kabong. As for the rope, it’s simple logic. Zorro swung from a rope. So El Kabong does, too. That’s all you need to know.

Anyway, coming soon.. I promise...

• A look at Hanna-Barbera’s first writer, Charlie Shows.
• Some biographic notes and cartoon music from Jack Shaindlin. I’m still trying to identify a bunch of Shaindlin music; probably another eight cues.
• Ed and Ed team up in a Yogi Bear cartoon.
• Doggie Daddy takes on a con artist heckler who does impressions.

Feel free to send me an Email if you have comments about the blog. And click on the Facebook link if you’d like to be added. There isn’t a lot of traffic and it’s not there to spam your account or as an advertising vehicle. If you want to talk about the old cartoons there, that’s great.