O Maior Palhaço da Cidade

Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera must have known of the big coin that was brought in from international sales of their Tom and Jerry cartoons when they worked at MGM (and how the cut-off of overseas markets during the war hurt cartoon-makers, such as Disney). So it wasn’t long after they began syndicating “Huckleberry Hound” in North America in fall of 1958 that their company started peddling their animated wares elsewhere. And it worked. If you look on-line, you may find Huck, Yogi, Quick Draw and the rest in Spanish, Portuguese or Italian (if someone has a full run of “Snooper and Blabber” in Portuguese, let me know).

Here’s a story from Weekly Variety of March 15, 1961, about Huck’s foreign adventures:

‘Hounds’ Around The Vidpix Globe; Big Latino Fave

“Huckleberry Hound,” distributed by Screen Gems, has been sold in 25 countries and promises to be one of the most widely circulated shows in foreign distribution. SG’s current bestseller abroad is “Rin Tin Tin.”
Animated series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, has been dubbed in five different languages: French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. “Hound” started playing in Latin America a year and a half ago. That was the first time, according to SG, that regional dialects were deliberately used in the Spanish dubbing of the tv series, done for the purpose of emphasizing the varied characterizations of the cartoon personalities.
In Latino market, series now is playing in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Other sales include England, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. In many of these countries, “Quick Draw McGraw,” which in the U. S. started in the fall of ‘59, a year after “Hound,” has also begun telecasting in native tongues.
“Flintstones,” latest out of H-B’s shop, already playing in English-speaking countries, is being readied for the international rounds.

By May 24th, Variety reported Huck, Yogi and Quick Draw were in 29 countries.

While the cartoons aired, the openings and closings made for the half-hour shows didn’t always. Reader Alfons Moliné has sent this along:

Here is a rare opening for the Brazilian version of The Huckleberry Hound Show (or "Don Pixote", as Huck is called in Portuguese), where it used to be sponsored by Trol, a toy brand. This was done by some local animation studio; check the crude animation and the odd character designs: