President Huck

How long have animated cartoon characters been “running” for the U.S. presidency?

Well, Popeye and Bluto did. So did Betty Boop (as the crowd chanted her name to the “We Want Cantor” musical vamp). Olive Oyl dreamed she was president.

But that was only on the screen. There were no real-life campaign appearances or newspaper articles with promises or anything suggesting an actual (but phoney) run for the office.

Whether Huckleberry Hound changed all that, I don’t know, but the Hanna-Barbera publicity machine got into high gear in 1960. Broadcasting magazine revealed in its August 8, 1960 issue the idea was the brainchild of “Honest” Ed Justin at Screen Gems and, before anyone knew it, “Huck For President” ads were airing during the Republican National Convention. You can read more about it in this post.

The Palm Beach Post of August 28, 1960 reported on the size of the campaign to date. There is no byline.

“if I’m elected. . .”
He may be just the answer for thousands of confused voters. Huckleberry Hound, TV's Emmy winning cartoon hero, is running for President, and the mythical canine's bandwagon is rolling right along.
A comic book, Huckleberry Hound for President, is now out. A record company has waxed an L.P. album about Huck's campaign. Some five million campaign buttons have been made, along with banners, balloons, picket signs and TV slides.
In Mason City, Iowa the grandstand at the State Fair was plastered with Huck's picture.
Last week, Toledo, Ohio and Evansville, Indiana had "Huck" rallies, and next month Spokane, Washington plans a three-day shindig.
The biggest turnout so far was in Honolulu. Recently Huck, Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw (portrayed by actors in costumes) arrived in Honolulu for a "nominating convention." The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported, "10,000 people at the airport for Huckleberry Hound . . . more than President Eisenhower had at the airport also more than greeted the Shah of Iran or the crown Prince and Princess of Japan." One of Huck's "campaign managers" has this to say: "This may be the worst organized political campaign in history. Our candidate can't tell the White House from a dog house. His campaign manager, Yogi Bear, is a mythical inhabitant of a mythical park. There's no platform, and an awful lot of our supporters are below voting age.
"But, unlike the other candidates, Huck can't lose.”
This may the dog-gonedest campaign year yet.

The Post wasn’t the only newspaper that got a campaign press kit. The TV Editor of the Tampa Times led her column of August 27, 1960 with Huck (Hanna-Barbera got a bonus, as her second story was on the pending arrival on ABC-TV of The Flintstones.

The first, and perhaps only "Huckleberry Hound for president" button in the area, arrived at my desk last week, along with details announcing the lovable pooch's campaign Is now in full swing.
Apparently Huck doesn't have the big money interests behind him, because the button is only about the size of a nickel and doesn't look worth that much. To be frank—it looks like something you might get out of a cracker jack box.
A Bare Item!
But it is a rare item in these parts—thereby giving it some questionable value. Would someone REALLY like to have it? If anyone cares to be the only area resident with a genuine "Huckleberry Hound for president" button—write, and I will present it to the person who offers the most interesting reason why they would support Huckleberry for president. Just write me—that's Tish Gray, in care of The Times.
Checked to see if Huck has any plans to campaign or flood Tampa Bay with his election insignia but at present, the local outlet, WFLA-TV (8), says no. However any interest shown, might get them to change their minds, and then all of us could have Huckleberry Hound for president buttons.

The Huck campaign never got to Election Night. Perhaps Ed Justin’s team felt they had milked the idea until it ran dry. Broadcasting magazine told the story in its October 17, 1960 edition.

‘Huck for President’
A decision has been made in smoke-filled rooms that will change the complexion of the presidential race. Huckleberry Hound will withdraw his hat from the ring and throw his weight to the other candidates.
It has been an open secret in the trade but closely guarded from the public. In fact, there’s another Huck-for-President rally scheduled by Rich’s department store and WSB-TV in Atlanta next week. Only last week the tv hound addressed more than 5,000 at a Freedomland rally in New York after stumping other cities across the country. His campaign assistant, Quick Draw McGraw, led a rally at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
The presidential bandwagon got rolling last summer (BROADCASTING, Aug. 8) and inspired local promotions in many of 180 markets where Huckleberry Hound is on the air for Kellogg’s (through Leo Burnett Co.). Screen Gems spearheaded the drive. Stations and department stores carrying Huckleberry Hound merchandise rallied around with their own tub-thumping.
Now more than a third of the stations have received a series of recorded announcements containing the political secret that will swing the child vote in two other directions. Actually it is a public-service campaign to pressure parents and other fans of age to register and vote.
The first in the series of transcriptions is a standard “Vote for Huck” appeal. The second, planned for use during local registration season, urges fans to register for the vote. In the last, containing the political bombshell, the candidate announces he is quitting the race (“a joke’s a joke’), but he asks all voters to report to polls election day. This is for release shortly prior to Nov. 8. All run behind the standard Huck-for-President slide.
The Freedomland appearance was the last of the season for the paid act packaged by Screen Gems. The gate Oct. 8 was 11,000, up 2,500 (on a World Series day) from the Saturday before, with the help of promotion by WPIX (TV) New York, where Huckleberry Hound appears, and Macys department store. Performer Eddie Alberian, who plays the hound part on the amusement park-fair circuit, will take to the road with the cartoon company again next spring promoting also Quick Draw McGraw (he’s on the same Kellogg lineup) and The Flintstones, which just debuted on ABC-TV. All are Hanna-Barbera Cartoons productions.
There are 25 more department store promotions between now and December using local talent, tieing in with stations at football games and local special events, but the race for the White House has been conceded by one of the politicians’ best friends.

One last news release was sent out by Honest Ed’s P.R. people. Here’s how Joe Bryant of the Fort Lauderdale News put it in his Showtime column of November 4:

Huckleberry Hound Releases Voters
Huckleberry Hound, who for months has waged a dogged campaign for the Presidency, today withdrew from the race and released all of his voters.
"I'm downright dee-lighted with the wonderful support the public has given me, and although I have consistently-placed first at all poles, I feel it is the best interests of the country that I withdraw," Huck said.
“For one thing,” the flop-eared politician continued, "I have an unofficial ruling from the attorney general that even if elected by the populace, I would not be allowed to serve.
"I am told that my opponents will seek a strict interpretation of the Constitutional provision that a president must be at least 35 years of age. And while, in a literal interpretation, my competitive age as a dog would enable me to qualify, I don't hardly know a dog around who can meet the strict interpretation of that ruling.
"At feast, I don’t know any four-legged dogs who can," he added thoughtfully.
“Any-how," the ex-candidate mused, “I’d probably be out of place in Washington. I don't give a hoot for golf or fishing. Baying at the moon is my favorite sport and I’m afraid I’d be outclassed at this on Capitol Hill.”

What was Huck doing on election night? We know what he was doing in the Los Angeles area. Election Night is on a Tuesday. So was The Huckleberry Hound Show. Columnist Art Ryon of the Los Angeles Times was a big Huck fan, and he noted for posterity in his column of Friday, November 11:

In the frenzy of Tuesday night’s election returns, KTTV dropped everything to present, as scheduled, Huckleberry Hound.
This was a comforting gesture.
It shows that the Huckleberry Hound-for-President is still very much alive. And, while the recent campaign bogged down—mostly because of the arrogance of the Eastern and Midwest cliques in the Party—we are looking forward to ’64.
The nation needs Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear!

Unfortunately for Huck, the 1960 election campaign marked the peak of his career. Hanna-Barbera was already planning a feature-length movie, but it was to star Yogi Bear, not Huck. When H-B got into the syndicated newspaper comic business, the one-panel comics starred Yogi Bear, not Huck. The strips featured the Flintstones, not Huck. And when the ’64 that Art Ryon awaited finally arrived, the presidential ticket featured Yogi Bear, not Huck.

As time rolled on, the gentle Southern hound didn’t have an Ark Lark or Space Race or Yahooeys. No one said “Yo, Huck!” (which was probably a good thing). Oh, Huck was still around but, by the end of the 1960s, another Hanna-Barbera dog surpassed him in popularity (and ubiquity).

Regardless, you still have to like ol’ Huck. He’s pleasant and easy-going, even when he’s dealing with poundings or other adversity. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses. Maybe he wouldn’t have been a good president, but he’s a pretty good TV cartoon character.

If you want to read the Huck presidential comic, CLICK HERE. If you want to hear the Huck presidential campaign L.P., CLICK HERE. We warn you these are not the original cartoon voices. You will not hear Daws Butler or Don Messick. You will hear New York actors instead, including Mason Adams as Bert on the first track.