The Man They Called Gunnite

The writers on The Flintstones developed side characters over the six seasons the cartoon series was on the air. Some were recurring, some died a natural death. But there was a one-shot character that found a home in another place.

Pop celebrity culture always came in for a gentle spoofing in animated cartoons. In the ‘30s and ‘40s, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Jack Benny and other radio/movie stars were caricatured. Catchphrases were borrowed from network radio shows.

When television animation became practical, Hanna-Barbera (and especially Bob Clampett’s Snowball Productions) lightly spoofed other television shows.

In the first season of The Flintstones, the series took gentle aim at Peter Gunn, which ran three seasons from 1958-1961 and had a terrific and the quintessential crime-jazz theme composed by Henry Mancini. Art Phillips is credited as the writer who turned Gunn into private eye Perry Gunnite, hired by Fred Flintstone to track down whoever wrote a love letter to Wilma (it turned out to be Fred when he was in high school). Gunnite was voiced, Cary Grant style, by John Stephenson. (Note the nod to 77 Sunset Strip to the left).

There wasn’t a need for a detective on the series, so Gunnite made only one appearance in “Love Letters on the Rocks” (aired February 17, 1961). However, there was a need elsewhere.

Comic books, at least at one time, needed characters besides the title ones to fill space. The best thing is they didn’t have to interact with the main characters. They could have their own stories. That’s what happened with Perry Gunnite.

He appeared in two adventures “Flintstones on the Rocks,” published by Dell in 1961. It is an excellent comic book with great art (by Harvey Eisenberg?) and some fun, single-page featurettes. It also includes a publicity photo of Joe Barbera, Bill Hanna, Warren Foster and my favourite cartoon writer, Mike Maltese. You can find it here.

Here is the first of the two Gunnite stories. You can click on each page to read it.



The TV episode was solely animated by Carlo Vinci. Fred does one of those Carlo head shakes with the rubbery nose. It is on four drawings, animated on ones.



Here is it, slowed down.



Someone will mention the Gunnite walk cycle if I don’t.

It is eight drawings. The “knee up” is held for six frames. The following drawing is used twice, the cameraman moving the background slightly to the right the second time. The rest of the drawings are on ones.



Once again, the pose is held for six frames, then the next drawing is shot twice, with the background moving very slightly in the third frame.



And the cycle repeats. Watch it below.