Cartoon Teletales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cartoon TeleTales |
|
|---|---|
| Starring | Jack Luchsinger Chuck Luchsinger |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 30 minutes (per episode) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Original release | November 14, 1948 – September 24, 1950 |
Cartoon TeleTales was an early TV show made just for kids. It aired on the ABC network from 1948 to 1950. This show was very special because it was the very first children's series ever shown on ABC!
The show first started in May 1948 as a local program in Philadelphia. It then moved to New York in June, airing in the late afternoon. By November of that year, it became a national show, reaching homes all across the country.
Contents
How Cartoon TeleTales Worked
Each episode of Cartoon TeleTales featured an original story. Jack Luchsinger would tell the tale live. As he spoke, his brother Chuck Luchsinger would draw pictures to go along with the story. He would create about 10 to 12 drawings for each episode.
The show was filmed with a small audience of children right in the studio. These kids would listen to the story and even make suggestions! Rosa Rio, an organist, played music to set the mood for each tale.
Get Creative and Win!
Kids watching at home were encouraged to draw their own pictures of the story. They could send their drawings in to compete for prizes. The best drawings were even shown on TV! This contest was very popular, with as many as 5,600 drawings sent in each month during 1949.
At the end of every episode, Chuck Luchsinger would give a drawing lesson. This helped young viewers learn how to create their own art.
Meet the Characters!
The stories in Cartoon TeleTales featured a fun cast of characters. Some of these memorable friends included:
- Maurice the Mouse
- Melody the Humming Bird
- Leon the Lightning Bug
- Usta the Rooster
- Bamboozle the Ostrich
- Mimi the Mole
- Bumsniff the Bloodhound
- Bigstuff the Elephant
- Roscoe the Raccoon
- Bungle the Beaver
- Dipsy the Dolphin
- Pinto the Pony
- Cletus the Caterpillar
- Alice the Alligator
- A human boy named Hezekiah
Famous People Behind the Scenes
Many talented people worked on Cartoon TeleTales. Several of them went on to have very successful careers in entertainment.
These include:
- Babette Henry: She was the director of Cartoon TeleTales. Soon after, she directed the famous Buck Rogers TV series.
- Ed Nofziger: He sometimes filled in for Chuck Luchsinger. Later, he became an animator for big studios like UPA and Hanna-Barbera. He also drew cartoons for magazines and wrote comic book stories for Disney.
- Lee Orgel: He was the producer of the show. He later helped create and produce popular animated films and shows like Gay Purr-ee, Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, The New Three Stooges, and Defenders of the Earth.
Where Are the Episodes Now?
The Luchsinger family still owns copies of one or two episodes of Cartoon TeleTales. Some other episodes are kept safe at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. This helps preserve a piece of early television history.
Similar Shows
Two other shows that were similar to Cartoon TeleTales also aired around the same time. These were Tele-Comics and NBC Comics, which ran from 1949 to 1951. These shows also used still images from cartoon panels with someone reading the story aloud.
