Linus the Lionhearted facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Linus the Lionhearted |
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1964 vinyl record
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| Genre | Animated television series |
| Created by | Ed Graham Jr. |
| Developed by | Gene Schinto |
| Directed by | Ed Graham |
| Voices of | Sheldon Leonard Ed Graham Jr. Carl Reiner Ruth Buzzi Bob McFadden Jesse White Jonathan Winters Gerry Matthews "Bashful Bigshots" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Ed Graham |
| Producer(s) | Ed Graham |
| Running time | 30 minutes (with commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Ed Graham Productions General Foods |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS (original B&W episodes) ABC (colorized episodes) |
| Picture format | Black-and-white (CBS) & Colorized (ABC) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 26, 1964 – December 11, 1965 |
Linus the Lionhearted was a fun American cartoon show. It first aired on CBS from September 1964 to December 1965. The early episodes were in black and white. Later, color versions of the show were shown on ABC from 1966 to 1969.
The show was about Linus, a lion king who lived in the jungle. He ruled from his special barber's chair. Linus was first created in 1959 by an advertising company. He was made for ads for General Foods' Post Cereals. Linus first helped sell a cereal called "Heart of Oats." Later, he was redesigned in 1963 to sell Crispy Critters cereal. Linus even appeared on the cereal box! These ads were so popular that a TV show was made in 1964. General Foods was the main sponsor of the show.
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Meet the Voices Behind the Characters
One cool thing about Linus the Lionhearted was its amazing voice cast. Many famous actors lent their voices to the characters.
- Sheldon Leonard was the voice of Linus the Lionhearted himself.
- Carl Reiner voiced Linus's friend, Billy Bird, and other characters.
- Ruth Buzzi played an old witch who was friends with Lovable Truly. She also voiced Granny Goodwitch, who was sometimes Sugar Bear's enemy.
- Bob McFadden brought to life characters like So Hi, Rory Raccoon, and Lovable Truly.
- Gerry Matthews was the voice of Sugar Bear.
- Jesse White, known later as the "Maytag Repairman," voiced Claudius Crow.
- Jonathan Winters made special guest appearances.
- Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara also appeared as guest voices.
- Paul Frees voiced many other characters.
The Show's Special Ending Song
The show had a very unique ending song. While the opening song was upbeat and promoted Linus, the end song was slow and a bit sad. It was likely sung by the Johnny Mann Singers.
As the song played, the main characters were shown packing a trunk. They looked sad, with big tears in their eyes. They waved goodbye and slowly faded away into the darkness. The song ended with Billy Bird "mopping up" the spotlight until everything was black.
The lyrics of the song were: "Linus and his friends must go, so we leave you with a song. We're all kind of sad to go, glad to know it won't be long. Lion-hearted friendships don't end, we'll all be back, and then Linus and his friends will go on with the show again!"
Why Linus Left the Airwaves
The show ended because of a new rule from the FCC. In 1969, the FCC made it illegal for characters from a children's TV show to appear in commercials during that same show. Since Linus was a cereal mascot who also had his own show, this rule meant Linus the Lionhearted could no longer air. So, ABC had to cancel the program.
Episode Adventures and Characters
Each episode of Linus the Lionhearted was made up of several short cartoons. These mini-stories featured different characters.
Here are the main segments you would see:
- C = The Company: These were short clips that connected the other cartoons. There were 39 of these.
- LK = Linus, King of Beasts: These stories focused on Linus the Lionhearted. There were 39 segments.
- LT = Lovable Truly: This segment featured Lovable Truly, a postman. There were 35 segments.
- R = Rory Raccoon, Hometown Hero: These were adventures of Rory Raccoon. There were 19 segments.
- SH = So-Hi: Stories about So-Hi, a wise boy. There were 37 segments.
- SB = Sugar Bear: These segments followed Sugar Bear, another cereal mascot. There were 22 segments.
The show had two seasons and a total of 39 episodes. Each episode usually had a mix of these different character segments.
