American variety television series
"Fleegle" and "Snorky" redirect here. For the American Jehovah's Witness and Governing Body member, see
Gage Fleegle
. For the American gangster, see
Al Capone
.
The Banana Splits
|
---|
Original title card
|
Also known as
| The Banana Splits Adventure Hour
The Banana Splits and Friends Show
|
---|
Genre
| |
---|
Developed by
| Hanna-Barbera
|
---|
Directed by
| |
---|
Presented by
|
- Fleegle
- Bingo
- Drooper
- Snorky
|
---|
Starring
| - Jeff Winkless
(as Jeffrey Brock)
- Ginner Whitcombe (as Fleegle 2008)
- Terence H. Winkless
(as Terence Henry)
- Dan Winkless (as Daniel Owen)
- James "Jimmy" Dove
- Steve Kincannon
|
---|
Voices of
| |
---|
Theme music composer
| Nelson B. Winkless Jr. (credited to Ritchie Adams & Mark Barkan)
|
---|
Opening theme
| "
Tra La La (One Banana, Two Banana)
"
|
---|
Composers
| |
---|
Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
Original language
| English
|
---|
No.
of seasons
| 2
|
---|
No.
of episodes
| 31 + shorts
|
---|
|
Executive producers
| |
---|
Producer
| Edward J. Rosen (Season 1)
|
---|
Running time
| 45?48 minutes
|
---|
Production company
| Hanna-Barbera Productions
|
---|
|
Network
| NBC
|
---|
Release
| September 7, 1968
(
1968-09-07
)
?
September 5, 1970
(
1970-09-05
)
|
---|
|
|
The Banana Splits
is an American television
variety show
produced by
Hanna-Barbera Productions
and featuring
the Banana Splits
, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. The costumed hosts of the show are Fleegle (
guitar
,
vocals
), Bingo (
drums
, vocals), Drooper (
bass
, vocals), and Snorky (
keyboards
,
effects
).
[1]
The series ran for 31 episodes on
NBC
Saturday mornings
from September 7, 1968, to September 5, 1970, and in syndication from 1970 to 1982. The show features the Banana Splits band as live-action costumed characters, who host both live-action and animated segments within their program. The costumes were constructed by
Sid and Marty Krofft
based on designs by Hanna-Barbera artists, and the series' sponsor was
Kellogg's Cereals
.
[2]
A feature-length comedy horror film adaptation called
The Banana Splits Movie
premiered at the
San Diego Comic-Con
on July 18, 2019, and was released worldwide on August 13, 2019.
History
[
edit
]
In 1967,
William Hanna
and
Joseph Barbera
approached
Sid and Marty Krofft
to build the costumes for a television show featuring animated and live-action segments, hosted by a
bubblegum rock
group of
anthropomorphic
characters. The show's format was loosely based on
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
.
(The characters later appeared on one episode of that show.
[3]
)
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour
premiered on
NBC
on September 7, 1968.
[2]
In his autobiography, Barbera said that the show was originally going to be called
The Banana Bunch
, but permission could not be obtained from the author of a children's book by that same title.
The Krofft brothers credit the series' success for making possible their own entry into television,
H.R. Pufnstuf
. NBC picked up the Krofft series, which was launched on August 30, 1969, during an hour-long special hosted by the Banana Splits.
[2]
The show's live-action segment
Danger Island
, a
cliffhanger
serial
, as well as the short-lived
Micro Ventures
, a part-live action, part-animated
[4]
series consisting of only four episodes, ran alongside the animated segments
Arabian Knights
and
The Three Musketeers
.
[2]
Actors
Jan-Michael Vincent
(billed as Michael Vincent) and
Ronne Troup
appeared in the live-action component
Danger Island
. All the live-action material filmed for the series' first season, including the
Banana Splits
and
Danger Island
segments, was directed by
Richard Donner
.
[5]
Jason Ankeny of
AllMusic
has blamed the show's drastic ratings drop during its second season on the production staff's failure to change backgrounds or set designs, which misled young viewers into thinking that they were watching reruns instead of new episodes.
[6]
Synopsis
[
edit
]
Each show represented a meeting of the Banana Splits Club, and the
wraparounds
featured the adventures of the club members, a musical quartet meant to be reminiscent of
the Monkees
.
The Splits' segments, including songs of the week and comedy skits, served as wraparounds for a number of individual segments.
For the first season, some of the live-action segments?specifically those used during the musical segments?were shot at
Six Flags Over Texas
, an amusement park in
Arlington, Texas
.
[2]
For the second season, filming took place at the
Coney Island
amusement park in
Cincinnati
, Ohio. In many episodes, the Banana Splits were seen riding the many rides at Six Flags and Coney Island.
The Banana Buggies, mentioned in the theme song, were customized vehicles driven by each live-action character. The buggies were customized
Amphicat
six-wheel drive
all-terrain vehicles
, each decorated to resemble the character who drove it. Plastic 1/25 scale model kits were issued by
Aurora Plastics Corporation
(catalog number 832) beginning in 1969. They were never reissued by Aurora, but have since been released as high-end resin-based kits.
[7]
The Banana Splits
was one of the first two Hanna-Barbera series in 1968 for which Hanna and Barbera received
executive producer
credits, the other being
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
; Edward Rosen was the
producer
on both series.
[
citation needed
]
It was also one of the first Saturday morning shows to use a
laugh track
,
[8]
but only during the live-action comedy segments. In its first year, the cartoons were adventure-based and did not have laugh tracks. (The first Saturday morning cartoon with a laugh track was
Filmation's
The Archie Show
.)
Characters
[
edit
]
Main
[
edit
]
- Fleegle
? A beagle with a lisp and the Splits' self-proclaimed leader. Performed on-screen by
Jeff Winkless
(1968), Ginner Whitcombe (2008), and Terry Sauls (2019 film); voiced by
Paul Winchell
(1968?1972),
Keith Scott
(2008),
Eric Bauza
(2019 film) and
Paul F. Tompkins
(in
Jellystone!
).
- Bingo
? A nasal-voiced orange ape wearing white sunglasses and a yellow vest. Performed on-screen by
Terence H. Winkless
(1968), Casey Hadfield (2008) and Buntu Plam (2019 film); voiced by
Daws Butler
(1968?1972),
Keith Scott
(2008), Eric Bauza (2019 film) and
Jim Conroy
(in
Jellystone!
).
- Drooper
? A Southern-accented lion with a long tail wearing yellowish-orange sunglasses. Performed on-screen by Anne W. Withrow (1968), Adam Grubner (2008), and Kori Clarke (2019 film); voiced by
Allan Melvin
(1968?1972), Eric Bauza (2019 film) and
C.H. Greenblatt
(in
Jellystone!
).
- Snorky
? An
elephant
wearing pink sunglasses who communicates through honking noises. Originally covered in shaggy fur, he was redesigned for the second season to more resemble a regular elephant. Performed on-screen by James Dove and
Robert Towers
(1968?2008) and Brandon Vraagom (2019 film).
Secondary
[
edit
]
- Announcer
? an unseen narrator who introduced the Banana Splits and certain acts. Voiced by Allan Melvin (1968?1972) and Eric Bauza (2019 film).
- The Banana Vac
? A blue
moose
-like head with brown hair and light bulbs on his head. He hangs over the entrance of the clubhouse making various comments and often helps the Splits introduce segments. Voiced by Allan Melvin.
- Cuckoo Clock
? A clock with a blue and yellow bird head inside that gave snarky answers when asked "What time is it?", and helped the Splits introduce segments. Voiced by Paul Winchell.
- Goofy Gopher
? A
gopher
who lived in a flower pot. Voiced by Paul Winchell, it was created for the show's second season.
- Mildred the Robot
- An invention of Fleegle's that could grant wishes, often literally. "Performed" by
Robby the Robot
- The Sour Grapes Bunch
? A group of silent human girl characters who were all named Charley (portrayed by Sheri Freeman). The Splits' rivals, they took turns bringing written notes to the Splits. They danced one song with the title characters. In the first season, on October 5, 1968, the song "Doin' the Banana Split" had all five girls appear with the hosts.
- The Dilly Sisters
(Nelly and Miriam) ? Two human girls who played acoustic classical guitars and sang two songs: "
The Mexican Hat Dance
" and "
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
".
Segments
[
edit
]
The show had four segments:
- Arabian Knights
? Prince Turhan (voiced by
Jay North
), his cousin Princess Nida (voiced by
Shari Lewis
), and their allies Fariik the Magician (voiced by
John Stephenson
), Raseem the Strong (voiced by
Frank Gerstle
), his donkey Zazuum (voiced by
Don Messick
), and shapeshifter Bez (voiced by
Henry Corden
) work to free Persia from the evil Bakaar the Black Sultan (voiced by
John Stephenson
) and his enforcer Vangore (voiced by
Paul Frees
).
- The Three Musketeers
? Based on
the novel of the same name
.
Athos
(voiced by
Jonathan Harris
),
Porthos
(voiced by
Barney Phillips
),
Aramis
(voiced by Don Messick), and
D'Artagnan
(voiced by Bruce Watson) partake in new adventures fighting the enemies of the crowned heads of France
King Louis XIV
(voiced by Don Messick) and
Queen Anne
(voiced by
Julie Bennett
). They are sometimes assisted by a queen's handmaid named Lady Constance Bonacieux (voiced by Julie Bennett) and her young nephew Tooly (voiced by
Teddy Eccles
).
- Danger Island
? The show's only live-action segment. This adventure
serial
depicts archaeologist Professor Irwin Hayden (portrayed by
Frank Aletter
), his assistant Lincoln "Link" Simmons (portrayed by
Jan Michael Vincent
), and his daughter Leslie (portrayed by
Ronne Troup
) having adventures on an unnamed island chain with a shipwrecked merchant mariner named Elihu Morgan (portrayed by
Rockne Tarkington
) and his sidekick Chongo (portrayed by
Kim Kahana
) as they avoid a group of bumbling yet heavily armed modern day pirates led by Captain Mu-Tan (portrayed by Victor Eberg).
- Micro Ventures
? A four-episode segment where Professor Carter (voiced by Don Messick) and his children Jill (voiced by
Patsy Garrett
) and Mike (voiced by
Tommy Cook
) use a shrinking machine to shrink themselves and their dune buggy to miniature size to explore and experience the world from the perspective of an insect.
In the second season,
The Three Musketeers
segments were replaced with reruns of
The Hillbilly Bears
, a cartoon segment that previously appeared on
The Atom Ant Show
(1965?1968). In reruns, episodes of
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show
,
The Adventures of Gulliver
, and
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
were aired on the show.
The Banana Splits
was syndicated in 1970 to local stations under the title of
The Banana Splits and Friends Show
, but with several other series included in a package deal. All the
Banana Splits
episodes were syndicated in this package alongside
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
,
The Atom Ant Show
,
The Secret Squirrel Show
, and
The Adventures of Gulliver
.
Music
[
edit
]
The show's theme song, "
The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)
", was credited to
Ritchie Adams
and
Mark Barkan
, but that was merely contractual. It was written by N. B. Winkless Jr., on the
upright piano
in his living room?a piano that also spawned the "Snap, Crackle, Pop" jingle, among other successful themes. Adams and Barkan were the show's music directors. The song, a single attributed to The Banana Splits, peaked at #96 on
Billboard'
s Top 100 in February 1969.
[9]
The version included on the
We're The Banana Splits
album is the same heard at the beginning of the show, while the single version is an entirely different arrangement and recording, with an additional verse.
The Banana Splits'
bubblegum pop
rock and roll
was provided by studio professionals, including
Joey Levine
("I Enjoy Being a Boy", "It's a Good Day for a Parade");
Al Kooper
("You're the Lovin' End");
Barry White
("Doin' the Banana Split");
Gene Pitney
("Two Ton Tessie") and
Jimmy Radcliffe
, who provided his songs ("
I'm Gonna Find a Cave
", "Soul", "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl", "Adam Had 'Em" and "The Show Must Go On") but did not contribute vocals to Splits recordings.
The music director was music publisher
Aaron Schroeder
; production duties were mainly handled by David Mook. When a heavier R&B vocal was needed, the music producers usually turned to singer
Ricky Lancelotti
, who was credited under his stage name Rick Lancelot. He went on to record several songs with
Frank Zappa
.
[10]
In 1968, The Banana Splits released an album on
Decca Records
titled
We're the Banana Splits
.
Covers
[
edit
]
US
punk rock
act
the Dickies
covered the theme song in 1978 as "
Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)
". It reached #7 on the UK charts
[11]
and appeared as a bonus on the CD reissue of their 1979 album
The Incredible Shrinking Dickies
.
Comics
[
edit
]
The Banana Splits' adventures continued in
comic books
.
Gold Key
began publishing a comic version in 1969, releasing eight issues through 1971.
[12]
Drawn by Jack Manning, these stories followed the musicians either trying to find work or on the road between gigs.
The Banana Splits had a crossover with the
Suicide Squad
in
Suicide Squad/Banana Splits
#1 on March 29, 2017.
[13]
[14]
[15]
Other projects
[
edit
]
Made-for-television film
[
edit
]
Hanna-Barbera produced
The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park
, a televised feature film, for
ABC
in 1972 that has the group rescuing a girl from an evil witch.
Educational films
[
edit
]
2008 revival
[
edit
]
In August 2008,
Warner Bros. Consumer Products
announced a multi-platform release featuring new comedy shorts/series and music videos. It debuted on
Cartoon Network
on September 2, 2008.
Keith Scott
voiced Fleegle, Bingo and the announcer, and an unknown actor voiced Drooper.
[22]
[23]
It included a live show and a website,
[24]
as well as a CD and a DVD featuring 13 new songs, released by
Universal Records
.
[23]
a child-themed area,
Banana Splitsville,
was also installed at
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
's Hard Rock Park rock-and-roll theme park, which later became
Freestyle Music Park
before closing permanently in 2009.
[25]
2019 comedy horror film
[
edit
]
On February 19, 2019,
Warner Bros. Television Group
's Blue Ribbon Content division announced that it was collaborating with Blue Ice Pictures on producing a film adaptation of
The Banana Splits
television series collectively named
The Banana Splits Movie
, which would serve as an R-rated slasher film. Danishka Esterhazy was hired to direct the film, based on a script written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas.
[26]
On June 13, 2019, Syfy Wire released the official trailer for the film. The film was released worldwide on August 13, 2019.
[27]
[28]
Jellystone!
[
edit
]
The Banana Splits appear in
Jellystone!
which was released
HBO Max
on July 29, 2021
[29]
with Fleegle voiced by
Paul F. Tompkins
, Bingo voiced by
Jim Conroy
, and Drooper voiced by show creator
C. H. Greenblatt
. They are portrayed as cartoonishly effective criminals and the enemies of
El Kabong
.
Home media
[
edit
]
The 1st episode "The Littlest Musketeer" was released on the DVDs Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Vol. 2 & Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s-1980s Collection.
On September 21, 2009, Warner Home Video released the complete first season on DVD in
Region 2
.
[30]
The six-disc set consists of 36 edited half-hour episodes of
The Banana Splits and Friends Show
as aired on Cartoon Network and
Boomerang
. The series was also released on
VHS
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Woolery, George W. (1983).
Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981
. Scarecrow Press. pp.
31
?34.
ISBN
0-8108-1557-5
. Retrieved
March 14,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Erickson, Hal (1998).
Sid and Marty Krofft
. McFarland. pp. 14?15.
ISBN
978-0-7864-0518-3
.
Archived
from the original on May 2, 2014
. Retrieved
August 27,
2009
.
- ^
"Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: Episode #2.9"
at
IMDb
- ^
Woolery, George W. (1983).
Children's television, the first thirty-five years, 1946-1981
. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press.
ISBN
978-0-8108-1557-5
.
OCLC
8451238
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
CD liner notes:
Saturday Mornings: Cartoons' Greatest Hits
, 1995 MCA Records
- ^
"The Banana Splits Biography, Songs, & Albums"
.
AllMusic
.
- ^
"Welcome professorplastik.com - BlueHost.com"
.
www.professorplastik.com
.
Archived
from the original on August 20, 2018
. Retrieved
March 23,
2018
.
- ^
Iverson, Paul: "The Advent of the Laugh Track" Hofstra University archives; February 1994
- ^
"
Billboard
Hot 100 Chart"
.
Billboard
. February 8, 1969.
Archived
from the original on January 24, 2015
. Retrieved
January 31,
2015
.
- ^
"ricky lancelotti"
.
Archived
from the original on May 27, 2010
. Retrieved
July 20,
2010
.
- ^
British Hit Singles by Pal Gambaccini, Tim Rice, and Jo Rice, published in Great Britain by Guinness Publishing Ltd.
- ^
"The Banana Splits"
. The Big DataBase of Comic Books. Archived from
the original
on January 20, 2013
. Retrieved
August 25,
2008
.
- ^
"SUICIDE SQUAD/BANANA SPLITS SPECIAL #1"
.
dccomics.com
. December 19, 2016.
Archived
from the original on March 21, 2017
. Retrieved
March 23,
2018
.
- ^
"SUICIDE SQUAD Meets THE BANANA SPLITS, More In DC/HANNA-BARBERA Crossover Titles"
.
newsarama.com
.
Archived
from the original on July 14, 2018
. Retrieved
March 23,
2018
.
- ^
"Suicide Squad Crossovers With The Banana Splits. Wait, What??!"
.
capedcrusades.com
. December 13, 2016.
Archived
from the original on March 24, 2018
. Retrieved
March 23,
2018
.
- ^
The Banana Splits: Healthy and Happy
at
WorldCat
- ^
The Banana Splits: We Have Five Senses
at
WorldCat
- ^
The Banana Splits: Safety First
at
WorldCat
- ^
The Banana Splits: It's a Sens-sational World
at
WorldCat
- ^
The Banana Splits: Meet the Microbes
at
WorldCat
- ^
Learning About Holidays with The Banana Splits
at
WorldCat
- ^
"The Banana Splits"
.
WarnerBrosOnline
. August 14, 2008.
Archived
from the original on December 25, 2015
. Retrieved
August 15,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
"The Banana Splits Are Back! Warner Bros. Consumer Products Serves Up Four Scoops Of Hilarity With Relaunch"
.
Warner Bros. Press Office
. August 15, 2008.
Archived
from the original on December 20, 2008
. Retrieved
August 20,
2008
.
- ^
"The Banana Splits"
.
Archived
from the original on August 20, 2008
. Retrieved
August 15,
2008
.
- ^
"Hard Rock Park?Banana Splitsville"
. Hard Rock Park.
Archived
from the original on December 1, 2008
. Retrieved
August 26,
2008
.
- ^
"'The Banana Splits' are getting a horror movie"
Archived
February 21, 2019, at the
Wayback Machine
from
The Los Angeles Times
(February 19, 2019)
- ^
"The Banana Splits Movie - Official Trailer | SYFY WIRE"
from
SYFY WIRE
(June 13, 2019)
[
verification needed
]
- ^
"Syfy basically turned the kids show Banana Splits into a Five Nights at Freddy's movie"
from
Polygon
(June 13, 2019)
[
verification needed
]
- ^
"Jellystone! I Official Trailer I HBO Max Family"
.
YouTube
. June 24, 2021.
Archived
from the original on November 18, 2021
. Retrieved
June 24,
2021
.
- ^
"The Banana Splits - Complete Season 1"
.
Amazon.co.uk
. Archived from
the original
on September 5, 2017
. Retrieved
April 10,
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Show segments
| |
---|
Music
| |
---|
Films
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
---|
Television shows
| |
---|
Krofft Supershow segments
| |
---|
Krofft Puppets appearances
| |
---|
Pilots and TV specials
| |
---|
Films
| |
---|
Live shows
|
- Howdy, Mr. Ice of 1950
(1949)
- Les Poupees de Paris
(1961)
- Circus
(1966)
- Funny World
(1966)
- Kaleidoscope
(1968)
- Fol-de-Rol
(1968)
- A Broadway Baby
(1984)
- Comedy Kings
(1988)
|
---|
Other
| |
---|
|
---|
First-run animated series
| |
---|
First-run live-action series
| |
---|
First-run animated / live-action series
| |
---|
Rebroadcasts
| |
---|
Related programming and topics
| |
---|
|
---|
First-run
animated series
| |
---|
First-run
live-action series
| |
---|
Rebroadcasts
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|