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The Alvin Show
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The Alvin Show was the first American animated television series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier. It lasted for just one season in prime time (October 4, 1961 – September 12, 1962). The series rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids–particularly the show's namesake star–whose mischief contrasted to (and usually exasperated) his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, as well as their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, Dave Seville.
e from the seven-minute Chipmunk segments, in which Bagdasarian's David Seville was portrayed as a hapless bachelor who managed and mentored the three singing rodents, the show also had segments featuring a character called Clyde Crashcup (voiced by Shepard Menken impersonating Edwin Carp).
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Encyclopedia
The Alvin Show was the first American animated television series to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier. It lasted for just one season in prime time (October 4, 1961 – September 12, 1962). The series rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids–particularly the show's namesake star–whose mischief contrasted to (and usually exasperated) his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, as well as their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, Dave Seville.
The Great Inventor
Aside from the seven-minute Chipmunk segments, in which Bagdasarian's David Seville was portrayed as a hapless bachelor who managed and mentored the three singing rodents, the show also had segments featuring a character called Clyde Crashcup (voiced by Shepard Menken impersonating Edwin Carp). Clyde was an inventor who essentially re-invented the wheel (and practically everything else) and took credit for dreaming it up in the first place. His "creations" often backfired on him until his silent, level-headed lab assistant, Leonardo (diminutive, balding, and perpetually whispering in Crashcup's ear) saved him from any further self-immolation.
Afterlife
CBS reran the series on Saturday mornings for a few years after the show's prime time run ended, and segments from the show were syndicated in the late 1960s under the package title Alvin and the Chipmunks (this first syndicated package consisted of the individual show segments only, including the Alvin and Clyde Crashcup cartoons, and Chipmunk musical segments, not in the form of half-hour shows). The series later was revived on NBC-TV, again promoted under the title Alvin and the Chipmunks (with the introductory Alvin Show title card cut off the beginning of the show opening) Saturday mornings between March 10, 1979 and September 1, 1979.
Ross Bagdasarian had died of a heart attack in January 1972, precluding any future Chipmunk activity. Years later, his son Ross, Jr. picked up on a disc jockey's joke and produced the hit Chipmunk Punk album from 1980, which spurred new interest for a brand new animated series with an updated look to The Chipmunks and David Seville (now voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.). In fall 1983, coinciding with the launch of Ruby-Spears' newly-produced Alvin and the Chipmunks series on NBC, The Alvin Show was again syndicated, airing on WGN-TV in Chicago and WTBS in Atlanta. As a result, both the Ruby-Spears-produced Alvin and The Chipmunks (1983–1991) as well as the original Alvin Show could be seen at any given time throughout the 1980s.
The Alvin Show was last seen in the United States on Nickelodeon around 1994, and aired there until 1995. After the network stopped airing episodes the cartoon segments were shown on episodes of Weinerville until the end of 1995.
The "Alvin Show Chipmunks" and Clyde Crashcup (without Leonardo) reappear in an episode of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" in 1990 called "Back to Our Future" (a spoof of the 1985 movie, "Back to the Future"). Although, the "Alvin Show Chipmunks" are referred to "The Chipmunks from the 1950s" despite the fact "The Alvin Show" is from the 1960s.
The show was distributed by Nickelodeon's parent company, Viacom (since it is unknown whether or not Viacom still had the rights at the time of its split into two companies in 2005, it is unclear whether Viacom successor CBS Television Distribution currently holds them).
Voice cast
- Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. - Alvin, Simon, Theodore, David Seville
- Shepard Menken - Clyde Crashcup
- June Foray - Mrs. Frumpington and other female voices
- Bill Lee -
- Johnny Mann -
- Lee Patrick -
Episodes
26 episodes each were produced for the Alvin and the Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup segments, along with 52 musical segments.
| # | Alvin & the Chipmunks | Musical Segment 1 | Clyde Crashcup | Musical Segment 2 |
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| 1 | Good Neighbor | Buffalo Gals | Invents Jokes | America the Beautiful | | 2 | Ostrich | Mexico-the Brave Chipmunks | Invents Self-Presentation | Yankee Doodle | | 3 | Squares | Italy-Oh, Gondaliero! | Invents Glass | I Wish I Could Speak French | | 4 | Sam Valiant, Private Nose | August Dear | Invents the Chair | Working on the Railroad | | 5 | Overworked Alvin | When Johnny Comes Marching Home | Invents the West | Swanee River | | 6 | Alvin's Curse | Old MacDonald-Cha, Cha, Cha | Invents the Baseball | Switzerland-the Magic Mountain | | 7 | Alvin's Alter-Ego | Japanese Banana | Invents the Bathtub | The Pidgin English Hula | | 8 | Stanley the Eagle | Stuck in Arabia | Invents the Wife | I Wish I Had A Horse | | 9 | Fancy | Chipmunk Fun | Invents Flight | Good Morning Song | | 10 | Sam Valiant: Real Estate | Alvin for President | Invents the Baby | Home on the Range | | 11 | Dude Ranch | Witch Doctor | Invents the Stove | Lilly of Laguna | | 12 | Camping Trip | Spain | Invents Music | Row, Row, Row Your Boat | | 13 | Bentley Van Rolls | Swing Low, Sweet Chariot | Invents First Aid | Comin' Thru' The Rye | | 14 | The Whistler | Coming Around the Mountain | Invents Electricity | Pop Goes the Weasel | | 15 | Love Sick Dave | If You Love Me (Alouette) | Invents Egypt | Maria from Madrid | | 16 | Jungle Rhythm | Alvin's Orchestra | Invents the Bed | The Little Dog | | 17 | Theodore's Dog | The Chipmunk Song | Invents the Telephone | Alvin's Harmonica | | 18 | Hillbilly Son | Three Blind Mice | Invents Do-it-Yourself | Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star | | 19 | Little League | Clementine | Invents the Time Machine | Sing A Goofy Song | | 20 | Eagle in Love | Bicycle Built For Two | Invents the Shoe | On Top of Old Smokey | | 21 | Alvin's Studio | Whistle While You Work | Invents Physical Fitness | Ragtime Cowboy Joe | | 22 | Haunted House | My Wild Irish Rose | Invents the Ship | The Band Played On | | 23 | Sir Alvin | Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair | This is Your Life, Clyde Crashcup! | Funicula-Funicula | | 24 | Good Manners | Git Along, Little Doggies | Invents the Birthday Party | The Man on the Flying Trapeze | | 25 | Eagle Music | Polly Wolly Doodle | Invents Self Defense | Down in the Valley | | 26 | Disc Jockey | The Alvin Twist | Invents Crashcupland | While Strolling Through the Park? |
General Foods was the show's main sponsor; as such, Dave Seville and The Chipmunks appeared in several humorous half-minute commercials for Jell-O and Post Cereals.
See also
External links
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