Time for Beany
Encyclopedia
Time for Beany was an American television
series, with puppets for characters, which aired locally in Los Angeles starting in 1949 and nationally (via kinescope
) on the improvised Paramount Television Network
from 1950 to 1955. It was created by animator Bob Clampett
, who later reused its core characters in the animated Beany and Cecil
series.
; the brave but dimwitted Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent, who claimed to be 300 years old and 35 feet 3 inches tall; Beany's uncle, the pigheaded Captain Horatio Huffenpuff (whose name is a play on Horatio Hornblower
), familiarly called Uncle Captain; Dishonest John, whose cape and handlebar mustache clearly identified him as the villain; and Tearalong the Dotted Lion. Another character, a circus clown aptly named Clownie, appeared in early episodes but was later dropped.
The principal voice actors and puppeteers were Daws Butler
and Stan Freberg
. The writers were Charles Shows and Lloyd Turner. The puppets, created by Maurice Seiderman, were presented against simple sets or crude background drawings. After Butler and Freberg left the show in 1952 or 1953 Jim MacGeorge and Irv Shoemaker handled the voice work and puppeting duties.
Time for Beany recounted the exotic voyages and landfalls of the ship Leakin' Lena under the at times inept command of "Uncle" Captain Huffenpuff. The daily episodes, each fifteen minutes in length, frequently contained topical references, usually of a satirical nature. One episode portrayed President Harry S Truman in puppet form, accompanying Cecil's singing. Other characters spoofed popular entertainers; examples are Dinah Saur and The Red Skeleton, parodies of Dinah Shore
and Red Skelton
.
Albert Einstein
was a fan of the show. On one occasion, the physicist interrupted a high-level conference by announcing, "You will have to excuse me, gentlemen. It's Time for Beany." Musician and composer Frank Zappa
was also a fan. As was Harpo Marx of the The Marx Brothers comedy team.
Beany's papa was Captain Horatio T. Huffenpuff was often referred to as Captain Fatty by the crew, Wong was the ship's cook, Crow was to lookout in the crow's nest, crewman Clowny, and on land, Leo the lion was always trying to get everyone to exercise by running and to eat yogurt. Cecil was always going to Beany's rescue: "I'm a commin Beanny, I'm a commin". This puppet show was my favorite show of all times, when I was 7~12 years old. The later cartoon version never held up to the same standard. Bob Clampett was credited as the creator. Thanks, Mickey.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, with puppets for characters, which aired locally in Los Angeles starting in 1949 and nationally (via kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
) on the improvised Paramount Television Network
Paramount Television Network
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s...
from 1950 to 1955. It was created by animator Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
, who later reused its core characters in the animated Beany and Cecil
Beany and Cecil
Beany and Cecil was an animated cartoon series created by Bob Clampett, who had previously worked for Warner Bros.. As a puppet show entitled Time for Beany, it originally aired in 1949, with the animated series first appearing in Matty's Funday Funnies in 1959, later renamed Matty's Funnies with...
series.
History
The principal characters were Beany, a plucky young boy who wears a beanieBeanie
A beanie is a head-hugging brimless cap with or without a visor that was once popular among school boys.-Description:In the United States of America, beanies are made by triangular sections of cloth joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides.They can also be made from...
; the brave but dimwitted Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent, who claimed to be 300 years old and 35 feet 3 inches tall; Beany's uncle, the pigheaded Captain Horatio Huffenpuff (whose name is a play on Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
), familiarly called Uncle Captain; Dishonest John, whose cape and handlebar mustache clearly identified him as the villain; and Tearalong the Dotted Lion. Another character, a circus clown aptly named Clownie, appeared in early episodes but was later dropped.
The principal voice actors and puppeteers were Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
and Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
. The writers were Charles Shows and Lloyd Turner. The puppets, created by Maurice Seiderman, were presented against simple sets or crude background drawings. After Butler and Freberg left the show in 1952 or 1953 Jim MacGeorge and Irv Shoemaker handled the voice work and puppeting duties.
Time for Beany recounted the exotic voyages and landfalls of the ship Leakin' Lena under the at times inept command of "Uncle" Captain Huffenpuff. The daily episodes, each fifteen minutes in length, frequently contained topical references, usually of a satirical nature. One episode portrayed President Harry S Truman in puppet form, accompanying Cecil's singing. Other characters spoofed popular entertainers; examples are Dinah Saur and The Red Skeleton, parodies of Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
and Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
was a fan of the show. On one occasion, the physicist interrupted a high-level conference by announcing, "You will have to excuse me, gentlemen. It's Time for Beany." Musician and composer Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
was also a fan. As was Harpo Marx of the The Marx Brothers comedy team.
Popular culture
- AnimaniacsAnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
characters Pinky and the Brain paid homage to the show by having a puppet show called "The Meany Show" starring Meany and Treacle (both voiced by Maurice LaMarcheMaurice LaMarcheMaurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
) in the episode "Puppet Rulers" where Pinky and the Brain tried to use the show and a cryogenic chamber in order gain loyal followers in the future which didn't go as planned. It also references Albert Einstein being a fan of the show, as Pinky and the Brain are mice in his 1954 laboratory.
Beany's papa was Captain Horatio T. Huffenpuff was often referred to as Captain Fatty by the crew, Wong was the ship's cook, Crow was to lookout in the crow's nest, crewman Clowny, and on land, Leo the lion was always trying to get everyone to exercise by running and to eat yogurt. Cecil was always going to Beany's rescue: "I'm a commin Beanny, I'm a commin". This puppet show was my favorite show of all times, when I was 7~12 years old. The later cartoon version never held up to the same standard. Bob Clampett was credited as the creator. Thanks, Mickey.
Videography
- Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil: The Special Edition (Image Entertainment, 1999) (4 episodes)