Editing King Leonardo and His Short Subjects

{{short description|American animated television series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = King-leo.PNG
| genre                = [[Animation]]
| camera               =
| runtime              = 30 minutes
| creator              = 
| director             = 
| executive_producer   = Peter M. Piech
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* [[Joe Harris (illustrator)|Joe Harris]]
* Treadwell Covington
* [[W. Watts Biggers]]
* Chet Stover
}}
| writer               = 
| starring             = 
| voices               = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jackson Beck]]
* Delo States
* [[Sandy Becker]]
* [[George S. Irving]]
* [[Kenny Delmar]]
* Ben Stone
* [[Allen Swift]]
}}
| narrated             = {{Plainlist|
* Allen Swift ("[[The King and Odie]]")
* Kenny Delmar ("The Hunter")
}}
| theme_music_composer = 
| opentheme            = 
| endtheme             = 
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Total Television]]
* [[Total Television|Leonardo Television Productions]] 
* TV Spots, Inc. / Creston Studios (Season 1; 1960–1961)
* [[Gamma Productions]] (Seasons 2–3; 1961, 1963-64)
}}
| country              = United States
| location             = 
| language             = English
| network              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1960|10|15}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|1961|12|23}}
| network2             = [[CBS]]
| first_aired2         = {{Start date|1963|9|28}}
| last_aired2          = {{end date|1964|3|21}}
| num_series           = 
| num_episodes         = {{Plainlist|
* ''The King and Odie'': 104
* ''The Hunter'': 65
* ''[[Tooter Turtle]]'': 39
}}
| list_episodes        = List of King Leonardo and His Short Subjects episodes
| related              =  
}}
'''''King Leonardo and His Short Subjects''''' (also known as '''''The King and Odie Show''''') is an American [[Saturday-morning cartoon|Saturday-morning]] [[animated television series]] that aired on [[NBC]] from October 15, 1960 to December 23, 1961; the original ''Short Subjects'' package last aired on the network on September 28, 1963, when new segments of ''The King & Odie'' and ''The Hunter'' aired as part of ''[[Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales]]''. The show was initially sponsored by [[General Mills]]. It was produced by [[Total Television|Total Television Productions]] and [[Total Television|Leonardo Productions]], named after the main character, and has been referred to as the second original color Saturday-morning cartoon program after "[[The Ruff and Reddy Show]]". Leonardo Productions was actually Producers Associates for Television, aka P.A.T.<ref name=Perlmutter>{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538103739 |page=343}}</ref>

==Plot==
The show focuses on Leonardo Lion (voiced by [[Jackson Beck]]), the well-meaning but often inept king of Bongo Congo, a fictional African nation notable for its [[bongos]].<ref name=Woolery>{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946–1981 |date=1983 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1557-5  |url=https://archive.org/details/childrenstelevis0000wool/page/164/mode/2up |access-date=14 March 2020 |pages=165–166}}</ref> King Leonardo is assisted in all things by a calm, competent skunk named Odie Cologne (a play on ''[[Eau de Cologne]]'') or "Odie O. Cologne" (voiced by [[Allen Swift]] impersonating [[Ronald Colman]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Markstein |first1=Don |website=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |access-date=2 April 2020  |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/leonardo.htm |title=King Leonardo and His Short Subjects}}</ref> Odie, the one who really keeps the kingdom on an even keel, has been by the king's side since they were children.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rovin |first1=Jeff |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals |date=1991 |publisher=Prentice Hall Press |isbn=0-13-275561-0 |access-date=8 April 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc00rovi/page/146/mode/2up/ |pages=146–147}}</ref>

King Leonardo's main archenemy is the [[gangster]]-type character Biggy Rat (voiced by Jackson Beck impersonating [[Edward G. Robinson]]), who routinely attempts to overthrow Leonardo and take over Bongo Congo for himself, with Leonardo's dimwitted sibling Itchy Brother (voiced by Allen Swift) being his [[Puppet ruler|puppet king]]. On occasion, Biggy and Itchy are assisted by an evil German inventor named Professor Messer (voiced by Jackson Beck). Biggy and Itchy's schemes always end with them either landing in the dungeon or escaping.

Episodes of ''The King and Odie'' that were exclusive to ''[[Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales]]'' feature Biggy Rat and Itchy Brother employed by Mr. Mad (voiced by [[Norman Rose]]), a [[mad scientist]] with a domineering personality. Mr. Mad has his own plans for Bongo Congo and indulges in his diabolical studies of behavior where he collected different types of people whilst lacking a King for his studies. Mr. Mad also threatened to throw Biggy and Itchy in "The Room" which contains unseen stuff that frightens both of them should they fail him. When his schemes fail, Mr. Mad disappears "as if by magic" before he can be apprehended.

==Other segments==
Each half-hour episode of ''King Leonardo'' consisted of five animated segments. Each half-hour included a two-part ''King and Odie'' episode, with other characters featured in between:

* ''[[Tooter Turtle]]'': The adventures of a [[turtle]] (voiced by [[Allen Swift]]) who has Mr. Wizard the Lizard (voiced by [[Sandy Becker]]) transport him to various settings, only to realize he was better off at home after all. When Tooter was trapped in a situation he couldn't get out of, he would call to the wizard, who sent him home with this incantation: "Drizzle drazzle druzzle drome, time for this one to come home."<ref name=Daytime>{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television |date=1997 |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |isbn=978-0823083152 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/250/mode/2up|access-date=19 March 2020|page=250}}</ref>
* ''The Hunter'': A Southern-accented, [[crime-fighting]] [[bloodhound]] [[detective]] (voiced by [[Kenny Delmar]], reprising his [[Senator Claghorn]] voice from ''[[The Fred Allen Show]]'') chases after a criminal fox named The Fox (voiced by [[Ben Stone (actor, born 1915)|Ben Stone]]). The Fox would often commit a scheme which always ends with him being apprehended in the end.

Another segment of the original ''King Leonardo'' show was ''Twinkles'', an orange elephant who served as the mascot of [[Twinkles Cereal]], a product of the show's chief sponsor, [[General Mills]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |pages=478–479}}</ref> The 90-second ''Twinkles'' segments continued to air in syndication during the 1960s, and were presented in a 15-minute format under the title ''The King and Odie'' with [[George S. Irving]] narrating each segment. It later phased out after a [[firefighter]] character replaced the elephant as the cereal's mascot. The segments also appeared during some NBC network rebroadcasts of ''[[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]''. The ''Twinkles'' segments were not included when ''King Leonardo And His Short Subjects'' was syndicated in a half-hour format during the 1980s.

Early in the series' [[NBC]] run, selected [[Columbia Pictures]] theatrical cartoons were aired on the program, some featuring [[The Fox and the Crow (animated characters)|The Fox and the Crow]] and [[Li'l Abner]]; these shorts were added to fill time when production of the early shows was delayed. The Columbia cartoons were featured during NBC showings of [[Hanna-Barbera]]'s ''[[The Ruff and Reddy Show]]'', but not included in subsequent syndicated versions of the series.

The animation for the show's early segments was produced by [[TV Spots (company)|TV Spots]], with later episodes by [[Gamma Productions]], the same Mexican studio that did much of the work for [[Jay Ward Productions]]. For this reason, and due to shared sponsorship by General Mills, Gamma has often been associated with both [[Total Television]] and [[Jay Ward Productions]]. [[TV Spots]] was primarily a producer of animated commercials, but also was contracted for some segments of ''[[Rocky and His Friends]]'' for Jay Ward Productions.

==Later appearances==
After ''King Leonardo and his Short Subjects'' ended, one season of new segments of "The King and Odie" and "The Hunter" continued to be produced and aired on Total TV's ''[[Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales]]'' from September 1963 to March 1964. The following year, Total TV launched its most popular series, ''[[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]''. When ''Underdog'' premiered in 1964, it featured repeats of ''The Hunter'', while ''The Hunter's'' former spot on the ''Tennessee Tuxedo'' program was filled by repeats of ''Tooter Turtle''.

In reruns, Total Television shorts often have been packaged alongside Jay Ward cartoons. Despite similar limited-animation styles, they were two separate studios.  The animation for both studios was done by a small startup company called Gamma Productions; hence, the similar "look."

''King Leonardo'', despite its earlier episodes repackaged for syndication as '''''The King and Odie''''' during the mid-1960s, never attained the popularity of Total Television's other series, ''Underdog'' and ''Tennessee Tuxedo'', and is rarely seen on television today. Beginning in 2006,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beck |first1=Jerry |title=King Leonardo on Black Family Channel |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/king-leonardo-on-black-family-channel-2031.html |work=[[Cartoon Brew]] |date=July 30, 2006}}</ref> the [[Black Family Channel]] aired this show on its ''BFC Kids TV'' programming block until the channel's demise a year later. The characters of this show were also featured in an eight-issue comic book produced by [[Dell Comics]] and [[Gold Key]]. Currently, select episodes of ''The King & Odie'', ''The Hunter'', and ''Tooter Turtle'' are showcased as part of a 1996 ''[[Underdog (TV series)|Underdog]]'' syndication package distributed by Golden Books, which currently airs on [[MeTV Toons]].

==Episodes==
{{main|List of King Leonardo and His Short Subjects episodes}}

==Cast==
* [[Jackson Beck]] &ndash; King Leonardo, Biggie Rat, Professor Messer
* [[Allen Swift]] &ndash; Odie Cologne, Itchy Brother, Duke, Earl, Tooter Turtle, Narrator ("The King and Odie")
* [[Sandy Becker]] &ndash; Mr. Wizard
* [[Kenny Delmar]] &ndash; The Hunter, Narrator ("The Hunter")
* Ben Stone &ndash; The Fox, Officer Flim Flanigan
* [[Norman Rose]] &ndash; Mr. Mad, Narrator (several 1963-64 episodes of "The King and Odie")
* [[Delo States]] &ndash; various female and children's voices
* [[George S. Irving]] &ndash; Narrator ("Twinkles"), various voices
* Frank Milano
* Mort Marshall

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.today/20130117210017/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/T/Total_Television_Productions/King_Leonardo_and_His_Short_Subjects/ ''King Leonardo'' at Big Cartoon Database]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/leonardo.htm ''King Leonardo'' at Don Markstein's Toonopedia]
* {{IMDb title|0053515|King Leonardo and his Short Subjects}}

{{Children's programming on NBC in the 1960s}}

[[Category:1960s American animated television series]]
[[Category:1960s American children's comedy television series]]
[[Category:1960 American animated television series debuts]]
[[Category:1963 American television series endings]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:General Mills]]
[[Category:Total Television]]
[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:American children's animated comedy television series]]
[[Category:Animated television series about lions]]
[[Category:Children's television series about talking animals]]
[[Category:NBC animated television series]]
[[Category:Television series about kings]]
[[Category:Animated television series set in Africa]]
[[Category:Fictional skunks]]