ABC Turkey Day (1972)

It began on ABC in 1967. The special day of programming is titled "Turkey Day," not only because it was the day after Thanksgiving but also because they assumed people would eat leftovers the day after. That was a time before consumers went crazy for "Black Friday."

For kids off from school and likely too cold to play outside, the network took advantage of the available audience to run its Saturday morning kids' shows on Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was a fantastic idea for ABC since their daytime morning programming was in the rating cellar for the most part. Plus, it gave local station operators a break from manually airing syndicated programming and gave local retailers commercial time to anticipate the holiday shopping season.

What I have here are my favorite cartoons from that era of 1967-68, from "Turkey Day on ABC." They were all seen across mid-Illinois on WAND, WJJY(in 1969-71), WIRL, and KTVI.

Notice the mention of WJJY above. You can see the history of this failed ABC affiliate TV station by clicking here.

Hoppity Hooper (1964) ABC

Jay Ward produced this Bill Scott and Chris Hayward creation in 1964, lasting from 1964 to 1967. It also starred some of the most popular voice-over artists ever.

The voices were those of Hans Conried, Chris Allen, Paul Frees, Bill Scott, Alan Reed, and even William Conrad. Paul Frees or William Conrad narrated the cartoons. The characters were Hoppity Hooper, "Uncle" Waldo Wigglesworth, and Filmore Bear.

George of the Jungle (1967) ABC Ep 1

George of the Jungle (1967) ABC Ep 2

"George of the Jungle" began on ABC in 1967 and was produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who created and produced "Hoppity Hooper" as well as "Rock and Bullwinkle Show."

George is a parody of the story "Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs. George's voice is that of Bill Scott (who also was the voice of "Bullwinkle"), Paul Frees is the voice of Commissioner Allistair, and Ape (doing the voice of Ronald Coleman), June Foray is Ursula. Other occasional voices belonged to Daws Butler.

There are also "Super Chicken" and "Tom Slick" cartoons.

The Beatles (1965) ABC Episode 1

First, I must point out that the music and sing-a-longs are muted to avoid copyright challenges. I would like to hear the music, but that's the only way it's allowed.

"Al Brodax produced the Beatles" animated series for King Features Syndicate. It was the first animated series based on actual living people. The voices were provided by Paul Frees (one of the busiest voice people in the business), Lance Percival, Julie Bennett, and Carol Corbett. Of course, all of the songs (that are excluded here) are by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

"The Beatles" was produced for both the American and British audiences. It aired in the U.S. on ABC Saturday and Sunday mornings from 1965-1968.

Saturday Morning (1969) ABC