Calvin and the Colonel

[1960'sTVfan]

Who remembers the ABC 1961-62 animated sitcom Calvin and the Colonel? The show was basically an animated version of Amos N Andy, using animals as characters similar to what Hanna Barbera was doing with Yogi Bear, Magilla Gorilla, Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, etc. The Colonel was a Fox and similar to the Kingfish character, while Calvin was a Bear with the persona of Andy.

Calvin and the Colonel was not a bad show, but unsuccessful ratings wise and was cancelled after just one season of 26 episodes. A few episodes can be seen on the internet and you tube. Would be great to have this series on DVD if it were made available.

[Marvo301]

I've heard of this show since it is sometimes mentioned in discussions about Amos and Andy but i have never seen it.

[Jude The Obscure]

I actually heard an episode on an old time radio show compilation!

[TV Knowledge Fan]

....was, of course, an animated version of "Andy and the Kingfish" {at least, that's what "AMOS 'N' ANDY" became by the mid-'40s on radio, right into television}, without "Amos". In fact, most of the episodes were adapted from several radio scripts of the early '50s.

The show came about because of the unexpected success of 'THE FLINTSTONES" in the 1960-'61 season. Soon, every network wanted a prime-time cartoon show of their own, and ABC wanted more. So, Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll, who ended their last "AMOS 'N' ANDY" radio show [the disc jockey "MUSIC HALL" format] in November 1960, decided to create a cartoon version, without "Negro" characterizations (which some viewers objected to, which led to CBS finally withdrawing the TV show out of syndication in 1966), reinventing the characters as "Southern" animals living in the "Big City" [close your eyes, though, and "Calvin T. Burnside" and "Colonel Montgomery J. Klaxon" sound exactly like "Andy Brown" and "George 'Kingfish' Stevens"]. The "package" was assembled by MCA Television (who represented Gosden & Correll, and producers Joe Connelly & Bob Mosher, who originally wrote for the radio series, and were also writing and producing "LEAVE IT TO BEAVER" for Revue/MCA as well), and they sold it to ABC for the fall of 1961 {pairing it, on Tuesdays at 8:30pm(et), with the final season of their "BACHELOR FATHER" series as a "package deal"}. The animation was produced by an outfit known as Creston Studios {aka "TV Spots, Inc."}, who produced the animation for the 1957-'58 edition of "CRUSADER RABBIT", the first two seasons of "KING LEONARDO AND HIS SHORT SUBJECTS", several segments of "Fractured Fairy Tales" for "ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS", and some King Features "Popeye" TV cartoons. The primary sponsor was Lever Brothers [Pepsodent, et. al.], who originally sponsored "THE AMOS 'N' ANDY SHOW" on radio (for "Rinso") from 1943 through '50.

Unfortunately, the ratings for "CALVIN AND THE COLONEL" were not that great- it happened to appear opposite CBS' "DOBIE GILLIS" and NBC'S "ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS" {also an MCA series}, and disappeared within a month after its premiere. It reappeared in January 1962, on Saturdays at 7:30pm(et), right after "MATTY'S FUNNIES WITH BEANY AND CECIL" (this time, opposite CBS' "PERRY MASON" and NBC's "TALES OF WELLS FARGO" [another MCA-produced series which vanished after that season]), lasting a full season before it was cancelled. So, the series entered syndication in the fall of '62. Even though 26 episodes were produced, its sole advantage was that it was filmed in color {even though it aired on ABC in black and white, as they had no color broadcast facilities until the fall of '62}. It was seen on local stations through the early '70s...

[laelmiller]

3 volumes of Calvin and the Colonel are available through www.oldies.com

[1960'sTVfan]

That's good to know if some episodes of Calvin and the Colonel are now available on DVD. Alpha Video is known for releasing some unusual, off the wall type of stuff. I'll think about ordering these.