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LAUREL AND HARDY/ABBOTT AND COSTELLO
CARTOONS

Laurel and Hardy Cartoons

Larry Harmon, the man who made Bozo the Clown a household name, had acquired the rights to the likenesses of the famous comedy duo from Stan and Eda Laurel, and Oliver Hardy's widow, Lucille, in 1961. Harmon's company, which had previously produced the Bozo animated cartoons and many of the made-for-TV Popeye cartoons under contract from King Features, began animating The Laurel and Hardy Comedy Show around the same time that producer David L. Wolper contracted with Hanna-Barbera to produce another series, following Laurel's death. A legal challenge followed, with Wolper and Harmon agreeing on a 'modus vivendi ( a state of affairs where two opposing parties agree to differ ), where Harmon gave permission to use the characters in exchange for distribution rights. Harmon himself supplied the voice of Stan Laurel (1895-1965), with Jim Mac George voicing the rotund Oliver Hardy (1892-1957).

The cartoons followed the same basic theme as the Laurel and Hardy shorts produced by Hal Roach beginning in 1926. Laurel, the whining, dim-witted half of the team, was constantly getting himself and Hardy, the temperamental, domineering half, into "another fine mess". Premiering in 1966, the 156 cartoons were distributed by Allworld Telefilm Sales, and usually seen during locally hosted children's shows. The characters had appeared in animated form before, including the 1935 Disney cartoon, Mickey's Polo Team and again later, in 1972 when they guest-starred in two hour-long episodes of Hanna-Barbera's New Scooby Doo Movies.

HIT Entertainment acquired the distribution rights to Larry Harmon's Laurel and Hardy and Bozo The Clown cartoons in the fall of 1998, and has apparently repackaged them for syndication. The unfortunate part is that they have new music, openings and bridges. HIT has 62 combined half-hour episodes available.

Don't forget to visit the Official Laurel and Hardy web site.

See a full-length Hanna-Barbera
Laurel & Hardy cartoon, in RealVideo


Laurel & Hardy "Bird Brains"

Hanna-Barbera (syndicated) 1966

Abbott and Costello Cartoons


Produced in 1967 for RKO-Jomar, this Hanna-Barbera cartoon followed the same route taken by the Laurel and Hardy cartoons from the previous year. The animated version of the Bud Abbott and Lou Costello comedy team was unique in the fact that Bud Abbott (1895-1974) himself provided the voice for his animated counterpart. In fact, the cartoon residuals were Abbott's main source of income during his illness riddled later years.The voice of his partner, Lou Costello (1906-1959), was provided by Stan Irwin. These cartoons failed to capture the magic of the duo's live-action films, and the 156 episodes were only seen in a limited number of markets.

See a full-length Hanna-Barbera
Abbott & Costello cartoon, in RealVideo


Abbott & Costello "The Purple Baron"

Hanna-Barbera (syndicated) 1966

Check out Cartoon-O-Rama's

The Forgotten Works of Hanna-Barbera

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Laurel and Hardy © Larry Harmon Pictures, Abbott and Costello © RKO-Jomar. All other characters © Hanna-Barbera Productions. The Toon Tracker sites are not endorsed by any of the respective copyright owners. The creators and maintainers of this web site take no responsibility for the information provided herein. All products and brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. All characters and all related slogans and indicia are trademarks of the respective copyright owners. The use of such material falls under Fair use provisions.