''Heathcliff'' is a half-hour Saturday morning animated series based on the '' Heathcliff'' comic strip created by George Gately and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It premiered on ABC on October 4, 1980, with a total of 26 episodes produced under the titles ''Heathcliff and Dingbat'' and ''Heathcliff and Marmaduke''.

History

The series began production on November 10, 1979. The first season, called ''Heathcliff and Dingbat'', ran for 13 episodes and included backup segments with ''Dingbat and the Creeps'', who were created for the show. ''Dingbat and the Creeps'' revolved around the adventures of three monstrous characters who were self-employed as "Odd Jobs, Inc." which consisted of Dingbat, a vampire dog who used a bat-shaped novelty straw to eat most foods; Sparerib, a strangely rotund skeleton with the ability to change himself into useful items (such as a floor lamp, which he did in the opening credits); and Nobody, a gravelly-voiced jack-o-lantern who led the team and often found them various work. The second season, called ''Heathcliff and Marmaduke'', ran for 13 episodes and featured backup segments with fellow comic strip character

Marmaduke ''Marmaduke'' is a newspaper comic strip revolving around the Winslow family and their Great Dane, Marmaduke, drawn by Brad Anderson (cartoonist), Brad Anderson from November 15, 1954 to 2015. Publication history The strip was created by wri ...

(although the Marmaduke segments are actually the first to be seen in each half-hour show). Reruns of the second season (''Heathcliff and Marmaduke'') were seen occasionally on

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

and are sometimes seen on MeTV Toons. In 1983, NBC reran the show as a segment on '' Thundarr the Barbarian'' reruns. Two years after this show ended, another one based on ''Heathcliff'' was produced by

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions, sometimes stylized as DİC) was a French American film and television production company that ...

, which was called simply '' Heathcliff'', although for distinction this series is usually referred to by the expanded title of ''Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats''. Dingbat has appeared as a cameo in a Yogi Bear comic with many

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

animal characters captured. He was the only Ruby-Spears character there.

Cast

* Mel Blanc as Heathcliff, Spike, Mr. Nutmeg, Mr. Schultz, Milkman * Henry Corden as Clem, Digby, Dogcatcher, Officer Casey *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

as Iggy, Muggsy, Mrs. Nutmeg, Sonja, Marcy *

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered voice roles include Scooby-Doo; Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ''The Flintsto ...

as Sparerib, Nobody, Mr. Post, Mr. Snyder * Russi Taylor as Barbie Winslow, Billy Winslow, Dottie Winslow * Frank Welker as Dingbat *

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''Birth name, né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Pa ...

as Marmaduke, Phil Winslow

Additional voices

* Takayo Doran – (season 1) * Clare Peck – (season 1) *

Marilyn Schreffler Marilyn Sue Schreffler (June 14, 1945 – January 7, 1988) was an American voice actress who provided voice-overs for several animated television series, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions. Biography Marilyn Schreffler was born in Wichita, ...

– (seasons 1 & 2) * Judy Strangis – (season 1) * Janet Waldo – (season 1) * Alan Dinehart – (season 2) * Avery Schreiber – (season 2) * Hal Smith – (season 2)

Episodes

Season 1: ''Heathcliff and Dingbat'' (1980)

Each episode consists of two 4-6-minute Heathcliff cartoons and two 4-6-minute "Dingbat and the Creeps" cartoons.

Season 2: ''Heathcliff and Marmaduke'' (1981)

Each episode consists of a 4-6-minute Heathcliff cartoon sandwiched between two (or 3) 4-6-minute Marmaduke cartoons. Scatman Crothers sang its theme song. It competed with ''The Smurfs'' on NBC.

Home media

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released ''The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show'' on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection in August 2012. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively in the US and only through Warner's online store or Amazon.com.

References

External links

Heathcliff official website
*

planete-jeunesse (French)

Retroland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcliff (1980 Tv Series) 1980 American animated television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1980s American animated comedy television series 1980s American children's comedy television series American children's animated comedy television series Television series by Ruby-Spears American Broadcasting Company animated television series Heathcliff (comic strip) Television shows based on comic strips Animated television series about cats Television series created by Joe Ruby Television series created by Ken Spears Children's television series about talking animals Television shows based on American comics American English-language television shows