Characters
The Inspector
The Inspector is a senior detective for the Sûreté and assisted in most earlier episodes by Sergeant Deux-Deux, who is voiced by Pat Harrington Jr.; In The Pink Panther Show bumpers, he is instead voiced by Marvin Miller. Though his actual name is never mentioned, the character is clearly based on Inspector Jacques Clouseau from '' The Pink Panther'' films (to the point its design was later reused in the opening credits of the 1968 '' Inspector Clouseau'' film, establishing that both inspectors are, in fact, one and the same). But in slight contrast to the completely inept live-action Clouseau, the animated Inspector is more competent, though still prone to bad luck and poor judgment.Sergeant Deux-Deux
The Inspector's young and timid assistant, Sergeant Deux-Deux (pronounced "Doo-Doo"), is a slow-talking Spaniard and gendarme. Like the Inspector, he is voiced by Pat Harrington Jr., and in bumpers for The Pink Panther Show, he is voiced by Marvin Miller; in "La Feet's Defeat", he is instead voiced by Don Messick, and the character is given a younger appearance and more naive personality. He frequently utters the exclamation "Jole Frijoles" ("Holy Beans") in exciting or extreme situations, and often replies to the Inspector in his native tongue, saying "Sí", only to be admonished by the Inspector who often tells him, "Don't say 'sí', say 'oui'", which sometimes leads to confusing situations between the two. Deux Deux usually responded afterwards by intoning: "Sí, I mean oui, Inspector." In one cartoon, Deux Deux said "ouisick" instead of "seasick". On a couple of occasions, when the Inspector is incapacitated, Deux-Deux himself almost effortlessly manages to apprehend the culprit. He thinks of the Inspector as his hero.The Commissioner
The Commissioner, as his name implies, is the commissioner of the French police force and the boss of the Inspector and Sgt. Deux-Deux. The Commissioner is a heavily built, blustery, ill-tempered, bullying, bald man dressed in a suit and a black tie. He was voiced by Larry Storch in his first two appearances, then by Paul Frees from 1966 to 1967 (sans 1967's "Canadian Can-Can", where he is voiced by Mark Skor), and by Marvin Miller in all remaining appearances. He is usually angry in his interactions with the Inspector, for instance because of the Inspector's failure to complete his missions or because the Inspector has inadvertently caused him physical harm. The short "That's No Lady - That's Notre Dame" introduces his wife (voiced by Diana Maddox) who refers to him as 'Henri'. Despite the Inspector's general incompetence (which the Commissioner acknowledges) the Commissioner never actually fires him, or at least not permanently.Production
Pat Harrington Jr. provided voices for both the Inspector and Deux-Deux; (in "La Feet's Defeat", Deux-Deux is voiced by Don Messick and sports a younger, more naive appearance.) The Commissioner was voiced by Larry Storch for his first two appearances, before Paul Frees took on the role up until "Bomb Voyage", and voiced the character one last time in "Le Escape Goat". In "Canadian Can-Can", the Commissioner is voiced by Mark Skor, who also voiced the evil face of Two-Faced Harry, the short's antagonist. The Commissioner was then voiced by Marvin Miller for his remaining appearances. Miller also assumed the role of both the Inspector and Sgt. Deux-Deux in the wraparound bumpers produced for the inaugural season of '' The Pink Panther Show''. The first entry in the series, '' The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation,'' preceded screenings of the 1965List of shorts
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
Cast
* Pat Harrington Jr. – The Inspector, Sergeant Deux-Deux (except for ''La Feet’s Defeat'' - in this entry, Sergeant Deux-Deux is portrayed by Don Messick) * Paul Frees – The Commissioner (1966–1967) * Larry Storch – The Commissioner (1965–1966) (''The Great DeGaulle Stone Operation'', ''Napoleon Blown-Aparte'') * Marvin Miller – The Commissioner (1967, 1968–1969), The Inspector and Sgt Deux-Deux (''The Pink Panther Show'') * Mark Skor – The Commissioner (1967) (''Canadian Can-Can'')Home video
A DVD containing the first 17 shorts was released on March 4, 2008, from MGM Home Entertainment/ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. A DVD set titled ''Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection'' released on January 27, 2009, by MGM contains the previously released set of the first 17 shorts and a second set of the last 17 shorts. The first season of ''The Pink Panther'' is available for viewing on Amazon Video in the United States. On April 26, 2016, Kino Lorber released ''The Inspector: The DePatie-Freleng Collection'' on DVD and Blu-ray - this 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray release set collects the 34 (17 for each disc) classic shorts, along with retrospective featurettes focusing on DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.Revival
The title character of ''The Inspector'' was revived in 1993 for the syndicated series, '' The Pink Panther'', voiced by Brian George. The Inspector often works alongside the Pink Panther when he is depicted in law enforcement. He also appears in the intro and outro to the game '' The Pink Panther: Passport to Peril'', voiced by Barry Carrollo, as the head of a secret agency for which Pink works.In other media
A back-up feature starring the Inspector appeared regularly in ''The Pink Panther and the Inspector''References
External links