Hector Heathcote is a

Terrytoons Terrytoons, Inc. was an American animation studio headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, which was active from 1929 until its closure in December 1972 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in-name only). Founded by Paul Te ...

animated cartoon character. Created by Eli Bauer and

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...

, he first appeared on July 18, 1959, in ''The Minute and a Half Man''. He was voiced by

John Myhers John Benjamin Myhers (December 18, 1921 – May 27, 1992) was an American stage and screen actor. His film roles included playing Mr. Bratt in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (1 ...

. Terrytoons created the character for television, but the cartoons also received theatrical distribution. Hector is an 18-year-old orange-haired Colonial era patriot who turned up, often as an unsung hero, during various stages of American history. In later cartoons he was accompanied by his faithful red-and-yellow dog Winston who talked with a slight English accent. Heathcote was also antagonized by a big bully named Benedict, who parodied the infamous American traitor

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

. While much of the cartoons were historical, occasionally some would focus on science, one example being where Hector talks through two tin cans and a piece of string, then is inspired by Winston to make use of electrical currents to upgrade such a device to travel long distances, thus inventing

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

. In the same episode, Hector is also a messenger boy in the employ of Mr. Benedict. Hector is motivated to find a way to communicate long distances after not desiring to deliver messages through "rain, sleet, nor gloom of night". Conversely, Mr. Benedict attempts to sabotage the concept before Hector can patent it, as that would put his messenger service out of business. ''The Hector Heathcote Show'' aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Saturday mornings from October 5, 1963, to September 25, 1965, and is one of the early Saturday morning cartoons. The series ran for two seasons, replacing '' The Shari Lewis Show''. Additional cartoons in the program included

Hashimoto-san Hashimoto-san is a fictional Japanese mouse created by the Japanese-born animator Bob Kuwahara and Eli Bauer for the Terrytoons animation company. Hashimoto is a jujutsu instructor living in Japan with his wife Hanako, son Saburo, and daughter Y ...

, a Japanese mouse, and Silly Sidney the Elephant, a wacky pachyderm whose friends included Cleo the giraffe and Stanley, a cantankerous lion. The show would end with a scene of Hector going to bed. Hector is merchandised on lunch boxes, books and toys.

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984. History Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when its ...

published him in comic book form, but only produced one issue in 1964.

Filmography

Terrytoons made 20 ''Hector Heathcote'' cartoons between 1959 and 1971, directed by Arthur Bartsch, Dave Tendlar, Connie Rasinski,

Bill Tytla Vladimir Peter "Bill" Tytla (October 25, 1904 – December 30, 1968) was a Ukrainian-American animator known for his work in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Paramount's Famous Studios, and Terrytoons. In his Disney career, Tytla is particularly ...

and Bob Kuwahara. * ''The Minute and a Half Man'' (July 1959) * ''The Famous Ride'' (April 1960) * ''Daniel Boone, Jr.'' (Dec 1960) * ''Railroaded to Fame'' (May 1961) * ''The First Fast Mail'' (May 1961) * ''Crossing the Delaware'' (June 1961) * ''Unsung Hero'' (July 1961) * ''The First Telephone'' (August 1961) * ''Klondike Strikes Out'' (Jan 1962) * ''He-Man Seaman'' (March 1962) * ''Riverboat Mission'' (May 1962) * ''First Flight Up'' (Oct 1962) * ''A Flight to the Finish'' (Dec 1962) * ''Tea Party'' (April 1963) * ''A Bell for Philadelphia'' (July 1963) * ''The Big Clean-Up'' (Sept 1963) * ''Land Grab'' (Feb 1970) * ''Lost and Foundation'' (June 1970) * ''Belabour Thy Neighbor'' (Oct 1970) * ''Train Terrain'' (Feb 1971)

References

External links

''Hector Heathcote''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on December 8, 2015.

Terrytoons characters Television series about the history of the United States Time travelers Fictional scientists Film characters introduced in 1959 Male characters in animation Animated characters introduced in 1959 Film series introduced in 1959 Fictional American Revolutionary War veterans {{animation-char-stub