''Super Chicken'' is a segment that ran on the animated television series '' George of the Jungle''. It was produced by

Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bul ...

and Bill Scott, who earlier had created the ''

Rocky and Bullwinkle ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the American Broadca ...

'' cartoons. It debuted September 9, 1967, on ABC.

Series overview

Super Chicken (voiced by Bill Scott in a Boston Brahmin accent) is an anthropomorphic chicken and superhero who is the alter-ego of wealthy Henry Cabot Henhouse III (whose name was a play on Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.). He has a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

sidekick named Fred (a vegetarian) (voiced by Paul Frees impersonating

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

) who wears an inside-out sweatshirt with a backwards F on it and acts as Henry's servant when in his civilian lifestyle. When danger rears its ugly head, Henhouse takes his "Super Sauce" (often from a martini glass), prepared by Fred, and dons his "Super Suit," which consists of a plumed cavalier's hat, cape,

Wellington boot The Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot. They were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became a staple of pr ...

s, mask and sword. In a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are n ...

, Henhouse typically makes some comment on the taste of the Super Sauce (e.g., "No bay leaf?") but is cut off in mid-sentence as the "Super Sauce" begins to take effect, subjecting Henhouse to wild gyrations before he emerges, changed into Super Chicken. Super Chicken usually begins their adventures with the battle cry, "To the Super Coop, Fred!" The Super Coop is an egg-shaped air vehicle flown by Super Chicken and Fred to the rescue of innocent victims of crime. When Fred comments on his latest injury, Super Chicken responds with a variation of the theme, "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred!" Following his own mistakes, Super Chicken remarks, "I'm glad no one was here to see that!" Once Super-Chicken and Fred finally arrest the criminal, the episode always ends with a narrator voicing: "So, when you hear that cry in the sky...", (followed by Super Chicken "clucking" the

Charge (bugle call) "Charge" is a bugle call that signals the command to execute a cavalry or infantry charge. It is especially associated with the United States Cavalry as a result of its frequent use in Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebr ...

"you'll know it's SUPER CHICKEN!" (frequently humorously adapted to the circumstances of the episode). Super Chicken was a parody of the well-off

WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

of the 1950s, horn-rimmed glasses wearing, martini drinking, numeraled surname bearing, and having a sense of social obligation (fulfilled in this case by suiting up and fighting bizarre menaces to society). A similar, contemporary fictional character was Bruce Wayne, a millionaire who fought crime as

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

. Earlier uses of the theme included

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilant ...

and the Scarlet Pimpernel. The first pilot featured an all-star comedy cast, including

Bill Dana William Szathmary (October 5, 1924 June 15, 2017), known as Bill Dana, was an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He often appeared on television shows such as ''The Ed Sullivan Show'', frequently in the guise of a heavily accented Boli ...

with

Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', a 1960s sitcom for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He also ...

as the voice of Super Chicken. The project was shelved and eventually recast.

Episodes

Appearances in other media

In 1969,

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

published two issues of a ''George of the Jungle'' comic book. Each issue contained a story featuring Super Chicken. Issue #1 presented "The Stolen State", and #2 "The Astounding Dr. Gizmo!", both adaptations of cartoon episodes.

References

{{George of the Jungle Fictional chickens George of the Jungle Television series about chickens American Broadcasting Company original programming American superhero comedy television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated superhero television series 1960s American animated television series 1967 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings Parody superheroes Fictional characters from Pittsburgh

Series overview

Episodes

Appearances in other media

See also

References