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Top Cat

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Top Cat
Top Cat and the gang
StarringArnold Stang (Top Cat)
Paul Frees
Maurice Gosfield
Leo DeLyon
Marvin Kaplan
John Stephenson
Allen Jenkins
Jean Vander Pyl
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes30
Production
Running time22 (?) minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
Release27 September, 1961 –
18 April, 1962

Top Cat was a Hanna-Barbera prime time American animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for two series of 30 episodes on the ABC network on Wednesdays.

History and treatment

The central character, Top Cat — called T.C. by close friends — is the leader of a gang of Manhattan alley cats: Fancy Fancy, Spook, Benny the Ball, The Brain, and Choo Choo. Top Cat and his gang were inspired by characters from the popular US situation comedy The Phil Silvers Show. It has also been said that the Bowery Boys influenced the show. Maurice Gosfield, who played Private Duane Doberman on The Phil Silvers Show, also provided the voice for Benny the Ball in Top Cat (Benny's rotund appearance was based on Gosfield too). Arnold Stang's voicing of Top Cat strongly resembled Phil Silvers' voice as well.

A frequent plotline revolved around the local policeman, Officer Charlie Dibble, and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the city. The only reason that he wanted to be rid of them was that Top Cat and his gang were constantly attempting to earn a quick dollar—usually through an illegal scam. Dibble's appearance was modelled on Allen Jenkins who did his voice. The name Dibble has passed into the vernacular as slang for police officers.

In 1985 Top Cat appeared on Yogi's Treasure Hunt with all the other Hanna-Barbera characters and then in 1991 he became a teenage cat (but he still lived in a trash can) on NBC's Yo Yogi!. Also, in 1987, Top Cat was part of a full-length telefilm titled Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 film series), in which the gang helps a young girl claim her inheritance.

Top Cat appears in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Mindless" where Harvey takes Top Cat home with him. The main cast also makes a cameo appearance in an episode of The Powerpuff Girls. He also appeared in a non-speaking role in Duck Dodgers, where he was frozen solid aboard an alien spaceship.

File:The cast of Top Cat.JPG
The voice cast of Top Cat

Voice cast

Episode list

  1. "Hawaii Here We Come" (first aired: Sep 27, 1961)
  2. "Maharajah of Pookajee" (Oct 4, 1961)
  3. "All That Jazz" (Oct 11, 1961)
  4. "The $1,000,000 Derby" (Oct 18, 1961)
  5. "The Violin Player" (Oct 25, 1961)
  6. "The Missing Heir" (Nov 1, 1961)
  7. "Top Cat Falls In Love" (Nov 18, 1961)
  8. "A Visit From Mother" (Nov 15, 1961)
  9. "Naked Town" (Nov 22, 1961)
  10. "Sergeant Top Cat" (Nov 29, 1961)
  11. "Choo-Choo's Romance" (Dec 6, 1961)
  12. "The Unscratchables" (Dec 13, 1961)
  13. "Rafeefleas" (Dec 20, 1961)
  14. "The Tycoon" (Dec 27, 1961)
  15. "The Long Hot Winter" (Jan 3, 1962)
  16. "The Case of the Absent Anteater" (Jan 10, 1962)
  17. "T.C. Minds the Baby" (Jan 17, 1962)
  18. "Farewell, Mr. Dibble" (Jan 24, 1962)
  19. "The Grand Tour" (Jan 31, 1962)
  20. "The Golden Fleecing" (Feb 7, 1962)
  21. "Space Monkey" (Feb 14, 1962)
  22. "The Late T.C." (Feb 21, 1962)
  23. "Dibble's Birthday" (Feb 28, 1962)
  24. "Choo-Choo Goes Ga-Ga" (Mar 7, 1962)
  25. "King for a Day" (Mar 14, 1962)
  26. "The Con Men" (Mar 21, 1962)
  27. "Dibble Breaks the Record" (Mar 28, 1962)
  28. "Dibble Sings Again" (Apr 4, 1962)
  29. "Griswald" (Apr 11, 1962)
  30. "Dibble's Double" (Apr 18, 1962)

Theme song

The theme song was written by Joseph R. Barbera, William Hanna and Jim Timmens. These are the lyrics as they appeared originally, as shown by subtitles and careful listening.

Top Cat!
The most effectual Top Cat!
Whose intellectual close friends get to call him T.C.
Providing it's with dignity.
Top Cat!
The indisputable leader of the gang.
He's the boss, he's a VIP, he's the championship.
He's the most tip top,
Top Cat.
Yes he's a chief, he's a king
But above everything,
He's the most tip top,
Top Cat.
Top Cat!

DVD release

On December 7, 2004, Warner Home Video released the complete series (30 episodes) on DVD R1.

Cover Art DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
File:Top Cat CS.jpg Top Cat- The Complete Series 30 December 7 2004
  • Commentary on various episodes
  • Back to Hoagy's Alley: The Making of Top Cat (retrospective featurette)
  • Interviews: Cool Cats in Interview Alley
  • Top Cat sing-along
  • Production Sketches: Top Cat Collection (art, stills, sketches, backgrounds)
  • Storyboards: Storyboard Showcase
  • TV Spot: Top Cat Kellogg's commercials

International broadcasters

Canada

Top Cat was among the first programs aired on CTV. The country's first private television network commenced broadcasts in October 1961.

Mexico

The show was a massive hit in Mexico, where it was known as Don Gato y su pandilla (Mr. Cat and his gang) and the main characters adopted accents from different regions of Mexico. Besides Top Cat, all the other characters from the show were very famous: Benny, renamed as Benito Bodoque (Benito the Blob), Choo Choo was renamed "Cucho" and spoke with a strong Yucatan accent, Fancy Fancy was "Panza" (Tummy), Spook to its rough translation "Espanto", The Brain was called "Demostenes" (Honoring the Greek statesman Demosthenes, with whom he shares a speech impediment) and Officer Dibble, renamed as Oficial Carlitos Matute. Top Cat is still shown in reruns every couple of years.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the show was renamed Boss Cat shortly after it premiered in 1962 (by means of a crudely substituted title card) when it was first aired on BBC television (now called BBC One) because Top Cat was also the name of a brand cat food. The dialogue and theme tune still referred to the character by his original name. By the 1990s the original title was used in repeats and this continues on Boomerang and on BBC Two.

In other languages

Trivia

  • "Dibble" is used as a slang word for the police in Manchester, inspired by Officer Dibble.
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