Calvin and the Colonel

*Calvin and the Colonel*
Calvin and the Colonel
Created by	Freeman F. Gosden; Charles J. Correll
Starring	Freeman Gosden; Charles Correll; Beatrice Kay; Virginia Gregg; Paul Frees
Theme music composer	George Bruns
Composer	George Bruns
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Joe Connelly; Bob Mosher
Running time	approx. 30 minutes (per episode)
Production companies	Creston Studios; Kayro Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 3, 1961 –; June 9, 1962

Calvin and the Colonel is an American animated sitcom about Colonel Montgomery J. Klaxon, a shrewd fox, and Calvin T. Burnside, a dumb bear.^[1] Their lawyer was Oliver Wendell Clutch, who was a (literal) weasel. The colonel lived with his wife Maggie Belle and her sister Susan Culpepper, who did not trust the Colonel at all. Colonel Klaxon was in the real estate business, but always tried get-rich-quick schemes with Calvin's unwitting help.

Series overview[edit]

The series was an animated remake of Amos 'n' Andy [or, more or less, "Andy and The Kingfish"] and featured the voices of Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll^[2] from the radio series (in fact, several of the original radio scripts by Joe Connelly & Bob Mosher were adapted for this series). Using animals avoided the touchy racial issues which had led to the downfall of Amos 'n' Andy.^[3]

Because of low ratings, the show was cancelled after two months, but returned two months later on Saturday evenings to complete the first season contract (and to fulfill Lever Brothers' agreement to sponsor the program; they originally sponsored The Amos 'n' Andy Show on radio during the 1940s). For a year afterward reruns were seen on Saturday mornings, and eventually syndicated through the 1960s.^[4] It was also adapted as a comic book by Dell Comics, and as such the first of two issues was the final installment in the company's extremely prolific (more than 1,300 issues published) Four Color anthology series. Despite its low ratings in America, the series gained popularity in Australia during its initial run, with reruns airing on Channel 7 up to the late 1980s.

A brief sequence from the show was seen on a television set in a 1966 episode of The Munsters ("A Visit From Johann"), which was also produced by Connelly and Mosher.

Much like other animated sitcom programs of the time (The Flintstones, Top Cat and The Jetsons), the series had a laugh track in the episodes (this was the same laugh track used in The Munsters, because the laugh track was supported by Kayro Productions which produced both of these shows).

Credits[edit]

Created by Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll
Voices: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Beatrice Kay, Virginia Gregg, Paul Frees
Music: George Bruns
Animation Producers [Creston Studios]: Bob Ganon, Sam Nicholson, Gerald Ray
Art Director: Norm Gottfredson
Animation Directors: Chuck McKimson, John Walker
Supervising Animators: Tom McDonald, John Sparey, Bob Bemiller
Production Coordinator: Dave Hoffman
Editing: Norm Vizents
Sound: Phil Kaye
Recording Director: Cliff Howell
Production Executive: Al Amatuzio
Produced by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher

Episodes[edit]

No.	Title	Written by	Original air date
1	"The Television Job"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	October 3, 1961 (1961-10-03)
Calvin and the Colonel get a job picking up television sets and delivering them to the repairman. Things go wrong when they pick up a wrong television set and break it.
2	"The Polka Dot Bandit"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	October 10, 1961 (1961-10-10)
The Colonel suspects that his sister-in-law is a jewel thief.
3	"Thanksgiving Dinner"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	October 17, 1961 (1961-10-17)
The Colonel has to find Thanksgiving food for his relatives he carelessly invited one year ago.
4	"The Costume Ball"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	October 24, 1961 (1961-10-24)
Maggie Belle kicks the Colonel out and winds up at Calvin's place. He gets invited to a costume ball, unaware that Maggie Belle is also there.
5	"Sycamore Lodge"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	October 31, 1961 (1961-10-31)
The mountain cabin that the Colonel has rented turns out to be flooded. Unable to get a refund, the Colonel rents the cabin to Calvin.
6	"Money in the Closet"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	November 7, 1961 (1961-11-07)
Needing to replace all the money that the Colonel spent, he convinces Calvin that he's a movie star material.
7	"Calvin Gets Psychoanalyzed"	Unknown	January 27, 1962 (1962-01-27)
Calvin visits a psychiatrist so he can have a better understanding of why his girlfriend, Georgianna, dropped him.
8	"Wheeling and Dealing"	T. Hee	February 3, 1962 (1962-02-03)
After breaking his nephew's car, the Colonel tries to get insurance on it.
9	"The Wrecking Crew"	Bob Ross	February 10, 1962 (1962-02-10)
The Colonel takes a job as a construction worker. He then learns of a way to make even more money ... by injuring himself on the job site and collecting insurance payments.
10	"The Colonel's Old Flame"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	February 17, 1962 (1962-02-17)
Several years ago, the Colonel promised his then-sweetheart, Boo Boo Winters, that he'd marry her. But instead of Boo Boo, he married Maggie Belle. Now Boo Boo unexpectedly returns, demanding that the Colonel live up to his promise.
11	"Sister Sue and the Police Captain"	Unknown	February 24, 1962 (1962-02-24)
It looks like marriage for Sister Sue and a police captain until the Colonel wrecks the captain's car.
12	"Jim Dandy Cleaners"	Unknown	March 3, 1962 (1962-03-03)
At her place of work, Maggie Belle is given the task of having the typewriters sent out to be cleaned. But when she becomes ill, her husband the Colonel takes over the project.
13	"Jealousy"	Unknown	March 10, 1962 (1962-03-10)
Tossed out by his wife, the Colonel concludes another man has entered her life.
14	"Cloakroom"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	March 17, 1962 (1962-03-17)
Calvin and the Colonel starts a cloakroom business at the night club. Things go wrong when they lose one of the coats.
15	"Sister Sue's Sweetheart"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	March 24, 1962 (1962-03-24)
The Colonel tries to stop Sister Sue's wedding after finding out that the $500-a-month from her deceased husband's estate will be cut off.
16	"The Winning Number"	Unknown	March 31, 1962 (1962-03-31)
The Colonel hopes to win the Lucky Buck contest but Calvin has the winning dollar bill.
17	"Calvin's Glamour Girl"	Unknown	April 7, 1962 (1962-04-07)
Calvin tries to fool his girlfriend's mother into believing that he's wealthy.
18	"Colonel Out-Foxes Himself"	Unknown	April 14, 1962 (1962-04-14)
Leaving the Colonel money to pay the rent, Maggie Belle and Sister Sue head for Nashville to visit relatives.
19	"Nephew Newton's Fortune"	Bob Ross	April 21, 1962 (1962-04-21)
The Colonel finds out that his visiting nephew Newton owns a stock worth thousands of dollars.
20	"Calvin's Tax Problem"	Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher	April 28, 1962 (1962-04-28)
Needing money to reclaim his repossessed furniture, the Colonel becomes a tax consultant when Calvin needs help with his income tax return.
21	"Women's Club Picnic"	Unknown	May 5, 1962 (1962-05-05)
Maggie Belle entrusts the Colonel with money that her club is planning to use for their picnic.
22	"Magazine Romance"	Unknown	May 12, 1962 (1962-05-12)
The Colonel takes Maggie Belle to a nightclub after she accuses him of being unromantic.
23	"Ring Reward"	Unknown	May 19, 1962 (1962-05-19)
The Colonel discovers that the faux diamond ring that Calvin bought is actually the real thing...and stolen.
24	"The Carnappers"	Unknown	May 26, 1962 (1962-05-26)
The Colonel is delighted after his car gets stolen and can collect insurance money.
25	"Colonel Traps a Thief"	Unknown	June 2, 1962 (1962-06-02)
Calvin and the Colonel decide to try to stop a thief that's been breaking and entering his apartment.
26	"Back to Nashville"	Unknown	June 9, 1962 (1962-06-09)
The Colonel, Maggie Belle and Sister Sue are planning to visit Uncle Selby in Nashville. The Colonel is looking for a way to save money, so he invites Calvin along in hopes that he'll share in the cost of the trip.

References[edit]

^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-1538103739.
^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 154.
^ Collier, Kevin Scott (March 3, 2018). "The Controversy Over "Calvin and the Colonel"". Cartoon Research. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

External links[edit]

TOON TRACKER "Calvin and the Colonel" via the Wayback Machine
Calvin and the Colonel at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012.
BCDb: Calvin And The Colonel
Calvin and the Colonel at IMDb

[1] Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-1538103739.

[etvs-2] Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. P. 154.

[3] Collier, Kevin Scott (March 3, 2018). "The Controversy Over "Calvin and the Colonel"". Cartoon Research. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

[Woolery-4] Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.

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