"Top Cat" (1961) TV series 1961-1962

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

27 September 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family

Plot:

Top Cat is the leader of a group of alley cats, always trying to cheat someone.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Top Cat | Alley | New York | Alley Cat

Cast

John Stephenson	...	Fancy-Fancy / ... (16 episodes, 1961-1962)
Arnold Stang	...	Top Cat (14 episodes, 1961-1962)
Maurice Gosfield	...	Benny the Ball (14 episodes, 1961-1962)
Allen Jenkins	...	Officer Dibble (13 episodes, 1961-1962)
Marvin Kaplan	...	Choo Choo / ... (13 episodes, 1961-1962)
Leo DeLyon	...	Spook / ... (13 episodes, 1961-1962)

Also Known As:

Boss Cat (UK)

Runtime:

30 min (30 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White (original broadcasts)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

Produced in color, but broadcast in black-and-white during the original ABC run of the show.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the opening title song "Top Cat" (seen in every episode) the waiter should be shown in front of the lunch box on the table. His torso is behind the box until Top Cat jumps up and runs for the taxi. At that point the waiter "pops" fully in front of the lunch box. This was related by Arnold Stang on the DVD commentary and he was very annoyed (even years later!) that the studio would let such an error occur every week.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield (1997) (VG)

Classic cartoon from the days when they really cared.

Based on "The Phil Silvers show",this cartoon translates army capers into the adventures of a bunch of cats in a rundown New York alley.They are led by Top Cat,a conniver who could even teach Bilko a thing or two!Their nemesis and sometime victim is policeman Charlie Dibble.Each of the cats has his own very distinct character.I especially like Spook with his beatnik "hep cat" language. The show is full of humor,wit and charm.The voice actors are superb-including Bilko regular Maurice Gosfield("Benny").Fortunately Hanna-Barbera haven't revived the show;the result would undoubtedly be of much lower standard than the 30 original gems from 1961-2