"Top Cat" (1961) TV series 1961-1962

Seasons:

1 | unknown

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 | Alley | Alley Cat | Cat Driving Car | Policeman

Cast

Allen Jenkins	...	Officer Charlie Dibble / ... (30 episodes, 1961-1962)
Arnold Stang	...	Top Cat (30 episodes, 1961-1962)
Maurice Gosfield	...	Benny the Ball (30 episodes, 1961-1962)
Leo DeLyon	...	Spook / ... (29 episodes, 1961-1962)
Marvin Kaplan	...	Choo Choo / ... (29 episodes, 1961-1962)
John Stephenson	...	Fancy-Fancy / ... (29 episodes, 1961-1962)

Series Directed by
Joseph Barbera		(30 episodes, 1961-1962)
William Hanna		(30 episodes, 1961-1962)

Series Writing credits
Kin Platt		(2 episodes, 1961)

Series Produced by
Joseph Barbera	....	producer (30 episodes, 1961-1962)
Alan Dinehart	....	associate producer (30 episodes, 1961-1962)
William Hanna	....	producer (30 episodes, 1961-1962)

Series Original Music by
Hoyt Curtin		(1 episode, 1961)

Series Film Editing by
Warner E. Leighton		(1 episode, 1962)
Greg Watson		(1 episode, 1962)

Series Production Management
Howard Hanson	....	production supervisor (1 episode, 1962)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Flekal	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1962)
Frank Paiker	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1962)
Norman Stainback	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1962)
Roy Wade	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1962)

Series Animation Department
Edwin Aardal	....	animator (1 episode, 1962)
Jerry Hathcock	....	animator (1 episode, 1962)
Neenah Maxwell	....	background artist (1 episode, 1962)
Charles A. Nichols	....	animation director (1 episode, 1962)
Dan Noonan	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1962)
Jack Huber	....	layout artist (unknown episodes)
Fernando Montealegre	....	background artist (unknown episodes)
Kenneth Muse	....	animator (unknown episodes)
Ray Patterson	....	animator (unknown episodes)
Carlo Vinci	....	animator (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Hoyt Curtin	....	musical director (1 episode, 1962)

Series Other crew
Lawrence Goble	....	titles (1 episode, 1962)
Lewis Marshall	....	story director (1 episode, 1962)
Paul Sommer	....	story director (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Hanna-Barbera Productions
• Screen Gems Television

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1961-1962) (USA) (TV)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1962-1963) (USA) (TV) (reruns)
• AVRO Television (1964-1965) (Netherlands) (TV)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1965-1969) (USA) (TV) (reruns)
• Screen Gems Television (1969-1974) (USA) (TV) (original syndication release)
• Columbia Pictures Television (1974-1983) (USA) (TV)
• Worldvision Enterprises (1983-1991) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Program Services (TPS) (1991-1998) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1998-) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Kellogg's  sponsor

Also Known As:

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:

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

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

When the cartoon was shown on British television in the 1960s and 1970s the title was changed to Boss Cat because there was a brand of cat food named Top Cat. However, the theme song and show's dialogue remained unchanged and contained countless mentions of "Top Cat", making the title change pointless.

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.

Quotes:

Professor Zimbach:[admiring a contemporary painting] This man has artistic temperament, like Van Gogh. You know, the painter who cut off his ear and sent it to his girlfriend.
Top Cat:Oh, yeah, to ask her why he hadn't heard from her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Bad Movie Beatdown: Hercules in New York (#3.11)" (2011)

Wonderful comedians with one-of-a-kind voices

A little trivia. You can see Arnold Stang (Top Cat) and Marvin Kaplan (Choo Choo) together as a hilarious duo in the classic comedy "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" 1963. They play the hapless gas station owners that take on the crazy Jonathan Winters' character, a truly funny highlight in a movie that is filled with great comedy. They make such an absolutely wonderful team that I wonder why they never got paired up again; except that it might have been feared that they would steal the show. I can't recommend their scenes and the entire movie enough. Marvin Kaplan was also on a half dozen episodes of the TV show "Becker" as a returning patient, Mr Gordon. It's funny just hearing these voices.