The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour

*The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour*
The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour
Genre	Comedy; Variety show
Written by	Stan Hart
Directed by	Jim Washburn; Joe Layton
Voices of	Udana Power; Jane Hamilton James; Wenndy McKenzie; Daws Butler; Don Messick
Composer	Billy Byers
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Executive producer	Joseph Barbera
Producers	Ken Welch; Mitzie Welch; Joe Layton
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Hanna-Barbera Productions; Welch/Layton/Welch Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	April 13 –; May 11, 1978

The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour is an American television comedy-variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired for five consecutive episodes on NBC from April 13 to May 11, 1978.^[1]

Overview

The show was hosted by two life-size female puppets named Honey and Sis: Honey (voiced by Udana Power) is a 19-year-old willowy tall blond who fancies herself a gifted performer, while her 17-year-old red-headed sister Sis (voiced by Wendy McKenzie) is actually the talented one.^[2] On each episode, Honey and Sis sang, danced and participated in comedy sketches as "The Disco of Life", a soap opera parody where they interacted with people at a disco, and "The Truth Tub" where they relaxed in a hot tub and parodied TV shows such as Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company.

The guest stars during the five-week period included Melissa Sue Anderson, Tom Bosley, Gary Burghoff, Charo, Leif Garrett, Melissa Gilbert, Dan Haggerty, Linda Lavin, Peter Lupus, Gavin MacLeod, Tony Randall, Connie Stevens, The Sylvers, Twiggy, Abe Vigoda, Betty White and Anson Williams. The stars introduced themselves, rather than having an announcer do so. Costumed actors impersonating Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters such as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and Snagglepuss (all voiced by Daws Butler) made cameo appearances.

Honey and Sis were designed by Hanna-Barbera animator Iwao Takamoto and their costumes created by fashion designer Bob Mackie. They were manipulated by a team of six puppeteers who would wear full-body blue leotards in front of a blue screen, so that the two characters would be chroma-keyed on a different background.

Episodes

April 20: either Abe Vigoda, Melissa Gilbert, Betty White^[3] or Twiggy, Gary Burghoff, and Tony Randall^[4]
April 23: Gavin MacLeod, Anson Williams, Charo, Yogi Bear; the Elmira Star-Gazette said in advance "In the truth tub this week is Anson; his problem is that girls want him for the wrong reasons. Are any adults watching?"^[5]
April 30: Robert Conrad, Melissa Sue Anderson, Linda Lavin, Peter Lupus, Yogi Bear. Conrad entered the Truth Tub, perhaps as Baa Baa Black Sheep character Pappy Boyington.^[6]
May 11: Tom Bosley, Connie Stevens, The Sylvers, Yogi Bear.

Production credits

Executive Producer: Joseph Barbera
Directors: Jim Washburn, Joe Layton
Producers: Ken Welch, Mitzie Welch, Joe Layton
Music Director: Billy Byers
Music Material: Ken Welch, Mitzie Welch
Puppeteers: Pat Brymer, Van Snowden, Jerry Vogel, J. Paul Higgins, Greg Dendler, Steve Dolainski
Choreographer: Joe Layton
Animation Director: Iwao Takamoto
Segment Director (Honey and Sis): Bob Mackie

Reception

Although only scheduled for a five-week test run, The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour failed in the ratings as it competed with ABC's Welcome Back, Kotter and What's Happening!! and was taken off the air, with reruns of CHiPs taking over its timeslot.

References

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present

^ Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland & Co. p. 148. ISBN 9780786476503.
^ Mallory, Michael (2009). Iwao Takamoto: My Life with a Thousand Characters. University Press of Mississippi. p. 161. ISBN 9781604734775. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
^ " Thursday previews", Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), 20 April 1978.
^ "20 Apr 1978, Page 67 - Detroit Free Press at". Newspapers.com. 1978-04-20. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
^ "Thursday previews", Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), 23 April 1978.
^ "Thursday previews", Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), 30 April 1978.

External links

[1] Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland & Co. p. 148. ISBN 9780786476503.

[2] Mallory, Michael (2009). Iwao Takamoto: My Life with a Thousand Characters. University Press of Mississippi. p. 161. ISBN 9781604734775. Retrieved 5 June 2020.

[3] " Thursday previews", Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), 20 April 1978.

[4] "20 Apr 1978, Page 67 - Detroit Free Press at". Newspapers.com. 1978-04-20. Retrieved 2022-06-05.

[5] "Thursday previews", Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), 23 April 1978.

[6] "Thursday previews", Star-Gazette (Elmira, New York), 30 April 1978.

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v t e The Yogi Bear Show
Characters	Yogi Bear Boo-Boo Bear Cindy Bear Ranger Smith Snagglepuss Yakky Doodle
Television shows	The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958–1959) (List of episodes) The Yogi Bear Show (1961–1962) (List of episodes) Yogi's Gang (1973–) Laff-A-Lympics (1977–1978) Yogi's Space Race (1978) Galaxy Goof-Ups (1978–1979) Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1985–1988) The New Yogi Bear Show (1988) Wake, Rattle, and Roll (Fender Bender segment; 1990–1991) Yo Yogi! (1991) Jellystone! (2021–present)
Television specials and films	Yogi's Ark Lark (1972) Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue (1978) The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour (1978) Casper's First Christmas (1979) Yogi's First Christmas (1980) Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper (1982) Yogi's Great Escape (1987) Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (1987) Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (1988) The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988) Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989) Yogi the Easter Bear (1994) Arabian Nights (1994) Boo Boo Runs Wild (1999) A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith (1999)
Theatrical films	Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (1964) Yogi Bear (2010)
Video games	Yogi Bear (1987) Yogi's Great Escape (1990) Adventures of Yogi Bear (1994) Yogi Bear's Gold Rush (1994)
Amusement rides	The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (1990)
Related	A Yard Too Far (The Ren & Stimpy Show episode) Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts Yogi Bear's Honey Fried Chicken Yogi Bear and the Three Stooges Meet the Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. No-No Fred Flintstone and Friends

v t e The Huckleberry Hound Show
Characters	Huckleberry Hound Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks Hokey Wolf Yogi Bear Boo-Boo Bear
Television shows and specials	The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958–1961) (List of episodes) Yogi's Gang (1973) Laff-A-Lympics (1977–1978) Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue (1978) The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour (1978) Yogi's Space Race (1978) Galaxy Goof-Ups (1978–1979) Casper's First Christmas (1979) Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper (1982) Yogi's Treasure Hunt (1985–1988) Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989) Wake, Rattle, and Roll (Fender Bender segment; 1990–1991) Yo Yogi! (1991) Jellystone! (2021-present)
Television films	Yogi's Ark Lark (1972) Yogi's First Christmas (1980) Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (1987) The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988)
See also: List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera