lionhearted

Linus the Lionhearted

Linus the Lionhearted was an animated cartoon featuring a main character of the same name. The character was created by the Ed Graham advertising agency, originally as a series of ads for Post Cereals, particularly the brand Crispy Critters. The ads were so popular that a television series was created in 1964 and ran on the CBS network until 1966, then reruns aired on ABC from 1966, until it was cancelled three years later.

In addition to Linus, a rather good-natured "King of the Beasts" voiced by Sheldon Leonard, there were other features as well, all based on a popular Post cereal. The best-known of these was Sugar Bear, who was voiced by actor Gerry Matthews. There was also a postman named Lovable Truly, a young Asian boy named So Hi, and Rory Raccoon.

A long-play record album was also released as a premium in the year of the show's debut featuring the characters (voiced by the same stars as the animated cartoon) singing with re-written lyrics familiar songs such as "Jimmy Cracked Corn."

Vocal talent

The show was perhaps best noted for its abundance of well-known vocal talent. In addition to Leonard, Carl Reiner voiced several characters, most notably Linus' friend Billy Bird; Ruth Buzzi voiced an old woman who'd befriended Lovable Truly, as well as Sugar Bear's sometime nemesis, Granny Goodwitch; and veteran Bob McFadden voiced So Hi, Rory and Lovable Truly. Jonathan Winters also made a guest appearance, as did Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara.

Cancelation

The FCC made a ruling in 1969 that forbade children's show characters from appearing in advertisements on the same program and ABC was forced to cancel the program.

Credits

Season 1

Supervising Director: Irv Spector
Production Supervision: Lew Irwin
Character Models: George Cannata
Head Writer: Bill Schnurr
Associate Producer: Rick Herland
Produced and Directed by Ed Graham
Animation Directors: John Freeman, Clyde Geronimi, Rube Grossman, Ed Rehberg, George Singer, Marvin Woodward
Layouts: Corny Cole, Bob Dranko, Burt Freund, Dave Hanan, Homer Jonas, Tony Rivera, Sam Weiss, Bob Singer
Storyboards: Tom Dagenais, Art Diamond, Bob Givins, Cal Howard, Bob Kurtz, Mike Smollim
Backgrounds: Bill Butler, Boris Gorelick, Erv Kaplan, Bob McIntosh, Lorraine Morgan, Curt Perkins
Editors: Hank Goetzenberg, Jerry MacDonald, George Marana
Sound Engineer: Gil Arion
Ink and Paint by Connie Crawley, Dea Shirley
Character Layouts: Stan Green
Special Music Arrangements: Johnny Mann
Production Assistants: Ruth Kennedy, Armand Shaw
Animators: Ray Abrams, Frank Andrina, Tom Baron, Warren Batchelder, Bob Bentley, Dan Bessie, Frank Braxton, Brad Case, Jim Davis, Ed Friedman, Bob Goe, Frank Gonzales, Manny Gould, Bill Hajee, Ken Hultgren, Tom McDonald, Dan Mills, Chic Otterstrom, Amby Paliwoda, Manny Perez, Virgil Ross, Ed Solomon, Russ von Neida, Ray Young, Rudy Zamora