The Banana Splits Adventure Hour |
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original title card
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Also known as | The Banana Splits and Friends Show |
Genre | Children Live action Animation Psychedelia Comedy Adventure |
Directed by |
Richard Donner (Season 1) Tom Boutross (Season 2) |
Starring |
Jeff Winkless (as Jeffrey Brock) Ginner Whitcombe (as Fleegle 2008) Terence H. Winkless (as Terence Henry) Dan Winkless (as Daniel Owen) James "Jimmy" Dove Steve Kincannon |
Voices of |
Paul Winchell Daws Butler Allan Melvin Don Messick |
Theme music composer | Nelson B. Winkless, Jr. (credited to Ritchie Adams & Mark Barkan) |
Opening theme | "Tra La La (One Banana, Two Banana)" |
Composer(s) |
Ted Nichols David Mook |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 31 + shorts |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
Producer(s) | Edward J. Rosen (Season 1) |
Running time | 45–48 minutes |
Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
Distributor |
Taft Broadcasting (original) Worldvision Enterprises (former) Turner Broadcasting (former) Warner Bros. Television (current) |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | September 7, 1968 | – September 5, 1970
Chronology | |
Related shows |
The Skatebirds Cattanooga Cats |
External links | |
Website |
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was an hour-long, packaged television variety program featuring The Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four funny animal characters. The costumed hosts of the show were Fleegle (guitar, vocals), Bingo (drums, vocals), Drooper (bass, vocals) and Snorky (keyboards, effects).
The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera, and ran for 31 episodes on NBC Saturday mornings, from September 7, 1968, to September 5, 1970. The costumes and sets were designed by Sid and Marty Krofft and the series' sponsor was Kellogg's Cereals. The show featured both live action and animated segments and was Hanna-Barbera’s first foray into mixing live action with animation.
In 1967, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft to design costumes for a television show which would feature animated and live-action segments, with the whole show hosted by a bubblegum rock group of anthropomorphic characters. The format of the show was loosely based on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The Banana Splits Adventure Hour premiered on NBC on September 7, 1968.
The Krofft brothers give credit to the success of the series for opening the door for their own entry into television. NBC picked up the Krofft series H.R. Pufnstuf, which was launched during an hour-long special hosted by The Banana Splits on August 30, 1969.