King Leonardo
| King Leonardo and his Short Subjects | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | The animator was Bud "James" Partch, brother of the better-know cartoonist Virgil Partch. |
| Voices of |
Jackson Beck Sandy Becker Kenny Delmar Ben Stone Allen Swift |
| Narrated by | Allen Swift ("The King and Odie") Kenny Delmar ("The Hunter") |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | King And Odie: 102 The Hunter: 61 Tooter Turtle: 40 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Peter M. Piech |
| Producer(s) | Joe Harris Treadwell Covington Buck Biggers Chet Stover |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Total Television Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color (initially telecast in black-and-white) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 15, 1960 – September 28, 1963 |
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects is an animated cartoon series released in 1960 by Total Television (which would later rename itself Leonardo Productions after the main character of this show), sponsored by General Mills.
The show focused on Leonardo the lion (voiced by Jackson Beck), the well-meaning but often inept king of Bongo Congo, a fictional African nation notable for its bongos. Leonardo is assisted in all things by a calm, competent skunk named Odie Cologne or "Odie O. Cologne" (voiced by Allen Swift). Odie, the one who really keeps the kingdom on an even keel, has been by the king's side since they were children.
King Leonardo's permanent foe is the gangster-visaged Biggie Rat (voiced by Beck), who routinely attempts to overthrow Leonardo and take over Bongo Congo. Biggie often has the help of Leonardo's sibling Itchy Brother (voiced by Swift), or an evil German inventor named Professor Messer (voiced by Beck). Biggie and his henchmen's various schemes always end in either landing in the dungeon or getting away.
Episodes of "The King and Odie" that were exclusive to Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales feature Biggie Rat and Itchy Brother employed by Mr. Mad (voiced by Norman Rose), a mad scientist with a domineering personality. When each of his schemes falls through, Mr. Mad disappears "as if by magic" before he can be apprehended.
Each half-hour episode of King Leonardo consisted of five animated segments. Each half-hour included a two-part King and Odie episode, with other characters featured in between:
Early in the series' NBC run, selected Columbia Pictures theatrical cartoons were aired on the program, some featuring The Fox and the Crow and Li'l Abner.
These shorts were added to fill time when production of the early shows was delayed. The Columbia cartoons were featured during NBC showings of Hanna-Barbera's Ruff and Reddy, but not included in subsequent syndicated versions of the series.
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