Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

The show's namesake star "Skippy", is a female eastern grey kangaroo, who is befriended by Sonny Hammond, younger son of Matt Hammond, the Head Ranger of Waratah National Park. The stories revolved around events in the park, including its animals, the dangers arising from natural hazards, and the actions of visitors (featuring numerous stars, predominately of the period in guesting roles) The boy's mother is said (in Episode 48 "The Mine") to have died shortly after Sonny was born.

The series was often characterised as a kangaroo version of Flipper or Lassie.[5]

The series was shot in northern Sydney at the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the adjacent Waratah Park (now known as Waratah Park Earth Sanctuary). Permission to film and build structures in the park was given by the then NSW Minister for Lands, Tom Lewis, before shooting of the series began in 1967, to showcase the new NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service government department he had just established.

The clicking sounds made by Skippy are vocal sound effects, rather than the natural vocalisations of a kangaroo, with chocolate, chewing gum or grass and, in some cases, an elastic band around the lower jaw used to make Skippy move her mouth. Between nine and fifteen kangaroos were used for each show. The apparent manual dexterity was often achieved by using separate arms in the hands of human operators.

The main characters were:[6]

• Ed Devereaux as Matt Hammond, the Head Ranger of Waratah National Park
• Garry Pankhurst as Sonny Hammond, Matt's younger son
• Ken James as Mark Hammond, Matt's elder son
• Tony Bonner as Jerry King (episodes 1-78), flight ranger (helicopter pilot)
• Liza Goddard as Clarissa 'Clancy' Merrick (episodes 9-75), the teenage daughter of a ranger stationed at another section of the park. When her father is transferred to a park in northern New South Wales, Matt invites Clancy to stay with the Hammond family so that her music studies are not disrupted by the move north. She leaves the series when her character is awarded a musical scholarship to study in London.
• John Warwick as Sir Adrian Gillespie, Head of the NSW National Parks Board
• Elke Neidhardt as Anna Steiner, a German doctor and playing a support role only in season one.
• Morgan Brain as Sgt. Bernard Gillies[2]
• Skippy was played by at least nine different kangaroos[7]

The series was revived in 1992 as the short-lived The Adventures of Skippy. This revival series focused on the now adult Sonny Hammond (played by Andrew Clarke) – having followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a ranger at a wildlife park – who now had his own family and a pet kangaroo named Skippy.[4][11]

This version also aired on Animal Planet in 1997, and is currently airing in the U.S. on TBN's Smile of a Child TV children's network.[12]

The complete series of 39 episodes has been released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment.[13]

In 1998, an animated spin-off series was produced, known as Skippy: Adventures in Bushtown. It featured a version of Skippy, portrayed as a male, anthropomorphic kangaroo, working as a park ranger.

In 1999, Skippy starred in advertisements for the chocolate confectionery Rolo Cookies.[14]

In September 2008, actor Tony Bonner sued the production company seeking residuals from merchandising and DVD sales from the series.

On 17 September 2009, a documentary Skippy: Australia's First Superstar was broadcast on the ABC in Australia and the BBC in the UK. The documentary was produced by Western Australian-based documentary production company Electric Pictures.[15]

The original series was parodied in a recurring sketch as part of the British comedy series Goodness Gracious Me under the title "Skipinder, the Punjabi Kangaroo": the parody redubbed scenes from the original Skippy. The show was also parodied in the 1989 - 1992 Australian sketch comedy TV show, Fast Forward.[16]

• Wikipedia French Page : Skippy le kangourou
• Skippy the Bush Kangaroo at IMDb
• Classic Australian Television -Skippy
• "Skippy" – Memorable TV
• Skippy an AustLit
• Skippy on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online Speaking of Skippy
• Skippy the Bush Kangaroo at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Documentary – Skippy: Australia's First Superstar – ABC Documentaries and Electric Pictures, 2009
• Skippy the Bush Kangaroo at TV Tropes
• Skippy the Bush Kangaroo at Waratah Park Earth Sanctuary