Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales

Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is an animated series TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966.[1] It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills.[2] A co-sponsor was Pillsbury's Funny Face Drink[3]s.(Tennessee Tuxedo debuted on CBS on same day that King Leonardo last ran on NBC.[4]) The title is a play on the “tuxedo” dinner jacket worn as formal wear.

Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Stanley Livingston, Tennessee Tuxedo, Chumley
Genre
Written by
Voices of
Narrated by
Theme music composer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerPeter M. Piech
Producers
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
DistributorDFS Program Exchange (former)
NBCUniversal Television Distribution (on behalf of DreamWorks Classics) (Current)
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 28, 1963 (1963-09-28) 
January 29, 1966 (1966-01-29)

New short episodes[5][6] were created for YouTube in 2014 by Chuck Gammage Animation in Toronto, and Cartoon Lagoon Studios in New York. Sponsored by Trix cereal, they resided on[7] sillychannel.com. They feature the voice talent of Chris Phillips, Robb Pruitt and Ashley Albert.

Plot

The series centers on Tennessee Tuxedo, a penguin, and his friend Chumley, a walrus. They live in the Megapolis Zoo along with friends Yakkety Yak and Baldy the Eagle.[8] Four episodes featured Howler, a dog that Tennessee got from his Uncle Admiration.

Tennessee and Chumley deal with several recurring antagonists. Most often seen is the ill-tempered zoo director, Stanley Livingston. Others are Rocky Maninoff, a gangster who often orders them to do his will at the point of a machine gun, and Tennessee's rival, Jerboa Jump, a kangaroo rat. All three have sidekicks: Stanley Livingston has his assistant, Flunky; Rocky Maninoff has a dim-witted guy called Pretzel, and Jerboa Jump has a henchman named Tiger Tornado, a boxing tiger.

Tennessee and Chumley regularly escape from the zoo, only to find trouble outside. Whenever Tennessee proposes a hare-brained scheme, Chumley is skeptical. Typically, Tennessee assures the dim-witted Chumley that his superior intelligence will carry the day, often with his catch phrase, "Tennessee Tuxedo will not fail!" (though he more often than not does) Chumley then responds with his own phrase, "Duh, okay Tennessee!"

When faced with more trouble than they can bear, the pair turns to their friend Phineas J. Whoopee, the “Man with All the Answers". The latter knows about everything, and he often lectures the pair on diverse topics, from the physics behind the hot air balloon to how musicians become popular. His lectures are illustrated and animated on his Three-Dimensional Blackboard, which he pulls from an avalanche of junk that falls out of his overstuffed hallway closet when he opens the door. At the end of a Mr. Whoopee lecture, Tennessee praises his mentor with the line, “Phineas J. Whoopee, you’re the greatest!” Tennessee and Chumley occasionally must consult Mr. Whoopee again when they fail their first attempt to solve any problem. Mr. Whoopee snorts: "But I've tried to warn you...". In a couple of episodes, Whoopee makes the pair to promise him not to fool around with electricity and television, explaining the dangers involved in those fields.

In the series, Tennessee and Chumley have to overcome a personal problem that children can relate to, such as Chumley's requiring treatment for a toothache but fearing the dentist.

The pair attempt to use their newly gained knowledge to get out of the mischief they created, but they frequently end up in more trouble with zoo director Stanley Livingston, who punishes them in different ways, from police arrest to scrubbing pots and pans in the cafeteria for six months. Episodes sometimes end with Stanley chasing Tennessee and Chumley around the zoo. Although there are some cases where the duos never caused trouble at all, such as when they had stop Tiger Tornado from bullying the zoo animals and succeed, another case would be when they trained for the Zoo Olympic Games without any damage or trouble at all and won.

Production

On a Boing podcast, Underdog creator Joe Harris explained that F.C.C. commissioner Newton Minow declared television a "vast wasteland" in terms of educational material. Efforts were subsequently made to include education in programming. He added that in this show, Tennessee and Chumley were portrayed as the ones who were being educated so that children would not feel that they were being lectured to, even though they actually were.

Occasional back segments included "The World of Commander McBragg", "Klondike Kat", "Tooter Turtle", "The Hunter", and "The King and Odie" (the last three were re-run from the earlier show King Leonardo and His Short Subjects).[9]

Don Adams used his well-known “clippy” voice characterization for the voice of the “small penguin, who tries but can’t succeed-o,” which he said was an exaggeration of actor William Powell’s voice.[10] Bradley Bolke's characterization of Chumley seemed to be taken from Charlie Cantor's voice and personality of Clifton Finnegan on the Duffy's Tavern radio show of the 1940s; there Finnegan played a somewhat similar dimwitted sidekick to the scheming but good-natured bartender Archie. Larry Storch based Professor Whoopee's voice on Frank Morgan of The Wizard of Oz.[11]

Chumley would ask Tennessee a riddle before and in between the segments, in which Mr. Whoopee came up with the humorous answer on his Three-Dimensional Blackboard, usually ending with laughter. Sometimes Tennessee would ask Whoopee a riddle and Whoopee would come up with the humorous answer.

Episodes

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
126September 28, 1963 (1963-09-28)March 21, 1964 (1964-03-21)CBS
224September 12, 1964 (1964-09-12)February 20, 1965 (1965-02-20)
320October 2, 1965 (1965-10-02)February 12, 1966 (1966-02-12)
452014 (2014)August 18, 2014 (2014-08-18)YouTube

Season 1 (1963–64)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date
11"Mixed-Up Mechanics"September 28, 1963 (1963-09-28)
After Stanley Livingston brings them to the Megapolis Zoo, Tennessee and Chumley find a job outside the zoo—which will prove to be their first of many—as mechanics. Their first customer is Rocky Maninoff, who warns them to repair his car, or else. Tennessee takes advice from a newspaper ad to see Phineas J. Whoopee to learn how cars work.
22"Rainmakers"October 5, 1963 (1963-10-05)
Tennessee and Chumley get jobs as weathermen. A farmer demands they make rain for his cauliflower crops or he will use his shotgun on them. Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee.
33"The Lamplighters"October 12, 1963 (1963-10-12)
Tennessee and Chumley learn how lights work when the darkness prevents Tennessee from reading his book.
44"Telephone Terrors or Dial 'M' for Mayhem"October 19, 1963 (1963-10-19)
Tennessee wants to have a telephone in each animal's quarters. Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee to learn how a telephone works.
55"Giant Clam"October 26, 1963 (1963-10-26)
When Stanley Livingston wants to obtain a giant clam for the Megapolis Zoo, Tennessee and Chumley sneak out of the zoo to obtain one for him. Tennessee and Chumley visit Phineas J. Whoopee to learn where they can find a giant clam.
66"Tic Toc"November 2, 1963 (1963-11-02)
The Megapolis Zoo receives a clock tower. Chumley accidentally shoots an arrow at the clock and Stanley Livingston orders Tennessee and Chumley to remove the arrow. Tennessee and Chumley learn how clocks work from Phineas J. Whoopee.
77"Scuttled Sculpture"November 9, 1963 (1963-11-09)
The Megapolis Zoo receives a statue of Stanley Livingston that will be dedicated to him tomorrow. When Chumley accidentally wrecks it, Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee.
88"Snap That Picture"November 16, 1963 (1963-11-16)
Tennessee and Chumley get jobs as photographers. Their first job is to take the picture of the Mayor of Megapolis for his poster advertisement. How do cameras work? Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee.
99"Zoo's News"November 23, 1963 (1963-11-23)
When ordered by Stanley Livingston to spread the news to the other animals of an upcoming event, Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee for ways to do so. Phineas tells them about newspapers.
1010"Aztec Antics"November 30, 1963 (1963-11-30)
When Jerboa Jump arrives at the zoo, Stanley Livingston arranges for some archaeologists to make a trip to Mexico to find some artifacts to go with Jerboa's exhibit. Tennessee and Chumley learn about the Aztecs from Phineas J. Whoopee.
1111"Coal Minors"December 7, 1963 (1963-12-07)
Tennessee and Chumley assemble a stovepipe oven to heat their quarters. They learn how coal is obtained from Phineas J. Whoopee.
1212"Hot Air Heroes"December 14, 1963 (1963-12-14)
When ordered by Stanley Livingston to spread the news of the town picnic at the Megapolis Zoo, Tennessee and Chumley, having already tried telephones and newspapers, turn to Phineas J. Whoopee for other ideas. Phineas tells them about hot-air balloons.
1313"Irrigation Irritation"December 21, 1963 (1963-12-21)
During a drought, Tennessee tries to figure out how to get water to his watermelon crops. Meanwhile, Stanley Livingston is warned by the Chief of Police not to waste water during the drought on pain of arrest.
1414"TV Testers"December 28, 1963 (1963-12-28)
Tennessee and Chumley get jobs as TV repairmen. Their first customer is Rocky Maninoff, who orders them to repair his television, or else. Meanwhile, the Chief of Police gets word from Stanley Livingston that Tennessee and Chumley have escaped from the zoo.
1515"By the Plight of the Moon"January 4, 1964 (1964-01-04)
After getting knocked out, Tennessee dreams he is to be the first astronaut penguin to take a rocket to the moon.
1616"Lever Levity"January 11, 1964 (1964-01-11)
In a follow-up to "Coal Minors," the tunneling that Tennessee and Chumley did for their coal mine has caused the foundation of Stanley's office to settle to one side. While Stanley and Flunky go into town to find someone to build a new foundation, Tennessee tries to straighten the foundation. When nothing seems to work, Tennessee and Chumley go to Phineas J. Whoopee for help.
1717"The Bridge Builders"January 18, 1964 (1964-01-18)
Tennessee and Chumley get jobs as bridge builders. Rocky Maninoff wants them to build a bridge following his gang's bank robbery, or else.
1818"Howl, Howl, the Gang's All Here"January 25, 1964 (1964-01-25)
Tennessee receives a dog named Howler from his uncle and tries to hide him from Stanley Livingston. To make a new home for Howler, Tennessee and Chumley call on Phineas J. Whoopee, who advises them on building Howler a house near a lake in Megapolis Woods.
1919"Sail Ho!"February 1, 1964 (1964-02-01)
Tennessee and Chumley go up against Jerboa Jump in a yacht race to determine who will end up leading the Zoo's Yacht Club.
2020"Tell-Tale Telegraph"February 8, 1964 (1964-02-08)
Tennessee dreams that he, Chumley, Yakkety and Baldy are at a fort headed by Stanley Livingston that keeps suffering Indian attacks. Tennessee and his friends must find a way to warn the fort of approaching Indians.
2121"Rocket Ruckus"February 15, 1964 (1964-02-15)
Upon hearing Jerboa Jump brag that he has been in a rocket, Tennessee and Chumley visit Phineas J. Whoopee to learn how rockets work.
2222"All Steamed Up"February 22, 1964 (1964-02-22)
After Stanley has a steam locomotive put in the zoo to take children for rides, Tennessee tries to prove he can operate it as well... and proceeds to wreck it while Stanley is away. Phineas J. Whoopee explains how locomotives work.
2323"Tale of a Tiger"February 29, 1964 (1964-02-29)
A new animal named Tiger Tornado appears to be a narcoleptic, but he becomes a fierce fighter at the sound of a boxing-ring bell. Jerboa Jump teams up with Tiger and the two make the other zoo animals kowtow to their wishes. Tennessee and Chumley consult Phineas J. Whoopee on how to defend themselves.
2424"Dog Daze"March 7, 1964 (1964-03-07)
In a follow-up to "Howl, Howl, the Gang's All Here," Stanley has problems with Howler the Dog when he mistakes the Mayor of Megapolis for an attacker. Stanley and the Mayor warn to Tennessee control Howler or the Mayor will have Howler detained. They consult Phineas J. Whoopee about dog training.
2525"Brushing Off a Toothache"March 14, 1964 (1964-03-14)
Chumley has a toothache and Tennessee tries various ways to get rid of the tooth. When one of the attempts ends up breaking Stanley Livingston's motor scooter, Tennessee and Chumley escape from the zoo and see Phineas J. Whoopee about how to deal with a toothache.
2626"Funny Honey"March 21, 1964 (1964-03-21)
Tennessee and Chumley need honey from the bears of the Bearville section of the Megapolis Zoo.

Season 2 (1964–65)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date
271"The Treasure of Jack the Joker"September 12, 1964 (1964-09-12)
Tennessee and Chumley hear about the treasure of Jack the Joker hidden somewhere in the Megapolis Zoo, but Stanley Livingston does not allow digging on zoo grounds. They learn about compasses.
282"A Wreck of a Record"September 19, 1964 (1964-09-19)
Tennessee, Chumley, and Baldy form their own folk band for Stanley Livingston's music show, but Stanley wants only hit artists for it. Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee to learn how they can make a recording and become stars.
293"Miner Forty-Niner"September 26, 1964 (1964-09-26)
Tennessee and Chumley find a map that to a gold mine and turn to Phineas J. Whoopee to learn how to get there. They learn about gold.
304"Helicopter Hi-Jinx"October 3, 1964 (1964-10-03)
During a heat wave in Megapolis, Tennessee and Chumley's plans to leave the zoo to get fans for the animals are repeatedly thwarted by Stanley Livingston and Flunky. Tennessee and Chumley recall the time they asked Phineas J. Whoopee about how helicopters work.
315"Oil's Well"October 10, 1964 (1964-10-10)
Tennessee's friend Freddy Cat inherits an oil field that is supposedly haunted, and Jerboa Jump tries to scare Freddy into selling him the land cheaply. They learn about oil drilling.
326"Parachuting Pickle"October 17, 1964 (1964-10-17)
When Rocky Maninoff pulls off a bank robbery and escapes by airplane, the money falls into the Lost Mountains. Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley answer his ad and are forced to parachute down to recover the stolen money, or else. They learn about parachuting.
337"Telescope Detectives"
"Private Eye Detectives"
October 31, 1964 (1964-10-31)
Tennessee and Chumley become private detectives. Hotel manager Mr. Hothead hires them to deal with the robberies committed by Slippery Hood, who has eluded every hotel detective. In order to get a better stake-out on Slippery Hood's hotel room, Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee, who tells them about telescopes.
348"Wish Wash"October 24, 1964 (1964-10-24)
Tennessee and Chumley start a laundry service in the Megapolis Zoo at the same time that Stanley Livingston and Flunky are assembling a tool shed.
359"The Eyes Have It"November 7, 1964 (1964-11-07)
Tennessee competes against Jerboa Jump in the finals of a bowling tournament. Jerboa tricks Tennessee into thinking that something is wrong with his eyes and gives him glasses made from the bottoms of glass bottles. Phineas J. Whoopee explains to Tennessee how the eyes work.
3610"Mad Movie Makers"November 14, 1964 (1964-11-14)
Tennessee and Chumley go into the movie-making business. They turn to Phineas J. Whoopee for advice on filmmaking.
3711"Snow Go"November 21, 1964 (1964-11-21)
Eager to cash in on the skiing craze, Tennessee and Chumley try various schemes to turn the hill at the zoo into a ski slope.
3812"The Big Question"November 28, 1964 (1964-11-28)
Tennessee is convinced a radio quiz show is going to call him for an upcoming cruise prize, so he goes about trying to steal Stanley's radio and eventually learns how to make his own radio.
3913"Brain Strain"December 5, 1964 (1964-12-05)
Chumley looks like a local millionaire. Tennessee has Chumley impersonate the moneyed one when Chumley gets amnesia and starts to think that he is the millionaire.
4014"Rocky Road to Diamonds"December 12, 1964 (1964-12-12)
Tennessee and Chumley get jobs at Stonecutter's Jewelry Store. Mr. Stonecutter tells them that they must protect the diamonds or they will go to jail. Rocky Maninoff robs the store and hides out on a ship. While being pursued by the ship's crew, Tennessee and Chumley run into Phineas J. Whoopee, who tells them about diamonds.
4115"Hooray X-Ray"
"X-Ray X-Perts"
December 19, 1964 (1964-12-19)
When Tennessee and Chumley are ordered by Stanley Livingston to get back the rare coin with which they accidentally paid the paper boy, they trace the coin's path to a bakery and then to a cookie from that bakery that Chumley ate. How shall they recover the coin? Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee, who tells them about x-rays.
4216"Food Feud"December 26, 1964 (1964-12-26)
A reporter from the Megapolis Tribune approaches Tennessee to ask him about his feuds with Jerboa Jump. Tennessee tells him about the feud between the Tennessees and the Jerboas, which old Phineas Whoopee was called in to resolve.
4317"How Does Your Garden Grow?"January 2, 1965 (1965-01-02)
Tennessee is tired of eating fish all the time and wants to grow a vegetable garden, much to the objection of Stanley Livingston. Tennessee manages to get the Mayor's wife on his side, and Tennessee and Chumley ask Phineas J. Whoopee for advice on growing a vegetable garden.
4418"Perils of Platypus"January 9, 1965 (1965-01-09)
Tennessee and Chumley get a platypus for a roommate and deny him access to the pool. When the platypus leaves the zoo and they are ordered by Stanley Livingston to get the platypus back, Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee for help and learn that the platypus lives in Australia.
4519"Hail to the Chief"January 16, 1965 (1965-01-16)
Tennessee, Chumley, Yak, and Baldy get jobs as police officers. They learn about being police officers.
4620"Physical Fatness"January 23, 1965 (1965-01-23)
Phineas J. Whoopee gives Tennessee and Chumley some advice on fitness when Jerboa Jump challenges Chumley to a boxing match against Tiger Tornado.
4721"Playing It Safe"January 30, 1965 (1965-01-30)
Tennessee and Chumley get involved with gangsters who pose as bankers, trying to get a stolen safe open, so they learn about locks.
4822"House Painters"February 6, 1965 (1965-02-06)
Tennessee and Chumley try painting the Zoo, waste it all, learn about making paint, and do a beautiful job covering a building with clay. They learn about paint.
4923"Admiral Tuxedo"February 13, 1965 (1965-02-13)
Upon escaping to the docks, Tennessee falls asleep and has a dream wherein he is the admiral of a ship ordered by the Queen to go after some pirates. They learn about navigation.
5024"Three Ring Circus"February 20, 1965 (1965-02-20)
Tennessee and Chumley escape from the zoo in order to join the circus. They learn how a calliope works.

Season 3 (1965–66)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal air date
511"The Big Drip"October 2, 1965 (1965-10-02)
Tennessee and Chumley get jobs as plumbers. Their first customer is Rocky Maninoff, who wants them to fix a leaky pipe in his hideout before he returns from his bank robbery, or else. Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee to learn about plumbing.
522"Boning Up"October 9, 1965 (1965-10-09)
Stanley Livingston orders Tennessee and Chumley to guard the new dinosaur exhibit. Unfortunately, Howler gets in and dismantles the dinosaur skeletons. They learn about dinosaur bones.
533"Smilin' Yak's Sky Service"October 16, 1965 (1965-10-16)
Tennessee and his friends, Chumley and Yak, start a flying service. Their first customer is Rocky Maninoff, who wants them to fly him to safety after a bank job, or else. They learn about flying a plane.
544"Teddy Bear Trouble"October 23, 1965 (1965-10-23)
When Chumley's teddy bear goes missing, Tennessee turns private eye in order to find it. They learn about fingerprints (dark and light surfaces).
555"Sword Play"October 30, 1965 (1965-10-30)
When ordered by Stanley Livingston to clean the medieval exhibit at the museum, Tennessee is knocked unconscious by a fallen suit of armor and dreams that he is a knight fighting a dragon. Tennessee learns about steel.
566"Phunnie Munnie"November 6, 1965 (1965-11-06)
The boys, Tennessee, Chumley, and Baldy set up a printing press. Their first customer is Rocky Maninoff, who wants them to print counterfeit money for him, or else. They learn about printing.
577"The Romance of Plymouth Rock"November 13, 1965 (1965-11-13)
Tennessee is putting on a play about the Pilgrims called The Romance of Plymouth Rock. Jerboa Jump and Tiger Tornado plan to join the play as Indians so that they can sabotage it. When Jereboah claims that the Indians were not friendly to the Pilgrims, Tennessee calls in Phineas J. Whoopee for help on the history of the Pilgrims.
588"The Zoolympics"November 20, 1965 (1965-11-20)
Phineas J. Whoopee advises Tennessee and Chumley on how to be in shape for the Zoolympics.
599"The Tree Trimmers"November 27, 1965 (1965-11-27)
On Christmas Eve, Stanley Livingston orders Tennessee and Chumley to guide the arriving tree trimmers to the Christmas tree. Tennessee and Chumley trim the tree with the help of Yakkety and Baldy until the ornaments are destroyed. Tennessee and Chumley ask Phineas J. Whoopee for help on making ornaments.
6010"Goblins Will Get You"December 4, 1965 (1965-12-04)
Following a trick-or-treating on Halloween, Tennessee eats too much candy and dreams that he is in a haunted forest with an evil witch and her goblin servants. They learn about maple syrup.
6111"The Cheap Skates"December 11, 1965 (1965-12-11)
Wanting ice skates, Tennessee Tuxedo, and his friends, Chumley, Yak, and Baldy try producing an ice show for Sewonya Button (Yak's cousin), but need to learn how to build a rink first.
6212"Going Up"December 18, 1965 (1965-12-18)
Washington's Birthday celebration causes the friends to try putting a Liberty Bell decoration atop a zoo tower. They learn about elevators (cab, pulley, counterweight).
6313"Monster from Another Planet"December 25, 1965 (1965-12-25)
Tiger, wanting a better life, pretends to be an extraterrestrial, forcing Tennessee & Chumley into servitude. They learn about spacemen.
6414"Signed and Sealed"January 1, 1966 (1966-01-01)
Tennessee's cousin Percy is coming to visit. Needing money to fix up their place, the friends rent to Big Bill Bailey with a crafty four-week lease. They learn about leases and contracts, and ultimately learn that Percy can be a demanding guest.
6515"The Barbers"January 8, 1966 (1966-01-08)
Tennessee buys a barber shop and he and Chumley go to work as barbers. They get Rocky Maninoff as a customer, who wants them to make him a new man, or else. Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee for help in haircutting and applying specific make-up.
6616"Catch a Falling Hammock"January 15, 1966 (1966-01-15)
The guys learn about termites that are causing the trees holding their hammock to fall. They learn about termites.
6717"Peace and Quiet"January 22, 1966 (1966-01-22)
An employment agency promises jobs to the pair, but they manage to fail at all of them.
6818"Robot Revenge"January 29, 1966 (1966-01-29)
Yak and Baldy build robots to do their work. Tennessee and Chumley turn to Phineas J. Whoopee, who tells them about hearts.
6919"There Auto Be a Law"February 5, 1966 (1966-02-05)
Tennessee, Chumley, Yak,and Baldy build a car for an auto race, and decide to make and sell copies of the car to pay the entrance fee. They learn about production line manufacturing.
7020"Samantha"February 12, 1966 (1966-02-12)
Chumley falls in love and Whoopee tries teaching him about the finer points of etiquette and deportment.

Season 4 (2014)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleOriginal release date
731"Go South"2014 (2014)
742"Be Like Baldy"2014 (2014)
753"Dinner Party"2014 (2014)
764"Catch the Cable Man"2014 (2014)
775"Yakety Yak"August 18, 2014 (2014-08-18)

Syndication

Later reruns of Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales are quite different from the original network series, like most cartoon series produced by Total Television. The first 34 Tennessee Tuxedo cartoons were incorporated into syndicated prints of The Underdog Show. That syndicated package actually was a revised version of another earlier (mid-1960s) syndicated series called Cartoon Cut-Ups which initially featured first season segments of Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, and Commander McBragg. In fact, the syndicated Underdog Show includes some artifacts such as the Cartoon Cut-Ups closing, combining portions of the original Tennessee Tuxedo and Underdog closings, effectively eliminating the punch line of the visual "Post No Bills" joke in the original Underdog closing. It also includes the final teaser at the end of the show in which announcer George S. Irving says, "Looks like this is the end...but don't miss our next Cartoon Cut-Ups show!" (The line was redubbed to say "Underdog" instead of "Cartoon Cut-Ups".)

In syndication, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales features different supporting cartoon segments compared to the show's original network run, including some cartoons from the Jay Ward studio. The first 39 syndicated episodes (#901–939) include "Tooter Turtle," "Bullwinkle's Corner" (followed by a vintage Rocky and His Friends commercial bumper), and "Aesop And Son." For syndicated episodes #940–945 and again from #956 through the end of the episode cycle, the supporting segments are all Jay Ward cartoons: "Peabody's Improbable History," "Mr. Know-It-All," and "Fractured Fairy Tales." Syndicated shows #946 through #955 repeat the "Tooter Turtle," "Bullwinkle's Corner", and "Aesop And Son" cartoons already shown in episodes #901–910. Each of the seventy Tennessee Tuxedo cartoons themselves appears twice over the 140 syndicated shows, in addition to the repeats of the first 34 segments as part of the syndicated Underdog Show (during a recent run on the Black Family Channel cable network, only shows #901–934 were aired).

In its first season during its original network run, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales featured segments of "The Hunter" and "The King And Odie". Both segments originated in the 1960 series King Leonardo And His Short Subjects, but Tennessee Tuxedo included 26 newly produced segments of both, which were not seen on the original King Leonardo program (and were not syndicated as part of that package either). The following season, "The Hunter" began appearing as a segment on The Underdog Show, and the "Hunter" spot in Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales was filled by repeated segments of "Tooter Turtle" (a character also previously seen on King Leonardo And His Short Subjects). The "Tooter" cartoons shown on Tennessee Tuxedo were all repeated segments; no new segments were produced. Between 1968 and 1970, "Tooter Turtle" and "The Hunter" were seen as part of ABC-TV's The Dudley Do-Right Show. The 26 "Hunter" and "King & Odie" segments originally produced for Tennessee Tuxedo are seen in syndicated reruns as part of the Dudley Do-Right And Friends package (which also is different from the 1968–1970 Dudley Do-Right Show).

Home media

UAV Corporation released a VHS containing three episodes of the show called Tennessee Tuxedo - It's Fun to be Healthy in 1990, and later released another VHS containing the Halloween special and episodes from a few other Jay Ward cartoons.

A DVD titled The Best of Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales was released by Sony Wonder and Classic Media in 2006. It contains 15 "sort of educational" episodes from the series. The series introduction and end credits do not seem to appear on the DVD if an episode is selected, but if "Play All" is selected, the series introduction will appear at the start of the episodes and the end credits will appear after the last episode.

One of the two "extras" on the DVD is a set of about ten audio-only outtakes from the recording of the redone version of the theme song. During the session, the engineer is heard speaking to the musicians and singers. The voice of the engineer was revealed on June 28, 2007, on The Howard Stern Show as the voice of Howard's father Ben Stern.

The other "extra" is a short collection of corny riddles (originally presented as show transitions) posed to Mr. Whoopee and his 3DBB by Chumley and Tennessee. Example: What has four legs and only one foot? A bed.

On March 6, 2012, Shout! Factory released Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales: The Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1.[12]

Cultural references

Austin Russell, a prominent employee and cast member of the History Channel's Pawn Stars, is nicknamed Chumlee after the Tennessee Tuxedo character.[13][14]

The zookeeper's name, Stanley Livingston, is a reference to the explorers Henry Morton Stanley and David Livingstone.

In British English, some words have pronunciations that are significantly abbreviated from how the word is spelled. Thus, Worcestershire is pronounced "Woostershur". This phenomenon also occurs in some other languages, such as Russian. Chumley is how the name Cholmondeley is pronounced in Britain.

References

  1. Christopher P. Lehman, American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era: A Study of Social Commentary, 2006, p. 48
  2. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 286–287. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. O' Connor, Renne. [YouTube app · Installed Web results Tennessee Tuxedo 1963 B/W With original commercial's ... - YouTube "Tenessee Tuxedo with commercials"] Check |url= value (help). Youtube. [YouTube.com Archived] Check |archive-url= value (help) from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020. line feed character in |url= at position 24 (help)
  4. Tom Heintjes. ""Whatever Happened to Total TeleVision productions?," Hogan's Alley #15, 2009". hoganmag.com. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  5. "Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley" via www.imdb.com.
  6. "Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley". YouTube.
  7. "General Mills: Trix". www.generalmills.com.
  8. Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 261. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  9. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 637. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  10. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 426. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0HXOKMyR6E
  12. "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales DVD news: Press Release for Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales - The Complete Collection". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
  13. "Meet the Pawn Stars: Austin (Chumlee) Russell" Archived 2012-06-27 at the Wayback Machine. History.com, Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  14. Harrison, Rick. 204 License to Pawn
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