Top Cat was one of the
prime-time sitcoms developed by Hanna-Barbera Productions
in their early years. It was partly inspired by the East Side Kids--tough
kid characters that starred in a series of films from Monogram Pictures
between 1940-45--but took most of its inspiration from The Phil Silvers Show. The
titular Top Cat (T.C. to his friends, voiced by Arnold Stang impersonating Silvers) was the feline leader
of a gang of alley cats comprised of simple-minded Benny the Ball (modeled
after his voice actor Maurice Gosfield,
who also starred in Silvers), enthusiastic and devoted Choo-Choo (Marvin Kaplan, invoking Woody Allen), the ironically-named Brain
(Leo De Lyon), laid-back ladies’
man Fancy-Fancy (John Stephenson)
and beatnik Spook (also Lyon). T.C. would summon his gang by clanging two
garbage can lids together and then proceed to lead them on a series of (often
illegal) get-rich-quick schemes. Standing in their way was beat cop Charles
Dibble (Allen Jenkins), who
often put a stop to their schemes but was unable to evict them from the alley
or get them to stop using the police call box phone for their personal use.
 |
| Signed art of Dibble looking on as Brain, Benny, Fancy-Fancy, T.C., Spook and Choo Choo cause a ruckus in the alley. |
Top Cat debuted on ABC on September 27, 1961, featuring music from
regular Hanna-Barbera composer Hoyt
Curtin. Co-creator William
Hanna called it one of the wittiest and most sophisticated shows he
produced that had a rare appeal to audiences of all ages. Unfortunately, the
show was only a modest success and only lasted a single season of 30 episodes
that ABC would rerun as part of their Saturday morning schedule. However, that
was just in America. Top Cat was a massive hit in Mexico, Chile, Peru
and Argentina, and T.C. has been regarded as one of the most famous cartoon
characters ever in those territories. In 1988, Hanna-Barbera produced a 2-hour
television movie called Top
Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats that aired as part of their Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series
of telefilms, and the characters continued to appear or make cameos in other
Hanna-Barbera shows. Mexican animation studio Ánima
Estudios would produce and release a theatrical film in 2011.
While it did well in Mexico, the English dub was widely panned. In 2015, they
released a CGI prequel
that fared no better, even in its home country.
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