Heckle and Jeckle

Heckle and Jeckle
Heckle and Jeckle
Terrytoons characters
First appearance	The Talking Magpies; (Terrytoons, 1946)
Created by	Paul Terry
Voiced by	Dayton Allen (1946–1966); Sid Raymond (1947); Roy Halee (1950–1955, 1959–1961); Tom Morrison (1959); Frank Welker (The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle); Toby Huss and Bobcat Goldthwait (Curbside); Shinsuke Minami; Isamu Nagato (CR TerryToons)
In-universe information
Species	Yellow-billed magpie
Gender	Male

Heckle and Jeckle are postwar animated cartoon characters created by Paul Terry, originally produced at his own Terrytoons animation studio and released through 20th Century Fox. The characters are a pair of identical anthropomorphic yellow-billed magpies who usually cause problems to others and for themselves with their bizarre antics. Heckle speaks in a tough New York style manner, while Jeckle has a more polite British accent. They were voiced at different times by Dayton Allen (1946–66), Sid Raymond (1947), Roy Halee (1950–1955, 1959–1961), and Frank Welker (1979).^[3]^[4]

Production history

The Talking Magpies, released January 4, 1946, was the first Terrytoons cartoon to feature a pair of wisecracking magpies. This was a husband-and-wife pair, not the pair of identical birds that they would become. Terry was taken with the idea of a pair of identical characters, and followed up with The Uninvited Pests (November 29, 1946), which established the pair as new characters.^[5] Terrytoons made 52 Heckle and Jeckle theatrical cartoons between 1946 and 1966.^[6] The early cartoons paired the duo with the popular song of the time, "Listen to the Mocking Bird", as their theme.

Television shows

After Paul Terry sold the Terrytoons studio to CBS in 1955, the studio's cartoons were repackaged in different timeslots. In summer 1956, the premiere episode of the primetime CBS Cartoon Theater included the 1947 magpie short Flying South.^[7]

The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show premiered on CBS Saturday mornings on October 14, 1956, and aired until 1966. The show also included shorts starring other Terrytoons characters, including Mighty Mouse, Little Roquefort and Percy the Cat, Gandy Goose, Dinky Duck and the Terry Bears.^[8]

After a hiatus, the show moved to NBC Saturday mornings in September 1969, and aired until September 4, 1971.^[7]

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle premiered on CBS Saturday mornings on September 8, 1979. The show featured newly-animated 11-minute magpie cartoons, in which the characters were not as abrasive as their theatrical personas. The hour-long show featured two Heckle and Jeckle cartoons. The show was cut to a half-hour for the 1980-1981 season, and featured one Heckle and Jeckle cartoon.^[7]

Heckle and Jeckle made a cameo in the 1988 Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures episode "Mighty's Wedlock Whimsy", alongside a few other Terrytoons characters, but they have no speaking lines.

In an unreleased 1999 Terrytoons pilot called Curbside, Heckle was voiced by Toby Huss and Jeckle was voiced by comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. They were also changed from magpies to crows.

Comic books and licensing

Heckle and Jeckle have been licensed for toys, T-shirts, puzzles, games, salt and pepper shakers, Halloween costumes, plush dolls, puppets, coloring books, cookie jars and other consumer products for decades, variously through Terrytoons, CBS Television and Viacom. Selected cartoons from the original series of 52 theatrical titles were briefly made available on VHS home video in the 1990s, but a major DVD release has yet to materialize. The characters also regularly appeared in comic books over the years, including "Mighty Mouse", "Terrytoons" and "Paul Terry's Comics", and even headlined a number of their own comic book titles:

St. John Publications, Heckle and Jeckle #1–24 (1951–55)
Pines Comics, Heckle and Jeckle #25–34 (1956–59)
Dell Comics, New Terrytoons #6–8 (1962)
Gold Key Comics, New Terrytoons #1–43; 47 (1962–77)

Heckle and Jeckle were planned to have a cameo in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral" from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.^[9]

Home video

Aside from the public domain VHS and DVDs there were a few authorized home video releases.

1978 - Magnetic Video released VHS and Betamax tapes that included Heckle & Jeckle:

5 Terrytoon Cartoons Featuring Heckle & Jeckle included "Stowaways" along with 4 other Terrytoons.
5 Terrytoon Cartoons Featuring Mighty Mouse included "King Tut's Tomb" along with 4 other Terrytoons.

1981 - RCA Selectavision CED discs (not laserdiscs):

Terrytoons Volume 1 featuring Mighty Mouse included "Wild Life" and "Miami Maniacs" along with 13 other Terrytoons.

1989 - Video Treasures released VHS tapes (at LP speed):

The Best of Terrytoons included "The Talking Magpies" along with 5 other Terrytoons.
Terrytoon Olympics included "Gooney Golfers" along with 5 other Terrytoons.
Heckle & Jeckle vol.1 featured "Magpie Madness", "Free Enterprise", "The Power of Thought", "The Stowaways", and "Happy Landing".
Heckle & Jeckle vol.2 featured "The Intruders", "Flying South", "Fishing By The Sea", "The Super Salesmen", "The Hitch-Hikers", and "A Sleepless Night".

No official laserdiscs, DVDs, or Blu-rays were released.

Filmography

1946

The Talking Magpies (prototypes) (January 4)
The Uninvited Pests (official debut) (November 29)

1947

McDougal's Rest Farm (January 31)
Happy Go Lucky (February 28)
Cat Trouble (April 11)
The Intruders (May 9)
Flying South (August 15)
Fishing By the Sea (September 19)
The Super Salesman (October 24)
The Hitch Hikers (December 12)

1948

Taming the Cat (January)
A Sleepless Night (June)
Magpie Madness (July)
Out Again in Again (November)
Free Enterprise (November)
Goony Golfers (December)

1949

The Power of Thought (January)
The Lion Hunt (March)
The Stowaways (April)
Happy Landing (June)
Hula Hula Land (July)
Dancing Shoes (November)

1950

The Fox Hunt (February 17)
A Merry Chase (February 21)
King Tut's Tomb (September 29)
Rival Romeos (November 7)

1951

Bulldozing the Bull (March 11)
The Rainmakers (May 11)
Steeple Jacks (June 27)
'Sno Fun (August 22)
Movie Madness (November 7)

1952

Off to the Opera (February 22)
Moose on the Loose (June 6)
House Busters (June 22)
Hair Cut-Ups (October 11)
Pill Peddlers (December 13)

1953

Ten Pin Terrors (June)
Bargain Daze (August)
Log Rollers (November)

1954

Blind Date (February)
Satisfied Customers (May)
Blue Plate Symphony (December)

1956

Miami Maniacs (February)

1957

Pirate's Gold (January)

1959

Wild Life (September)

1960

Thousand Smile Checkup (January)
Mint Men
Trapeze, Pleeze
Deep Sea Doodle
Stunt Men

1961

Sappy New Year

1966

Messed Up Movie Makers

References

^ Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, 1930-70 Vol. 1. BearManor Media. p. 757.
^ "Terrytoons on Records". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved May 2, 2022. As per usual with cartoon records, they don't always deliver the genuine articles. In the case of "TV Terrytoons Cartoon Time", it's about 50/50. The six stories are not soundtracks lifted from the original cartoons (dated from 1937 to 1953), but instead studio-recorded adaptations narrated and voiced by Tom Morrison.
^ "The Heckle and Jeckle Show". IMDb. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
^ "Cartoon voice, actor Sid Raymond dead". CNN / AP. December 11, 2006. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
^ Hamonic, W. Gerald (2018). "Those Magnificent Mischievous Magpies". Terrytoons: The Story of Paul Terry and His Classic Cartoon Factory. John Libbey Publishing Ltd. pp. 225–229. ISBN 978-0861967292.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 89–90. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 134–136. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 210. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
^ "From the JHM Archives: Scenes that were cut out of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"". August 2, 2011.

[CartoonVoices-1] Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, 1930-70 Vol. 1. BearManor Media. p. 757.

[Cartoon_Time-2] "Terrytoons on Records". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved May 2, 2022. As per usual with cartoon records, they don't always deliver the genuine articles. In the case of "TV Terrytoons Cartoon Time", it's about 50/50. The six stories are not soundtracks lifted from the original cartoons (dated from 1937 to 1953), but instead studio-recorded adaptations narrated and voiced by Tom Morrison.

[3] "The Heckle and Jeckle Show". IMDb. Retrieved December 15, 2006.

[4] "Cartoon voice, actor Sid Raymond dead". CNN / AP. December 11, 2006. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2006.

[terry-ch19-5] Hamonic, W. Gerald (2018). "Those Magnificent Mischievous Magpies". Terrytoons: The Story of Paul Terry and His Classic Cartoon Factory. John Libbey Publishing Ltd. pp. 225–229. ISBN 978-0861967292.

[6] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 89–90. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.

[Woolery-7] Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 134–136. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved March 14, 2020.

[Daytime-8] Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 210. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

[9] "From the JHM Archives: Scenes that were cut out of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"". August 2, 2011.

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v t e Mighty Mouse
Television series	Mighty Mouse Playhouse The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Films	Mighty Mouse in Gypsy Life Mighty Mouse in the Great Space Chase
Related	Terrytoons Paul Terry Ralph Bakshi John Kricfalusi Gandy Goose Heckle and Jeckle Deputy Dawg

v t e Children's programming on CBS in the 1960s
First-run animated series	Mighty Mouse Playhouse (1955–1967) The Alvin Show (1961-1962) Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1972) Linus the Lionhearted (1964-1966) The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show Tom and Jerry (1965–1972) The Mighty Heroes (1966-1967) The Underdog Show (1964-1973) Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles (1966–1968) Space Ghost and Dino Boy (1966–1968) The New Adventures of Superman (1966–1970) The Adventures of Batman (1969–1970) The Lone Ranger (1966–1969) The Road Runner Show (1968–1971; 1975–1978; 1978–1985) The Beagles (1967-1968) The Herculoids (1967–1968) Shazzan (1967-1969) Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor (1967–1969) The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967–1968) Go Go Gophers (1968-1969) Wacky Races (1968–1970) The Archie Show (1968–1969) The Batman/Superman Hour (1968-1969) Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969–1971) The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–1971) Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–1972, 1974–1976)
First-run live-action series	Captain Kangaroo (1955–1984) The Magic Land of Allakazam CBS Children's Film Festival
Rebroadcasts	Sky King The Roy Rogers Show My Friend Flicka The Alvin Show (1962–1965) The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1963) The Jetsons (1967-77) The Adventures of Lassie Jonny Quest (1965-1970) The Monkees (1969–1972) The Bugs Bunny Show/Road Runner Hour (1968–1973)
Related	Animation in the United States in the television era

v t e Children's programming on NBC in the 1960s
First-run animated series	King Leonardo and His Short Subjects The Ruff and Reddy Show The Bullwinkle Show The Underdog Show (1964-1967) Hoppity Hooper Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales Go Go Gophers The Beagles The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show The Super 6 Cool McCool (1966-1967) Super President Birdman and the Galaxy Trio Samson & Goliath Here Comes the Grump The Pink Panther Show (1969-1978) Kimba the White Lion Astro Boy Arabian Knights
First-run live-action series	The Shari Lewis Show Watch Mr. Wizard Exploring Fireball XL5 The Banana Splits Adventure Hour Storybook Squares H.R. Pufnstuf
First-run animated / live-action series	The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Rebroadcasts	Fury The Lone Ranger Make Room for Daddy Sgt. Preston of the Yukon The Jetsons Top Cat The Flintstones The Heckle and Jeckle Show
Related programming and topics	Animation in the United States in the television era

v t e Children's programming on NBC in the 1970s
First-run animated series	Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales Here Comes the Grump (1969-1970) The Pink Panther Show (1969–1978) The Underdog Show The Further Adventures of Dr. Dolittle (1970-1971) The Houndcats The Roman Holidays The Barkleys Sealab 2020 Around the World in Eighty Days Inch High, Private Eye The Addams Family (1973) Emergency +4 (1973-1974) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids (1973) Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1975) Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch (1974) The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty (1975) Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975–76) CB Bears (1977) The Young Sentinels (1977) The New Archie and Sabrina Hour (1977) I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali (1977) Baggy Pants and the Nitwits Yogi's Space Race Galaxy Goof-Ups Buford and the Galloping Ghost The Godzilla Power Hour Fantastic Four The New Fred and Barney Show Casper and the Angels (1979–80) Fred and Barney Meet the Thing (1979-80) The New Shmoo (1979-80) The Super Globetrotters The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (1979–80)
First-run live-action series	H.R. Pufnstuf The Banana Splits Adventure Hour Barrier Reef The Bugaloos (1970–1972) Mr. Wizard Runaround Sigmund and the Sea Monsters Go Run, Joe, Run Land of the Lost (1974–1977) Westwind McDuff, the Talking Dog Monster Squad Big John, Little John (1976–77) The Kids From C.A.P.E.R. Muggsy Thunder Search and Rescue The Red Hand Gang The Krofft Superstar Hour
Rebroadcasts	The Heckle and Jeckle Show The Flintstones (1966-70) The Woody Woodpecker Show Deputy Dawg The Jetsons (1977-81) Josie and the Pussycats (1973-76) Hong Kong Phooey (1978-81) Speed Buggy (1977-80) Space Ghost and Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles (1977-80) The Go-Go Globetrotters The Alvin Show (1979) The Daffy Duck Show Jonny Quest (1979-81)
Related	Animation in the United States in the television era