8.6 /10 2 Votes
7.2/10 TV First episode date 11 January 1966 | 7.1/10 IMDb Created by Art ArthurIvan Tors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Written by William ClarkMeyer DolinskyLawrence L. GoldmanAlf HarrisJohn HoganJack JacobsRobert LeesRobert LewinD.D. OldlandS.S. SchweitzerStanley H. SilvermanMalvin Wald Directed by Paul LandresAndrew MartonOtto Lang Starring Marshall ThompsonCheryl MillerHari RhodesYale SummersHedley Mattingly Theme music composer Shelly ManneHenry Vars Cast Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daktari eps 26 part 2 tx date 040715 ktn
Daktari (Swahili for "doctor") is an American children's drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series, an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television, stars Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Centre for Animal Behaviour in East Africa.
Contents
Daktari theme song
Concept
The show follows the work of Dr. Tracy, his daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller), and his staff, who frequently protected animals from poachers and local officials. Tracy's pets, a cross-eyed lion named Clarence and a chimpanzee named Judy, were also popular characters.
Daktari was based upon the 1965 film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, which also stars Thompson as Dr. Tracy and Miller as his daughter. The concept was developed by producer Ivan Tors, inspired by the work of Dr. Antonie Marinus Harthoorn and his wife Sue at their animal orphanage in Nairobi. Dr. Harthoorn was a tireless campaigner for animal rights, and with his research team developed the capture gun, used to sedate animals to capture them without injury.
On the series, Clarence did not do all his own stunts; he also had a stand-in. Leo, another Ralph Helfer-trained lion, doubled for Clarence whenever any trucks were involved, since Clarence spooked at the sight of these vehicles. Leo even had his own makeup artist who applied cosmetic scarring like Clarence's, so that he would resemble Clarence when photographed in closeups. This was referred to in an inside joke from the preview trailer for the movie Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, that Leo (which also appeared in the MGM logo and had a gentle temperament very similar to Clarence's) was not related to Clarence.
Another less-friendly lion, also named Leo, doubled for Clarence in some scenes. He was used only for the snarling scenes and general scenes which did not involve proximity with humans. This Leo had come from a family in Utah. His ferocity was due largely to abuse he received from former owners, who beat him badly with a stick.
In the show's final season, child star Erin Moran joined the cast as Jenny Jones, a seven-year-old orphan who becomes part of the Tracy household.
Cast
Judy the Chimp also portrayed "Debbie the Bloop" on Lost in Space.
Notable guest stars over the years included Louis Gossett Jr., Sterling Holloway, Virginia Mayo, and Paul Winfield.
Bruno the Bear also appeared as a guest star before he became the main bear playing the title role in the later Ivan Tors series, Gentle Ben.
DVD releases
Warner Bros. has released all four seasons on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection manufacture-on-demand series.