Sneha Girap (Editor)

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
7.8
/
10
1
Votes
Alchetron
7.8
1 Ratings
100
90
80
71
60
50
40
30
20
10
Rate This

Rate This

Genre
  
Animated television special

First episode date
  
April 7, 1970

Language
  
English

Country
  
United States

7.6/10
IMDb

Music director
  
Maury Laws

Duration
  

Language
  
English

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians httpsiytimgcomvisjp9em8uQlUhqdefaultjpg

Director
  
Jules Bass Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Release date
  
April 7, 1970 (1970-04-07)

Writer
  
Romeo Muller (special material)

Network
  
American Broadcasting Company

Directors
  
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Executive producer
  
Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass

Similar movies
  
Willy McBean and his Magic Machine (1965)

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians (1970) is an animated one-hour ABC television special produced by Rankin/Bass. The show aired on April 7, 1970 before the airing of that year's Oscars. It was a tribute to early vaudeville, and featured animated reworkings of various famous comedians' acts.

Contents

Production and Marx Brothers

Most of the comedians provided their own voices for their animated counterparts, except for Chico and W. C. Fields, both deceased, Zeppo who had left show business in 1933, and Harpo also deceased, but no voice was needed for him since his stage persona did not speak. Groucho was still playing himself. Voice actor Paul Frees narrated the show and filled in for those actors who were not able to do their own voices.

The show included such segments as a Marx Brothers skit, which was a reworking of a scene from their Broadway play I'll Say She Is (1924). The skit included their famous Napoleon parody, with Napoleon played by Groucho. The sketch featured animated representations. Romeo Muller is credited as having written special material for the show in addition to the original scripts that came from the various comedians' sketches.

Although not really remembered now by the general public, at the time it gave Rankin/Bass their highest TV ratings, notably even higher than the high-rated Rudolph. More recently, Behr Entertainment was in talks to produce a similar show that would feature cartoon renditions of Jack Benny, George Burns, Abbott and Costello, and Bob Hope. 13 half-hour episodes were proposed.

Cast

  • Jack Benny - Himself
  • George Burns - Himself
  • Phyllis Diller - Herself
  • George Jessel - Himself
  • Jack E. Leonard - Himself
  • Groucho Marx - Napoleon/Himself
  • The Smothers Brothers - Themselves
  • Flip Wilson - Himself
  • Henny Youngman - Himself
  • Paul Frees - Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, W. C. Fields, Traffic Cop, additional voices
  • Joan Gardner - Josephine Bonaparte, additional voices

    • Crew

  • Producers/Directors – Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
  • Special Material – Romeo Muller
  • Flip Wilson Segment Courtesy – Atlantic Records
  • Caricatures – Bruce Stark
  • Continuity Design – Don Duga
  • Animation Production – Mushi Productions
  • Animation Supervisor – Steve Nakagawa
  • Animation – Osamu Dezaki, Sadao Miyamoto, Akio Sugino (all uncredited)
  • Editorial Supervision – Irwin Goldress
  • Title Song – Maury Laws, Jules Bass
  • Music – Maury Laws

    • References

    The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA

    The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians IMDb