Doin' The Banana Split!
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Banana Splits (1968-2008)
Banana Splits Yahoo Group
Banana Splits at Wikipedia
"The Tra La La Song" guitar chords
Visit Boomerang, the official home of The Banana Splits
Los Banana Splits wish you
a happy Cinco de Mayo!
RIP Allan Melvin, voice of Drooper (1922-2008)
Character actor Allan Melvin passed away Thursday, January 17, 2008, at the age of 85. He was the voice of the Banana Splits' Drooper and scores of other cartoon characters, including Magilla Gorilla and Punkin Puss on The Magilla Gorilla Show, Bunko in The Adventures Of Gulliver, and Sgt. Snorkel in King Features' Beetle Bailey cartoons. On screen, he is perhaps best remembered for his portrayals of Cpl. Steve Henshaw on The Phil Silvers Show (aka Sgt. Bilko), butcher Sam Franklin on The Brady Bunch, and Archie Bunker's pal Barney Hefner on All In The Family and Archie Bunker's Place. Melvin was the last survivor of the three men who voiced the Banana Splits (Daws Butler, the voice of Bingo, passed away in 1988, and Paul Winchell, Fleegle's voice, died in 2005.) He will be deeply missed.
Upcoming Boomerang TV Schedule
(Start and end times on Boomerang tend to be "loose estimates" at best, so please plan accordingly!)
The Banana Splits And Friends Show airs Monday through Friday at Noon Eastern (11:00 AM Central) on Boomerang. Two of the half-hour cutdowns are shown back to back, followed by Secret Squirrel (at 1:00/12:00) and Atom Ant (at 1:30/12:30). Each of the Banana Splits And Friends half-hours more or less represents one half of one of the original one-hour Banana Splits Adventure Hour shows, minus a few edits. Click on a show for more information about that episode.
The Banana Splits And Friends Show
Syndicated show #1 (First half of original show #1) (Monday 3/31, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #2 (Second half of original show #1) (Monday 3/31, 12:30 PM/11:30 AM)
Syndicated show #3 (First half of original show #2) (Wednesday 4/2, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #4 (Second half of original show #2) (Wednesday 4/2, 12:30 PM/11:30 AM)
Syndicated show #5 (First half of original show #3) (Thursday 4/3, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #6 (Second half of original show #3) (Thursday 4/3, 12:30 PM/11:30 AM)
Syndicated show #7 (First half of original show #4) (Friday 4/4, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #8 (Second half of original show #4) (Friday 4/4, 12:30 PM/11:30 AM)
Syndicated show #9 (First half of original show #5) (Monday 4/7, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #10 (Second half of original show #5) (Monday 4/7, 12:30 PM/11:30 AM)
Syndicated show #11 (First half of original show #6) (Tuesday 4/8, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #12 (First half of original show #6) (Tuesday 4/8, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #13 (First half of original show #7) (Wednesday 4/9, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #14 (First half of original show #7) (Wednesday 4/9, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #15 (First half of original show #8) (Thursday 4/10, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #16 (First half of original show #8) (Thursday 4/10, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #17 (First half of original show #9) (Friday 4/11, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Syndicated show #18 (First half of original show #9) (Friday 4/11, 12:00 Noon/11:00 AM)
Secret Squirrel
#14 (Monday 3/31, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #14 (Jester Minute)
Squiddly Diddly #14 (Baby Squidder)
Winsome Witch #14 (Shoo-Spy)
#15 (Wednesday 4/2, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #15 (Not So Idle Idol)
Squiddly Diddly #15 (Naughty Astronaut)
Winsome Witch #15 (Hollywood Or Bust)
#16 (Thursday 4/3, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #16 (Gold Rushed)
Winsome Witch #16 (Wolfcraft Vs. Witchcraft)
Squiddly Diddly #16 (The Ghost Is Clear)
#17 (Friday 4/4, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #17 (Double Ex-Double Cross)
Winsome Witch #17 (Tallyho The Hunter)
Squiddly Diddly #17 (Lucky Ducky)
#18 (Monday 4/7, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #18 (Capt. Kidd's Not Kidding)
Winsome Witch #18 (Witch Hitch)
Squiddly Diddly #18 (Foxy Seal)
#19 (Tuesday 4/8, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #19 (Bold Rush)
Winsome Witch #19 (Witch Witch Is Which)
Squiddly Diddly #19 (Squiddly Double-Diddly)
#20 (Wednesday 4/9, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #20 (Tusk-Tusk)
Squiddly Diddly #20 (Squiddly Double-Diddly)
Winsome Witch #20 (Ugly Duckling Trouble)
#21 (Thursday 4/10, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #21 (Robot Rout)
Squiddly Diddly #21 (One Black Knight)
Winsome Witch #21 (Potluck)
#22 (Friday 4/11, 1:00 PM/12:00 Noon)
Secret Squirrel #22 (The Pink Sky Mobile)
Squiddly Diddly #22 (Phoney Fish)
Winsome Witch #22 (Pussycat Man)
Atom Ant
#21 (Monday 3/31, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)Atom Ant #21 (Up In The Air Squares)
Precious Pupp #21 (A Grapple For The Teacher)
The Hillbilly Bears #21 (Speckled Heckler)
#22 (Wednesday 4/2, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #22 (Pteraducktyl Soup)
Precious Pupp #22 (Pot-Time Work)
The Hillbilly Bears #22 (Whirly Bear)
#23 (Thursday 4/3, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #23 (Knight Fight)
Precious Pupp #23 (Ski Sickness)
The Hillbilly Bears #23 (Saucy Saucers)
#24 (Friday 4/4, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #24 (Mouser Rouser)
Precious Pupp #24 (A Fiend In Need)
The Hillbilly Bears #24 (Chipper Chirper)
#1 (Monday 4/7, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #1 (Crankenshaft's Monster)
Precious Pupp #1 (Doggone Dognapper)
The Hillbilly Bears #1 (Detour For Sure)
#2 (Tuesday 4/8, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #2 (Up And Atom)
Precious Pupp #2 (Precious Jewels)
The Hillbilly Bears #2 (Woodpecked)
#3 (Wednesday 4/9, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #3 (Ferocious Flea)
Precious Pupp #3 (Bites And Gripes)
The Hillbilly Bears #3 (Stranger Than Friction)
#8 (Thursday 4/10, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #8 (Fastest Ant In The West)
Precious Pupp #8 (Poodle Pandemonium)
The Hillbilly Bears #8 (Judo Kudos)
#25 (Friday 4/11, 1:30 PM/12:30 PM)
Atom Ant #25 (Killer-Diller Gorilla)
Precious Pupp #25 (Mascot Massacre)
The Hillbilly Bears #25 (Gettin' Paw's Goat)
A You Tube page you'll want to see
Trust me, if you're reading this site, you need to check this out!
Music: The funky side of the Splits
Barry White does the Banana Split at Funky16Corners. (Bubblegum music legend Joey Levine's contribution to the Banana Splits is covered in this article from sister site Iron Leg.)
Interview with LuAnn Haslam ("Becky Thatcher")
KiddieMatinee.com catches up with former child actress LuAnn Haslam, who played Becky Thatcher on Hanna-Barbera's New Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. (Thanks, Scott!)
Banana Buggy model kit repro available
A reproduction of the 1968 Banana Splits "Banana Buggy" model kit is now available from Retro Resin. (Thanks, Scott!)
DVD release cancelled
Warner Home Video has taken The Banana Splits Adventure Hour off their DVD release schedule. As our friend Earl Kress explains, there are numerous issues with reassembling the shows back into their original full-length format, and he suggested the shows not be released in their present condition. Knowing what little I know about the state of the materials on this show, I agree with this decision. Here's hoping that at some point in the not-too distant future, these issues can be resolved and the project can be revisited. Read Mark Evanier's comments at P.O.V. Online here.
In the mean time, any Banana Splits DVD sets you do see on any internet auction sites (ahem) are bootlegs. This is stuff people are recording off Boomerang and copying, and you can do the same thing yourself for free! Also, be wary of sellers claiming to offer the "complete series." Yeah, right. And no, contrary to what these snake-oil salesmen claim in their descriptions (to try and cover themselves legally), the Banana Splits shows are most definitely not in the "public domain." (Even if Hanna-Barbera did only get around to filing their copyright registrations in the late 1980s.)
Video Links
Original Season 1 show opening
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour originally had two different opening title sequences, one for Season 1 and another for Season 2. The Season 1 opening has been difficult to see since the series' original run, since the opening titles were changed when those episodes were repeated later in the series' original NBC run, and a shortened version of the Season 2 opening and closing were used on the half-hour syndicated reruns distributed in the United States. However, the original Season 1 opening and closing remained on foreign syndicated versions of the show.
The biggest and best Banana Splits website in the world!
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour
A Hanna-Barbera Production
Originally aired on NBC-TV
Saturdays at 9:30 AM (Central)
First telecast: September 7, 1968
Final telecast: September 5, 1970
31 one-hour episodes
Starring: (clockwise from left)
BINGO
Actor: Terry Winkless (Terrence Henry)
Voice: Daws Butler
SNORKY
Actor: Robert Towers, James Dove
Voice: None (not Don Messick)
FLEEGLE
Actor: Jeff Winkless (Jeffrey Brock)
Voice: Paul Winchell
DROOPER
Actor: Dan Winkless (Daniel Owen)
Voice: Allan Melvin
Additional segments:
Arabian Knights (animated)
The Three Musketeers
(animated) (Season 1 only)
Micro-Venture
(animated) (Season 1 only)
Danger Island (live-action)
The Hillbilly Bears
(animated) (Season 2 only)
Fun facts:
Superman and Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner directed all the live-action sequences in the first season of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, including the Banana Splits and Danger Island segments.
In the tradition of such classic comedy teams as The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges and The Ritz Brothers, the actors who played Fleegle, Bingo and Drooper (respectively Jeff, Terry and Dan Winkless) were all brothers. They were the sons of N. B. Winkless Jr., a songwriter who wrote commercial jingles for sponsor Kellogg's cereals and also co-wrote "The Beautiful Calliopa," a song used on the Banana Splits series. The actors' names were changed in the show's credits to avoid the appearance of nepotism. At one point after the show ended, Jeff "Fleegle" Winkless and Robert "Snorky" Towers lived down the street from one another.
This website was created by Mike Rutherford and is operated by Mark Yurkiw. The Banana Splits and all related character names and likenesses are trademarks of Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. This website is unofficial and is not related to nor authorized by Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros., Kellogg's or any other entity.