Happy 50th, moose and squirrel!
 

50 years ago today, Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose made their first appearances on TV. Rocky & His Friends premiered on ABC and aired 15 minutes a day Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 PM Eastern. It was retooled in 1961 and aired in syndication as The Rocky Show (15 minutes) and on NBC prime time as The Bullwinkle Show (30 minutes). It was first developed in 1955 after Ward left Jerry Fairbanks Productions (where he co-created Crusader Rabbit, TV's first made-for-TV cartoon show) under the title The Frostbite Falls Review.

In 1961, creator Jay Ward stirred two controversies. The first came when he went to Washington seeking statehood for Moosylvania, an impoverished island he bought off one of the Great Lakes (it was also the landmark in two storylines of the show). Unfortunately, he arrived with this mission in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he was ejected from the White House grounds.

The second controversy came when he developed the "Kirward Derby" in a story arc. The Derby made whoever wore it the smartest person in the world. There was a TV personality at the time, Durward Kirby (second banana to Allen Funt on Candid Camera), and he took offense to the name Kirward Derby. He threatened to sue Ward, who replied "Sue us. Please. We need the publicity."

Aw, happy birthday Rocky and Bullwinkle! I hope 50 treats you both well! :bloosmirk:

Believe it or not, I've never had much of a chance to really watch this cartoon, but I've wanted to for many years. My mother grew up with it though, and loved it.

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull 50 years out of my Hat!" Bless you Jay Ward!:frankiesmile:

I think Rocky and Bullwinkle are pretty much unheard of in Europe, but with the exception of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adv...and_Bullwinkle, made in 2000, and starring one of the greatest actors of his generation, Robert de.Nero! I enjoyed it when it came out, but is perhaps considered the low point of his career.

Hahaha! Is that true? I soooooo admire that! Especially the last bit.

I know this toon from early morning saturday TV when I was a kid. You'd see all sorts of things from America's cartoon past from great stuff like these guys, Batfink, Jetsons, Secret Squirrel etc. All sorts of things. There was this really odd thing called Wait till your father goes home that just seemed oddly mawkish and ill-suited to the task of entertaining excitable children on a weekend morning.

Anyway happy birfday Rocky & Bullwinkle! That movie was ok! I liked De Niro in it, he made me laugh. I'll admit I didn't sit through the whole thing.

Actually, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home was intended as an adult cartoon and aired weeknights during what was called the "prime time access" period. The networks had started prime time programming at 7:30 PM Eastern, and in 1971 they gave the 7:30 time period to affiliates to air syndicated programming. First-run shows made specifically for syndication were quickly made, and Wait Till Your Father Gets Home came about in 1972. Hanna-Barbera created it and it was animated in Canada and Australia.

And a belated happy 50th to H-B's Quick Draw McGraw, which premiered in syndication on September 29, 1959.

Ah, moose and squirrel turn 50? Get the exploding cake out. Fearless Leader's gonna love it!

Like I said, my only exposure to R+B (no no, not the music!8D) is that movie- is there any old video of them I should look up?

Here's episode two of the very first story arc, "Jet Formula." Look past the wonky animation (it was on ABC, which was an also-ran in the late 50s and couldn't pop for better animation) for it was the characters and stories that steered the show. It's on YouTube, and there's many, many more episodes.