Total Television
Total Television was an American animation studio founded in 1959 by Buck Biggers, Chester "Chet" Stover,[1] Joe Harris,[2][3] and Treadwell D. Covington.[3] They were executives in the advertising agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample who had the account for the General Mills food corporation. Total was formed to create cartoon characters encouraging children to buy General Mills breakfast cereals and other products. The company mostly created cartoons for television networks such as NBC. Underdog, King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, and Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales were among the most popular series made by the studio.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Treadwell D. Covington W. Watts Biggers Chester "Chet" Stover Joe Harris |
| Defunct | 1969 |
| Successor | Library: DreamWorks Classics |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, USA |
| Products | Television shows Television commercials |
| Owner | Dancer Fitzgerald Sample |
Production and Shows
Animation for Total Television was originally sourced from TV Spots, but would switch to being produced by Gamma Productions as King Leonardo and His Short Subjects entered its second season (around 1961).[4]
Notable works under the Total Television banner include:
- Cocoa Puffs commercials (1960-1969)
- King Leonardo and His Short Subjects (1960–1963)
- The Hunter (1960–1963)
- Commander McBragg (1963–1965)
- Go Go Gophers (1964-1966)
- Klondike Kat (1963–1965)
- Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966)
- The Beagles (1966–1967)
- The Sing A Long Family (1962)
- Tooter Turtle (1960–1962)
- Twinkles the Elephant (1960–1967)
- Underdog (1964–1967)
- Gene Hattree (1964)
- Cauliflower Cabby (1964)
- The Colossal Show (1964)
Much of Total Television's library for post-network syndication was handled by The Program Exchange, until the company shut down in 2016. The rights are currently owned by DreamWorks Classics/DreamWorks Animation (via Universal Pictures and NBCUniversal).
Notes
- p.478 Erickson,Hal Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003 McFarland & Co., 2005
- Noto, Anthony (2017-04-05). "Joe Harris, illustrator who created the Trix rabbit and Underdog, dies". New York Business Journal. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
- Slotnik, Daniel E. (2017-04-04). "Joe Harris, Illustrator Behind Underdog and Trix Rabbit, Dies at 89". New York Times. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
- Arnold, Mark (11 June 2009). Created and Produced by Total Television Productions (1st ed.). BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593933456. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
External links
Further reading
- Arnold, Mark (2009). Created and Produced by Total TeleVision productions: The Story of Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo and the Rest. BearManor Media. ISBN 9781593933456.
- Arnold, Mark (2021). TTV Scrapbook. BearManor Media. ISBN 9781629337784.
