This Day in Pop Culture for September 7
1974: Hong Kong Phooey Rises
The 30-minute Saturday morning cartoon show known as Hong Kong Phooey debuted on this day in 1974. Although fairly popular, only 16 episodes of the show were produced by Hanna-Barbera. The show centered around the character of police station janitor, Penrod “Penry” Pooch, who would jump into a filing cabinet and pop out as Hong Kong Phooey. The show was a parody of kung fu movies and superhero shows. With the aid of Spot the cat (who had stripes), the pup would use a gong to transform his “Phooeymobile” into different vehicles depending on what was needed at the time. The show featured the voice talents of Scatman Crothers as Penry, Joe E. Ross as Sarge and Kathy Gori as the police secretary, Rosemary.
Birthdays
- 1860: Grandma Moses (painter)
- 1926: Samuel Goldwyn Jr. (film director)
- 1926: Don Messick (voice actor)
- 1947: Gloria Gaynor (singer)
- 1950: Julie Kavner (actress)
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This cartoon remains one of my favorites. When it came out on DVD, I found it hard to believe that there were only 16 episodes! It made such an impact on me as a kid!
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Me too! The animation style and humor was a little different from the usual HB fare.
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GREAT voices, too!
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