Huckleberry Hound

The Huckleberry Hound Show was Hanna-Barbera’s first half-hour animated TV series, as well as the studio’s first major hit with TV audiences. Still influenced by the days when a 6-8 minute animated short was shown in movie theaters before the feature film (the practice of which was, at the time, just coming to an end), The Huckleberry Hound Show consisted of three, 7-minute segments: Yogi Bear, Pixie & Dixie and Huckleberry Hound. For the show’s second season, the Yogi Bear segment was replaced with another called Hokey Wolf, due to Yogi’s popularity landing him his own show.

Unlike most characters, Huckleberry Hound wasn’t stuck in a single occupation. Every episode had him playing the part of a different profession. From police officer to lion tamer to medieval knight, the blue dog with a Southern drawl was faced with overcoming some new opponent with each new position. The one thing that remained constant was Huckleberry’s unruffled persistence to triumph over his opponent no matter how often he was outsmarted, outfought or fell victim to his own failed plans. Huck didn’t conquer every challenge, and even in victory he often came out the loser, but he did set a good example for how to remain calm and unfazed under pressure.

Huckleberry Hound appeared as a regular cast member in several series after the cancellation of his own show. Mainly ensemble shows with a large cast of characters, they included Yogi’s Gang (1973), Scooby’s All Star Laff-a-Lympics (1977), Yogi’s Space Race (1978), Galaxy Goof-Ups (1978) and Yogi’s Treasure Hunt (1985).