Production History
A prototype of the first Heckle and Jeckle cartoon (titled The Talking Magpies, which became the team's identifying nickname) premiered in January 1946. The cartoon featured Farmer Al Falfa and his dopey dog, an embryonic version of Dimwit. At this point the duo was still unnamed (one of them is addressed as "Maggie" at one point), and had white beaks. While one magpie had a vaguely New York-like accent, the other had no trace of British accent at all—and was female, wearing a ladies hat. This premiere short cast the pair as a noisy husband-and-wife couple looking for a new home. "Listen to the Mockingbird," which would become their unofficial signature theme, played over the opening titles.
All subsequent episodes (beginning with 1946's The Uninvited Pests) portrayed both characters as males, and featured their now-familiar colors and characterizations. The cartoons were directed on a rotating basis by Connie Rasinski, Eddie Donnelly and Mannie Davis. A five-year production hiatus coincident with Gene Deitch's tenure as the new Terrytoons producer began in 1955. The characters were later revived by directors Dave Tendlar and Martin Taras, under Deitch's successor Bill Weiss in 1960. The final episode, Messed Up Movie Makers from longtime studio animators Al Chiarito and George Bakes, was produced in 1966.
The earliest TV appearance of Heckle and Jeckle was on CBS Cartoon Theatre (later known as Mighty Mouse Playhouse), the very first prime time network animated cartoon series (premiering in 1956, four years before The Flintstones). The original 52 H&J theatrical shorts were combined with Gandy Goose, Dinky Duck and Little Roquefort cartoons and repackaged for television. Dick Van Dyke was the original host of the show. The cartoons were later syndicated as The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show, which was broadcast until 1971. The characters then reappeared in 1979 in their own segment of Filmation's The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle, and finally, The New Adventures of Heckle and Jeckle in 1981.
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