Most of his
short films consist of Huck trying to perform jobs in different fields, ranging from
policeman to
dogcatcher, with results that backfire, yet usually coming out on top, either through slow persistence or sheer luck. Huck does not seem to exist in a specific time period as he has also been a Roman
gladiator, a medieval
knight, and a
rocket scientist. He also appears in futuristic cartoons, as an intergalactic space policeman, alongside other
Hanna-Barbera characters. The trademark of Huck was his
tone-deaf and inaccurate rendition of "
Oh My Darling, Clementine", often used as a
running gag.[12]
Concept and creation
In 1953,
Tex Avery created a character known as the Southern Wolf (later Dixie Wolf in The Tom & Jerry Show) for his
MGM cartoonsThe Three Little Pups and Billy Boy. Introduced as an antagonist to
Droopy, the wolf had a southern drawl and laid-back mannerisms provided by
Daws Butler. The most memorable trait of the character was that whenever something painful or unpleasant happened to him, the Wolf never lost his cool; instead, he calmly talked to the audience or kept whistling the song "
Year of Jubilo". After Avery left MGM,
William Hanna and
Joseph Barbera produced two more shorts with the character. In two of his cartoons (Billy Boy and Blackboard Jumble) the wolf plays a role that was exactly like a usual Huckleberry Hound short, aside from his frequent use of slang, and the echo-like repetition of words he had only in Billy Boy. Sheep Wrecked was the wolf's final appearance.
He was voiced in the original cartoons in 1958 by Daws Butler, who had given a similar voice and characterization to the dog characters Reddy in The Ruff and Reddy Show and Smedley in
Walter Lantz's Chilly Willy shorts. The voice for Huck was actually inspired by a neighbor of Butler's wife, Myrtis Martin, in her hometown
Albemarle, North Carolina. Butler would visit Myrtis and her family and would talk to the neighbor who was a
veterinarian. Butler found the man's voice amusing and remembered it when it came time to voice Huck.[14][12] The voice bore similarities to that of
Andy Griffith, who likewise based his character accent on a rural North Carolina town (in Griffith's case,
Mount Airy), and Hanna-Barbera was known for its characters' voices being
parodies of known celebrities; Butler, who had been using the accent for about a decade before Griffith became famous, denied this rumor.[13]
Huckleberry's voice was originally loud, enthusiastic and joyful, to fit his occupation of a
circus showman. As the show progressed, it became deeper, and calmer.
Role in later productions
Huckleberry appeared in The Yogi Bear Show episode "Yogi's Birthday Party" where he and the others help celebrate Yogi Bear's birthday.[15]
Huck makes a cameo in the Top Cat episode "King for a Day", in a comic cover along with Yogi.[16]
Huckleberry, Yogi,
Boo-Boo,
Snagglepuss,
Quick Draw McGraw,
Magilla Gorilla and the others traveled around America in the half-hour series Yogi's Gang. Debuting in 1973, the characters traveled in a ship called Yogi's Ark, which looks like
Noah's Ark, but with a helicopter propeller. They solved problems including Mr. Waste's pollution, Mr. Bigot's bigotry, and other various issues.[17][13]
The Galaxy Goof-Ups segment of the 1978 series Yogi's Space Race featured new characters Captain Snerdley, Scare Bear, and Quack-Up the Duck with returnees Huckleberry and Yogi, traveling through space to multiple planets in a race throughout the galaxy. The one episode of Yogi's Space Race also reveals Huck's origin in
Memphis.[8] The series soon split off to its own half-hour program where Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Scare Bear, and Quack-Up are bumbling intergalactic police officers.[17][13]
In the Wake, Rattle, and Roll (1990) segment, Fender Bender 500, Huck teams up with Snagglepuss in their
monster truck called "Half Dog, Half Cat, Half Track" throughout the racecourses.
Huckleberry appeared as a teenager in the 1991 series Yo Yogi!, voiced by
Greg Berg. One of his enemies, Wee Willie, was also featured as an adolescent, vocalized by
Rob Paulsen.
On June 11, 2000,
Cartoon Network aired a short film called "Sound Hound" as part of a series of short animations called "Cartoon Network Shorties" that would eventually be moved with the short musical animations known as "Cartoon Network Groovies" to its other channel devoted to old classics,
Boomerang. The short features Huckleberry as the lead character. Attempting to sing his signature song "Oh My Darling, Clementine", he is repeatedly interrupted by the sounds of
New York City, like
car horns,
jackhammers, and
birds, and a visibly irritated Huckleberry zips a radio host's mouth closed, interrupts a man and woman's phone calls, and silences two teenagers rocking in a
car, all rendered with
cutout animation. As he finally begins to sing, all the people he silenced begin to scream in agony, due to his singing being so terribly loud.[23]
Huck made a pictured cameo in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Droopy Botox". He also made a cameo appearance in the last episode "The Death of Harvey".
Huckleberry Hound appears in the series Jellystone!, voiced by
Jim Conroy.[24] He is shown to be the
mayor of Jellystone with
Mr. Jinks serving as his
personal assistant.[25] His voice in the series is more based on children's television host
Fred Rogers. Huck is confirmed to be
gay in the Season 3 episode "Disco Fever".[26]
Huck appeared in the Evil Con Carne episode "Hector, King of the Britons", voiced by
Tom Kenny. Though he is not seen in the episode, his voice is impersonated by
Hector Con Carne when he is asked by the
Lady of the Lake to act out a fight between him and
Mojo Jojo, who he also impersonates.
Huck appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "Ban on the Fun". In a segment that parodies Laff-A-Lympics in the style of the
Munich massacre, he along with the Yogi Yahooeys were murdered by the Really Rottens.
Huckleberry briefly appeared in a
MetLife commercial that aired in 2012.[29]
Huckleberry appeared as a guest star in the 2017 reboot Wacky Races, voiced by
Billy West. In one episode "Hong Kong Screwy", he appears as Peter Perfect's stunt double in scenes where the racers and
Hong Kong Phooey fight the soldiers of the evil organization K.I.T.T.Y. led by Golden Paw. In the other episode "Slow and Steady", Huck joins the racers and
Ricochet Rabbit in a romp through the
Appalachian Mountains against
Touché Turtle.
Huckleberry Hound made a cameo appearance in the Animaniacs segment "Suffragette City".[30]
Huckleberry made several cameos in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary".
In other media
Huckleberry is the singing narrator of a parody recording of
Lorne Greene's song, "
Ringo", called "Bingo, Ringo" where the hound meets a man who appears to resemble
The Beatles drummer,
Ringo Starr, punctuated with considerable percussion.[31]
Huckleberry Hound in Hollywood Capers is a 1993 computer game for
MS-DOS,
Amiga, and
Atari ST, released only in Europe. It was, in fact, adapted from an earlier game, Dino Jr. in Canyon Capers.[32]
^"HB Screen Gems Emmys". Variety.
Screen Gems: 38. June 1, 1960. Retrieved November 10, 2015. Outstanding program achievement in the field of children's programming