THE WORLD BACK IN ANCIENT TIMES.

Mister Magoo's 70th Anniversary

The first Mister Magoo color short, THE RAGTIME BEAR, was released September 29, 1949 by UPA Pictures.

 Today we mark Magoo's 70th anniversary.

The character of Mister Magoo, the nearsighted fellow who amazingly stays out of serious bodily harm while going erroneously into many hazardous and life threatening situations, was created by John Hubley, Millard Kaufman, Willis Pyle and Sherm Glas.

His full name is Quincy Magoo and he's a graduate from Rutgers University, his beloved alma mater.
He's very often accompanied by his nephew Waldo, who's a bit dim-witted and can't help his uncle from staying out of trouble.
       

Mister Magoo has always fascinated me since childhood and I hold very fond memories of his theatrical cartoons and his TV Christmas special.

There have been some recent projects to reboot the character but, happily, they haven't met with any kind of success. We can still enjoy Magoo in his original form through his 1950s cartoons, his later TV shows and the various comic books and paperbacks that have been printed over the years.

Mister Magoo was voiced by Jim Backus, and he was always associated with the character.

So now, to celebrate Magoo's 70th birthday, here we have some samples of his multiple misadventures:

There have been several Mr. Magoo figures and assorted merchandising items.

And, a few times,  I have even slipped Mr. Magoo's image into my own editorial cartoons:

Thank you, Mister Magoo, for those very happy times. 

"Oh, Magoo! You've done it again!"

MESSAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!

And now, here's a brief sound bite from my morning conference at the White House. (Not the actual White House in Washington, D.C., but just a white house).

Thank you, very much!

The Mental Spinning Wheel!

I've found it is an inescapable truth:  your memory decreases as your age increases.

But, on the other hand, your memory decreases as your age increases, although your memory decreases as your age increases. 

The Truth About Puppies!

The defunct Mexicana Airlines makes an appearance in a 1945 Laurel & Hardy movie!

THE BULLFIGHTERS

Directed by Mal St. Clair

THE 1969 MILITARY SERVICE!

50 years ago, I complied with Mexico's mandatory military service which was a one year long basic training every Sunday.  I never could get a picture of me taken during my service, but I can recreate it as best I can here!

The year was 1969, and my battalion was summoned to serve as barrier between the crowds and the Military Parade which is held every September 16th, to commemorate Mexico's independence from Spanish domination. We all stood there stoically for hours until the last section of the long parade passed by. 

Ah! The Military Service! 

And now,  50 years later, I can look back at those days...and still hate them immensely!

TEXTING

THE PINK PANTHER SHOW

On September 6, 1969, Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie produced THE PINK PANTHER SHOW, which was a half-hour compilation of the Pink Panther theatrical cartoons and later became a showcase for subsequent made-for-TV cartoons.

It ran on NBC until September 2, 1978 when it changed networks and became THE ALL NEW PINK PANTHER SHOW.  Today, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the series' debut.

I enjoyed this first series a lot and, since I began doing the PINK PANTHER comic books for overseas distribution in Spanish, I felt I had a special bond with the character.

In celebration of THE PINK PANTHER SHOW's 50th Anniversary, I'd like to remember some of my Pink Panther covers during that period.

 .                         

You can read all about the Pink Panther story in this excellent book by Mark Arnold:

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Pink-DePatie-Freleng-Mark-Arnold/dp/1593931697

And here's the very first PINK PANTHER cartoon, released December 18, 1964.