Top Cat
Top Cat (also known for several decades as Boss Cat in the United Kingdom) was a Hanna-Barbera prime-time American animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to September 26, 1962 for 30 episodes on the ABC network on Wednesdays and remains one of the studio's most enduring creations.
History and treatment
Its central character, Top Cat –– his friends call him T.C. –– is the leader of a gang of Manhattan alley cats: Fancy Fancy, Spook, Benjamin T. "Benny the Ball" Ball, Jr., The Brain, and Choo Choo. There are distinct resemblances to the popular US situation comedy The Phil Silvers Show (on which the cartoon is said to have been loosely based) in the relationships between the characters. The late Maurice Gosfield, who played Private Duane Doberman on The Phil Silvers Show also provided the voice for Benny the Ball in Top Cat (Benny's rotund appearance was based on Gosfield too). Arnold Stang's voicing of Top Cat strongly resembled Phil Silvers' voice as well.
A frequent plotline revolved around the local policeman, Officer Charlie Dibble, and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the city.
In the United Kingdom, the show was renamed Boss Cat shortly after it premiered in 1962 (by means of a crudely substituted title card) when it was first aired on BBC television (now called BBC1) because Top Cat was the name of a brand of cat food. The dialogue and theme tune still referred to the character by his original name. By the 1990s the original title was used in repeats and this continues on Cartoon Network UK. The name Dibble has passed into the vernacular as slang for police officers.
In 1985 Top Cat appeared on Yogi's Treasure Hunt with all the other Hanna-Barbera characters and then in 1991 he became a teenage cat (but he still lived in a trash can) on NBC's Yo Yogi. When he returned in 1996 there was a new closing logo with the Hanna-Barbera All-Stars featuring the comedy characters.
Top Cat appears in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode Mindless where Harvey takes Top Cat home with him.
The show was a massive hit in Mexico, where it's still shown in reruns every couple of years.
During the end credits, Top Cat is shown getting ready for bed in his trashcan. He takes a toothbrush out of a cup in the cabinet over his can, then brushes his teeth about twice and returns it to the cup, apparently not using running water or toothpaste.
Episode list
- Hawaii Here We Come (first aired: Sep 27, 1961)
- Maharajah of Pookajee (Oct 4, 1961)
- All That Jazz (Oct 11, 1961)
- The $1,000,000 Derby (Oct 18, 1961)
- The Violin Player (Oct 25, 1961)
- The Missing Heir (Nov 1, 1961)
- Top Cat Falls In Love (Nov 18, 1961)
- A Visit From Mother (Nov 15, 1961)
- Naked Town (Nov 22, 1961)
- Sergeant Top Cat (Nov 29, 1961)
- Choo-Choo's Romance (Dec 6, 1961)
- The Unscratchables (Dec 13, 1961)
- Rafeefleas (Dec 20, 1961)
- The Tycoon (Dec 27, 1961)
- The Long Hot Winter (Jan 3, 1962)
- The Case of the Absent Anteater (Jan 10, 1962)
- T.C. Minds the Baby (Jan 17, 1962)
- Farewell, Mr Dibble (Jan 24, 1962)
- The Grand Tour (Jan 31, 1962)
- The Golden Fleecing (Feb 7, 1962)
- Space Monkey (Feb 14, 1962)
- The Late T.C. (Feb 21, 1962)
- Dibble's Birthday (Feb 28, 1962)
- Choo-Choo Goes Ga-Ga (Mar 7, 1962)
- King for a Day (Mar 14, 1962)
- The Con Men (Mar 21, 1962)
- Dibble Breaks the Record (Mar 28, 1962)
- Dibble Sings Again (Apr 4, 1962)
- Griswold (Apr 11, 1962)
- Dibble's Double (Apr 18, 1962) [1]
The Theme Tune
These are the lyrics as they appeared originally, as shown by subtitles and careful listening.
- Top Cat!
- The most effectual Top Cat!
- Whose intellectual close friends get to call him T.C.
- Providing it's with dignity.
- Top Cat!
- The indisputable leader of the gang.
- He's the boss, he's a VIP, he's the championship.
- He's the most tip top,
- Top Cat.
- Yes, he's the chief, he's the king,
- But above everything,
- He's the most tip top,
- Top Cat!
Voice artists
- Top Cat: Arnold Stang
- Benjamin T. "Benny The Ball" Ball, Jr.: Maurice Gosfield
- Choo Choo: Marvin Kaplan
- Fancy Fancy: John Stephenson
- Spook: Leo De Lyon
- The Brain: Leo De Lyon
- Officer Charlie Dibble: Allen Jenkins (John Stephenson in the TV movie "Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats")
DVD Release
On December 7, 2004, Warner Home Video released the complete series (30 Episodes) on DVD for a retail price of $39.99. The set features several extras, including interviews, commentary, a "Making of" featurette, original TV commercials and more.
External links
- TC Unofficial Site
- Top Cat Unofficial Site
- Lyrics to the Top Cat theme song
- Original theme song
- Top Cat at IMDb
- TV.com Site