The Pink Panther (cartoons)

    (Since 1963 as a theatrical cartoon;

     NBC Saturday Mornings, 1969 - 1976;
         as "The Pink Panther Show"; and
         as "The New Pink Panther Show" (1971);
     NBC Saturday Mornings, 1976 - 1977,
         as "The Pink Panther Laff and a Half Hour";
     NBC Saturday Mornings, 1977 - 1978,
         as "The Think Pink Panther Show";
     ABC Saturday Mornings, 1978 - 1979,
         as "The All-New Pink Panther Show";
     Syndicated, 1993
         as "The Pink Panther Show")

    [The cartoon was first associated with the Blake Edwards
     series of detective spoof movies (in which the "Pink 
     Panther" was the nickname of a fabulous jewel being
     stolen by a cat burgler/jewel thief character played by 
     by Robert Wagner, who was in turn chased by Peter Sellers
     in the role of bumbling police Inspector Jacques Clouseau);

     The cartoon Panther was shown in theatres as a novelty
     preceding the movie, and it was clever since there was
     no "voice" for the character of the pink panther, he worked
     in pantomime with mostly musical effects for punctuation
     on the soundtrack; and the backgrounds were abstract
     with limited elements; The stylish cartoon was created for
     the screen by David H. De Patie and Friz Frelang whose
     company was called De Patie-Frelang productions;

     The cartoon was wildly popular when it premiered, and 
     won an Oscar that year, so more theatrical cartoons were
     created featuring this pink pantomime panther in the
     same abstract modernist style, and appeared on the bill
     with other United Artists movies from the same series;

     Because of its lack of dialog, Pink Panther cartoons
     made a lot of money worldwide...where language was not
     part of the humor -- it was a Chaplinesque appeal -- 
     and the sight gags appealed to both children and adults;

     Six years after its theatrical debut, a Saturday Morning 
     "Pink Panther" cartoon series premiered on NBC in 1969 
     using the popular sneakalong-style Mancini THEME from 
     the theatrical cartoons, which had also become well-known 
     through recordings;
     
     In 1976 the show was expanded to 90-minutes, with several
     spinoff cartoons including "The Inspector", "The Ant and
     The Aardvark", "Texas Toads" and "Misterjaw, Supershark";
     DePatie-Frelang commissioned new THEMEs from composer
     Charles Douglas ("Doug") Goodwin for that umbrella show
     and for individual spinoff cartoons which were part of it; 
     The Mancini THEME for the program returned after the
     show reverted back to a shorter format the next season;

     The 90-minute expansion was a costly mistake ratings-wise
     so in 1977 NBC reverted it to a half-hour length and the
     following 1978 season it changed networks to ABC; after
     a long hiatus as a regular series, a new batch of cartoons
     were produced in conjunction with MGM/UA, released in 1993]


Theme 1: "The Pink Panther (from the Motion Picture)"

    [above is the title as filed for copyright;
     ASCAP title variations...
     aka: "The Pink Panther Theme";
     aka: "Theme from 'The Pink Panther'";
     aka: "The Pink Panther from The Pink Panther";

     Although the most frequent form of this THEME heard is
     an instrumental, the copyright filing includes vocal
     lyrics in both English and Italian;

     The instrumental version of this THEME recorded by 
     Henry Mancini and his orchestra reached position #31
     on the Billboard magazine "Hot 100" chart of 1964.
     
     Franco Migliacci who penned the Italian lyrics was
     a co-author of the international hit "Volare."]

     Composers: music by Henry Mancini (ASCAP)
               [professional name of Enrico Nicola Mancini],
                English lyric by Johnny Mercer (ASCAP), and
                Italian lyric by Franco Migliacci (Italian SIAE)

     1978 Publisher: United Artists Mu. Co., Inc. (ASCAP) and
                     Northridge Music Co. (ASCAP)

     2001 Publishers: EMI-U Catalog, Inc. (ASCAP)
                         c/o EMI Music Publishing, Inc. 
                         of New York, NY;
                      Northridge Music Company (ASCAP)
                         c/o Universal-MCA Music Publishing
                         a div. of Universal Studios, Inc.
                         of Los Angeles, CA 

     Copyright Date: Dec.  9, 1963; Eu 802 104.
     Renewal   Date: Mar. 25, 1991; RE-531-574.

     Recordings:


Theme 2 (1976 - 1977): "Pink Panther (Main Title)"

    [This was the main title for the expanded ninety minute
    "Pink Panther Laff and a Half Hour" which not only included
     Pink Panther cartoons but other cartoon segments which
     DePatie-Freelang produced; it was used as the umbrella
     title's Main Title and End Credits music for one season; 

     U.S. ASCAP-affiliated TV composer Doug Goodwin is not to be
     confused with PRS-affiliated British TV composer Ron Goodwin]

     Composer: Charles Douglas ("Doug") Goodwin (ASCAP)

     1978 Publisher: De Patie-Freleng Ent., Inc. (ASCAP)

     2001 Publisher: De Patie-Freleng Enterprises, Inc. (ASCAP)
                       (Attn: Music Co. Division) 
                        of Camarillo, CA

     Copyright Date:
     Renewal   Date:

     Recordings:


Theme 3 (1976 - 1977): "Panther Hello (Signature)"

    [This was used on the "Pink Panther Laff and 
     a Half Hour" which aired for only one season]

     Composer: Charles Douglas ("Doug") Goodwin (ASCAP)

     1978 Publisher: De Patie-Freleng Ent., Inc. (ASCAP)

     2001 Publisher: De Patie-Freleng Enterprises, Inc. (ASCAP)
                    (Attn: Music Co. Division) 
                     of Camarillo, CA

     Copyright Date:
     Renewal   Date:

     Recordings:



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