- The Alvin Show
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The Alvin Show 
Title card from The Alvin Show.Format Animated series Created by Ross Bagdasarian Voices of Ross Bagdasarian
Shepard Menken
June Foray
Lee Patrick
Bill Lee
Johnny Mann
Don MessickTheme music composer Ross Bagdasarian
Neil Hefti
Carl StallingComposer(s) Ross Bagdasarian Country of origin United States No. of episodes 26 Alvin and the Chipmunks episodes,
26 Clyde Crashcup episodes,
and 52 musical segmentsProduction Executive producer(s) Herbert Klynn Running time 30 minutes per episode (7½ per segment) Production company(s) Bagdasarian Film Corporation
Format FilmsBroadcast Original channel CBS Picture format Color (originally telecast in Black-and-white) Original run October 4, 1961 – September 12, 1962 The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier. It lasted for one season in prime time (October 4, 1961 – September 12, 1962) on CBS [Wednesdays, 7:30-8pm Eastern], originally sponsored by General Foods (Jell-O, Post cereals), and initially telecast in black and white (color prints of the episodes were not seen until the series entered syndication in the fall of 1965).
The series rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids–particularly the show's namesake star–whose mischief contrasted to his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, as well as their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, David Seville. The animation was produced by Herbert Klynn's Format Films.
Contents
Clyde Crashcup
Aside from the seven-minute Chipmunk segments, in which Bagdasarian's David Seville was portrayed as a hapless bachelor who managed and mentored the three singing rodents, the show also had segments featuring a character called Clyde Crashcup (voiced by Shepard Menken impersonating Richard Haydn's Edwin Carp character).
Clyde was an inventor who essentially re-invented various items and took credit for dreaming it up in the first place. His "creations" often backfired on him until his silent, level-headed lab assistant, Leonardo (diminutive, balding, and perpetually whispering in Crashcup's ear) saved him from any further self-destruction.
Afterlife
CBS reran the series on Saturday mornings for a few years after the show's prime time run ended, and segments from the show were syndicated in the mid and late 1960s under the package title Alvin and the Chipmunks (this first syndicated package consisted of the individual show segments only, including the Alvin and Clyde Crashcup cartoons, and Chipmunk musical segments, not in the form of half-hour shows). The series later was revived on NBC-TV, again promoted under the title Alvin and the Chipmunks (with the introductory Alvin Show title card cut off the beginning of the show opening) Saturday mornings between March 10, 1979 and September 1, 1979.
Ross Bagdasarian had died of a heart attack in January 1972, precluding any future Chipmunk activity. Years later, his son Ross, Jr. picked up on a disc jockey's joke and produced the hit Chipmunk Punk album in 1980, which spurred new interest for a brand new animated series with an updated look to The Chipmunks and David Seville (now voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.). In fall 1983, coinciding with the launch of Ruby-Spears' newly-produced Alvin and the Chipmunks series on NBC, The Alvin Show was again syndicated, this time by Viacom Enterprises.
In 1990, The Alvin Show versions of the Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup reappeared in an episode of The Chipmunks Go To the Movies entitled "Back to Our Future" (a spoof of the 1985 movie, Back to the Future).
Nickelodeon picked up US broadcast rights to The Alvin Show sometime in 1994 and ran the episodes daily until early 1995. During this time, as well as for sometime after, the individual cartoons and musical segments were inserted into episodes of Weinerville. By the end of that year, however, Nickelodeon stopped showing The Alvin Show altogether and it has not been seen anywhere in the United States since then.
Voice cast
- Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. - Alvin, Simon, Theodore, David Seville, Sam Valiant
- Shepard Menken - Clyde Crashcup
- June Foray - Additional voices
- Johnny Mann - Additional voices
- Lee Patrick - Mrs. Frumpington; additional voices
- Don Messick - Various voices
- Joe Besser - Various voices
Episodes
26 episodes each were produced for the Alvin and the Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup segments, along with 52 musical segments.
# The Chipmunks Musical Segment 1 Clyde Crashcup Musical Segment 2 1 Good Neighbor Buffalo Gals Invents Jokes America The Beautiful 2 Ostrich Mexico-the Brave Chipmunks Invents Self-Preservation Yankee Doodle 3 Squares Italy-Oh, Gondaliero! Invents Glass I Wish I Could Speak French 4 Sam Valiant, Private Nose August Dear Invents the Chair Working on the Railroad 5 Overworked Alvin When Johnny Comes Marching Home Invents the West Swanee River 6 Alvin's Curse Old MacDonald-Cha, Cha, Cha Invents the Baseball Switzerland-the Magic Mountain 7 Alvin's Alter-Ego Japanese Banana Invents the Bathtub The Pidgin English Hula 8 Stanley the Eagle Stuck in Arabia Invents the Wife I Wish I Had A Horse 9 Fancy Chipmunk Fun Invents Flight Good Morning Song 10 Sam Valiant: Real Estate Alvin for President Invents the Baby Home on the Range 11 Dude Ranch Witch Doctor Invents the Stove Lilly of Laguna 12 Camping Trip Spain Invents Music Row, Row, Row Your Boat 13 Bentley Van Rolls Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Invents First Aid Comin' Thru' The Rye 14 The Whistler Coming Around the Mountain Invents Electricity Pop Goes the Weasel 15 Love Sick Dave If You Love Me (Alouette) Invents Egypt Maria from Madrid 16 Jungle Rhythm Alvin's Orchestra Invents the Bed The Little Dog 17 Theodore's Dog The Chipmunk Song Invents the Telephone Alvin's Harmonica 18 Hillbilly Son Three Blind Mice Invents Do-it-Yourself Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star 19 Little League Clementine Invents the Time Machine Sing A Goofy Song 20 Eagle in Love Bicycle Built For Two Invents the Shoe On Top of Old Smokey 21 Alvin's Studio Whistle While You Work Invents Physical Fitness Ragtime Cowboy Joe 22 Haunted House My Wild Irish Rose Invents the Ship The Band Played On 23 Sir Alvin Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair This is Your Life, Clyde Crashcup! Funiculi-Funicula 24 Good Manners Git Along, Little Doggies Invents the Birthday Party The Man on the Flying Trapeze 25 Eagle Music Polly Wolly Doodle Invents Self Defense Down in the Valley 26 Disc Jockey The Alvin Twist Invents Crashcupland While Strolling in the Park General Foods was the show's main sponsor; as such, Dave Seville and The Chipmunks appeared in several humorous half-minute commercials for Jell-O and Post Cereals.
Home Media Releases
Other than the two 1994 VHS releases from Buena Vista Home Video, both of which featured 11 songs from The Alvin Show, up until recently, the show has never been released on DVD. However, on September 8, 2009, Paramount Home Entertainment released the "first" episode of the show (actually the Chipmunks short from episode 8, the Crashcup short from episode 6, and the musical segments from episode 3), along with two "modern" specials. Future "Complete Series" DVD sets of the series are not yet planned.
International Broadcast
Chile
- TVN (1969-1973)
See also
External links
- Toon Tracker's The Alvin Show web page
- Alvin and the Chipmunks page at Toonopedia
- The Alvin Show at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- The Alvin Show at the Internet Movie Database
- The Alvin Show at TV.com
First-run animated series Mighty Mouse Playhouse (1955–1967) • Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966) • Linus the Lionhearted • The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show • Tom and Jerry (1965–1972) • The Mighty Heroes • The Underdog Show (last few seasons) • Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles (1966–1968) • Space Ghost and Dino Boy (1966–1968) • The New Adventures of Superman • The Lone Ranger • The Road Runner Show (1968–1971; 1975–1978; 1978–1985) • The Beagles • The Herculoids (1967–1968) • Shazzan • Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor (1967–1969) • The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure • Go Go Gophers • Wacky Races (1968–1970) • The Archie Show (1968–1969) • The Batman/Superman Hour • Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969–1971) • The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–1971) • Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–1972, 1974–1976)First-run live-action series Rebroadcasts Sky King • The Roy Rogers Show • My Friend Flicka • The Alvin Show • The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin • The Quick Draw McGraw Show • The Jetsons • The Adventures of Lassie • Jonny Quest • The Monkees (1969–1972)Schedules 1960-61 • 1961-62 • 1962-63 • 1963-64 • 1964-65 • 1965-66 • 1966-67 • 1967-68 • 1968-69 • 1969-70Related programming and topics Prime time animated television series in the United States ABC The Bugs Bunny Show (1960–1962) • Capitol Critters (1992) • Clerks: The Animated Series (2000) • The Critic (1994) • The Flintstones (1960–1966) • The Goode Family (2009) • The Jetsons (1962–1963) • Jonny Quest (1964–1965) • Matty's Funday Funnies (1959-1961) • Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil (1962) • Peanuts television specials (1965-present) • Top Cat (1961–1962)CBS The Alvin Show (1961-1962) • CBS Cartoon Theater (1956) • Creature Comforts (2007) • Family Dog (1993) • Fish Police (1992) • Garfield television specials (1982-1991) • The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show (1956-1957) • This Is America, Charlie Brown (1988–1990) • Wacky Races (1967-1970) • Where's Huddles? (1970)Fox Allen Gregory (2011-present) • American Dad! (2005–present) • Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1993) • Bob's Burgers (2011-present) • The Cleveland Show (2009–present) • The Critic (1995) • Family Guy (1999–2002; 2005–present) • Futurama (1999-2003) • King of the Hill (1997–2009) • Napoleon Dynamite (2012-) • The PJs (1999–2000) • The Simpsons (1989–present) • Sit Down, Shut Up (2009) • X-Men_(TV_series) (1994-1995)NBC The Bullwinkle Show (1961-1963) • The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964-1965) • Father of the Pride (2004) • God, the Devil and Bob (2000) • Jokebook (1982) • The Ruff & Reddy Show (1957-1960) • Sammy (2000) • Stressed Eric (1998)UPN WB Baby Blues (2000) • Freakazoid! (1996) • Invasion America (1998) • Mission Hill • (1999–2000) • The Oblongs (2001) • Pinky and the Brain (1995–1996, 1997) • The PJs (2000–2001)First-run syndication The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958-1962) • Tiny Toon Adventures (Prime Toons) (1990-1991) • Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972-1974)Categories:- Animated sitcoms
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- CBS network shows
- 1960s American animated television series
- 1961 television series debuts
- 1962 television series endings
- Television series by CBS Paramount Television
- Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
- Musical television series
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