Top Cat

For the boat class, see Topcat.

Episode 13 of The Harveytoons Show included a character and short called "Top Cat".^[1]

Top Cat
Top Cat and the gang. Left to right: Benny the Ball {foreground}; Officer Dibble {Behind fence} Brain; Fancy-Fancy; Top Cat; Spook {foreground}; Choo-Choo
Genre	Comedy
Format	Animated series
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices of	Arnold Stang Allen Jenkins Maurice Gosfield Leo DeLyon Marvin Kaplan John Stephenson
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	30 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Running time	Between 24 and 27 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera
Distributor	Screen Gems (1961-1974) Worldvision Enterprises (1983-1991) Turner Program Services (1991-1998) Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1998-present)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Picture format	Color (initially telecast in black and white)
Original run	September 27, 1961 (1961-09-27) – April 18, 1962 (1962-04-18)

Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.

History

Originally broadcast on Wednesdays [8:30-9pm Eastern], Top Cat was co-sponsored by Kellogg's and Bristol-Myers (Bufferin). The central character, Top Cat—called T.C. by close friends, "pro-vid-ing it's with dignity" as the lyrics of the theme song say—is the leader of a gang of Manhattan alley cats: Fancy-Fancy, Spook, Benny the Ball, The Brain, and Choo Choo.

Top Cat and his gang were inspired by characters from the popular situation comedy You'll Never Get Rich (later called The Phil Silvers Show). 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). Even Arnold Stang's voicing of Top Cat strongly resembled Phil Silvers' voice. Another possible source material was Hokey Wolf, a segment on The Huckleberry Hound Show, which also had parallels to The Phil Silvers Show.^[2][3]

A frequent plot-line revolved around the local beat policeman, Charles "Charlie" Dibble, NYPD and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the alley. The only reason that he wanted to be rid of them was that Top Cat and his gang were constantly attempting to earn a quick dollar—usually through an illegal scam. Dibble's appearance was modeled on Allen Jenkins, who did his voice. Dibble, previously only an implement for making holes for planting seeds, has acquired a second meaning in the vernacular as slang for police officers.

Characters

Top Cat

Top Cat (or TC) is the yellow furred, greedy, somewhat lazy and clever main character. He wears a purple hat and vest. He often rips off and/or tricks his gang and Officer Dibble. He does respect the effort the gang does for him, but he often takes credit for it. That said, he is loyal to the gang and will help one of them if they need it. He also stops Officer Dibble from arresting him by lying to Dibble about how much talent Dibble has. He is voiced by Arnold Stang.

Benny the Ball

Benny and his mother from the episode "A Visit From Mother".

Benny is TC's right-hand man. He is short, innocent, chubby, naive and cute. A blue-coloured cat with a white sweater that fastens with a single button at his neck. His eyes are shown as black dots unlike the other cats who have white sclerae with black pupils. Benny may appear to be simple-minded, but he manages to ask the most logical questions during the gang's erratic endeavors. The gang relationship between Benny and TC is based on a devoted friendship between them. A number of episodes have focused on Benny, including "The Violin Player", "The Unscratchables" and "The Missing Heir". He also made a cameo appearance on Kid vs. Kat in "The Kat Whisperer". Benny the Ball is modeled after his voice actor Maurice Gosfield.

Choo-Choo

Choo-Choo, nicknamed Chooch to TC and the gang, is enthusiastic and devoted to TC even when he’s clueless as to what he’s doing. He is a pink cat with a white long-sleeve turtle-neck shirt, he is the tallest of the alley gang cats and often is depicted with the eyes of a Siamese cat. He lives at the fire house as the fire house cat as seen in one episode "Hawaii Here We Come". He had a couple of love crushes "Choo-Choo's Romance" and "Choo-Choo Goes Gaga-Gaga", however unlike Fancy-Fancy or Top Cat, Choo-Choo has no courage talking to girls. When he talks, his voice sounds like Woody Allen. He is voiced by Marvin Kaplan.

Brain

Brain appears to be a common henchman to Top Cat. Contrary to his name (which appears to have been given in jest or sarcasm), Brain is the dim-witted member of the alley gang, an orange cat with a violet T-Shirt with a black line. Brain is notorious for being unable to keep a secret and for his stuttering. He also seems to be in charge of the group's money (which they rarely have) and he runs up and down the road. Despite his apparent stupidity, he can sometimes say something brilliant, which TC instantly rephrases to make it sound like he said it. He is voiced by Leo De Lyon.

Fancy-Fancy

Fancy-Fancy also appears to be a common henchman to Top Cat. He is laid-back, sweet-talking and is regularly seen chatting up the ladies before leaving them when hearing the 'dustbin lid call'. A brown cat with a white scarf, he resembles Spook in appearance. His look and voice is based on Cary Grant. He is voiced by John Stephenson.

Spook

Spook is one of the most streetwise members of the gang. When he talks, a torrent of "like"'s are used. He is similar to Fancy-Fancy in demeanor and appearance, a sweet talking cat whose vernacular is based on that of a beatnik. When the gang need some help with a situation, he usually steps up to the plate. He is a pool shark with green fur and a torn black tie. He too is voiced by Leo De Lyon.

Officer Dibble

Officer Dibble is an NYPD Policeman whose beat includes the alley. His full name is discovered in the episode "Dibble Breaks The Record" which is Officer Charlie Dibble. Though he usually resents the gang's presence in the alley, there are times when he respects and loves them. He wants TC to clean up the alley and to stay off his telephone. Dibble's superior is Sergeant Murphy. Is sometimes called variations of his name by TC such of Dabble, Drubble, Dripple and so on. In reference to this character, 'Dibble' has been adopted as an English derogatory slang term for Police Officers. He is voiced by Allen Jenkins.

Cameos

Other Hanna-Barbera characters make cameo appearances during the series. In one of the episodes, Top Cat and his friends are reading comic books. Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound comics can be seen in the bottom right corner of the scene.

In another episode, the gang is wandering through a museum at night when they come upon a group of statues labeled "Prehistoric Man". Choo-Choo insists that he's seen the figures before, maybe on T.V., but TC waves this off. The statues are modeled after Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.

In "A Visit from Mother" episode, "El Kabong" graffiti (Quick Draw McGraw's alter-ego) is seen on the wall in the background.

In one of the episodes of another Hanna-Barbera production, The Powerpuff Girls, Top Cat can be briefly seen in the background before the end shot.

In the show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Gomer Pyle is seen in a restaurant reading a Top Cat comic book.

Top Cat also made a cameo appearence in one of What-a-Cartoon shorts named "Buy One, Get One Free" in a party scene.

Episode list

№	Title	Air date
1	"Hawaii, Here We Come"	September 27, 1961
Benny wins a trip to Hawaii on a ship. This leads to Top Cat and the rest of the gang joining him on his trip by stowing away.
2	"Maharajah of Pookajee"	October 4, 1961
Top Cat impersonates the Maharajah of Pookajee and lives the good life at a swank hotel with his cronies until a pair of gangsters show up.
3	"All That Jazz"	October 11, 1961
Jazz, the new cat in town (known as "A.T."), takes over the pool hall, steals Top Cat's girlfriend, sways the gang, and cleans up the alley. This sparks a contest between the pair. However, when both Jazz and Top Cat are offered a part in a Hollywood film, they assume that it is another trick. The offer turns out to be legitimate, and Benny is cast in the starring role in The Thing from the Alley. He leaves for Hollywood in a limo, accompanied by Top Cat and the gang in the guise of Benny's manager, valet, vocal coach, tailor and chauffeur. After that, Officer Dibble catches Jazz using the police phone, now declaring that Jazz is just as bad as Top Cat. Jazz and his companion Beau are forced to keep the alley clean for 30 days.
4	"The $1,000,000 Derby"	October 18, 1961
Benny gets a new pet, a devoted camera-loving nag. Top Cat tries everything to get rid of the horse, but changes his mind when he sees the horse's shock-induced superior racing abilities.
5	"The Violin Player"	October 25, 1961
Mr. Gutenberg, the musical director of Carnegie Hall, mistakes a recording of violin virtuoso Laszlo Laszlo for the playing of Benny the Ball, who has just taken up the instrument. He approaches Benny with an offer to perform and Top Cat negotiates a deal for $50,000 for a Saturday night performance at the Hall—an offer that is withdrawn when Carnegie's Board of Directors really hear Benny play. When Gutenberg offers a $10,000 reward to find the true violinist, the gang discovers that it's their neighborhood street cleaner, Laszlo Laszlo.
6	"The Missing Heir"	November 1, 1961
Benny is a double for the missing heir to a millionaire's fortune. Top Cat and the gang get Benny to the mansion in time to claim the money. But this is not good news to the scheming butler and dog (with a Muttley-like wheezing laugh) who hoped to claim the fortune themselves.
7	"Top Cat Falls in Love"	November 8, 1961
While visiting tonsillectomy patient Benny in the hospital, Top Cat falls for the pretty cat nurse, Miss LaRue. T.C. decides to attract her attention by pretending to come down with a rare illness—which will need a lot of nursing care.
8	"A Visit from Mother"	November 15, 1961
Benny has written to his mother that he is the Mayor of New York. Now Benny's mother is coming for a visit, and Top Cat and the gang must do everything they can to convince Mrs. Ball that her son really is the Mayor.
9	"Naked Town"	November 22, 1961
"Naked Town", a TV crime show, will be shooting a warehouse robbery scene in Top Cat's alley. Officer Dibble offers his cooperation, but is unaware that some crooks will be using the TV filming as a cover for a real robbery.
10	"Sergeant Top Cat"	November 29, 1961
After overhearing Officer Dibble suggesting ways to improve conditions for the police force, Top Cat passes off Dibble's ideas to the Chief as T.C.'s own. This leads to Top Cat's being made an honorary police sergeant—and Dibble's boss in the alley.
11	"Choo-Choo's Romance"	December 6, 1961
Choo-Choo has fallen in love with a beautiful French cat, Goldie. Top Cat and the gang help Choo-Choo to court her. But they have reckoned without Goldie's jealous boyfriend, Pierre.
12	"The Unscratchables"	December 13, 1961
When a missing diamond ends up in Benny the Ball's stomach, Top Cat and the gang have to find a way to get him back from gangsters who have kidnapped him, and are attempting to retrieve the diamond the hard way.
13	"Rafeefleas"	December 20, 1961
After Benny spends the night sleeping inside a museum, T.C. discovers a scarab attached to his back. The jewel is later found to be an expensive antique, and the gang attempts to return it. Once the scarab is returned, a jewel thief arrives and takes a number of jewels. Dibble arrives and mistakes T.C. as the thief, however the thief is caught when he runs into the rest of the gang.
14	"The Tycoon"	December 27, 1961
A Tycoon decides to give away $1,000,000 to the most unfortunate person he finds, which ends up being Top Cat. He gives the check to Benny, who tries to show it to Top Cat (who ignores him), so he tries to cash it himself. A merchant overhears him and tells all his associates. Everybody gives things to Top Cat thinking he is a millionaire, and that he'll pay them back.
15	"The Long Hot Winter"	January 3, 1962
During the cold winter in the alley, Top Cat and the gang scheme to find a way into Officer Dibble's house in an attempt to keep warm. Once inside the house, Dibble struggles to live with the gang. In the end, the gang stay for several months until Spring and the warmer weather arrives.
16	"The Case of the Absent Anteater"	January 10, 1962
Benny gets a new pet; a hungry, brown giant anteater which followed him into the alley. Top Cat attempts to get rid of the animal until it is revealed that the anteater has escaped from the zoo and a large reward is on offer for its return.
17	"T.C. Minds the Baby"	January 17, 1962
An abandoned baby is found by Top Cat and the gang who intend to look after it. However, they find parenthood much more difficult than they thought it would be. In the end, the mother is found and the baby is returned safely.
18	"Farewell, Mr. Dibble"	January 24, 1962
Officer Dibble is replaced by a new recruit named Ernest Prowler. Prowler intends to be more forceful in his duty than Dibble and intends to stop the trouble that Top Cat and the gang cause. Due to the new regime, the gang hatch a plan to have Dibble return to his old beat in the alley.
19	"The Grand Tour"	January 31, 1962
Top Cat and the gang are struggling to make money. However T.C. comes up with a new get-rich-quick scheme which involves creating a fake "historical" tour of New York. Choo-Choo begins selling "phony" maps, however it is later found that the maps point to a real treasure in a dilapidated house.
20	"The Golden Fleecing"	February 7, 1962
Benny receives an insurance payment of $2000 and Top Cat has some ideas about how the money should be spent. The first spend is made on visiting a local nightclub to visit Honeydew Mellon, a showgirl who also happens to be part of a gang of poker-playing con-artists. The con-artists will do everything they can to separate Benny and his money.
21	"Space Monkey"	February 14, 1962
Officer Dibble takes a job at Cape Canaveral, and the gang discover about the luxurious treatment a chimpanzee receives while in the space program. The group decides to join up in attempt to access the same luxurious facilities, however wants out when they discover they will be going into space.
22	"The Late T.C."	February 21, 1962
Top Cat is injured when hit in the head by a baseball. From the resulting injury, a misunderstanding means that Officer Dibble is led to believe that Top Cat only has a week left to live. T.C. and the gang take advantage of Dibble and his kindness during the week.
23	"Dibble's Birthday"	February 28, 1962
Officer Dibble's birthday is coming up and he begins to feel he is getting too old. To help cheer him up, the gang decide to throw him a birthday party, with gifts from everybody in the neighborhood.
24	"Choo-Choo Goes Ga-Ga"	March 7, 1962
Choo-Choo threatens to end it all unless he can get a date with a Hollywood movie star named Lola. Top Cat sees this as a challenge and intends to find a way to meet Lola, and get Choo-Choo a date.
25	"King for a Day"	March 14, 1962
After Top Cat upsets Officer Dibble one time too many, he and the gang decide to lie low for a while. After spending the night in a department store, the gang go on the "King for a Day" show which offers a number of prizes, after writing to the shows producer about the gang being a "poor family". Instead, Dibble wins the prizes and offers to take T.C. and the gang for a ride to show no hard feelings.
26	"The Con Men"	March 21, 1962
A friendly hot dog vendor is swindled out of $1000 by con men who pretended to have an oil well in Nova Scotia. Top Cat disguises himself as a wealthy Texan in an attempt to get the money back, by convincing the crooks that the oil well really does exist.
27	"Dibble Breaks the Record"	March 28, 1962
Dibble attempts to break a record as the longest serving police officer on the beat. If he beats the record, he wins a holiday which allows him to escape the gang for a while. With this information, Top Cat does everything he can to help Dibble win and have the gang watch over him so he does not have an accident.
28	"Dibble Sings Again"	April 4, 1962
Top Cat owes money to a loan shark named Big Gus, and after hearing Officer Dibble singing he convinces him that under his management, he could become a big singing star.
29	"Griswald"	April 11, 1962
Dibble gets a new partner on the beat: a dog named Griswald. Top Cat and the gang attempt to outwit him, but the dog always seems to be one step ahead. T.C. manages to get the dog removed from duty after he bites the police commissioner.
30	"Dibble's Double"	April 18, 1962
A thief named Al, disguised as Officer Dibble steals a fortune from an art gallery. Top Cat has also taken up painting, but discovers his own artwork has also been stolen. The gang, together with Dibble team up to catch the thief.

DVD release

In the USA, a boxset with all 30 episodes was released in December 2004 (2004-12).

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information
Top Cat - The Complete Series	30	December 7, 2004 (2004-12-07)	Commentary on various episodes Back to Hoagy's Alley: The Making of Top Cat (retrospective featurette) Interviews: Cool Cats in Interview Alley Top Cat sing-along Production Sketches: Top Cat Collection (art, stills, sketches, backgrounds) Storyboards: Storyboard Showcase TV Spot: Top Cat Kellogg's commercials (US release only)

In the UK, the complete series boxset has been released as a HMV exclusive on October 8, 2007. Alternatively, 5 single DVD volumes, each containing 6 episodes, were released. The covers were originally from the US edition, but was later re-released with a new design. Each volume shows a group picture of Top Cat using Dibble's phone with his gang beside him, but the colour-coding is:

Volume 1: Purple (Episodes 1–6) – Top Cat

Volume 2: Green (Episodes 7–12) – Choo-Choo

Volume 3: Red (Episodes 13–18) – Fancy Fancy

Volume 4: Blue (Episodes 19–24) – Benny

Volume 5: Orange (Episodes 25–30) – Spook

The DVDs have since been made available to buy in other retailers across the UK.

Other appearances

Hanna-Barbera related shows

• Top Cat's theme is featured in The Flintstones episode "Surfin Fred" when Barney and Betty discover that Jimmy Darrock is in fact not a lifeguard.

• Officer Dibble makes a cameo appearance in The Flintstones episode "Time Machine", as a policeman in the future. Thus returning the favor done in episode "The Rafeefleas" when T.C and the gang found two statues of cave man (Fred and Barney) in an art museum, while searching for the jewelry display case.

• Top Cat and his gang appeared in Yogi's Ark Lark. While the others don't have dialogue, Top Cat was voiced by Daws Butler while Benny the Ball was voice by John Stephenson. It was presumed that Arnold Stang wasn't available at the time, while Maurice Gosfield died in 1964.

• In 1985, Top Cat appeared on Yogi's Treasure Hunt with Yogi Bear and other Hanna-Barbera toon stars; he was the one who assigned the treasure hunts. Officer Dibble made an appearance in the end of the show's episode, "Yogi's Beanstalk" voiced by John Stephenson. Allen Jenkins died in 1974.

• In 1987, Hanna-Barbera produced a feature-length television film based on the show titled Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 film series), in which the gang helps a young girl claim her inheritance. During that time, John Stephenson reprised Officer Dibble while Benny the Ball was voiced by Avery Schreiber.

• In the Fender Bender 500 segment of Wake, Rattle, and Roll, Top Cat and Choo Choo were one of the racers driving a trash can-modeled monster truck called the Alley Cat.

• In 1991, Top Cat was a teenage cat (but he still lived in a trash can) on NBC's Yo Yogi! voiced by Arte Johnson. Top Cat was seen in a Cartoon Network Rap in 1995.

Other cartoon shows

• In the Duck Dodgers episode "K-9 Quarry", Top Cat was amongst the poached characters on the Alien Hunter's ship.
• Top Cat, Benny and Brain made a cameo appearance at the end of The Powerpuff Girls episode "Catastrophe". They can be seen at the bottom left corner of the screen (Note: Instead of his hat, Top Cat has a splat of slime on his head).
• Top Cat was seen briefly driving a motorcycle in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode "Cheese a go-go."
• Top Cat and Benny appear in the My Life as a Teenage Robot episode "Toying with Jenny"; they can be seen at the checkout desk when Jenny is looking at the Jenny toys.
• In the Futurama episode "That Darn Katz!", a picture of Top Cat is seen.
• Top Cat made a cameo appearance in Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! episode "Wubbzy the hero".
• Top Cat can be seen in a crowd shot in the What-a-Cartoon Show episode "Buy One, Get One Free".

Comic Books

The gang's adventures continued off-screen in comic books as Dell (which became Gold Key) published 31 issues from 1961 to 1970. Charlton Comics published 20 more issues from 1970 to 1973.^[4] In Mexico, La Coleccion Primavera featured Don Gato in 1968.

Books

Little Golden Books and Durabooks have both produced hardcover children's books starring Top Cat.

In the UK, BrownWatson published the 1978 annual entitled The Great Grape Ape and Boss Cat.

View-Master

T.C. and friends appeared on three View-Master reels in 1962. These were titled "Medal for Meddling", "Zoo-Operation", and "No Cat Fishing".

Music

The Original TV Soundtrack was released by Colpix Records in 1962, consisting of slightly edited versions of "The Unscratchables" and "Top Cat Falls In Love".

In 1965, Hanna-Barbera Records released an LP titled "Robin Hood Starring Top Cat". T.C. and the gang were pictured as merry men on the cover. Songs included Top Cat, M-O-N-E-Y, Dibble, Robin Hood, and Buddies. It was re-released in 1977 on Columbia Records' Special Products label.

A jazzy arrangement of the Top Cat theme can be heard most weeks over the end credits of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour. The Top Cat theme song is the opening track on Ted Kooshian's 2008 jazz CD, Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet. The theme for Top Cat is also used in the 2009–2010 ABRSM Grade three exam pieces. It is C:2

Feature film

Anima Studios and Illusion Studios have released a feature film in Mexico (where it's extremely popular), entitled Don Gato y Su Pandilla (the name used for the Latin-American Spanish dub of the series), on September 16, 2011 only on Latin America; it is shown in 2D and 3D.

Top Cat and the gang face a new police chief, who is not at all happy with the poor performance of officer Matute (Officer Dibble) and avoids Top Cat's scams.

Lucas Buenrostro, the new police chief, has loads of technology resources and their real intention is to take the city, imposing ridiculous laws. Will test the Top Cat and all members of the gang, as well as officer Matute (Dibble).

The film has been released by the Latin American branch of Warner Bros. Pictures (whose parent company, Time Warner owns Turner Entertainment, which acquired Hanna-Barbera in 1990), but there has been no word from WB if in the United States the film will be released either in theaters.

The movie has become one of the most successful Mexican movies ever, earning in its 5th week $108 millions of pesos (About $ 7,929,515 dollars)

Broadcasting

International broadcasters

North America United States ABC (1961–1962) NBC (1965–1969) Television syndication (1970–1993) Cartoon Network (1992–2000) Boomerang (2000 – present) Canada CTV Teletoon Retro (2009 – present) Mexico Canal 5 (1970s - present) Cartoon Network (2000–present) Asia Sri Lanka Rupavahini India Cartoon Network Southeast Asia Boomerang

Pakistan Cartoon Network NTM Europe Denmark Cartoon Network 1995–2002 Boomerang 2002– present France TF1 Antenne 2 Italy Telemontecarlo Poland TVP 2 Cartoon Network Boomerang Spain Televisión Española Antena 3 (Spain) Boing Present Sweden TV3 (Sweden) Cartoon Network Boomerang Netherlands Nederland 1 United Kingdom BBC One, formerly named as Boss Cat (see below) Boomerang Cartoon Network Cartoon Network Too Oceania Australia Boomerang GO! South America Argentina Canal 13 (Argentina) Brazil Rede Globo Costa Rica Teletica Chile Teleonce,RTU & Chilevision (1987–1989, 1991–1992, 1993–1994) Canal 13 (1975–1986, 1995–1998) Cartoon Network (1993–2001) TC Telecanal (Chile) (2009) Uruguay National Television Uruguay Venezuela NCtv Carabobo Venevisión Other countries Boomerang (2001–2008) Tooncast (2008 – present) Liv TV (2009–present)

Canada

Top Cat was among the first programs aired on CTV. The country's first private television network commenced broadcasts in October 1961.

Mexico and Latin America

In spite of the modest success of the show in the United States, the show was a massive hit in Mexico, Peru and Argentina, where it is recognized as one of the most famous Hanna Barbera characters ever, being as popular as the Flintstones. In Mexico the show is aired under the name Don Gato y su pandilla (literally Don Cat and his gang like mafia style, but stands for Mr. Top Cat or just Top Cat like in the United States) and the main characters adopted different accents. Besides Top Cat, all the other characters from the show were very famous, and their popularity is commonly attributed by the excellent dubbing and voice acting: Benny was renamed Benito B. Bodoque y B. and given a more child-like voice than was the case in the original dubbing, Choo Choo was renamed Cucho and spoke with Mexican-yucatan accent, Fancy-Fancy was Panza (belly), Spook renamed as the word's rough translation Espanto, The Brain was called Demóstenes (honouring the Greek statesman Demosthenes, with whom he shares a speech impediment) and Officer Dibble renamed as Oficial Carlitos Matute. This name, "matute" was used in Argentina as a slang reference for policemen. Top Cat is still rerun every few years. The main voice actors were Julio Lucena (voice of Top Cat), Jorge Arvizu (voice of Benny and Choo Choo), Víctor Alcocer (voice of Dibble), David Reynoso among others.

In Brazil, the character is known as Manda-Chuva (Brazilian Portuguese for big shot) and was voiced by actor Lima Duarte. In addition, the city of New York was replaced by Brasilia (federal capital) in the Brazilian version.

United Kingdom

Boss Cat title card

In the United Kingdom, the show was first aired on BBC television (now called BBC One) but renamed Boss Cat shortly after it premiered in 1962 because Top Cat was also the name of a brand of cat food. The dialogue and theme tune still referred to the character by his original name but a small cut was made in the opening credits (resulting in a slight 'jump' in the film) and a title card added before the episode proper. The new name was last used for a repeat run in 1989; by the time the series was next aired in 1999 the 'Top Cat' food brand had long since disappeared, allowing the original title to be used. This continues to be the case in the showings on Boomerang and BBC Two.

As Welsh Conservative MP David Davies' name sounds the same as fellow Conservative MP David Davis, a candidate in the 2005 Conservative leadership contest, confusion could occur between the two in Westminster. Therefore, David Davies is referred to in the House of Commons in Westminster as David T.C. Davies. This has caused opposition MPs to refer to him in jest as Top Cat.^[5]

India

Top Cat was one of the early favorites on Cartoon Network. It was aired in India in the 1990s. Top Cat was aired again in 2003

Sri Lanka

Top Cat (Sinhala: Pissu Pusa (පිස්සු පූසා)) was one of the most popular Cartoon Character in Srilanka and It has been re-telecasted several time on the same TV channel.

Name in different languages

• Brazilian Portuguese: Manda Chuva (voice by Lima Duarte)
• Bulgarian: Топ Кет (Top Ket)
• Canadian French: Pacha et les chats
• Czech: Kočičí banda
• Danish: Top Kat
• Finnish: Topi Katti
• French: Le Pacha
• German: Superkater
• Hungarian: Turpi Úrfi
• Italian: Top Cat
• Japanese: Doraneko Taishō (ドラ猫大将^?) (lit. 'Stray Cat Boss')
• Macedonian: Тошо Мачорот (Tosho Machorot)
• Norwegian: Topp Katt
• Polish: Kocia Ferajna (lit. Catfellas) and earlier translation Kot Tip Top (lit. Tippytoe Cat), featuring vastly better translation of the original, reels with that version were lost or recorded over
• Portuguese: Top Cat
• Serbian: Mika Mačor
• Sinhala: Pissu Pusa (පිස්සු පූසා)
• Spanish: Don Gato y su pandilla (Mr. Cat and his gang)
• Swedish: Top Cat (voice by Per Sandborgh)
• Russian: Супер Кот

See also

• List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera
• List of Hanna-Barbera characters
• Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats
• Yogi's Treasure Hunt

Production credits

• Produced and Directed by: William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
• Story Director: Paul Sommer
• Associate Producer: Alan Dinehart
• Musical Director: Hoyt Curtin
• Voices: Arnold Stang, Allen Jenkin, Marvin Kaplan, Maurice Gosfield, Le De Lyon,John Stephenson, Paul Frees
• Animation: Kenneth Muse, Jerry Hathoock
• Production Supervision: Howard Hanson
• Layout: Jack Huber
• Titles: Lawrence Goble
• Backgrounds: Montealeger
• Camera: Roy Wade, Norman Stainback, Frank Paiker, Charles Flekal
• Film Editing: Greg Watson, Warner Leighton, Zachary Zeiger
• Top Cat © Copyright MCMLXI Hanna-Barbera Productions
• A Hanna-Barbera Production
• A Screen Gems Film Presentation
  • Television Subsidiary: Columbia Pictures Corporation

Cultural references

• In a sketch from BBC Radio 4 show That Mitchell and Webb Sound, a cop claims to have problems with TC. one particular moment similarly mentions from Maharajah of Pookajee.
• An excerpt from the show appears in the 1982 film Cat People.

References

1. ^ HarveyToons episode guide
2. ^ "Voice of Top Cat dies - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2009-12-24. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/24/2779943.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
3. ^ Arnold Stang, Milquetoast Actor, Dies at 91
4. ^ "Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Top Cat". Toonopedia.com. 1961-09-27. http://www.toonopedia.com/topcat.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
5. ^ "David Davies MP blog: Anyone remember "Top Cat"?". Daviddaviesam.blogspot.com. 2005-06-19. http://daviddaviesam.blogspot.com/2005/06/anyone-remember-top-cat.html. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 

External links

• Top Cat Unofficial Site
• Top Cat at the Internet Movie Database
• Top Cat at TV.com
• Top Cat at Toonopedia
• TV.com site
• Toon Tracker's lyrics to the Top Cat theme song
• Top Cat fan site
• The Cartoon Scrapbook – Profile on Top Cat.
• Don gato y su pandilla movie site