CB Bears
American animated television series
title: "CB Bears" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-american-animated-television-series-debuts", "1977-american-television-series-endings", "1970s-american-animated-comedy-television-series", "1970s-american-anthology-television-series", "1970s-american-children's-comedy-television-series", "1970s-american-mystery-television-series", "american-children's-animated-anthology-television-series", "american-children's-animated-comedy-television-series", "american-children's-animated-fantasy-television-series", "american-children's-animated-mystery-television-series", "american-english-language-television-shows", "television-series-by-hanna-barbera", "animated-television-series-about-bears", "nbc-animated-television-series", "children's-television-series-about-talking-animals"] description: "American animated television series" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB_Bears" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American animated television series ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | CB Bears.jpg |
| caption | Title card |
| genre | Comedy |
| runtime | 60 minutes |
| creator | William Hanna |
| Joseph Barbera | |
| writer | Bill Ackerman |
| Haskell Barkin | |
| Barry Blitzer | |
| Tom Dagenais | |
| Karl Geurs | |
| Orville Hampton | |
| Don Jurwich | |
| Jon Kubichan | |
| Joan Maurer | |
| Ray Parker | |
| Howard Post | |
| Dick Robbins | |
| Jerry Winnick | |
| director | Charles A. Nichols |
| executive_producer | |
| composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| voices | |
| narrated | William Woodson (opening narration) |
| theme_music_composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| network | NBC |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| num_series | 1 |
| num_episodes | 13 |
| :: |
| image = CB Bears.jpg | caption = Title card | genre = Comedy | camera = | runtime = 60 minutes | creator = William Hanna Joseph Barbera | writer = Bill Ackerman Haskell Barkin Barry Blitzer Tom Dagenais Karl Geurs Orville Hampton Don Jurwich Jon Kubichan Joan Maurer Ray Parker Howard Post Dick Robbins Jerry Winnick | director = Charles A. Nichols | executive_producer = | composer = Hoyt Curtin | starring = | voices = | narrated = William Woodson (opening narration) | theme_music_composer = Hoyt Curtin | opentheme = | company = Hanna-Barbera Productions | endtheme = | country = United States | location = | language = English | network = NBC | first_aired = | last_aired = | num_series = 1 | num_episodes = 13 | list_episodes = | related = CB Bears is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired on NBC from September 10 to December 3, 1977.
As with many Hanna-Barbera shows of the time, CB Bears was an anthology series with six regular segments: The CB Bears; Blast-Off Buzzard; Heyyy, It's the King!; Posse Impossible; Shake, Rattle & Roll; and Undercover Elephant. Each segment riffed on a popular television show or film.
The CB Bears segment was a spoof on the 1976 hit show Charlie's Angels, with a trio of ursine investigators given assignments by an unseen dispatcher. Similarly, Heyyy, It's the King! was a takeoff on the 1974 hit Happy Days, with a royal lion based on Henry Winkler's famous Fonzie. Blast-Off Buzzard imitated Looney Tunes' Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner; Posse Impossible was a cowboy show caricaturing John Wayne; Shake, Rattle & Roll featured a trio of ghosts imitating comics Hugh Herbert, Lou Costello and Marty Allen; and Undercover Elephant spoofed Mission: Impossible.
On February 4, 1978, NBC repackaged the show as part of the two-hour The Go-Go Globetrotters, which also featured reruns of the Harlem Globetrotters series. This lasted until September 3.
Syndication
In syndication, CB Bears was shown in a shortened half-hour format with Blast-Off Buzzard and Posse Impossible; Heyyy, It's the King! was also shown in a shortened half-hour format with Shake, Rattle & Roll and Undercover Elephant. The show was also rebroadcast on Cartoon Network from 1995 to 1997. The CB Bears theme is also heard in the ending credits of The Skatebirds on CBS and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels on ABC.
Segments
The CB Bears
Hustle (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Phil Silvers), Boogie (voiced by Chuck McCann) and Bump (voiced by Henry Corden) are a trio of anthropomorphic bear detectives disguised as trash collectors. They travel the country solving mysteries in a tacky garbage truck called the Perfume Wagon (the CB term for a garbage truck). A sultry-voiced female named Charlie (voiced by Susan Davis) contacts the bears on the truck's CB radio to give them their assignments. This show was "inspired" by the hit TV series Charlie's Angels (Bump wore a blonde hairstyle similar to Farrah Fawcett). Each of the bears' names are based on a 1970s disco dance, and the show's overall premise made reference to the CB radio craze of the mid-1970s (by this point waning in popularity). Physically and personality-wise, Hustle, Boogie, and Bump resemble Hair Bear, Bubi Bear, and Square Bear, respectively, from the earlier cartoon Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!; Daws Butler provided the same Phil Silvers-esque voice for both Hustle and Hair.
Episodes
::data[format=table]
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| EpisodeNumber = C.1 | Title = The Missing Mansion Mystery | 1977 |
| :: |
Blast-Off Buzzard
Blast-Off Buzzard (vocal effects provided by Daws Butler) is a buzzard in aviator gear and a de facto villain who chases Crazylegs, a wacky football helmet-wearing snake who outruns the buzzard. Their situation was very similar to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. This is a non-speaking segment.
Episodes
::data[format=table]
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| EpisodeNumber = B.1 | Title = Buzzard, You're a Turkey | 1977 |
| :: |
Heyyy, It's the King!
A cool, Fonzie-patterned lion named King (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) alongside his high school classmates Big H the Hippopotamus (voiced by Sheldon Allman), Clyde the Gorilla (voiced by Don Messick), Skids the Alligator (voiced by Marvin Kaplan), Yuka Yuka the Hyena (voiced by Lennie Weinrib), and cheerleaders Sheena the Lioness (voiced by Ginny McSwain) and Zelda the Ostrich (voiced by Susan Silo) attempt schemes to get into the spotlight.
Episodes
::data[format=table]
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| EpisodeNumber = H.1 | Title = The Blue Kangaroo | 1977 |
| :: |
Posse Impossible
The Sheriff of Saddlesore (voiced by Bill Woodson) and his hopeless posse of cowboys: Stick (voiced by Daws Butler in a hillbilly voice), Big Duke (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating John Wayne) and Blubber (voiced by Chuck McCann) jail notorious outlaws by out-bungling the rascals. In every segment, the Sheriff goes after some no-good polecat which ends with the bad guys behind bars.
A prototype version of the posse was featured in the final episode of Hong Kong Phooey.
Episodes
::data[format=table]
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| EpisodeNumber = P.1 | Title = Big Duke and Li'l Lil | 1977 |
| :: |
Shake, Rattle & Roll
Shake (voiced by Paul Winchell), Rattle (voiced by Lennie Weinrib), and Roll (voiced by Joe E. Ross) are three ghosts who run the Haunted Inn, a hotel for ghosts and other supernatural creatures as they tend to their needs. Their workplace hijinks are sometimes disrupted by self-proclaimed "ghost exterminator" and nemesis Sidney Merciless (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) who wants to rid the world of ghosts. Shake, Rattle, and Roll also tend to have problems with the Ghost Mouse as their Poltercat helps in attempts to get rid of it.
Episodes
::data[format=table]
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| EpisodeNumber = S.1 | Title = Guess What's Coming to Dinner | 1977 |
| :: |
Undercover Elephant
Undercover Elephant (voiced by Daws Butler) and his sidekick Loudmouse the Mouse (voiced by Bob Hastings) work for Central Control and solve mysteries. Recurring gags of this segment included disguises worn by Undercover Elephant tending to give him away (since some were ordered from the back of a comic book), Loudmouse blowing his cover when staking out the villain, Undercover Elephant being unable to avoid the exploding messages (a-la Mission Impossible) being sent to him by his Chief (voiced by Michael Bell), and to resist peanuts.
Episodes
::data[format=table]
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| EpisodeNumber = U.1 | Title = The Sneaky Sheik | 1977 |
| :: |
Episodes
The segments indicate in colors by which characters starred in them:
- Blue = The CB Bears (13 segments)
- Lime = Blast-Off Buzzard (13 segments)
- Sky Blue = Heyyy, It's the King! (13 segments)
- Maroon = Posse Impossible (13 segments)
- Green = Shake, Rattle & Roll (13 segments)
- Orange = Undercover Elephant (13 segments)
Season 1 (1977-1978)
| EpisodeNumber = 1a | EpisodeNumber2 = 1a | Title = The Missing Mansion Mystery | WrittenBy = Unknown | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = The CB Bears investigate the case of the missing Bobo Regard Mansion that seems to have disappeared | LineColor = FFD700 | EpisodeNumber = 1b | EpisodeNumber2 = 1b | Title = Buzzard, You're A Turkey! | WrittenBy = Unknown | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = | LineColor = FFD700 | EpisodeNumber = 1c | EpisodeNumber2 = 1c | WrittenBy = Unknown | Title = The Blue Kangaroo | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = The King and his friends use a blue kangaroo for a high jumper at the track meet, but at the same time, a hunter named Hunter Hunter who discovered the blue kangaroo goes looking for him | LineColor = FFD700 | EpisodeNumber = 1d | EpisodeNumber2 = 1d | Title = Big Duke and Li'l Lil | WrittenBy = Unknown | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = It takes a lot of work for Big Duke to save a red haired dance hall girl named Li'l Lil | LineColor = FFD700 | EpisodeNumber = 1e | EpisodeNumber2 = 1e | Title = Guess What's Coming to Dinner | WrittenBy = Unknown | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = Shake Rattle and Roll find themselves in trouble when they come across a baby creature that grows in size when eating stuff. | LineColor = FFD700 | EpisodeNumber = 1f | EpisodeNumber2 = 1f | Title = The Sneaky Sheik | WrittenBy = Unknown | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary = Undercover Elephant and Loudmouse go after a jewelry thief posing as a sheik. | LineColor = FFD700
Voice cast
- Sheldon Allman as Big H
- Michael Bell as Chief
- Daws Butler as Hustle, Blast-Off Buzzard, Duke, Stick, Undercover Elephant
- Tommy Cook
- Henry Corden as Bump
- Regis Cordic
- Scatman Crothers as Segment Title Narrator
- Susan Davis as Charlie
- Cindy Erickson
- Joan Gerber
- Gay Hartwig
- Bob Hastings as Loudmouse
- Bob Holt
- Marvin Kaplan as Skids
- Joyce Mancini
- Chuck McCann as Boogie, Blubber
- Ginny McSwain as Sheena
- Julie McWhirter
- Allan Melvin
- Don Messick as Clyde, Seeker (in "Valley of No Return"), Elmo (in "The Carnival Caper"), Mr. Gridley (in "The Carnival Caper"), Newsman (in "Snowbound Safari"), Bigfoot/Robber (in "Snowbound Safari")
- Alan Oppenheimer as Sidney Merciless
- Patricia Parris
- Joe E. Ross as Roll
- Ken Sansom
- Susan Silo as Zelda
- Hal Smith
- John Stephenson as Abernathy (in "The Fright Farm"), Hunter Hunter (in "The Blue Kangaroo")
- Alex Tramunti
- Janet Waldo
- Lennie Weinrib as King, Yuka Yuka, Rattle, Park Ranger (in "Snowbound Safari"), Vampire (in "There's No Pest Like a Singing Guest")
- Frank Welker as Carnival Worker (in "The Carnival Caper"), Ringmaster (in "The Carnival Caper")
- Paul Winchell as Shake
- Bill Woodson as Sheriff of Saddlesore
Home media
All thirteen episodes of Posse Impossible were released on VHS by Hanna-Barbera Home Video on November 25, 1988. In addition, three episodes of Shake, Rattle & Roll were released on VHS as part of a compilation titled Scooby-Doo & Friends: Mostly Ghostly by Hanna-Barbera Home Video in 1990, "The Ghostly Ghoul is a Ghastly Guest", "Spooking the Spooks" and "Guess What's Coming to Dinner".
To date, the series has not been released on DVD.
Other appearances
- Undercover Elephant appeared in some episodes of Yogi's Treasure Hunt.
- Reruns of CB Bears and Undercover Elephant aired in the 1980s run of Captain Kangaroo.
- Reruns of Undercover Elephant were shown as one of the fillers for the adaption of Wake, Rattle, and Roll.
- Blast-Off Buzzard and Crazylegs appeared in an episode of Tom & Jerry Kids in which they actually talk with Blast-Off Buzzard voiced by Lewis Arquette and Crazylegs voiced by Charlie Adler.
- Undercover Elephant made a cameo in the "Agent Penny" episode of the Super Secret Secret Squirrel segment of 2 Stupid Dogs.
- CB Bears and The King and his classmates appeared in Jellystone! with King voiced by Bernardo de Paula. Skids and Big H are re-imagined as girls in this series. The King and his friends are depicted as criminals. Zelda the Ostrich (voiced by Niccole Thurman) and Undercover Elephant (voiced by Dana Snyder) appear in the third season of Jellystone!. One-shot character Cool Cat appeared in the episode "Disco Fever", voiced by Dana Snyder. He has an American accent rather than an Australian accent in this series.
References
References
- (2018). "The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows". Rowman & Littlefield.
- (1983). "Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981". Scarecrow Press.
- (1991). "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals". Prentice Hall Press.
- (1997). "The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television". Watson-Guptill Publications.
- (2005). "Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003". McFarland & Co.
- "Undercover Elephant".
- (1991). "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals". Prentice Hall Press.
- [http://www.ebay.com/itm/Posse-Impossible-Ricochet-Rabbit-Hanna-Barbera-Vintage-1988-video-trade-ad-/280925581762?_ul=PE Posse Impossible & Ricochet Rabbit videocassettes (1988)]
- (June 24, 2021). "Jellystone! I Official Trailer I HBO Max Family".
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