The Banana Splits was a huge hit among younger viewers, thanks to the zany antics of its four main characters. The children’s series began on American television in 1968 and rumbled on until 1982, becoming compulsive viewing for British viewers too, after it was screened on BBC1.

Produced by the famous Hanna-Barbera team, The Banana Splits was the name of the rock band, whose catchy theme song had kids singing along as it played over the opening credits.

Today, more than 50 years after its launch, the show retains its legendary status. It was the first time Hanna-Barbera had combined live action and animation, with hour-long episodes that featured actors dressed in furry animal suits playing the band members. Mixed with segments of cartoons, such as the Arabian Knights and The Three Musketeers, the show was an explosion of fun for its young viewers.

 

Origins of show

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached children's TV creators and puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft in 1967 to design costumes for their planned new show. Hanna-Barbera had dreamed up the idea of a rock group made up of anthropomorphic characters, interspersed with cartoon clips.

The show's format was said to be loosely based on the adults' US television comedy show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. The kids' version (originally called Banana Splits Adventure Hour) made its debut on NBC on 7th September 1968.

Barbera later said they had wanted to call the show The Banana Bunch, but the name was copyrighted, as it had already been used for a children's book, so they couldn't get permission. Later, the Krofft brothers attributed their future success to The Banana Splits, as they went on to launch their own TV show, HR Pufnstuf.

 

Characters

The four animal band members were Fleagle the Beagle, Bingo the gorilla, Drooper the lion and Snorky the elephant. Fleagle, Bingo and Drooper were played by brothers Jeff, Terence and Dan Winkless respectively. They each had a different voice actor and didn't provide their own vocals.

The most famous voice was Daws Butler as Bingo, as he had also provided the vocals for a multitude of popular cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Elroy Jetson and many more. Two actors played Snorky the elephant - Jimmy Dove and Robert Towers. The character never spoke throughout the series.

Each episode depicted the Banana Splits Club and the adventures of the members. It was meant to be a similar format to the comedy TV show about the American pop band, The Monkees, with a different comic plot in each episode.

There was live action in the form of a serial which always ended on a cliff-hanger. Starring actor Jan Michael Vincent, Danger Island set the scene for many an adventure. There were many near-misses, as the characters tried to evade modern-day pirates and many other scrapes.

There was animated fun from the two main cartoons, The Three Musketeers and Arabian Knights, plus Micro Ventures, in which the leading characters shrunk themselves in a machine to experience life from an insect's perspective.

 

Contents and reception

Kids loved The Banana Splits because of its zany fun. The opening and closing titles and some of the scenes were filmed at an amusement park, Six Flags Over Texas, where the characters were chasing each other around and taking part in slapstick fun.

In the opening episode, Drooper tries to take out the trash, but it becomes extremely difficult when the rubbish bin starts throwing it back at him! The rubbish bin gag is ongoing throughout the series - in another episode, a giant serpent comes out of the bin.

The action is interspersed with songs sung by The Banana Splits, who are joined by young human members of The Banana Splits Club to sing and dance.

In another segment, Fleegle gets the mail, but on trying to get a letter, he finds himself playing tug-of-war with a hand in the mailbox, which won't let go. Eventually, the hand pops out clad in a boxing glove and punches the hapless beagle in the face!

Fleegle asks Drooper if he will demonstrate a new dance for everyone. The band then performed a song called Doin’ The Banana Split, while a group of girl dancers (who became known as The Sour Grapes) joined in with the Banana Split dance.

Many of the jokes popped up in every episode, with different catastrophic results for the four band members. In one episode, the all-girl Sour Grapes group say they want to see the toughest member of The Banana Splits. Snorky steps outside, but on his return, he has been flattened by a bunch of girls.

The kind of antics that the animal band-members got up to resembled the type of slapstick usually reserved for cartoon characters, which made the show immensely popular with kids, as they didn't seem to care what they did!

The Banana Splits was originally broadcast on NBC between 1968 and 1970 but it was so popular that it was then syndicated and shown until 1982. In the UK, it was a big hit for the BBC and was popular school holiday fare.

“One banana, two banana, three banana, four. Four bananas make a bunch and so do many more.”

Come on, treat yourselves! Pop down to MA Grigg’s Restaurant to sample some of our high-quality dishes over the Easter period.