Production history
The concept of an animated series made for television came from animator Alex Anderson, who worked for Terrytoons Studios. Terrytoons turned down Anderson's proposed series, preferring to remain in theatrical film animation. Consequently, Anderson approached Jay Ward to create a partnership—Anderson being in charge of production and Ward arranging financing. Ward became business manager and producer, joining with Anderson to form "Television Arts Productions" in 1947. They tried to sell the series (initially presented as part of a proposed series, The Comic Strips of Television, which featured an early incarnation of Dudley Do-Right) to the NBC television network, with Jerry Fairbanks as the network's "supervising producer". NBC did not telecast Crusader Rabbit on their network, but allowed Fairbanks to sell the series in national syndication, with many NBC affiliates (including New York and Los Angeles) picking it up for local showings. WNBC-TV in New York continued to show the original Crusader Rabbit episodes from 1949 through 1967, and some stations used the program as late as the 1970s.
The original series employed limited animation, appearing almost as narrated storyboards with frequent cuts and minor movement by the characters, much in the style of another early NBC "animation" program Tele-Comics. This was due to the limited budget that producers Jay Ward and Alex Anderson worked with to film the series.
Each program began with a title sequence of a mounted knight galloping across the screen. The episodes then featured a short, usually satirical, adventure in the form of a movie serial, ending with a cliffhanger.
Crusader Rabbit was syndicated from 1950 to 1951, totaling 195 episodes (divided into ten "crusades"), and then re-aired for many years. It featured Crusader Rabbit, his companion Ragland T. Tiger (Rags), and their occasional nemesis – Dudley Nightshade (called Ill-regard Beauregard in a few episodes), and his sidekick Bilious Green. Some episodes featured Crusader & Rags's friends Garfield the Groundhog and/or Arson & Sterno (a two-headed dragon). Ragland Tiger's name came from the jazz tune "Tiger Rag" his middle initial "T" stands for The (as in Rags The Tiger), while Dudley Nightshade's name was a play on the poisonous plant, "deadly nightshade". As a running gag, another character would ask Rags what the "T" stood for, to which he'd reply, "Larry. My father couldn't spell!"
The series was revived and 13 new "crusades" (totaling 260 color episodes) were produced in 1957 by Shull Bonsall's Capital Enterprises. Bonsall purchased Television Arts Productions and gained the rights to Crusader Rabbit, during a protracted legal battle between Jay Ward, Alex Anderson, Jerry Fairbanks and the NBC network, over ownership of the series. Animation was provided by Bonsall's Creston Studios, also known as TV Spots, Inc., supervised by Bob Ganon and Gerald Ray. The new series was not seen until early 1959.
Lucille Bliss provided the voice of Crusader Rabbit in the original series; she was replaced by Ge Ge Pearson in the revived series. Vern Louden played Rags in both. Dudley Nightshade was voiced by Russ Coughlan, and narration was by Roy Whaley.
Legacy
The success of Crusader Rabbit inspired many more television cartoon character packages. Jay Ward would later produce The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In 1985, Rhino Entertainment released the first two volumes of Crusader Rabbit in a planned[citation needed] home-video release of all the original episodes. However, 20th Century Fox claimed the distribution rights by their acquisition of previous owner Metromedia Producers Corporation. No further video releases of Crusader Rabbit have been produced.
In popular culture
There were two Dell Publishing comic books featuring Crusader Rabbit and Rags.
In the graphic novel, Roger Rabbit: The Resurrection of Doom, after C.B. Maroon (actually Judge Doom in disguise) fires Roger Rabbit, he tells his secretary, "Get me that other rabbit. You know, the one that has a tiger for a buddy," in reference to Crusader Rabbit.
First series
The first series aired from 1950 to 1952 through syndication, with 195 episodes produced.
Episodes
Crusader vs. the State of Texas (15 chapters)
Crusader vs. the Pirates (20 chapters)
Crusader and the Rajah of Rinsewater (20 chapters)
Crusader and the Schmohawk Indians (15 chapters)
Crusader and the Great Horse Mystery (20 chapters)
Crusader and the Circus (10 chapters)
Crusader in the Tenth Century (30 chapters)
Crusader and the Mad Hollywood Scientist (15 chapters)
Crusader and the Leprechauns (25 chapters)
Crusader and the Showboat (25 chapters)
Production staff
Executive Producer: Jerry Fairbanks
Producers: Jay Ward, Alex Anderson
Director: Alex Anderson
Story: Alex Anderson, Joe Curtin, Hal Goodman, Arthur North, Lloyd Turner
Artists: Alex Anderson, Bob Bastian, Bob Bemiller, Chuck Fusion, Randy Grochoski, Ed King, Ted Martine, Bob Mills, Lee Mishkin, Grim Natwick, Russ Sholl, Jim Scott, John Sparey, Dean Spille, Spaulding White, Volney White
Camera: Bob Oleson, Jack Williams
Editor: Tom Stanford
Voices
Lucille Bliss - Crusader Rabbit
Vern Louden - Ragland T. Tiger
Roy Whaley - Narrator
Second series[edit]
The second series premiered in 1957 through syndication, with 260 episodes were produced, 20 "chapters" per episode. They were later edited into 13 one-hour programs.
Episodes
The Great Uranium Hunt (aka Mine Your Own Business)
The Yukon Adventure (aka Thar's Gold in Them Fills)
Tales of Schmerwood Forest (aka Crook's Tour)
West We Forget
Sahara You
Gullible's Travels
Should Auld Acquaintance Be for Cotton (aka Belly Acres Mystery)
Nothing Atoll
Scars and Stripes
Apes of Rath
Caesar's Salad (aka No Place Like Rome)
The Great Baseball Mystery (aka Gone With the Wind-Up)
The Search for the Missing Link
Production Staff
Executive Producer: Shull Bonsall
Director: Sam Nicholson
Animation Director: Bob Bemiller
Story: Chris Bob Hayward, Barbara Chain
Story Sketch: Jack Miller
Music Scoring: Art Becker
Sound Effects: Ray Erlenborn, Gene Twambley
Layout: Ed Levitt
Animators: Alex Ignatiev, Bob Matz, Reuben Timmens, Joseph Price, John Sparey, Marv Woodward
Backgrounds: David Weidman, Eleanor Bogardus, Rosemary O'Connor
Ink and Paint: Martha Buckley, Maggi Alcumbrac
Production Planning: Dave Hoffman
Camera: Julian E. Raymond, Ted Bemiller
Editors: Charles McCann, Norman Vizents
Production Supervision: Bob Ganon
Voices
GeGe Pearson - Crusader Rabbit
Vern Louden - Ragland T. Tiger
Roy Whaley - Narrator
Russ Coughlan - Dudley Nightshade