Friday, April 12, 2013

Celebrity Toons: Scooby-Doo meets Jonathan Winters (1972)

I wasn't planning on putting this up so soon, but with news that actor-comedian Jonathan Winters had died yesterday, I might as well bring this out.

"The Frickert Fracas" comes from season 1 of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, in which Winters--as himself AND one of his famous alter-egos, Maudie Frickert---enlists the aid of Scooby and Mystery, Inc. to locate the usual bad guys, who in this case are looking to take away Maudie's farm.



For Frank Welker (Fred), it must've been like Heaven working with one of the all-time comedy legends. They would work together again years later on Smurfs, after Winters joined the show.

Rating: B.

2 comments:

magicdog said...

I'm stunned! I hadn't heard Mr. Winters had passed! So sad to hear it. I hadn't seen him on TV in a while, the last time was at a TV Land Awards broadcast a few years back. He looked so very frail and thin, not the funny robust guy most of us remember.

I always enjoyed this ep precisely because of Mr. Winters' appearance! Doing two roles and those sound effects when he, Shag & Scoob try to frighten off the Scarecrow really elevate the piece!

He was also the idol of comedian Robin Williams (and as you know they co-starred on Mork & Mindy together during the final season) and it's easy to see how much of an influence Mr. Winters was on him!

My dad always remembered the show he had in primetime; towards the end of the show, Mr. Winters would stand on stage with a bunch of random props and begin his improve right there! He was truly a talented guy!

RIP Mr. Winters and Maudie Frickert!

hobbyfan said...

Was that the Wacky World of Jonathan Winters? I think that was a syndicated show from the early 70's. To be honest with you, that's what I was looking for when I did the obit at Land of Whatever, but couldn't find clips from that series. I am trying to recall when and what network he had a primetime show on, probably in the late 60's or early 70's.

I'm going to try to find some of the commercials he did for Hefty and other sponsors down the line, just for fun.