Looney TV: The Henpecked Duck (1941)

 "The Henpecked Duck" is Daffy Duck in this Bob Clampett farce, with Porky Pig as the presiding judge, Sara Berner voices Mrs. Duck.

Today, we would say that Daffy was whipped.

Rating: B.

You Know The Voice: Jeff Bergman (2026)

 Jeff Bergman has been a mainstay at Hanna-Barbera & WB for 30+ years, and recently, landed one of the biggest roles of his career, as he inherits the voice role of Mr. Potato Head in "Toy Story 5", taking over for the late Don Rickles.

This weekend, Jeff was interviewed on CBS Saturday Morning, so many of us finally got a face to go with all those voices, plus some archived footage of Mel Blanc with David Letterman.

Tooniversary: Porky's Bear Facts (1941)

 Porky Pig stars in Friz Freleng's loose adaptation of Aesop's The Grasshopper & The Ant, "Porky's Bear Facts", as he contends with a lazy neighbor...

The fact that bears normally hibernate during the winter didn't apply here.

Rating: A.

Saturtainment: Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)

 Many moons ago, we discussed WSBK's Mystery Theatre, which was a lead-in to The Three Stooges on Saturday mornings back in the 80's. The only two components were Charlie Chan, which we discussed back then, and Mr. Moto, our next subject.

Peter Lorre was cast as Moto, John Marquand's secret agent, now rebooted as a detective, and, in 1938's "Mr. Moto's Gamble", as a criminology professor in San Francisco. "Gamble" was originally meant to be a Chan movie, but Warner Oland had taken ill, and subsequently passed away, so the script was rewritten with Moto taking over. Lee Chan (Keye Luke) is one of Moto's students. Our supporting cast is loaded with some familiar names, including Lon Chaney, Jr., "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom, Ward Bond, Douglas Fowley, and John Hamilton, who'd also appear with Boris Karloff in a Mr. Wong film, well before Adventures of Superman.

I only remember seeing portions of this on WSBK.

Toons After Dark: Mr. Magoo as Paul Revere (1964)

 With Independence Day, celebrating America's 250th birthday, next week, let's return to The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, as Magoo (Jim Backus, Gilligan's Island) portrays "Paul Revere":

Why did this series flop after one season. Two words. Jackie. Gleason. Enough said.

Toons You Might've Missed: Philbert (1963)

 Philbert was a hybrid live-action/animated produced by WB for ABC, which passed on it. Rather than shop it around, the studio did some editing, and reissued Philbert as a 26 minute short subject in theatres.

Had it worked, William Schallert (ex-Dobie Gillis) might not have landed a role on The Patty Duke Show in the fall of 1963. Friz Freleng not only directed the animation, but wrote the story, too, a rare case of Freleng writing for live-action.

It was ahead of its time.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Isis in The Cheerleader (1976)

 From season 2 of The Secrets of Isis:

Buffalo native Laurette Spang, later of Battlestar Galactica, guest stars as a cheerleader who frames a teammate for cheating on a test, fearful that she won't be the leader of the team. You know how this goes.

Ego often gets in the way of ambition. 

No rating. Just a public service.