The Tycoon
- Studio
- Hanna-Barbera Studios
- Distributor
- Columbia/Screen Gems
Synopsis
Billionaire philanthropist T.L. Vanderfeller searches for a destitute person to receive a million-dollar check. He stumbles on Benny, who is selling 25-cent raffle tickets for Top Cat. Mistaking Top Cat and the gang for a needy family, the billionaire gives the check to Benny, who dutifully hands it over to Top Cat. Thinking it is a check for a quarter for a raffle ticket, Top Cat tears it up.
Teaser Sequence: Dibble is controlling traffic blowing a whistle when Top Cat comes by wearing fancy clothes and driving a car with Dibble on the hood of the car. Top Cat makes a smart remark about Dibble and he thinks Top Cat stole the car, but Top Cat tells him that he is Mr. Unlimited Credit. Top Cat then tells Dibble that he never looks a gift horse in the mouth and that he has a date and then drives off. Dibble comments that Top Cat is too much and can't handle him.
Teaser Sequence: Dibble is controlling traffic blowing a whistle when Top Cat comes by wearing fancy clothes and driving a car with Dibble on the hood of the car. Top Cat makes a smart remark about Dibble and he thinks Top Cat stole the car, but Top Cat tells him that he is Mr. Unlimited Credit. Top Cat then tells Dibble that he never looks a gift horse in the mouth and that he has a date and then drives off. Dibble comments that Top Cat is too much and can't handle him.
Characters
Top Cat, Spook, Benny the Ball, Choo Choo, The Brain, Spook, Fancy-Fancy, Officer Charlie Dibble, Crumbley, T.L. Vanderfeller, Boswell, Lou, Mildred, Car Salesman, Girl Cats, Plumbers, French Waiter
Credits
Directing
- Director
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Producing
- Producer
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
- Associate Producer
- Alan Dinehart
Writing
- Writer
- Kin Platt, Michael Maltese, Joanna Lee, Barry Blitzer, Tony Benedict, Harvey Bullock, Ray Allen, Larry Markes, Harvey Marshall
- Story Director
- Paul Sommer, Alex Lovy, Lewis Marshall
Voices
- Voice
- Arnold Stang (Top Cat), Allen Jenkins (Officer Dibble), Maurice Gosfield (Benny), Marvin Kaplan (Choo Choo), Leo De Lyon (Spook, Brain), John Stephenson (Fancy-Fancy, Boswell, Plumber, French Waiter), Don Messick, Herb Vigran, Herschel Bernardi, Jean Vander Pyl
Music
- Music
- Hoyt S. Curtin
Animation
- Animation Director
- Charles Nichols
- Animator
- Ed Love
- Layout
- Dick Bickenbach, Walter Clinton, Dan Noonan, Jack Huber
Art Department
- Backgrounds
- Montelaegre, Richard H. Thomas, Robert Gentle, Art Lozzi, Neenanh Maxwell, Anthony Rizzo
Camera
- Camera
- Frank Paiker, Norman Stainback, Roy Wade, Charles Flekal
Editing
- Editor
- Warner Leighton, Greg Watson
Production Management
- Production Supervisor
- Howard Hanson
Crew
- Titles
- Lawrence Goble
Production notes
Top Cat mentions Yogi Bear in this episode.
Top Cat has the distinction of being one of the few animated series to debut in prime time. After one season, it was moved to Saturday mornings, and was met with huge success.
Essentially, Hanna-Barbera took Phil Silvers' popular character from the hit prime-time sitcom Sgt. Bilko and turned him into a cat. T.C. and the gang (Benny, Choo Choo, Fancy-Fancy, Spook, and The Brain) lived on the streets of Manhattan and were always in search of a free lunch, figuratively and literally. Their main obstacle was Officer Dibble, who had an extreme dislike for the crafty cat and his schemes, especially when they involved using the police phone for personal calls. The Sgt. Bilko connection was strengthened by the fact that Maurice Gosfield, who played Doberman on the sitcom, voiced Benny, T.C's right hand cat.
Like The Flintstones, Top Cat was written for adults and children alike, since it was initially shown during the family hour on a weeknight. This particular programming effort made the scripts stronger than your average cartoon, relying less on overused cartoon cliches and more on character. Unfortunately, T.C. didn't do well in prime time, but when he and the gang moved to Saturday mornings, the show found a loyal audience, who still remember it fondly.
The name of this show became "Boss Cat" when it ran in the United Kindgom to avoid confusion with a British cat food called Top Cat.
Top Cat has the distinction of being one of the few animated series to debut in prime time. After one season, it was moved to Saturday mornings, and was met with huge success.
Essentially, Hanna-Barbera took Phil Silvers' popular character from the hit prime-time sitcom Sgt. Bilko and turned him into a cat. T.C. and the gang (Benny, Choo Choo, Fancy-Fancy, Spook, and The Brain) lived on the streets of Manhattan and were always in search of a free lunch, figuratively and literally. Their main obstacle was Officer Dibble, who had an extreme dislike for the crafty cat and his schemes, especially when they involved using the police phone for personal calls. The Sgt. Bilko connection was strengthened by the fact that Maurice Gosfield, who played Doberman on the sitcom, voiced Benny, T.C's right hand cat.
Like The Flintstones, Top Cat was written for adults and children alike, since it was initially shown during the family hour on a weeknight. This particular programming effort made the scripts stronger than your average cartoon, relying less on overused cartoon cliches and more on character. Unfortunately, T.C. didn't do well in prime time, but when he and the gang moved to Saturday mornings, the show found a loyal audience, who still remember it fondly.
The name of this show became "Boss Cat" when it ran in the United Kindgom to avoid confusion with a British cat food called Top Cat.