Dancing Shoes

Struggling salesmen Heckle and Jeckle pass by the Hotel Ritz and see a lot of rich people dancing. The boys decide to try sell them wind-up dancing shoes. The fancy hotel's house detective (Spike) tries to stop the pair from peddling their wares. The dancing shoes malfunction and send the two magpies running out of the hotel and into the streets.

Heckle, Jeckle, Spike The Dog

Heckle and Jeckle were two inseparable black magpies, identical in appearance but distinguishably different in personality. Though both were remarkably witty, Heckle spoke with a New York accent, while Jeckle's tone was much more refined. Together, they sought to con free meals and shelter out of the upper class, who in all honesty, presented little difficulty for the clever and mischievous birds.

The first TV appearance of Heckle and Jeckle was on CBS Cartoon Theatre and then thier very own The Heckle And Jeckle Cartoon Show, the very first prime time network animated cartoon series (appearing in 1956, years before The Flintstones). Dick Van Dyke was the host of the show, and he introduced the Heckle and Jeckle segments, along with those of Gandy Goose, by pretending to converse with the animated birds.

In 1979, the magpies appeared in their second show, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle. Once again, the two birds were on the lookout for a free ride, using their immense vocabularies and sharpened street smarts to get the best of people.

The high point of any Heckle and Jeckle cartoon was always the witty banter between the feathered friends. Instead of resorting to violence, the birds bested their foes by outwitting them, and while doing so, indulged in wry commentary that made their adversaries appear even more foolish.