Give Scooby his Doos
We break out the dog biscuits as crimesolving canine Scooby-Doo turns 50
TAKE one cowardly Great Dane, a group of inquisitive teens and pack them all into a multi-coloured van and you have the makings of animated adventures of the spooky kind.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? launched on American TV station CBS on September 13, 1969, and introduced young viewers to the Mystery Inc team of Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and their four-legged companion Scooby-Doo. It is said his name was inspired by the Frank Sinatra song Strangers In The Night with its “dooby dooby doo” refrain, while the cartoon’s theme song ended with the line “If we can count on you, Scooby-Doo, I know we’ll catch that villain”.
The team had a habit of stumbling across puzzling mystery cases that often involved ghosts, mummies and all manner of monsters.
Invariably their supernatural adversaries proved to be all
too human with the culprits declaring: “I would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
The Hanna-Barbera cartoon featured American presenter Casey Kasem as the voice of Shaggy and he once said: “It’s a natural quality of huskiness in the mid-range of my voice that I call ‘garbage’. It’s not a clear-toned announcer’s voice. It’s more like the voice of the guy next door.”
The show was broadcast on a Saturday morning slot and also proved a hit with British youngsters when it started airing on the BBC in 1970. In fact, there was an outcry when the broadcaster announced plans to scrap the cartoon series.
Children demonstrated to save Scooby from the axe and fashioned placards bearing messages like “Bugs Bunny might be fine, but give us Scooby Doo every time”.
The 1971 demonstration saved Scooby and he lived to fight another day.
At one point the show held the Guinness World Record for the most episodes of an animated series until the Simpsons overtook them.
Scooby’s nephew Scrappy made his debut in 1980 with his rally cry of “Puppy power” and there have been live action movies and theatre shows.
Matthew Lillard, who played Shaggy in the movies, took over the voice role for the cartoon favourite when Casey Kasem retired in 2009. Matthew said: “Casey is a legend. There’s something dignified and noble and wonderful about him.
“I grew up listening to him – he was the original Shaggy.”