The prime-time animated series "Where's Huddles" was originally the summer replacement for CBS' "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour". This was the first Hanna-Barbera animated series that was shown in prime-time,the first since "The Flintstones". And this was six years after the success of that show. The weekly half-hour show revolves around fumbling football quarterback,Ed Huddles,and his next-door neighbor,team center Bubba McCoy,who are members of the Rhinos,a disorganized professional football team that Huddles somehow manages to lead to victory. Given a test run in the summer of 1970,the series was supposed to jump into a permanent nighttime slot in January of 1971,but CBS decided otherwise when the series faltered in the ratings. The show that replaced the animated series "Where's Huddles?" in January of 1971....a little known show called "All In The Family",which went on to become one of the biggest hits of the 1970's.
Instead,the series' original 10 episodes were rebroadcast the following summer,and from there it was never to be heard from again. The series aired on CBS from July 1, 1970 through September 10,1970,and was rebroadcast back on the network from July 5,1971 until September 5,1971. It was brought back as part of the USA Cartoon Hour on the USA Network in repeated episodes from March 1,1989 until March 21,1989 and again on Cartoon Network during the month of December,1995, and on Boomerang Network during the summer of 2002 as a marathon. As for the casting,the show was funny to being with the remarkable talents of comedian-Broadway sensation Paul Lynde as the perfectionist neighbor Claude Pertwee. Lynde,however was a regular on the popular daytime game show "The Hollywood Squares",as a cast regular as the hilarious Uncle Arthur on "Bewitched",and also a stock player for voiceovers for several Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters.
The writings for the show were done by R.S. Allen and Harvey Bullock who were the team behind some of Hanna-Barbera's biggest hits:"The Flintstones",and "The Jetsons". Series regulars include the regular Hanna-Barbera stock players which included Alan Reed(as Mad Dog Mahoney/The Rhinos'head coach),Mel Blanc(Bubba McCoy),and Jean Vanderpyl(Marge Huddles),best known as Fred,Barney,and Wilma on the long-running animated series The Flintstones. This also included another one of the Hanna-Barbera stock players as well,the great Don Messick(Fumbles/Beverly). Other cast regulars included Cliff Norton as Ed Huddles/Marge's faithful but loyal husband;former Duke Ellington orchestra singer/vocalist Herb Jeffries,and actress Marie Wilson in her final role before her untimely death in 1972.
