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There should be a spot in the sitcom hall of fame for Zamba, the trained lion who appeared on several classic TV comedies. The big cat must have been hilarious, considering it appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies, Mr. Ed, My Three Sons, I Dream of Jeannie, The Jack Benny Program, The Addams Family and My Favorite Martian. (Who knew there were so many lion-themed comedy plots?) Zamba even co-starred with Bob Denver twice — first when Denver played Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

The second time around, Zamba guest-starred on Gilligan’s Island — and the appearance nearly cost Denver his life, according to producer Sherwood Schwartz. “Bob Denver had come within inches, literally, of being crushed beneath a 400-pound lion,” he revealed in his book Inside Gilligan's Island: From Creation to Syndication, per MeTV.

First, a little more background on Zamba. Exotic animal trainer Ralph Helfer, a...

The Gordy subplot in Jordan Peele's "Nope" is distressing for many reasons, not least of which is that history is filled with incidents of real-life film and TV actors nearly meeting their maker at the hands -- or paws -- of a startled non-human costar. We're not as far removed from such real-world incidents as you might assume, either. During her "Hot Ones" episode in 2022, Leslie Mann recalled having to share a "little tiny space" with an actual lion on the "George of the Jungle" set 25 years earlier and realizing that "if he just jumps at me, I'm dead" and nobody could do a damn thing to save her.

30 years before that, it seems Bob Denver had a similar encounter with one of Simba's cousins on "Gilligan's Island." The show's second season episode "Feed the Kitty" saw a shipwrecked lion wash up on the shores of the titular island,...

Gilligan's Island, one of the most beloved classic sitcoms from the '60s, follows the story of seven shipwrecks from different walks of life, who get caught in a storm and are suddenly stranded on an uncharted island. Running on CBS for ninety-eight episodes, the comical show created American icons out of all of its characters, including the most recognized star, Bob Denver. Denver played Gilligan, the hapless first mate of the S.S. Minnow, and his tireless talent captivated audiences for years on end. While the actors portrayed people who were forced to get along for survival, the safety of the cast and crew did face some dangerous, life-threatening situations during filming. In Season 2, the Gilligan's Island star worked alongside one of the most booked-and-busy animals in showbiz — Zamba, "The Greatest Lion That Ever Lived."...

Top Argentina’s free-to-air channel Pakapaka has inked a deal with Paris-based animation house Dandelooo on award-winning series “Jasmine & Jambo,” to be broadcast on the Argentine government funded channel dedicated to children’s content.

Melissa Vega, international sales manager at Dandelooo told Variety, “Jasmine and Jambo is an amazing series that is doing great internationally. Pakapaka is the perfect home for the series.”

“Jasmine & Jambo,” a 26-part series spangled with humour and musical notes, is designed to engage both upper preschoolers and their parents. It is the brainchild of Barcelona-based company Teidees and Catalan broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya. At the helm of the show is Silvia Cortés, co-founder of Teidees. “Jasmine & Jambo” bagged the best international series at the Festival Ecran Jeunesse and secured a nomination for the Quality in Children’s TV Worldwide award at the prestigious Prix Jeunesse International.

For Juan Furlino, channel manager of Pakapaka, it was...