My buddy Lou Mougin recently e-mailed me an excerpt from an old Dobie Gillis comic book that included a Hollywood gossip page. On it was the copy above left, which announced Hanna-Barbera commencing production on its first full-length feature, then called Whistle Your Way Back Home. By the time it came out, it was named Hey There, It's Yogi Bear, though it did contain a song called "Whistle Your Way Back Home." The list of folks who were working on the film is interesting…or, rather, it's interesting who isn't in this press release. Two of the main layout artists — Willie Ito and Jerry Eisenberg — aren't there, though they were responsible for many key sequences, including a musical number, "Go-go, St. Louis," which is easily the best thing in the picture.
Also absent (and uncredited on the finished film) are voice actors Howard Morris and Allan Melvin, who are heard in several roles near the end of the movie. The film was obviously recorded in three sections with Daws Butler (Yogi), Don Messick (Boo Boo and the Ranger) and Julie Bennett (Cindy Bear) working in all three. Hal Smith does the extra voices in the first third; Mel Blanc, J. Pat O'Malley and Jean Vander Pyl do extra voices in the second third; Morris and Melvin do extras in the final third. Three other performers — who, to my knowledge, have never been identified — provided the singing voices of Yogi, Boo Boo and Cindy, which I always thought was a huge mistake. Even at age 12, seeing this movie at the old Pickwood Theater near Pico and Westwood, I could tell those weren't the real voices of Yogi and his friends singing.
Also, the above press handout credits Joe Barbera and Warren Foster with the script, whereas the finished film credited the two of them plus Bill Hanna. And the movie also credits Marty Paich for songs, including the title song and one sung by James Darren (!) who also isn't mentioned in the above, presumably because they then hadn't thought of adding that song and hiring him. (Darren was then under contract to Columbia, which released the movie, so he probably didn't cost much.)
But the most interesting name that's not in the article — and I hadn't expected to see it — is that of Friz Freleng. 'Tis a little known fact that he was originally going to direct this particular movie and that he spent several months drawing and supervising the drawing of its storyboard. In 1963, when Warner Brothers began closing down its animation studio, Friz was looking for a place to go. Less than a year later, he and David DePatie would launch their own studio, DePatie-Freleng Productions. But in-between, Friz started working on the feature for Bill and Joe. This was kept secret at first because he was still on the WB payroll and perhaps violating some terms of his contract. Then, before it could be announced, he and DePatie got their operation up and running, so he left and, probably by mutual agreement, it was decided he would not receive credit on the picture.
Around 1980, DePatie-Freleng morphed into Marvel's animation studio, with Marvel acquiring some of its assets, including its building which soon burned to the ground. Shortly after that fire left him sans office, Friz briefly returned to Hanna-Barbera. He worked there for a week or three…or, at least, they assigned him an office and also gave one to John Dunn, who had been his main writer/storyman over the years. I'm not sure if they ever settled on any project for Friz to do there, or if they just talked for a few weeks before deciding it wouldn't fly. One day, suddenly, he and Dunn were gone, and that was that.
The one instance where I ever got to spend any quality time with Friz was his second or third day at H-B during that stopover. I was writing something for the studio at the time — Richie Rich, probably — and Barbera introduced me to Friz, hoping we'd hit it off and could work together on something. They got on the topic of Hey There, It's Yogi Bear and that's how I heard, from the two of them jointly, the story of his involvement. Friz kept saying how it would have been a better film — he may even have said, "a good film" — if he'd stayed on it. Joe, eager to humor an old friend, kept agreeing and joking about Friz abandoning them in their hour of need. I said I thought the end-product was a pretty good movie and Joe smiled at me, while Friz turned into Yosemite Sam and bellowed, only half in jest, that I didn't know what I was talking about. This, of course, is often so…but I don't think it was with regard to that movie. I think it's a pretty good film…except for when Yogi and Boo Boo sing.