This is a Wheaties commercial that dates from 1954 or thereabouts. It features a gentleman named Bil Baird who may have been the most famous puppeteer in America before Jim Henson usurped the title. The Bil Baird Marionettes turned up in a wide array of TV shows, movies, Broadway shows and commercials. In the late fifties, he did a couple of TV specials with Art Carney that I remember as being quite entertaining.
His star puppet, seen in this spot, was a lion who is here referred to as Champy but I think he had other names at other times. I don't know who did the character's voice but he does sound a lot like Tony the Tiger, doesn't he? This is about the same time Thurl Ravenscroft began doing Tony's voice and that character clicked into place, selling tons of Sugar Frosted Flakes for Kellogg's. One wonders if Tony came first and the Wheaties people thought the big cat was working and that they should bring in Baird and his character for its similarity…or was it the other way around? It could also be a coincidence, I suppose, but it wouldn't surprise me if one inspired the other.
Here's the commercial. It starts a bit slow but stick with it, at least until you hear the rabbit chorus and the recipe for serving Wheaties with ice cream…
