Superstar Summary THE STARS: Heckle & Jeckle
YEAR OF DEBUT: 1946 (THE TALKING MAGPIES)
STUDIO OF DEBUT: Paul Terry (Terrytoons)
SIGNATURE: "I say ol' chum!"

KEY CREW BEHIND THE STARS: Paul Terry (producer), Mannie Davis and Connie Rasinski (directors), Tom Morrison (writer)

CAREER HIGH: CAT TROUBLE (1947) - The characters and format are finally established.

They're magpies. They look alike. They act alike. One's British. One's from New York.

Those are the only certain facts about Heckle and Jeckle. It is extraordinary that such little information was all that was needed to propel these birds to stardom.

Heckle and Jeckle were one of the few cartoon teams that were, for most part, an actual team. Unlike Tom and Jerry, the Coyote and Road Runner, the Ant and the Aardvark, etc. Heckle and Jeckle were not adversaries. They were buddies. They were also impossible to tell apart.

Even though Heckle and Jeckle have two different accents, it is never quite clear which bird is using which voice. They never seem to call each other by name. However, in watching large numbers of the shorts, one is given the impression that Jeckle is British while Heckle hails from New York.

Yet these two indistinguishable magpies proved extremely popular due to their better efforts at humor. At their best they could be as fast and furious as any Warners or MGM cartoon. These better efforts contain wild chases and crazy characters. At their worst they feature some of the most mindless violence and cruel treatment. They might be considered a sort of animated Three Stooges.

In fact, Heckle and Jeckle may be the most antagonistic, violent characters in the Superstar category. Most of their shorts feature them as the instigators to all that will follow. It is they that break the law, disturb someone or desire fun. Other Superstars might heckle their opponents or seek revenge, but only these magpies go out of their way for a fight.

Another oddity in the Heckle and Jeckle format is that there is never a clear superiority. The magpies always have the winning attitude of being in control, but their chases are continual "back and forth" free-for-alls. One moment they are chasing; the next they are the chased. Though they win many of the battles, they frequently lose the war.

Heckle and Jeckle also tapped into a format not being exploited by other characters. The Heckle and Jeckle cartoons were throwbacks to the very early days of cartoons when anything could happen. For example, an early, silent, black and white Felix the Cat cartoon entitled FELIX SWITCHES WITCHES had the clever cat divide a horse in half, attach each half to a different half of a bicycle and both halves worked.

By the 1940s, such illogic was generally unacceptable in most cartoons... except for Heckle and Jeckle. That same "anything goes" spirit is alive and well in the adventures of Heckle and Jeckle. Their contemporaries worried about the "plausible impossible," where cartoon actions were based on a logical but exaggerated reality. Heckle and Jeckle didn't worry if it made sense. They just had fun.

They also were aware that they were cartoon characters. Unlike some of the other cartoon superstars, Heckle and Jeckle knew this was "only a cartoon." This belief was not always shared by other characters in the same cartoon. Hence, Heckle and Jeckle seemed to have had a charmed life to survive the non- stop craziness that was unleashed almost as soon as the opening credits finished.

All they really lacked were individual personalities.

THE BIRTH OF THE BIRDS

The reason for this lack of full development is largely due to Heckle and Jeckle's home base for most of their career. This hyperactive pair come from the famous Terry studio. The studio was founded by animation pioneer Paul Terry.

Terry was proud of that fact that his studio could turn out the least expensive cartoons around. This budget mentality had a definite visual effect on the shorts.

The premise for this team allegedly came from Terry, himself. He thought it would amusing to have identical twins as the key characters of a series. Since most animated teams worked on the idea of the two characters being quite opposite, this seemed a novel idea. Tom Morrison was instrumental in writing the first short and Mannie Davis directed it.

Heckle and Jeckle officially started their career in THE TALKING MAGPIES (January, 1946). Like many "first" appearances, it has key differences from the current conception of the characters. The biggest difference is that Heckle and Jeckle are husband and wife. The New York character is the husband. He wears a hat and carries a suitcase. The other magpie (called "Maggie" in the short) wears a ladies hat, carries a purse and has large eyelashes.

The short starts out with the married couple looking for a nest. A real estate agent sends them to a nest outside the home of Farmer Alfalfa and his dog, Dimwit. Once in the nest the two begin arguing. Inside the house the farmer and Dimwit are trying to sleep. Initial attempts to quiet the birds meet with violent returns. The farmer decides to go down and get his gun.

At this point, the short seems to change direction. The male magpie, sans hat, sneaks into the radio and begins "broadcasting" about the virtues of magpies. At first somewhat taken in by the radio, the farmer becomes outraged when the magpie steps out of the device and says "hello." The farmer grabs his gun and chases the bird outside the house. Both birds reenter the house and fly Dimwit to the roof where they drop him. By this time, neither magpie is wearing any clothes, so are totally indistinguishable.

More mayhem ensues as the farmer and Dimwit attempt shooting the pair. As each noisy attempts fail, the magpies (again without clothes) shout "quiet." Finally the farmer and Dimwit are taking axes to the tree. This makes not only the two magpies fly around them, but magpies from other nests take up the battle which eventually ends up in the house. Soon the magpies have flown into the tail pipe of the farmer's car. He and Dimwit get in the backseat and, boards in hand, await the birds' exit.

However the birds instead fly out the radiator and push the car backwards down a hill. As the car madly rolls down the hill the sound of a drum roll and honking horn are heard. The camera cuts to find the two magpies providing the sound effects. When the car crashes, the farmer and Dimwit are sent flying up into the air. They land in the nest outside their house. Inside the house, on the bed, lie the two magpies. Once again they are in their husband and wife garb. They comment about the noisy neighbors and start laughing.

Though this short is very different from a typical Heckle and Jeckle short, several themes begin that are repeated in later cartoons. First is the idea that they tend to start the problem. The farmer was politely asking them to hold it down only to receive violence as an answer. Second is the idea that they provide their own music and sound effects. In fact the pair seem to enjoy music to the point of flying and walking in definite rhythm. Finally is the radio gag. The magpies love to pick up an object and pretend it's a microphone, going into some form of announcement, news broadcast, or sporting event.

THE REAL HECKLE AND JECKLE

It wasn't until the end of the year, November 1946, that a second talking magpies short appeared, THE UNINVITED PESTS. In this short they are both male, and totally indistinguishable. The New York voice is still there, but there is no British voice yet. This other magpie spent several shorts trying to find an appropriate voice.

Dayton Allen provided the original voices for the magpies. A bit of an impressionist, Allen frequently threw in various voices. Heckle and Jeckle could impersonate the vocal tones of a number of current stars and personalities such as Bogart, Groucho, Jimmy Durante, Hugh Herbert, The Shadow (a radio and pulp magazine hero), and others.

THE UNINVITED PESTS, directed by Connie Rasinski, is truly a standard Heckle and Jeckle short. When Farmer Alfalfa and his dog, Dimwit, try to have a picnic, the two magpies horn in. Violence ensues and the farmer and Dimwit lose in the end.

The next released short MCDOUGAL'S REST FARM came out only two months later in January, 1947. The series was now definitely on the run at the Terry studio. This short, like the first one, features a larger number of magpies. It was also directed by the original director, Mannie Davis. The premise is that Dimwit (now without Farmer Alfalfa) is keeping watch over a rest farm for animals. Magpies arrive to build a new home and begin making all sorts of construction noise. When Dimwit approaches them and tells them he is the watch dog, the New York magpie states that it is okay. "You can watch," says the bird.

By the end of the short, the field has narrowed down to just two birds. Dimwit corners them with a gun. Unable to shoot them, he proclaims he's probably "just a bird dog!"

The series fourth film, HAPPY GO LUCKY (February, 1947) was again directed by Rasinski. By now the pattern was fully set. In this short the two magpies are trying to steal vegetables from a farm being guarded by Dimwit. After several frantic and violent chases, Dimwit gives up and fills a wheel barrow full of vegetables. The magpies gladly accept and give him a gift in return, a cake. The cake's candle is a piece of dynamite. The magpies then go on their merry way. In the first instance of "justice," Dimwit states he can't eat the candle and tosses it away. It lands under the wheel barrow and explodes. Heckle and Jeckle are left dazed on a tree branch, wondering what went wrong.

Next up was CAT TROUBLE (April 1947). This short finally gives the other magpie his British voice. It also gave the two magpies a gray coloring under their wings in several scenes. The story follows the pair's attempts to keep a small bird out of the mouth of a cat.

THE INTRUDERS (May 1947) introduces the other regular to the series, a bulldog (eventually named Clancy). Heckle and Jeckle peddle their wares in a park as custodian Dimwit and security guard Clancy try to stop them.

As one can see, once Terry found a winning combination he moved with great speed. Heckle and Jeckle were soon appearing in a large variety of adventures. Other 1947 releases included FISHING BY THE SEA where they attempt to get Dimwit's fish. THE HITCHHIKERS finds them getting a ride with two bank robbers, (Clancy and Dimwit). There were a total of eight Heckle and Jeckle films that year.

1948 brought more films. In TAMING THE CAT they hassle a bird eating cat and sing "Just a couple of songbirds" ala Jimmy Durante. OUT AGAIN, IN AGAIN has them escape jail and create a frantic train chase. Clancy earns their wrath as caddies in GOONEY GOLFERS. Total for 1948: six films.

The series continued full steam until 1955 when Terry sold his studio and library to CBS. Before this period a number of standout shorts were released. These include KING TUT'S TOMB (1950), an atmospheric trip into an Egyptian tomb with Heckle and Jeckle as explorers. While deep in the catacombs they see a number of strange things including some alluring female cat dancers. HAIR CUT-UPS (1952) is a mini musical with the pair as barbers who clip the career of Dangerous Dan. The short features the magpies singing the ballad of Dangerous Dan.

From 1955, the new owners kept production going, but under new hands new characters were being created. Heckle and Jeckle went to a more relaxed pace of only one or two a year. In the early Sixties the last Heckle and Jeckle films were produced. The artwork on these films were decidedly poorer than the classic shorts.

One of these, THOUSAND SMILE CHECK-UP (1960), finds the formula still at work. Heckle and Jeckle have a "last chance" gas station at the deserts edge. When Clancy opens one across the road a battle ensues. The magpies end up exploding Clancy's station with an atomic blast!

THE TV MAGPIES

When Terry sold his studio and library to CBS in 1955, the talking magpies immediately went on the air. Following the success of MIGHTY MOUSE PLAYHOUSE (1955), 1956 saw the debut of THE HECKLE AND JECKLE CARTOON SHOW. With opening credits created from a series of chases and battles, the show became a TV staple and appeared on the network on and off through 1971.

After a number of years resting, Filmation purchased the rights and created a new Saturday morning series starring the magpies and other Terry characters. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MIGHTY MOUSE AND HECKLE AND JECKLE debuted in 1979 as an hour show. 1980 saw its second season cut to a half-hour show. There was no third season.

Filmation was unable to capture the unique charm of Heckle and Jeckle. Admittedly, Filmation was not allowed to use the extreme violence that was an important element in the success of the original Terrytoon series.

WHAT IS A MAGPIE?

Heckle and Jeckle are identified as "magpies." Magpies are part of the Crow and Jay family. The primary difference being that jays are more colorful and crows are completely black and have shorter tails. More specifically, Heckle and Jeckle are what are known as "yellow-billed magpies," a type of bird with black and white coloring and long tail.

The white coloring on Heckle and Jeckle was on their chest. Sometimes the coloring ranged to shades of blue or grey. There are also times when their bodies are completely black, causing some people to remember them as crows.

According to most bird books, the yellow-billed magpie is restricted to some areas of California! It was an unusual choice of bird for a New York animation studio to decide to use. However, by the 1940s, the term "magpie" had taken on the slang meaning of a person who chatters noisily. Certainly Heckle and Jeckle talk more incessantly than many other Cartoon Superstars and perhaps that contributed to the final choice.

CO-STARS

A staple of animated cartoons is the dumb dog who is easily outwitted and confused by the main character. In the Heckle and Jeckle series, this canine of unknown pedigree was named Dimwit. (The name was more closely associated with the comic book adventures of the mischievous birds.) Dimwit was the ultimate stupid character. Almost his every statement started with a slow, "duhhhhh." The quick chatter from Heckle and Jeckle always prodded him to disaster.

Another regular was Clancy, the bulldog. (His name is also more frequent in the comics than the shorts.) A tough guy character, he was the powerful canine who would be continually outwitted by the birds. Often, he was the boss or associate of Dimwit but even his additional intelligence failed to save him.

Farmer Alfalfa, one of Terry's stars from silent cartoons, appeared in a few of their earliest adventures. He was usually the owner of Dimwit.

IN OTHER WORLDS

The most prolific Terrytoon's character in terms of merchandise was Mighty Mouse. A long way back in second place would be Heckle and Jeckle. They have the dubious distinction of being more prolific than any of the other Terrytoon characters. They appeared on toys and games and children's books.

However, their greatest area of exposure came in comic books. As early as 1947, less than a year after their official debut, they were appearing in TERRY-TOONS COMICS from Marvel. By the mid-fifties, they graduated to their own title which lasted until the late Sixties (under a variety of publishers). In the late Eighties, the short lived comic company Spotlight, planned to revive the madcap magpies in thier own comic book. However the issue never actually came out but a new story with the birds did appear in THE MIGHTY MOUSE AND FRIENDS HOLIDAY SPECIAL.

SUPERSTAR QUALITY

Heckle and Jeckle were Paul Terry's favorite characters created at his studio. Though they never fully developed as personalities, these magpies continue to make audiences laugh through new releases in the home video market. These tapes offer the same variable quality that is behind any Terry product. However, they also offer many laughs. "Good job, chums!"

"Tom Morrison [writer of Heckle and Jeckle] had no previous experience at animated cartoon making before joining the Terrytoons staff. His parents were friends of Paul Terry." - I. Klein, storyman/animator at Terrytoons

"We cartoon characters can have a wonderful life if we only take advantage of it." - Heckle (or Jeckle) in THE POWER OF THOUGHT (1949)

"One day [Paul Terry] came into our room with a big announcement: "NO MORE MICE! TO HELL WITH MICE! WE ARE THROUGH USING MICE IN OUR CARTOONS." - I. Klein, storyman/animator at Terrrytoons

"Old feather head... Old bird brain... Old yellow beak..." Heckle's (or Jeckle's) reference to his partner in MOOSE ON THE LOOSE (1952)

"Terrytoons' work schedule was tight, efficient and fast." - I. Klein, storyman/animator at Terrytoons