Do you remember Tennessee Tuxedo!?
Last night, as I was searching for a Saturday morning cartoon with a Christmas theme, when Robert shared a vague memory he had of a cartoon that featured a penguin trimming a Christmas tree. I had just come across something about Tennessee Tuxedo or I don’t think I would have been able to find the episode he was recalling.
Tennessee Tuxedo originally aired from 1963 to 1966, although re-runs aired throughout the 1970s. I especially loved the dim-witted walrus character Chumley, and of course the professorial Phineas J. Wheepee.
The episode featured below is called Tree Trimmers. It’s hilarious! I remember watching it and wanting to make homemade Christmas ornaments. I’m sure I tried and drove my mother crazy.
Click here to visit Amazon’s listing Tennessee Tuxedo: The Complete Collection.
If you’re looking for a Christmas present to get an older Xer (like my big bro Billy who was born in 1961) check out The Best of Tennessee Tuxedo, a DVD that came out in 2006 that features 15 favorite episodes of the wise-cracking penguin.
About Tennessee Tuxedo
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales was a semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills. The title is a play on the tuxedo dinner jacket worn as formal wear.
The cartoon series revolved around Tennessee Tuxedo the penguin (voiced by Don Adams) and his best friend Chumley the Walrus (voiced by Bradley Bolke). The pair lived (not always willingly) at the Megapolis Zoo under the control of the ill-tempered zoo director Stanley Livingstone (voiced by Mort Marshall).
More than 80 episodes of Tennessee Tuxedo aired across three seasons. Click here to learn more.
Ah, yes. “Tennessee Tuxedo will not fail!” With Maxwell Smart’s voice behind him, you always believed it.
Its definitely a post Boomer phenom. It looks vaguely familiar though.