Heathcliff (1980 TV series)

Heathcliff is an animated TV series that debuted on October 4, 1980. It was the first series based on the Heathcliff comic strip and was produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran until September 18, 1982 with a total of 26 episodes, under two different names (see next paragraph).

History
The first season, called "Heathcliff and Dingbat", ran for 13 episodes and included backup segments with Dingbat and the Creeps, who were created for the show. "Dingbat and the Creeps" revolved around the adventures of three monstrous characters who were self-employed as "Odd Jobs, Inc." which consisted of Dingbat, a vampire dog who used a bat-shaped novelty straw to eat most foods, Sparerib, a strangely rotund skeleton with the ability to change himself into useful items (such as a floor lamp, which he did in the opening credits), and Nobody, a gravelly-voiced jack-o-lantern who led the team and often found them various work.

The second season, called "Heathcliff and Marmaduke", ran for 13 episodes and featured backup segments with fellow comic strip character Marmaduke (although the Marmaduke segments are actually the first to be seen in each half-hour show).

Reruns of the second season ("Heathcliff and Marmaduke") were seen occasionally on Boomerang.

Two years after this show ended, another one based on Heathcliff was produced by DIC, which was called simply "Heathcliff", although for distinction this series is usually referred to by the expanded title of "Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats".

Cast

 * Mel Blanc – Heathcliff, Spike, Milkman
 * Henry Corden – Clem, Digby, Dogcatcher
 * June Foray – Iggy, Muggsy, Grandma, Sonja, Marcy
 * Don Messick – Sparerib, Nobody, Mr. Post, Mr. Snyder
 * Russi Taylor – Barbie Winslow
 * Frank Welker – Dingbat
 * Paul Winchell – Marmaduke, Phil Winslow

Heathcliff and Dingbat (1980)
Each episode consists of two 5-minute Heatcliff cartoons and two 5-minute "Dingbat and the Creeps" cartoons.

Heathcliff and Marmaduke (1981)
Each episode consists of a 6-minute Heathcliff cartoon sandwiched between two 6-minute Marmaduke cartoons.

DVD release
On August 14, 2012, Warner Bros. released The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively in the US and only through Warner's online store or Amazon.com.