The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour

The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour is a 60-minute prime time musical-variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions which aired for five consecutive weeks on NBC from April 13, 1978 to May 11, 1978.

Although only scheduled for a five-week test run, The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour failed in the ratings as it competed with ABC's Welcome Back, Kotter and What's Happening!! and was replaced in its timeslot with reruns of CHiPs.

Overview
The show was hosted by two life-size female puppets named Honey and Sis – Honey (voiced by Udana Power), a 19-year-old willowy tall blond who thinks of herself as a gifted performer, while Sis (voiced by Wendy McKenzie), her 17-year-old red-headed sister is actually the talented one. On each episode, Honey and Sis sang, danced and participated in comedy sketches as "The Disco of Life" where they interacted with people at a disco club and "The Truth Tub" where they relaxed in a hot tub and parodied popular TV shows such as Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company.

Guest stars included Robert Conrad, Abe Vigoda, Anson Williams, Tom Bosley, Tony Randall, Betty White, Charo, Leif Garrett, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, Linda Lavin, Gavin MacLeod, Gary Burghoff, Dan Haggerty, Peter Lupus, Connie Stevens, The Sylvers and Twiggy. The stars introduced themselves rather than by an announcer. Actors in costume impersonating famous Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters such as Yogi Bear, Snagglepuss and Huckleberry Hound (voiced by Daws Butler) made cameo appearances.

Honey and Sis were designed by long-time Hanna-Barbera animator Iwao Takamoto and their costumes created by fashion designer Bob Mackie. They were manipulated by a team of six puppeteers who would wear full-body blue leotards in front of a blue screen, so that the two characters would be chroma-keyed on a different background.

The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour has never been rebroadcast or officially released on home video.

Production credits

 * Executive Producer: Joseph Barbera
 * Director: Jim Washburn, Joe Layton
 * Producer: Ken Welch, Mitzie Welch, Joe Layton
 * Music Director: Billy Barnes
 * Music Material: Ken Welch, Mitzie Welch
 * Puppeteer: Jerry Vogel, Paul Higgins, Greg Dandler
 * Choreographer: Joe Layton
 * Animation Director: Iwao Takamoto
 * Segment Director (Honey and Sis): Bob Mackie