The Pink Panther Show is a
showcase of animated
shorts produced by
David H. DePatie and
Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1978, starring the
animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits of the
live-action films. The series was produced by
Mirisch Films and
DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, and was broadcast Saturday mornings on two American television networks: from September 6, 1969, to September 2, 1978, on
NBC; and from September 9, 1978, to August 30, 1980, on ABC.
When
The Pink Panther Show first aired in 1969, it consisted of one cartoon featuring
The Inspector, sandwiched by two
Pink Panther entries. Due to the number of shorts produced, two episodes feature a
Pink Panther cartoon sandwiched by two Inspector entries. The 30-minute show was then connected via
bumper sequences featuring both the panther and Inspector together, with announcer
Marvin Miller acting as an off-camera narrator talking to the panther. Bumper sequences consisted of newly animated segments as well as recycled footage from existing cartoons
We Give Pink Stamps,
Reel Pink,
Pink Outs and
Super Pink, fitted with new incidental music and voice-over work from Miller.
In 1976, the half-hour series was revamped into a 90-minute format, as
It's the All New Pink Panther Laugh-and-a-Half Hour-and-a-Half Show Introducing Misterjaw; this version included a live-action segment, where comedian
Lenny Schultz would read letters and jokes from viewers. This version performed poorly and eventually reverted to the original 30-minute version in 1977 as
Think Pink Panther.
After nine years on NBC, the Pink Panther moved to ABC in 1978 and was retitled
The All New Pink Panther Show and
Pink Panther Encore, where it lasted two seasons before leaving the network realm entirely. The tenth season featured 16 episodes with 32 new Pink Panther cartoons, and 16 featuring Crazylegs Crane: no bumpers were produced for
The All New Pink Panther Show, but 10 second "Stay tuned..." bumpers explaining an upcoming entry were produced for the first several episodes. The 32
All New Pink Panther Show entries were eventually released to theaters by United Artists.
