Snagglepuss

Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character debuted in prototype form in 1959 and established as a studio regular by 1962. A pink anthropomorphic cougar sporting an upturned collar, shirt cuffs, and bow tie, Snagglepuss enjoys the fine things in life and shows particular affinity for the theatre. His stories routinely break the fourth wall as the character addresses the audience in self-narration, soliloquy, and asides. As originally voiced by Daws Butler, Snagglepuss seeks quasi-Shakespearean turns of phrase. Some of his campy verbal mannerisms became catchphrases: "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", "Exit, stage left!", and a fondness for closing sentences with the emphatic "even".
History.
An orange mountain lion known as "Snaggletooth", featuring the eventual character's general manner and Bert Lahr-inspired voice but without collar or cuffs, first appeared on television in "The Quick Draw McGraw Show" in 1959. The character subsequently appeared in a supporting role in "Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy" and "Snooper and Blabber". Under the revised name Snagglepuss the character appeared in his own series of shorts in 1961 as a regular segment on "The Yogi Bear Show", featuring in 32 episodes. He later appeared in other Hanna-Barbera shows, including "Yogi's Gang" (1973), as a co-host in "Laff-A-Lympics" (1977–78), "Yogi's Treasure Hunt" (1985), and as a teenager in "Yo Yogi!" (1991).
Snagglepuss's appearance in a 1960s run of Kellogg's cereal television commercials prompted legal action by actor Bert Lahr, who said the similarity of the character's voice to his own could lead viewers to the false conclusion that Lahr himself had endorsed the product. As part of the settlement, the disclaimer "Snagglepuss voice by Daws Butler" was required to appear on each commercial. This made Butler one of the few voice artists to receive screen credits in a TV commercial.
Butler reused his Snagglepuss voice for two other Hanna-Barbera characters: Jonathan Wellington "Mudsy" Muddlemore from "The Funky Phantom" and Brutus the lion from "The Roman Holidays".
Character.
Snagglepuss lives in a cavern, which he constantly tries to make more habitable for himself. No matter what he does, however, he always winds up back where he started or worse off than he was before. In some episodes, Snagglepuss is chased by Major Minor (voiced by Don Messick), a tiny-sized hunter. A few episodes involved him trying to court a lioness named Lila (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl) but who always rejected his advances for being too boorish or pathetic.
Butler's voicing of the character recalls the work of actor Bert Lahr, especially the more mellow moods of Lahr's Cowardly Lion in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film "The Wizard of Oz". (Coincidentally, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons for the MGM cartoon studio before opening Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1957.)
Snagglepuss has three signature catchphrases. His most famous is his perpetual exclamation "Heavens to Murgatroyd!" Before dashing offscreen to make an escape or run an errand, Snagglepuss announces the move in the form of a theatrical stage direction, saying "Exit, stage left!" (or "right," as the case may be, or "up" or "down" even). Finally, Snagglepuss tends to add the word "even" for emphasis at the ends of sentences:
Snagglepuss's pink color, lilting voice and theatrical manner led to the character being interpreted by viewers over the years as gay. This conjecture was touched upon over the years in many parodies but was seriously explored in a darker retelling of the character's life titled "", a 2018 comic miniseries from DC Comics that was part of their "Hanna-Barbera Beyond" initiative.