Quick Draw McGraw

Quick Draw McGraw

Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

Quick Draw McGraw was created in response to the overwhelming success of Huckleberry Hound a year earlier. In order to appeal to a wide variety of ages, the creators decided to use the show as a means to spoof a variety of genres that were on television at the time.

The main character was a takeoff on the tried and true lawmen who inhabited popular Westerns. Acting as sheriff of a generic Old West town, gun-toting horse Quick Draw McGraw would catch the bad guys, all the while trying to uphold the various codes of behavior in the Wild West. His sidekick, Baba Looie, was a small burro who, luckily, had more common sense than his boss and often lent a hand in apprehending the criminals.

Another popular supporting character was McGraw’s hound dog Snuffles. While Snuffles never spoke, he left a lasting impression on viewers. Every time he received a dog biscuit, Snuffles would float up in the air and descend, feather-like, in slow-motion ecstasy.

Sagebrush Sal played the “damsel in distress," always managing to land herself in precarious situations, although she was usually oblivious to the danger. Sal’s lack of concern for her own safety and preoccupation with her makeup were characteristics often shared by other female characters of the time.

The character who stands out the most in the Quick Draw cartoons was actually a secret identity of McGraw himself. Donning a black cape and mask, the lawman would become El Kabong, so named because his weapon of choice was an acoustic guitar which would make that distinctive sound when used. While ladies adored Kabong, he usually ended up blowing it by revealing himself to be McGraw.

Another segment of the show was Snooper and Blabber, a cat and mouse private eye team which the producers used to parody the detective shows of the day. The team spoke with distinctive voices and worked well together, especially considering that they were natural enemies. These segments were responsible for the introduction of Snagglepuss, who would eventually star in his own segments on Yogi Bear.

The last component of the show featured a pair of father and son dogs who were representative of the motherless family programs that were in abundance on TV. Augie Doggy and his pop, Doggie Daddy, were inseparable. Augie adored his father and hung on his every word, even when it was obvious that his “dear old Dad” was in over his head.

Like many of their other Hanna-Barbera alumni, all of these time-honored characters showed up in future programs, such as Yogi’s Treasure Hunt and Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics.

See also: Yogi Bear, Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics

 

Release History

9/28/63 - 9/3/66 CBS/syndicated
Syndicated: 1959


TV Sub Categories

animated

TV Studio

Hanna-Barbera


Television Cast

Quick Draw McGraw Daws Butler
Baba Looie Daws Butler
Snuffles Daws Butler
Sagebrush Sal Julie Bennett
Snooper Daws Butler
Blabber Daws Butler
Doggie Daddie Doug Young
Augie Doggie Daws Butler
Various Don Messick

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