She was Betty Rubble

Voice actors are usually never given a second thought. One of the most instantly recognizable voices is that of Bea Benaderet. Bea played not only the owner of The Shady Rest Hotel on "Petticoat Junction" and she also was Jethro's mother on "The Beverly Hillbillies". She is always going to be remembered as the voice of Betty Rubble the Millis Helper of the "The Flinstones".

Benaderet  had a long career on radio where she was able to develop her voice. On Radio she was a star during rodio's hey days. When television emerged Bea not being a fool knew this was the way to go, the wave of the future and jumped into it. Bea was originally supposed to be Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy" having done a very similar role on the radio version "My Favorite Wife".
Her work in cartoons wasn't only limited to to betty Rubble she was also the voice of Granny in the Warner Brother's cartoons with Tweety Bird. 
Bea Benaderet died in 1968 of lung cancer, she was 62 years old and in the height of her career.

The Jetsons 2062

 

The wonderful mechanized world of George Jestson is only 49 years away. The cartoon mainstay was set in the year 2062. Moving walk ways already exist. We can talk to our computers and carry them in our pockets. All that is missing are the jet cars and apartment buildings on poles. So if their world is in 49 years that means Mr. Spacely has already been born!

We will soon have wall sized video monitors where we can see the people we are talking to. Oh wait that's Skype.  So remember:
"Eep Op Ork Ah Ah, means I love you!"

"If it Weren't For You Meddeling Kids!"

"Scooby Doo Where Are You" made its Saturday morning premiere 43 years ago last month. This was when gang of Mystery Inc. driving along in the Mystery Machine started stumbling into mysteries and haunted mansions. The formula was almost always the same Alan, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their gifted dog Scooby Doo would be driving home late one night and the Mystery Machine would break down and almost always outside of an almost abandoned mansion or hotel. The gang would then go in search of help and stumble upon a monster or ghost wreaking havoc on the last and lonely occupants of said dwelling. Upon listening to the story the good natured hardy gang would volunteer to get to the bottom of mystery. The only dissenters to the offer would be Shaggy and Scooby Doo. The gang would then split up and start their investigation. Alan and Velma would find clues, Daphne would come into danger and Shaggy and Scooby would find a snack of some sort. Upon saving Daphne they would come up with a plan and concoct a trap to capture the villain. This plan and or trap most always failed and a chase of sort form would ensue. Finally the villain would be unmasked and be proved to not be a ghost, monster or unnatural fiend but someone known to the owners of the property and the police would be called in. After that all that was needed was a thank you and some Scooby Snacks.
As the series went on the gang sometimes ran into celebrities like Sonny & Cher, The Addams Family or Phyllis Diller, hijincks always ensued.

Lucille van Pelt, Psychiatrist

Lucille (Lucy) van Pelt came into being in 1952. She was a creation of Charles Schultz but to generations of kids she is real. We all know Lucy the crabby, bullying, football jerking, psychiatrist and her faults and foibles. She is the older sister of Linus and Rerun and nemesis of Charlie Brown. She also has a softer romantic side; her love for Schroeder, a musician. She is bad ass.
Lucy may have seemed mean but really she was just a rocker girl. You would have to be a blockhead to mess with her. She'll slug ya! She was also an entrepreneur. How many kids did you know who had a lemonade stand? Lucy had a psychiatric help stand. For most of her career as a psychiatrist Lucy only charged a nickle it wasn't until the 80's when faced with the rising costs of hot chocolate she raised her price to 7 cents.
Sure she was vain and always wanted to be the pageant queen. Haven't we all wanted to say "You do think I'm pretty don't you." with a clinched fist. She always had her girl friends Violet and Frieda to watch her back. But as any female will tell you, keep an eye on them when they are around Schroeder. Her only real threat was from Peppermint Pattie. Both Peppermint Patti and her Alice B. Toklas, Marcie called her Lucille. Lucy knew to stay clear of those girls.
Lucy focused most her aggressive energy towards her younger brother Linus and blockhead neighbor Charlie Brown. She was known to torment them whenever she had the chance. Linus was often her servant and Charlie Brown, even though he was her patient, received the sharp end of her tongue many times.

Love her or hate her Lucy is one part of us. If you were born in the later half of the 20th century in the USA you know Lucy.

I want to watch cartoons

Saturday morning was once the most important time of the week for a kid. Even though you didn’t have to get up to go to school you still got up early; cartoons were on! They ran all morning from sunrise until something boring like bowling came on around noon. This was kid prime time. Every kid had the line up memorized; they knew when the Jetsons and Scooby-doo or Road Runner was on. If you were lucky and had a TV in your room you didn’t have to leave all morning except for cereal. Even the cereal you were leaving for was on TV. Boobeery; do I need to say more? Saturday was a kid’s world, entertainment, marketing and maybe some educational stuff too. The only educational program kids ever really cared about on Saturday morning was School House Rock. They all knew the function of conjunction junction and could sing along. Singing and songs were an all important element of any, if not every Saturday morning cartoon binge. If a show didn’t have a cool opening song it really didn’t have much of a chance of making it. Songs could make or break a show. A really good cartoon sometimes had a band. Josie and the Pussycats, The Archies, even the Partridges; bands ruled, Judy Jetson had a band and so did Pebbles and Bam Bam.  If the show did have a band one would visit. Sonny and Cher met both the Addams Family and Scooby-doo.

Then there were the villains and their henchmen!  Every good show had a villain and a henchman battling the good guys or super hero. Characters were colorful but distinctly black and white. Good was good and evil was wrong and always failed in the end. The villain never won, even when they thought they did. They would always got their comeuppance but would be back next week with another dastardly and hair brained plan. Those dratted kids would always be there to foil them!