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It’s Heckle and Jeckle!
A pair of identical magpies in appearance and who are brash, cynical and antagonistic to deliberately annoy and outwit foes with comic aggression
Also characterized by their witty banter with each other
They seldom referred to each other by name
#25 on TV Guide’s All-Time Cartoon Characters
Jeckle
- Speaks with an English accent
- Uses refined language
- Refers to Heckle as “old chap”, “old thing”, “old boy” or “old featherhead”
- More devious than Heckle
- Initially more polite
Heckle
- Speaks with a gruff New York dialect
- More rough and informal than refined
- Refers to Jeckle as “chum” or “pal”
- More confrontational than Jeckle
They can sing (as in the beginning of Blue Plate Symphony (1954)
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Background
Created by Paul Terry at his own Terrytoons animation studio
Heckle and Jeckle preceded Goofy Gophers (Warner Brothers) and Chip ‘n’ Dale (Disney)
5 voices actors (1946-1981) with Sid Raymond being the first
52 Heckle and Jeckle theatrical shorts
First appearance The Talking Magpies (Terrytoons, 1946)
Last appearance Birds of Paradise (Filmation, 1981)
Last made by CBS Messed-Up Movie Makers (1966)
Appeared as husband and wife in The Talking Magpies, which only last one episode (If she prefers, Tiny Geek can click here for a low-quality version in French)
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First television appearance July 13, 1956, CBS Cartoon Theatre hosting by Dick Van Dyke
Frequently appeared on various Mighty Mouse shows and eventually, their own show
Also appeared in comic books as Terrytoon Comics, St. John Publications, Pines Comics, Dell Comics, and Gold Key Comics
Enjoy Taming the Cat (1948)
A Frank Angle 
Never heard of them Frank!
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GFB,
Too bad because they are definitely classics.
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Now once again I can’t say I know these birds… glad I was not asked to photograph them… Thanks for the intro Frank,,,,
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Bulldog,
Good point as I’m sure they would torture unwanted photographers! … as a footnote, magpies are found in the western US.
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I remember them well!
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Debra,
Hooray … they made it to Australia!
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ANother classic I remember well.
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Mobius,
Absolutely classics … and masters of mayhem.
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Oh, I just love those two birds!!!!
Have a great great weekend, Frank!!!!
🙂
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Marina,
They two feathered friends are a bit zany!
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Your country must be full of mad cartoons – those birds has never flew into my life – but they are crazy and wonderful … love the chef video. Have a great weekend now.
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Viveka,
They are from an era of slapstick violence in cartoons. But various parental groups complained. 😦
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I know, Frank .. we have gone so sensitive that sometimes we loose our heritage. But we can show films with terrible violence without any problems, but we can’t watch a love scene with naked bodies in a haze.
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Great point … many movies and video games are much worse than cartoons of my era.
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I loved Heckle and Jeckle–thanks for featuring them Frank
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LouAnn,
The Heckle and Jeckle are loving the praise from Canada.
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These birds are new to me, Frank. Love the song and dance act, and the chase scenes always make me laugh. 😀
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Definitely remember it watching them. Loved their semi-formal banter while looking like airborne hobos. I always wondered if there was any controversy about them seeming too portray a black stereo type. Sort of like Amos and Andy with wings.
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Rich,
Magpies are in the western US, and they have similar markings to these characters, so I don’t think any racial controversy. Meanwhile, gotta love the banter!
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Definitely another classic, Frank, which I had completely forgotten about – till you reminded me. 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Good Morning Alex,
Glad I was able to start your Saturday morning with a smile from the past!
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I had totally forgotten about Heckle & Jeckle. Thanks Frank!
I remember when somebody gave me Mexican Jumping beans when I was a kid. I expected them to act like they did in the cartoon.
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Elyse,
Ha ha …. and I had similar thoughts when I saw that!
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That was a long time ago. I barely remember them, born in ’47. Thanks for the reminder.
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Jim,
H&J were long ago … but our memories are hang in there!
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I loved Heckle & Jeckle when I was a kid! I knew it came on with another cartoon but couldn’t remember which until I saw the reference to Mighty Mouse. I kept thinking it was part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, which I also loved. I like the Goofy Gophers, too, though I remember it as Go Go Gophers for some reason – maybe that was the theme song??
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Sandy,
Glad that H&J triggered those memory cells! Meanwhile, you got me going on the two sets of gophers. The think the Goofy Gophers were part of Looney Tunes while the Go Go Gophers was part of the Underdog Show. So here’s the song to toast you efforts.
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Frank,
Tiny Geek is napping, but we have a date on your blog as soon as she wakes up. Expect another comment.
Le Clown
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LeClown,
When I saw the French version, the turning wheels of my neurological pathways thought of Tiny Geek … thus the reason for the reference. Hope she enjoys these two wild and crazy birds.
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Good choice. They deserve to be brought to a new audience.
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Fasab,
I usually ignore the info about reprises of old classics. Then again, I can’t imagine a new PC version of them.
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I do remember Heckle and Jeckle very well, Frank, but I had forgotten their voices! It was good to hear them again. It’s funny to me that before being reintroduced to so many cartoon favorites through your weekly review, I would have said I didn’t watch that many cartoons as a child. But I obviously did! I remember so many of them entirely too well to think that any longer. This was a really fun one for me. They were around for quite a while with many episodes, so I must have watched it regularly! 🙂
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Debra,
LOL regarding about watching more cartoons than you imagined. 😀 …. Good for you. Did you watch a lot of Mighty Mouse?
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I have nominated you (given you) blogging awards. Claim your awards on my blog, please. Just check my most recent post. Thanks!
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Lorraine,
Many thanks … and I’l be over to acknowledge.
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Heckle and Jeckle are great! I enjoyed the music, the accents, the snappy one-liners, and the detailed (pre-Hannah Barbera) animation.
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Tim,
There guys did appear before Hanna Barbera, but I miss the slapstick nature that is no longer considered to be PC.
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My mom is a big fan of these birds, she would watch the re-runs when I was a kid.
I remember her imitating Heckle, good times.
Thanks Frank.
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Doggy,
Excellent to note that your mother is their fan! ,,, and glad you enjoyed the post.
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Along with a couple of others, these two use to be my Dad and my favorites. I think we leaned toward the trouble makers.
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Val,
LOL …. Heckle and Jeckle are good models for troublemakers!
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Heckle and Jeckle were two of my favorites as a kid. Guess I liked their ‘attitude’.
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Hansi,
You? …. a whitty antagonist? No way! 😉
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Haha! I had forgotten about them, too. I love the Indigestion Inn…
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Hood,
Amazing how well our memories work just with a little nudge. More importantly, I hope all is well with you.
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Thanks, Frank!
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Before Itchy and Scratchy were Heckle and Jeckle. We loved these guys – used to mimic their speech patterns and vocabulary. Great find – thanks
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Mouse,
One thing for sure, The Simpson writers probably are aware of famous cartoon pairs! Glad you enjoy Heckle and Jeckle!
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I completely forgot about Heckle and Jeckle, Frank. I don’t recall watching them much as a kid. The violence would not have been an issue with my parents. And the animation was good. Maybe they were being broadcast a I was rotting my mind on some other show?
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Lame,
You were probably on another show. After all, I wasn’t a Mighty Mouse regular, which may also mean I didn’t watch many of the CBS cartoons. Nonetheless, they are classics!
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I actually was inspired by your love of old cartoons to make a post about the physics of old cartoons…sort of. Mostly about how they can eat themselves out of existence. [http://www.debelit.com/2013/07/fun-with-autophagia-art-of-eating.html]
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On my way over!
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