This show was the first for the newly formed H-B Enterprises (the future Hanna-Barbera), a company started by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera when MGM shut down its animation department.
The move had its financial drawbacks. MGM’s Tom & Jerry had been budgeted at upwards of $40,000 per episode, but H and B were allotted a paltry $2,800 forRuff and Reddy.
Luckily, the show made up for its skimpy animation with voiceovers by Daws Butler and Don Messick, two voice kings who went on to become Hanna-Barbera essentials.
Ruff was a quick-thinking cat and Reddy was his lovable but not-so-bright canine friend.
The premise of the highly successful show was the friendship of two creatures commonly thought to be enemies and their zany adventures.
Among the baddies the pair encountered were Killer & Diller, the Terrible Texas Twins, Captain Greedy, Salt Water Daffy, Chickasaurus, and the Goon of Glocca Morra.
The show was initially hosted by Jimmy Blaine and his puppet birds, Rhubarb the Parrot and Jose the Toucan.
When the show began rerunning in 1962, Captain Bob Cottle (pictured) and his band of puppets – Jasper, Gramps, and Mr Answer – became the new hosts.
Ruff
Don Messick Reddy
Daws Butler Jimmy Blaine
Himself Captain Bob Cottle
Bob Cottle Narrator
John Stephenson
The show was initially hosted by Jimmy Blaine and his puppet birds, Rhubarb the Parrot and Jose the Toucan.
