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, Quick Draw, a gun-toting horse, would catch the bad guys, all the while trying to uphold the various codes of behaviour 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 slowly 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 that 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 dog and cat 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 programmes that were in abundance on TV.
Augie Doggie 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.
