THE BANANA SPLITS and FRIENDS SHOW

THE BANANA SPLITS AND FRIENDS SHOW

The Banana Splits were a bunch of furry, zany creatures (actors inside costumes - in case anyone didn't know) whose presence on Television (French Tv , for one season we seem to remember) made Saturday mornings (and then again in the School Summer Holidays) in the 1970s extra special. Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky were the names of the Banana Splits and they lived in what looked like a basement apartment although it did have a back door.

Fleegle was voiced by Paul Winchell who also did the voices for Dick Dastardly, Gargamel and Tigger. Sadly Paul died a short time ago.

At the start of each show all the banana splits would arrive via unexpected routes such as down the fire pole, down a slide shoot etc. They would then spend a few minutes bumping into each other and objects before Fleegle (the leader) would bring everything to order by bashing a huge Mallet causing everyone to fall over.

Included in the show were songs, advice, jokes and guests such as the Sour Grape Bunch, the Cuckoo Clock etc. It also had several spots which were shown on many episodes, including Dear Drooper, Secret Password, Drooper take out the Trash, Now it's Riddle Time and Hold the Bus. There were probably many more but our source material does not have them and our memories are getting very poor. 

Season 1

During the first season, the Banana Splits segments often concerned the group's confrontations with a rival club, The Sour Grapes Bunch. The Sour Grapes were not seen on camera, but would send notes (usually a challenge or some other kind of threat) delivered by one of the "Sour Grapes messenger girls", who would dance into the Splits' clubhouse wearing purple minidresses, matched with pink leotards, tights and black go-go boots. They would normally intimidate or frighten the Splits until they gave the note to Fleegle. They would then dance out and take a bow before leaving. Five young actresses appeared as the messenger girls: Debra Thibodeaux, Colette Chenault, Julie Graham, Kathy O'Dare, and Shirley Hillstrom; only one would appear at a time, always called "Charlie" in the context of the show, except for the performance of the song "Doin' The Banana Split" (the segment first appeared in show #5, originally telecast October 5, 1968) which featured all five girls dancing with The Banana Splits. Their dance instructor was Byron Gilliam.Both Julie Graham and Kathy O'Dare would later appear in the 1970s TV series Happy Days.

The Splits were also occasionally visited by the Mariachi-tuned Dilly Sisters (an actual musical act from Mexico), who would appear at their door playing guitars and singing "The Mexican Hat Dance" or "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay". In other recurring features during the first season, Drooper and Bingo offered advice to viewers in the "Dear Drooper" segment, while Fleegle served as the reporter for Banana Splits News. Other running gags included Fleegle repeatedly hitting himself by accident with his oversized gavel. The show introduced some catch phrases: the line, "That's An Ooch", would be said every time a member was hit or injured (sometimes, it would be a double or triple-ooch depending on the extent of the injury). Other memorable sayings included "Hold the bus!" and "Uh-oh, Chongo!" (the latter from the serialized Danger Island segment).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CITFzaQbjV0

Season 2

For the new season, the set was slightly modified, and the Splits' recurring routines were all new: Fleegle attempted (quite unsuccessfully) to perform magic tricks as alter ego The Great Fleegali, while Super Drooper fought crime and Coach Bingo kept the rest of the group active in sports competitions. Other new elements included School Time,Nursery Rhymes and a Gag Wall segment (reminiscent of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), as well as Fan Club meetings where the Banana Splits would read viewer mail. Goofy Gopher (voiced by Paul Winchell) would pop out from a flower pot to deliver the occasional one-liner, joining Cuckoo, who popped out of the Cuckoo Clock, and Banana Vac (an electric talking moose head) as secondary characters. The characters' costume designs also received an overhaul (introduced in the next-to-last Season 1 episode, The Great Banana Splits Buggy Race), with Snorky, who was originally covered in hair, now clean-shaven and sporting a yellow and blue striped vest.