Beany & Cecil

Beany & Cecil was a popular animated color cartoon show in the 60's. It was the brainchild of legendary Warner Brothers animator Bob Clampett, who was instrumental in the development of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, and who created Tweety, Beaky Buzzard, and the Gremlins. Clampett's real love was puppets (isn't it everybody's?) and he secretly started a puppet studio even while he was still working on cartoons at Warner Brothers. In 1949, at the very dawn of television, Clampett took his puppets onto the boob tube on local Los Angeles TV station KTLA. Called Time for Beany, the show featured all of the characters who would later become so famous as animated stars: overall-clad kid Beany, cowardly Captain Huffenpuff of the good ship Leakin' Lena, mean old Dishonest John, and, of course, Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent. Bill Scott, who later became the voice of Bullwinkle, and Stan Freberg, creator of radio's Chickenman, worked on the show. Once it became an animated series, Cecil retired to a palatial estate in the Hollywood Hills and quietly lived out the rest of his life doing charity work. Cecil was a good friend of mine, and was instrumental in getting me into rehab in the late 60's and helping me get my career back on track. He was the most gracious and humble sock puppet I have ever known—one example of how humble he was is that he let that no-talent Beanie get top billing. Typical. Cecil was tragically killed by a ruthless gang of gypsy moths in 1973. His funeral was attended by many loyal fans of his old black and white puppet show, including Groucho Marx, Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, and Frank Zappa. One of the few sock puppets not to suffer from severe substance abuse, Cecil is a true role model for all you young anklets, bobbysox, and tubesocks out there.