The Famous Crusader Rabbit

Crusader Rabbit was the first animated television series to be produced in the United States. Airing in 1948, the program was created by Jay Ward and Alexander Anderson, Jr. Anderson was the actual original creator of the program, having first thought up the idea of the Crusader Rabbit character in 1941 after seeing a Disney Film, The Reluctant Dragon. Anderson, who was a nephew of the renowned animator Paul Terry, first brought the idea to the attention of his uncle and tried to get TerryToons to become interested in producing the series. Terry actually rejected the idea. At the time there wasn't much interest in television, some people didn't even think the idea of televised programming would last. The primary focus for animation at the time was the big screen. After his uncle's rejection, Anderson then approached a friend of his, Jay Ward, who had become a successful real estate agent and asked him to provide financial backing for the production of the project. Ward obviously agreed to the idea and then went on to not only provide money to back the project, but also became instrumental in the creation and the production of the program. In the fall of 1948, the two friends signed a deal with NBC for 130 episodes of Crusader Rabbit.

The program was based around a simple premise. Through a series of short episodes, which featured cliffhangers, adventure stories were told regarding three characters. These characters were comprised of a Tiger by the name of Rags, a villain known as Dudley Knightshade and none other than Crusader Rabbit himself. The voice of Rags was provided by Vern Louden while Russ Coughlin provided the voice of the villain. Lucille Bliss provided the voice for Crusader Rabbit and eventually went on to give life to Smurffette in The Smurfs.

Similar to other cartoons that would appear during the same era, Crusader Rabbit was produced in black and white; however, that did not seem to deter any of the kids who tuned in weekly to find out more about the escapades of Crusader Rabbit and companions. The show was produced in such a way so that storylines tended to stretch out for long periods of time. This proved to be a rather ingenious technique; however, because it encouraged the kids to keep on tuning in.

Although work on the program had begun in 1948, the first episode did not appear until 1950. On August 1, 1950; the show made history by becoming the first cartoon to be broadcast on the relatively new television medium.

The life of the show was actually rather short. Having just begun in 1948, production ended in 1951; just three short years after beginning. 195 episodes were shot during that timeframe.

In 1957, Crusader Rabbit was brought back to life once again; however. This time the show was produced in color. The creators of the show; however, had sold their interest in the program and characters. Paul Terry went on to produce such memorable favorites as Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle. Ward would later produce Rocky and Bullwinkle as well as several other television programs. Still, the show managed to run for another 260 episodes and actually ran well into the 1980's with syndicated reruns.

Crusader Rabbit and companions also appeared in comic books as well as their animated children's series.