Name: Willy the Wolf
Genre: Fantasy
Released: 1954-11-08
Cast: Don Messick, Walker Edmiston, Marilyn King

Willie the Wolf (whose REAL name was William SHAKESPEARE Wolf!) was created by Bob Clampett, and appeared as a recurring character on the Clampett-Produced "Time For Beany" - which was, of all things, A TV PUPPET SHOW! It was originally performed LIVE at the venerable KTLA Channel 5, the very FIRST TV STATION WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, whose studios are in the heart of Hollywood. It was LIVE (because at the time, the 1950's) there wasn't such a thing as VIDEOTAPE!!! (The engineers at several large companies were some years into working on it, but it wasn't quite perfected yet). However, "Time for Beany" was seen all over the country, syndicated via the "kinescope" process. If you don't know what was, google it. The show starred Stan Freberg as Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent and MANY OTHER VOICES, and Daws Butler (as Beany, as well as LOTS of other voices. (Together, prior to "Beany", Freberg and Butler INVENTED the Comedy Record!). As all things do, "Time for Beany" came to an end. The voice I haven't mentioned yet is the EXTREMELY TALENTED Walker Edmiston! He was a master of character voices. A few years after poor "Beany" met his first TV demise, in the early 1960's the great Walker Edmiston got his OWN show, on VIDEOTAPE!!! It took place in a theater, but instead of you, the viewer (okay, the Camera!) was placed ON STAGE, looking back at the audience! Clampett gave his blessing to Edmiston for the use of the wolf character, who spoke like some great Shakespearian "AC-TOR". William SHAKESPEARE Wolf was one of a number of other characters, all of whom performed IN THE SEATS OF THE THEATER, and Edmiston did ALL THE VOICES (with the occasional guest voice). A quite...shall we say DIFFERENT kind of kid's show, to turn everything around - having the audience watching the players from the stage! The show was VERY good, and I don't believe that any other program EVER tried their formula in quite this way.

The fantasy genre features imaginative and often magical worlds, characters, and events. It explores realms beyond the boundaries of reality, featuring elements such as magic, mythical creatures, supernatural powers, and fantastical settings. These stories can take place in entirely fictional worlds or blend fantastical elements with real-world settings.

Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

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Willy the Wolf

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