The Barkleys was a NBC network animated series created by David H. DePatie and Fritz Freleng that premiered on September 9, 1972.
The show was inspired by the CBS sitcom "All in the Family". The voice cast consisted of Henry Corden, Joan Gerber, Julie McWhirter, Gene Adrusco and Steve Lewis.
After only 13 episodes, the show was canceled on December 2, 1972, but NBC continued to air reruns of "The Barkleys" until September of 1973.
Plot[]
"The Barkleys" featured an anthropomorphic dog family consisting of Arnie, a bus driver (voiced by Henry Corden) and his wife Agnes (voiced by Joan Gerber). They had two teenagers, Terry and Roger (voiced by Julie McWhirter and Steve Lewis respectively) and one younger child, Chester (voiced by Gene Andrusco).
The theme song's lyrics ended with the advice, "Just remember Arnie Barkley's bark is worse than his bite" which meant that Arnie's grouchy, unsociable front concealed a softer heart which he rarely allowed to show. Doug Goodwin's theme song used part of "(Be It Ever So Humble) There's No Place Like Home".
Voice Cast[]
- Henry Corden as Arnie Barkley
- Joan Gerber as Agnes Barkley
- Julie McWhirter as Terry Barkley
- Gene Andrusco as Chester Barkley
- Steve Lewis as Roger Barkley