Bullwinkle

Bullwinkle J. Moose was born on this day in 1920 in Philadelphia.

Well, actually, not Bullwinkle -- but Bill Scott, the head writer and voice for Bullwinkle.

After cutting his teeth writing for Warner Brothers cartoons during the 1940s, Scott co-wrote the script for the Oscar-winning animated short Gerald McBoingBoing (1950). In 1958, he joined Jay Ward Productions and became the head writer and co-producer for all of its TV cartoon projects, including Rocky and His Friends, Dudley Do-Right, Fractured Fairy Tales, George of the Jungle and the near-forgotten Hoppity Hooper. He also created the Quisp and Quake cereal campaigns for Quaker.

Scott was the prime mover behind the uniquely sophisticated punning, campy dialogue and sly, self-referential interludes of the cartoons, and the contributor of many of the inane, colorful geographical names ("Frostbite Falls," "Wontchataka Peak," etc.) and character names ("Fiduciary Blurt," "Honeychile Moosemoss," etc.) to the shows. In addition to giving Bullwinkle his distinct character, Scott was also the voice behind many other beloved characters, including Mr. Peabody the Talking Dog, Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle and Super Chicken. Scott died on November 29, 1985 in Tujunga, California.

Categories: TV, Pop-Culture