The Johnny Bacardi Show

Got an interesting email today, on an email address I don't usually get Show-related missives on, that passed along some exciting news: COOL McCOOL is coming soon (again) to DVD! I say again, because according to the Wikipedia entry I've linked to above, Rhino put out a DVD collection a few years ago- guess it must be out of print.

When I was a preteen I loved that toon, and watched it every chance I got! In case you don't have any idea what the heck I'm talking about, Cool was a 1966 Saturday morning cartoon, created by Bob (Batman) Kane, no less, which featured the exploits of McCool, who was a bumbling super secret agent a la Maxwell Smart and had a very distinctive rogues gallery, which included Hurricane Harry, a Kingpin lookalike who could blow hurricane force winds; The Rattler, a slippery snake guy, Jack in the Box, who was a literal murderous jack-in-the-box (don't know if he was ever shown with legs); Roy Thomas doppelganger Dr. Madcap (gimmcked-up hats) and his girlfriend Greta Ghoul (a Natasha Fatale type), and The Owl, who flew around with the aid of two owls perched on each shoulder. I used to wonder who would win in a fight: Marvel's Daredevilbaddie Owl, or Cool's Owl.

Anyway, each 30 minute episode featured two Cool adventures, and in between was a Keystone Kops-style segment which featured his Dad, Harry McCool and his partners and was introduced by Cool on a banjo, singing a great song about "My Pop, the cop..." Anyway, I got a couple of VHS copies a few years ago and was pleased to discover that while they had dated some, these cartoons were still a lot of fun. According to the press release, there will be audio commentaries, interviews, and short features featuring Chuck McCann, who was the voice of practically every character but Cool. Price isn't bad, either- $19.95 for at least 40 episodes, plus a lot of extras.

For more, here's a blog entry by Rankin/Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt.

Danger is my business, Number One!