"Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy Hour" is a show I remember with great fondness. It premiered in January,
1970 as a mid-season replacement on
ABC-TV and featured the dead-pan comic previously seen in "The Smothers Brothers show" on
CBS, Pat Paulsen.
It was from this program I became aware of the talented Bob Einstein, better known today as the producer of the "Bizarre" with John Byner, a show that spawned Super Dave Osbourne, and less well known as the brother of the great writer, director and comedian Albert Brooks. Mr. Einstein was a writer and perhaps producer on the "Half a Comedy Hour".
One of the segments I recall very well was when Pat would interview the famous Warner Brothers cartoon characters in an impressive combination of live action and animation. I later learned that the excellent animation was created by veteran Warner animator Robert Mckimson. One featured a Daffy Duck wearing a beret, sunglasses and a flashy striped jacket and discussing a golf game he had earlier with Porky Pig. A subsequent encounter with Foghorn Leghorn occurred. I understand that if the series had continued there were plans for more cartoons.
Another recurring segment that was hilarious was "Mr. Science" with Pat in the title role playing a "Mr. Wizard" type that would invite two teenagers, "Bobby" (portrayed by the very tall Einstein) and "Suzie" (?) (portrayed by a very gorgeous young woman) to perform science experiments. Mr. Science (Pat) would actively try to put "Bobby" into life threatening situations in order to have "Suzie" all to himself in the lab.
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