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Hector Heathcote is a Terrytoons animated cartoon character. Created by Eli Bauer and Ralph Bakshi, he first appeared on July 18, 1959, in The Minute and a Half Man. He was voiced by John Myhers.^[1] Terrytoons created the character for television, but the cartoons also received theatrical distribution.^[1]

Hector is an 18-year-old orange-haired Colonial era patriot who turned up, often as an unsung hero, during various stages of American history.^[2] In later cartoons he was accompanied by his faithful red-and-yellow dog Winston who talked with a slight English accent. Heathcote was also antagonized by a big bully named Benedict, who parodied the infamous American traitor Benedict Arnold.

While much of the cartoons were historical, occasionally some would focus on science, one example being where Hector talks through two tin cans and a piece of string, then is inspired by Winston to make use of electrical currents to upgrade such a device to travel long distances, thus inventing telecommunications. In the same episode, Hector is also a messenger boy in the employ of Mr. Benedict. Hector is motivated to find a way to communicate long distances after not desiring to deliver messages through "rain, sleet, nor gloom of night". Conversely, Mr. Benedict attempts to sabotage the concept before Hector can patent it, as that would put his messenger service out of business.

The Hector Heathcote Show aired on NBC Saturday mornings from October 5, 1963, to September 25, 1965, and is one of the early Saturday morning cartoons.^[3] The series ran for two seasons, replacing The Shari Lewis Show. Additional cartoons in the program included Hashimoto-san, a Japanese mouse, and Silly Sidney the Elephant, a wacky pachyderm whose friends included Cleo the giraffe and Stanley, a cantankerous lion.^[4] The show would end with a scene of Hector going to bed.

Hector is merchandised on lunch boxes, books and toys. Gold Key Comics published him in comic book form, but only produced one issue in 1964.

Filmography

Terrytoons made 20 Hector Heathcote cartoons between 1959 and 1971, directed by Arthur Bartsch, Dave Tendlar, Connie Rasinski, Bill Tytla and Bob Kuwahara.^[1]

The Minute and a Half Man (July 1959)
The Famous Ride (April 1960)
Daniel Boone, Jr. (Dec 1960)
Railroaded to Fame (May 1961)
The First Fast Mail (May 1961)
Crossing the Delaware (June 1961)
Unsung Hero (July 1961)
The First Telephone (August 1961)
Klondike Strikes Out (Jan 1962)
He-Man Seaman (March 1962)
Riverboat Mission (May 1962)
First Flight Up (Oct 1962)
A Flight to the Finish (Dec 1962)
Tea Party (April 1963)
A Bell for Philadelphia (July 1963)
The Big Clean-Up (Sept 1963)
Land Grab (Feb 1970)
Lost and Foundation (June 1970)
Belabour Thy Neighbor (Oct 1970)
Train Terrain (Feb 1971)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
^ Hamonic, W. Gerald (2018). Terrytoons: The Story of Paul Terry and His Classic Cartoon Factory. John Libbey Publishing. pp. 301–302. ISBN 9-780861-967292.
^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 401–402. ISBN 978-1476665993.
^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 273–274. ISBN 978-1538103739.