Questionable Celebrity-Based Cartoons – The Harlem Globetrotters
On this day in 1927, the legendary Harlem Globetrotters played their first game. At the height of their popularity in the 70s, not one but TWO cartoons were created starring the famed basketball team. Hell, after that they even crashed on Gilligan’s Island…but that might have to do with the fact they had Hong Kong Phooey as their pilot:
When the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon debuted on September 12, 1970, it became the first cartoon to feature African-American males. Just like in their visit to Gilligan’s Island, the premise had the Globetrotters…well…travelling the globe and ending up in situations that require a crazy basketball game to settle things:
Very reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, ain’t it? Believe it or not, a *soundtrack* was even released for this cartoon featuring the songs they used in this segment. Most of them were written by Neil Sedaka, even!
This series ran until September 2, 1972.
Hanna-Barbara could not give up on them, though. They introduced another series featuring the team called The Super Globetrotters. Because the players don’t have enough to do with all the practicing and travel to games, they are now sidelining as superheroes. Here’s the breakdown:
- Nate Branch became Liquid Man (self explanatory)
- Freddie "Curly" Neal became Super Sphere (turned into a big ball)
- James "Twiggy" Sanders became Spaghetti Man (Rope Man was taken)
- Hubert "Geese" Ausbie as Multi Man (he could clone)
- And my personal favorite - Louis "Sweet Lou" Dunbar as Gizmo (his ‘fro held more than a magician’s hat!)
Did you see that? He pulled an entire backboard out of his ‘fro! If I had that power, I’d keep my car in my hair – no more hunting for parking or worrying about parking tickets!
Not surprisingly, the Super Globetrotters only lasted thirteen episodes.