The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians

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The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians was an animated half-hour ABC television special produced by Rankin/Bass animation (of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fame). The show aired on April 7, 1970 before the airing of that year's Oscars, and was a tribute to early vaudeville and featured animated reworkings of various famous comedians' acts.

Most of the comedians provided their own voices for their animated counterparts, except for W.C. Fields, Chico Marx (who had died), Zeppo Marx (who left show business in 1933), and Harpo Marx who never spoke in any of their acts. Voice actor Paul Frees narrated the show and filled in for those actors who weren't able to do their own voices.

The show included such segments as The Marx Brothers' segment, which was a reworking of a scene from their Broadway play I'll Say She Is, and included their famous Napoleon skit. This was a parody of Napoleon played by Groucho. The sketch featured animated representations.

Romeo Muller is credited as having written special material for the show in addition to the original scripts that came from the various comedians sketches.

Although not really remembered now by the general public, at the time it gave Rankin/Bass their highest TV ratings ever... even better than Rudolph!

Recently, Behr Entertainment was in talks to produce a similar show that would feature cartoon renditions of Jack Benny, George Burns, Abbott & Costello, and Bob Hope. 13 half-hour episodes were proposed.