Time for Timer

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Time for Timer was the collective title for a short series of public service announcements broadcast on Saturday mornings on the ABC television network starting in the early 1970s. The animated spots featured Timer, a tiny yellow, blob-shaped cartoon character usually wearing a bow tie and top hat, who promoted healthy eating and personal hygiene using clever songs and animation.

Like ABC's The Bod Squad series, the segments never carried official titles, but are referred to by memorable catch phrases in the songs' lyrics. Perhaps most memorable was "I Hanker for a Hunk of Cheese" in which Timer, strangely recast as a cowboy with a thick Western accent, suggests "wagon wheels", "little cheese sandwiches" made with cheese slices and crackers as an easy and nutritious snack (when Timer prepares one on a kitchen counter, he rolls it down the counter on its edge and proclaims, "Look! A wagon wheel!"). Others included "You Are What You Eat" (a simplified explanation of nutrients and how the body uses them), "Quickie Breakfast" (leftovers and other premade foods as an alternative for kids who don't have time, or are unable, to cook breakfast), and "Sunshine on a Stick" (how to make ice pops with fruit juice, an ice tray, and toothpicks).

Time for Timer ran concurrently and interchangeably for many years with ABC's other educational spots, primarily The Bod Squad and Schoolhouse Rock!. They generally appeared between cartoon programs on the hour and half hour marks interspersed with regular commercials.

Timer's voice was provided by actor Lennie Weinrib. The spots themselves were produced by the cartoon studio DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. During the final five seconds or so of each segment, the following end credit appeared on the bottom of the screen:

"An ABC Presentation

Consultant: Dr. Roslyn B. Alfin-Slater

UCLA School of Public Health"

Timer first appeared in the 1973 ABC after school special The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical Mystery Trip, where he was voiced by Len Maxwell. Timer also appeared in the 1974 ABC after school special The Magical Mystery Trip Through Little Red's Head (now voiced by Lennie Weinrib).

[edit] Trivia

In the season 4 episode of Family Guy titled "Petarded", Timer is portrayed as a crack smoking lunatic, dancing around in his apartment singing the 'cheese' song at 3:30 A.M. He also likes wagon wheel macaroni shapes.