| Bimbo | |
|---|---|
| Betty Boop character | |
Betty Boop and Bimbo in Minnie the Moocher (1932). |
|
| First appearance | "Out of the Inkwell" (1930) |
| Last appearance | "Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery" (1989) |
| Created by | Fleischer Studios |
| Voiced by | Billy Murray[1] |
| Information | |
| Species | Border collie dog |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Drummer ("Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery") |
Bimbo is a fictional character, a cartoon dog created by Fleischer Studios. He first appeared in the Out of the Inkwell series and was originally named Fitz.
He later became the star of Fleischer's Talkartoons series, making his first appearance as Bimbo in Hot Dog (1930). Bimbo was relegated to a supporting character when his girlfriend Betty Boop became a more popular character. The Talkartoons series became the Betty Boop series in 1932.
He appeared in Fleischer cartoons from 1930 to 1933, when he was eliminated from Betty's series by the Production Code censorship laws, since a dog with a human girlfriend gave implications of bestiality.
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In 1932, a character created by Walter Lantz Productions appeared. This character is a dog which they named Pooch the Pup. Pooch was at first a white beagle. By 1933, a few months after Bimbo retired from the screen, Pooch was redesigned in black fur, a sweater, and some pants. This new makeover made him look reminiscent to his Betty Boop counterpart.[2]
In a music video featuring Courage the Cowardly Dog, a retro version of Courage was shown near the end. This version looks quite reminiscent of Bimbo.
About 56 years following his disappearance, Bimbo made a comeback. In 1989, he was seen in the TV special Betty Boop's Hollywood Mystery. He also continues to appear in merchandise.