 The Pink Panther - The tall, skinny pink
jungle cat first seen in the opening credits of the motion picture The
Pink Panther (1963). Created by David DePatie and Fritz Freleng, the
Pink Panther (who walked upright and never spoke) is an animated
representation of a priceless gem (with a pink flaw in its center) sought
by the Phantom, a jewel thief pursued throughout the film by the inept
Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers).
The success of the film inspired the sequels A Shot in the Dark
(1964) [no Pink Panther in this one]; The Return of the Pink Panther
(1975); The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976); Revenge of the
Pink Panther (1978); Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) and
Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).
The opening credits of The Pink Panther Strikes Again
(considered the funniest of the films) finds our pink prankster imitating
such movie legends as Buster Keaton, Bela Lugosi, George Raft, Gene Kelly
and the Spielberg shark from Jaws (1975).
In 1964, DePatie-Freleng created a series of Pink Panther cartoon
shorts for the movie theaters beginning with The Pink Phink. Later in
1969, the character got his own animated television cartoon show starting
with THE PINK PANTHER SHOW/NBC/1969 followed by THE NEW PINK PANTHER
SHOW/NBC/1971, THE PINK PANTHER LAFF AND A HALF-HOUR/NBC/1976, PINK
PANTHER MEETS ANTS AND THE AARDVARK/NBC/1976; THE PINK PANTHER AND
FRIENDS/NBC/1977; THE THINK PINK PANTHER SHOW!/NBC/1978, THE ALL-NEW PINK
PANTHER SHOW/ABC/1978, and PINK PANTHER AND SONS/NBC/ABC/1984-86.
The Pink Panther has also appeared as the commercial mascot for Owens
Corning,
a major manufacturer of pink fiberglass insulation.
In the
1990s, a new PINK PANTHER cartoon series showcased a new and improved Pink
Panther. This one could talk (voice of Matt Frewer).
In 2006, Steve Martin reprised the role of Inspector Clouseau in the
remake The Pink Panther loosely based on the original film where
once again the most famous jewel in all of Europe (the "Pink Panther") has
been stolen.
The Pink Panther theme music (first heard in the 1963
movie) was written by Henry Mancini.
External Links
Back to Top
|
