Fat Cat and Friends was an Australian children's television show starring Fat Cat (full name: Frederick Alphonso Tubsy Cat or Francis Aloysius Tom Cat[4]), a costumed character, who is an orange/ginger anthropomorphic cat who wears red braces, a blue bow tie and a green bowler hat and striped socks. The show ran from 1972 to 1991, after which it was cancelled in controversial circumstances. However the Fat Cat character continues to feature on television in Perth, as the mascot of the Telethon fundraising organization.[5]
Following the cancellation of The Magic Circle Club, actor/writer Max Bartlett continued to work in television production, moving to Western Australia, where he helped to develop the character of Fat Cat and the children's series, The Underground Video Show.
The show is similar in concept to the Nine Network's Here's Humphrey featuring Humphrey B. Bear. The program featured resident music artist Patsy Biscoe, and was variously hosted by John Oster, Jane Reilly and Lynn Weston. Weston later hosted children's show The Book Place, which replaced Fat Cat and Friends after it was cancelled.
Fat Cat and Friends was originally produced in the studios of SAS 10 in Adelaide and it survived the 1987 frequency switch of channels 10 and 7 in Adelaide. It was written, directed and produced by Murray George for 13 years. After 1988 it continued to be produced at the station which then became SAS-7. The show ran on the 0-10 Network (as it was then known) from 1972 until 1987, then on the Seven Network from 1988 until 1991.
Fat Cat was originally played by Reg Whiteman for more than a decade.[6] Fat Cat was then played by Ralf Hadzic for five years.[7] Fat Cat was then played by Melanie George (1980–1985) who is now a freelance choreographer. Robert Fordham played Fat Cat from 1994 and performed on 3 of the Fat Cat Storytime videos. The character was later played off screen by a male friend of the show's musician, singer Patsy Biscoe.
Initially slated for release as a sidekick to Fat Cat, the character of Stringbean was originally played in the first month of screening by veteran comedic actor Nudge McGee.[citation needed]
Cancellation
In 1990, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal introduced a "P" (for preschooler) category, and every station was required to broadcast at least 130 hours of approved "P" rated content.[8]
In 1991, "Fat Cat and Friends" lost its "P" rating, after the Children's Program Committee claimed that Fat Cat was not clearly defined[8][9] (possibly including ambiguity of his gender),[1] had "poor production values",[9] and needed to be more educational.[1] Given the expense required to attain a "P" rating, the Seven network decided to cancel the show,[8][1] replacing it with The Book Place.[10]
This move caused considerable public outcry.[8] The rival Nine Network's A Current Affair program even filmed a mock funeral procession for the character featuring Nine mascot Humphrey B. Bear laying a wreath at the door of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal.[11] The criticism ultimately led to the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal disbanding the Children's Program Committee.[10]
After cancellation
Despite cancellation, Fat Cat still appears on Perth television screens as the mascot of Seven Perth's highly successful Telethon fundraising organisation.[5] The character still says goodnight to Perth children on television at 7.30 each night.[5][12]
After cancellation, during the 1990s Fat Cat often appeared on celebrity versions of the then Adelaide produced Wheel of Fortune. As Fat Cat did not speak he was usually paired up with Channel 7's resident puppet Agro who was the mouthpiece for the duo. Fat Cat also made numerous appearances in the Australian comedy show Full Frontal depicting the character's bizarre life as a troublesome housepet. Sketches included the character being neutered on a spoof of Animal Hospital, and being the object of jealousy between a married couple.
In October 2021, the 50th anniversary of Fat Cat's first appearance on television was acknowledged with a birthday reception for the mascot on the front steps of Parliament House, Perth.[12]
^'Fat Cat' Reg Whiteman rests in peace, From: PerthNow, 30 July 2011
^The man, Ralf Hadzic, played children's character Fat Cat for five years., Fat Cat had key to big night out, 25 January 2012, adelaidenow
^ abcd"ESTIMATES COMMITTEE C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS, Subprogram 2.4--Australian Broadcasting Tribunal". Parliament of Australia. 27 March 1992. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
^ abLawrie Masterson: The View From Here, TV Week, 1–7 March 1992
Fat Cat and Friends at the National Film and Sound Archive
February 19, 2023
friends, australian, children, television, show, starring, full, name, frederick, alphonso, tubsy, francis, aloysius, costumed, character, orange, ginger, anthropomorphic, wears, braces, blue, green, bowler, striped, socks, show, from, 1972, 1991, after, which. Fat Cat and Friends was an Australian children s television show starring Fat Cat full name Frederick Alphonso Tubsy Cat or Francis Aloysius Tom Cat 4 a costumed character who is an orange ginger anthropomorphic cat who wears red braces a blue bow tie and a green bowler hat and striped socks The show ran from 1972 to 1991 after which it was cancelled in controversial circumstances However the Fat Cat character continues to feature on television in Perth as the mascot of the Telethon fundraising organization 5 Fat Cat and FriendsGenreChildren s television showWritten byMurray GeorgeChannel 10Presented byJohn Oster 1 Jane Reilly 1 2 Lynn Weston 3 Country of originAustraliaOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons16 SAS 10 5 SAS 7 ProductionRunning time30 minutesReleaseOriginal networkNetwork Ten SAS 10 1972 1987 Seven Network SAS 7 and TVW 7 1988 1991 Picture format4 3 PALAudio formatStereoOriginal release1972 1972 27 December 1991 1991 12 27 ChronologyPreceded byThe Early BirdsFollowed byThe Book Place Contents 1 Overview 2 Cancellation 3 After cancellation 4 References 5 External linksOverview EditFollowing the cancellation of The Magic Circle Club actor writer Max Bartlett continued to work in television production moving to Western Australia where he helped to develop the character of Fat Cat and the children s series The Underground Video Show The show is similar in concept to the Nine Network s Here s Humphrey featuring Humphrey B Bear The program featured resident music artist Patsy Biscoe and was variously hosted by John Oster Jane Reilly and Lynn Weston Weston later hosted children s show The Book Place which replaced Fat Cat and Friends after it was cancelled Fat Cat and Friends was originally produced in the studios of SAS 10 in Adelaide and it survived the 1987 frequency switch of channels 10 and 7 in Adelaide It was written directed and produced by Murray George for 13 years After 1988 it continued to be produced at the station which then became SAS 7 The show ran on the 0 10 Network as it was then known from 1972 until 1987 then on the Seven Network from 1988 until 1991 Fat Cat was originally played by Reg Whiteman for more than a decade 6 Fat Cat was then played by Ralf Hadzic for five years 7 Fat Cat was then played by Melanie George 1980 1985 who is now a freelance choreographer Robert Fordham played Fat Cat from 1994 and performed on 3 of the Fat Cat Storytime videos The character was later played off screen by a male friend of the show s musician singer Patsy Biscoe Initially slated for release as a sidekick to Fat Cat the character of Stringbean was originally played in the first month of screening by veteran comedic actor Nudge McGee citation needed Cancellation EditIn 1990 the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal introduced a P for preschooler category and every station was required to broadcast at least 130 hours of approved P rated content 8 In 1991 Fat Cat and Friends lost its P rating after the Children s Program Committee claimed that Fat Cat was not clearly defined 8 9 possibly including ambiguity of his gender 1 had poor production values 9 and needed to be more educational 1 Given the expense required to attain a P rating the Seven network decided to cancel the show 8 1 replacing it with The Book Place 10 This move caused considerable public outcry 8 The rival Nine Network s A Current Affair program even filmed a mock funeral procession for the character featuring Nine mascot Humphrey B Bear laying a wreath at the door of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal 11 The criticism ultimately led to the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal disbanding the Children s Program Committee 10 After cancellation EditDespite cancellation Fat Cat still appears on Perth television screens as the mascot of Seven Perth s highly successful Telethon fundraising organisation 5 The character still says goodnight to Perth children on television at 7 30 each night 5 12 After cancellation during the 1990s Fat Cat often appeared on celebrity versions of the then Adelaide produced Wheel of Fortune As Fat Cat did not speak he was usually paired up with Channel 7 s resident puppet Agro who was the mouthpiece for the duo Fat Cat also made numerous appearances in the Australian comedy show Full Frontal depicting the character s bizarre life as a troublesome housepet Sketches included the character being neutered on a spoof of Animal Hospital and being the object of jealousy between a married couple In October 2021 the 50th anniversary of Fat Cat s first appearance on television was acknowledged with a birthday reception for the mascot on the front steps of Parliament House Perth 12 References Edit a b c d e Fat Cat and Friends companion entry Nick Herd AustLit The Australian Literature Resource 2014 Jane Reilly spills the beans on working with Fat Cat Michael Smyth Twitter April 7 2020 Fat Cat amp Jane Reilly University of Adelaide archives Response by channel 10 station manager Trever Lanyon to a query by the Adelaide University Science Association a b c Fat Cat amp Friends Appearances Telethon 7 Perth archive of 11 Jan 2013 Fat Cat Reg Whiteman rests in peace From PerthNow 30 July 2011 The man Ralf Hadzic played children s character Fat Cat for five years Fat Cat had key to big night out 25 January 2012 adelaidenow a b c d ESTIMATES COMMITTEE C DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS Subprogram 2 4 Australian Broadcasting Tribunal Parliament of Australia 27 March 1992 Retrieved 23 August 2020 a b Lawrie Masterson The View From Here TV Week 1 7 March 1992 a b NETWORKS CLAW BACK KIDS TV Patricia Edgar Australian Financial Review May 26 1992 Friday Flashback Fat Cat funeral From TV Tonight 1 October 2021 a b Seven s happiest feline Fat Cat celebrates 50 years on television From PerthNow 13 October 2021External links EditFat Cat and Friends at IMDb Fat Cat and Friends at the National Film and Sound Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fat Cat and Friends amp oldid 1125726546, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
