The Griffith connection is more of a rumor than truth. There isn't a lot of actual evidence that he was a role model for Huck.
In actuality, he was inspired by the vocal versatility of his original voice actor, Daws Butler. Unlike most voice actors, Butler didn't do a generic "Southern" accent- he was very aware of the dialectical and ton…
The Griffith connection is more of a rumor than truth. There isn't a lot of actual evidence that he was a role model for Huck.
In actuality, he was inspired by the vocal versatility of his original voice actor, Daws Butler. Unlike most voice actors, Butler didn't do a generic "Southern" accent- he was very aware of the dialectical and tonal differences between the various accents of the Southern states. So Huck ended up being an amalgam of several of these, combined with a very obvious sense of unflappability and breeziness.
When I wrote about the show in my book "America 'Toons In", I explained it stylistically as an outgrowth of the traditional short-form comedy films of Hollywood, where the lead character was inserted into a stereotypical situation and made to make chaos around it and within it. If you look at older series of comedy films with a regular lead they work the same way. In this case, Huck's personality and the scripts by Joseph Barbera and Warren Foster made them unique and funny.
In many ways, Huck was the character that "made" Hanna-Barbera what it would become. They'd only produced one series before him, and his success made it possible for them to develop and program all of their other hits and misses. While he has tended to be under-employed since his original series ended in 1961, he is still a recognized and welcome animation presence.
"The Simpsons", when they made an episode parodying "Behind The Music", made this influential connection clear. Towards the episode's end, there was a plug for an episode with a surprising confession from Huck: "I was so gay- but I couldn't tell anybody!"
The Griffith connection is more of a rumor than truth. There isn't a lot of actual evidence that he was a role model for Huck.
In actuality, he was inspired by the vocal versatility of his original voice actor, Daws Butler. Unlike most voice actors, Butler didn't do a generic "Southern" accent- he was very aware of the dialectical and tonal differences between the various accents of the Southern states. So Huck ended up being an amalgam of several of these, combined with a very obvious sense of unflappability and breeziness.
When I wrote about the show in my book "America 'Toons In", I explained it stylistically as an outgrowth of the traditional short-form comedy films of Hollywood, where the lead character was inserted into a stereotypical situation and made to make chaos around it and within it. If you look at older series of comedy films with a regular lead they work the same way. In this case, Huck's personality and the scripts by Joseph Barbera and Warren Foster made them unique and funny.
In many ways, Huck was the character that "made" Hanna-Barbera what it would become. They'd only produced one series before him, and his success made it possible for them to develop and program all of their other hits and misses. While he has tended to be under-employed since his original series ended in 1961, he is still a recognized and welcome animation presence.
"The Simpsons", when they made an episode parodying "Behind The Music", made this influential connection clear. Towards the episode's end, there was a plug for an episode with a surprising confession from Huck: "I was so gay- but I couldn't tell anybody!"
Thanks David for taking the time for this and giving a really great insight into HB and Huck.