Retro Saturday Morning: Hong Kong Phooey (ABC)(1974)

Hong Kong Phooey is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1974, to December 21, 1974. The main character, Hong Kong Phooey, is the clownishly clumsy secret identity of Penrod "Penry" Pooch, working at a police station as a "mild-mannered" janitor under the glare of Sergeant Flint, nicknamed "Sarge."

Hong Kong Phooey was in reality mild-mannered Penrod Pooch, janitor at the police station (which put him in a good position to know when his help was needed). Whenever he overheard a call to action, Penry would dive into a filing cabinet where he would change into his colorful karate outfit, then hop into his Phooeymobile (which, like the van driven by The Amazing Chan's progeny, could be transformed into whatever conveyance was needed), and, accompanied by his faithful cat Spot, sally forth to right whatever wrongs needed righting. He achieved his expertise through a correspondence course. During battle, he would frequently consult the textbook from it, The Hong Kong Book of Kung Fu.

The show premiered on ABC on September 7, 1974, and remained in production for a whopping 16 episodes, which were run and rerun over the next two years. He did, however, appear in a comic book, which Charlton published for nine issues, June 1975 through November 1976. He was back on TV in 1977, in Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics, and back again in 1980, as half of The Godzilla/Hong Kong Phooey Hour. Since then, he's been seen only in reruns.

The character's voice was done by Scatman Crothers, who, aside from his other well-known show biz credits, also played Crazy Legs in Don Bluth's Banjo the Woodpile Cat, Scat Cat in Disney's The AristoCats and Liquid Man in Super Globetrotters. Spot was Don Messick, who also played the dog on The Jetsons, the cat on Josie & the Pussycats and various other non-anthropomorphic animals. Messick was also the show's narrator. Rosemary, the police station phone operator who loved Hong Kong Phooey but scorned Penry, was voiced by Kathy Gori, who also played in Inch High, Private Eye and The New Tom & Jerry Show. Sgt. Flint, another of Penry's eavesdropping victims, was Joe E. Ross, mostly a face actor, but who also did voice work in Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch. - Toonopedia

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Who is this super hero? Sarge? No!
Rosemary the telephone operator? No way man!
Henry the mild mannered janitor?
Hong kong phooey, the number one super guy
Hong kong phooey, quicker than the human eye
Oh, hes got style, a groovy smile, a bod that just won't stop
When the going gets rough, hes super tough
With the hong kong phooey chop
Hong kong phooey, the number one super guy
Hong kong phooey, quicker than the human eye

The final episode, "Comedy Cowboys," was intended as a backdoor pilot for a new series. In this two-part episode, several new cartoon characters, who are named Honcho, The Mystery Maverick, and the Posse Impossible, appear and help to clear Hong Kong Phooey of a crime. These characters later appear in their own continuing segment, "Posse Impossible" on CB Bears. Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show uses the limited Hanna-Barbera laugh track. 

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