Linus the Lionhearted

Linus the Lionhearted
Premiere	September 26, 1964
Finale	December 18, 1965
Creator	Ed Graham
Network/Provider	CBS
Style	30-minute animated comedy
Company	Ed Graham Productions, General Foods
Seasons	1
Episodes	39
Origin	USA

Linus the Lionhearted was an animated comedy airing Saturday mornings on CBS. The characters featured on the show were originally animated mascots for a line of cereals by General Foods (marketed on the Post line of cereals).

Linus (seen on boxes of Post Crispy Critters) is the benevolent king of the jungle, though he doesn't always command respect. His stories usually have him dealing with jungle denizens like Sascha Grouse, Billie Bird and Dinny Kangaroo. Features of the show on a rotating basis are Rory Raccoon (Post Toasties), Lovable Truly (a mailman, Post Alpha-Bits), So-Hi (Rice Krinkles--So-Hi was a Chinese boy that introduced Chinese fables), and Sugar Bear (Sugar Crisps--marketed today as Super Golden Crisps).

Two seasons of episodes were made and shown on CBS. In 1966 it moved to ABC. The series was considered a program-length commercial, and the FCC put an end to such practices in 1969.

Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Main Cast
Sheldon Leonard	Linus	1	2
Ed Graham	Billie Bird	1	2
Gerry Matthews	Sugar Bear	1
	Sascha Grouse	1	2
	Dinny Kangaroo	1	2
Sterling Holloway	Sugar Bear		2
Bob McFadden	So-Hi	1	2
	Lovable Truly	1	2
	Rory Raccoon	1	2
	Richard Harry Nearly	1	2
Ruth Buzzi	Granny Goodwitch	1	2
Jesse White	C. Claudius Crow	1	2
Jonathan Winters	guest voice	1	2
Jerry Stiller	guest voice	1	2
Anne Meara	guest voice	1	2

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
CBS
Season One	September 26, 1964	March 22, 1965	26
Season Two	September 25, 1965	December 18, 1965	13

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series