The Road Runner Show

Look Before You Beep (1x53)

Air date: Jul 05, 1967

Now HERE is something truly special, Looney Tunes fans. While converting his Warner cartoon collection from aging VHS tapes to DVD, Jon found a collection of original linking segments created for the 1960's "Road Runner Show". This series of gags was created by Robert McKimson, presumably after he made the first two post-Chuck Jones cartoons with Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, "Rushing Roulette" and "Sugar and Spies". While 11 theatrical shorts (soon to be aired on this very show) were being directed at an outside studio by Rudy Larriva, McKimson was doing these Roadrunner Show interstitials, as well as most of the Daffy Duck/Speedy Gonzales cartoons of the time. It's interesting to note that Bill Lava's musical score for "Rushing Roulette" was "canned" and reused over and over again in the Larriva shorts, and also these bumper segments. It seems the irresistibly catchy theme was the designated "theme song" for the Road Runner at the time, regardless of who was doing the animation. The canned music, along with a constantly reused shot of the Road Runner running down the road, are the only cheats you'll find in these hilarious lost segments, edited together by yours truly into a full 7-minute short! This footage has not been seen in the United States in at least 20 years. Enjoy!