Clyde Crashcup (voiced by Shepard Menken) is a fictional character from the early-1960s animated television series The Alvin Show, a scientist in a white coat whose experiments invariably failed. His was the only voice heard in most episodes, because the other character in the series was his assistant Leonardo, who only whispered into Clyde's ear. In one episode, though, Clyde invented a wife; her voice was provided by June Foray (who also portrayed Rocket J. Squirrel in Rocky and Bullwinkle, among many characters). Clyde had one of the four segments, and the Chipmunks starred in the other three (two of which were sing-alongs). Shepard Menken (born November 2, 1921 in New York City, New York – died January 2, 1999 in Woodland Hills, California of natural causes) is an American voice actor and character actor who voiced the Clyde Crashcup character in The Alvin Show. ... Alice, a fictional character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... June Foray (born September 18, 1917) is an extremely versatile voice actor who has worked for most of the studios which produced animated films since the 1940s. ... Rocket J. Squirrel, usually called by the nickname Rocky, is the name of the flying squirrel sidekick of the cartoon moose Bullwinkle in the early 1960s animated television series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, produced by Jay Ward. ... The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (also known as Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show) was a television animated series created and produced in the USA by Jay Ward. ...

Clyde's catch-phrase (and consider that term loosely used) was to break-down the main name of his experiment into syllables to explain his thought process. For example, when asked to justify the experiment on telephones, he would reply, "Tele is tele and phone is to phone." Not exactly the scientific method one would seek, but for a five year-old child watching the show, guaranteed hilarity.

The character and his voice appear to have been based on characters from the 1930s and 1940s. The voice of the scientist in the 1943 Bugs Bunny cartoon, Super Rabbit, is very similar; and both are similar to that of radio-era comic actor Richard Haydn, who often played slightly befuddled or eccentric characters. Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bugs Bunny is an Academy Award-winning fictional animated rabbit who appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated films produced by Warner Bros. ... Richard Haydn (1905-1985) was a comic actor in radio, movies and TV. He was known for playing eccentric characters, emphasized by a deliberate over-nasalized and over-enunciated speech pattern. ...

He appeared in the following episodes:

• Crashcup Invents Jokes
• Crashcup Invents Self-Preservation
• Crashcup Invents Glass
• Crashcup Invents the Chair
• Crashcup Invents the West
• Crashcup Invents Baseball
• Crashcup Invents the Bathtub
• Crashcup Invents the Wife
• Crashcup Invents Flight
• Crashcup Invents the Baby
• Crashcup Invents the Stove
• Crashcup Invents Music
• Crashcup Invents First Aid
• Crashcup Invents Electricity
• Crashcup Invents Egypt
• Crashcup Invents the Bed
• Crashcup Invents the Telephone
• Crashcup Invents Do-it-Yourself
• Crashcup Invents the Time Machine
• Crashcup Invents the Shoe
• Crashcup Invents Physical Fitness
• Crashcup Invents the Ship
• This is Your Life, Clyde Crashcup
• Crashcup Invents the Birthday Party
• Crashcup Invents Self-Defense
• Crashcup Invents Crashcupland

Crashcup later had a special guest spot in the modern Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon episode "Back to Alvin's Future", in which he showed up in the time of the new show with a time machine and brought the modern Chipmunks back to his time, where they temporarily switched places with the Alvin Show Chipmunks. Alvin and the Chipmunks was the second American animated television series to feature the singing characters The Chipmunks, produced by Bagdasarian Productions, Ruby-Spears Productions, and Lorimar-Telepictures (which became Lorimar Television in 1988). ...

External link

• Don Markstein's Toonopedia