All the live-action material filmed for the series' first season, including the Banana Splits and Danger Island segments, was directed by Richard Donner. Actors Jan-Michael Vincent (billed as Michael Vincent) and Ronne Troup appeared in the live-action component Danger Island. The show's live-action segment Danger Island, a cliffhanger serial, as well as the short-lived Micro Ventures, a part-live action, part-animated series consisting of only four episodes, ran alongside the animated segments Arabian Knights and The Three Musketeers. NBC picked up the Krofft series, which was launched on August 30, 1969, during an hour-long special hosted by the Banana Splits. The Krofft brothers credit the series' success for making possible their own entry into television, H.R. In his autobiography, Barbera said that the show was originally going to be called The Banana Bunch, but permission could not be obtained from the author of a children's book by that same title. ) The Banana Splits Adventure Hour premiered on NBC on September 7, 1968. (The characters later appeared on one episode of that show. The show's format was loosely based on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. In 1967, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached Sid and Marty Krofft to build the costumes for a television show featuring animated and live-action segments, hosted by a bubblegum rock group of anthropomorphic characters. Ī feature-length comedy horror film adaptation called The Banana Splits Movie premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 18, 2019, and was released worldwide on August 13, 2019. The costumes were constructed by Sid and Marty Krofft based on designs by Hanna-Barbera artists, and the series' sponsor was Kellogg's Cereals. The show features the Banana Splits band as live-action costumed characters, who host both live-action and animated segments within their program.
The series ran for 36 episodes on NBC Saturday mornings from September 7, 1968, to September 5, 1970, and in syndication from 1970 to 1982. The costumed hosts of the show are Fleegle ( guitar, vocals), Bingo ( drums, vocals), Drooper ( bass, vocals) and Snorky ( keyboards, effects).
The Banana Splits is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes.