O. G. Readmore
Encyclopedia
ABC Weekend Special
The ABC Weekend Special is a weekly 30-minute anthology TV series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997. It featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated....
s on U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
during the 1980s. He was an anthropomorphic cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
, dressed in a nautical outfit, that encouraged children to read for pleasure. He hosted the show from 1984 through 1989, performing with guest stars including Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, Harry Blackstone Jr., Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
, Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden is an American journalist, author and television host. She was the co-host of ABC's Good Morning America from 1980 through 1997 and is the author of 8 books...
and others. Also, he appeared in animated form in a few Weekend Specials, including Cap’n O. G. Readmore Meets Chicken Little and Cap’n O. G. Readmore Meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; in these features, he was the president of an all-feline book club, the Friday Night Book Club, who often found himself physically pulled into the story he’s reading.
The voice of the character was provided by the American voice actor Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
in the original Public Service Announcements and while hosting the ABC Weekend Special
ABC Weekend Special
The ABC Weekend Special is a weekly 30-minute anthology TV series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997. It featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated....
. However, in several of the animated specials, such as Cap’n O. G. Readmore Meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, his voice was provided by Neil Ross
Neil Ross
Theodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
. Many of the regular characters had fanciful names, such as Lickety Page and Kitty Literature. Production was by Rick Reinert Pictures originally of Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, California.
The feline character Cap'n Readmore was drawn on as a source of inspiration when choosing a middle name for Dewey Readmore Books
Dewey Readmore Books
Dewey Readmore Books was the resident cat at the Spencer Public Library in Spencer, Iowa, garnering worldwide publicity...
.