Fan-rrific! Hanna-Barbera's Hong Kong Phooey was the Saturday-morning cartoon answer to the mid-'70s martial-arts craze. Mild-mannered janitor Penry (voiced by Scatman Crothers) works in the police station alongside switchboard operator Rosemary (Kathy Gori) and beleaguered Sergeant Flint (Joe E. Ross), humans who never suspect that the diligent dog is actually "America's secret weapon against crime."
Never mind that Hong Kong Phooey, although armed with his trusty book of kung fu and a Bond-meets-Wacky Races Phooeymobile, wouldn't even be able to get out of his quick-change file cabinet without a well-placed blow from his loyal cat, Spot (who's striped, naturally). The public is awed by him, Rosemary has a crush on him, and villains--including the Claw, the Giggler, Goldfisher, and the Gum Drop Kid--fear him, but no one notices that Hong Kong Phooey only succeeds through his own klutziness, Spot's help, or dumb luck. Crothers also scatted the famous theme song: "Hong Kong Phooey, Number One super guy / Hong Kong Phooey, Quicker than the human eye / Chicky-chong chicky-chong / Chicky-chocky dooky-chong / Dooky-bop chop-choppin' / Da bow-wow-wow!" Hong Kong Phooey is harmlessly entertaining, about as harmless as Hong Kong Phooey was to bad guys everywhere.
Cast and Characters Voices
Scatman Crothers as Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch
Kathy Gori as Rosemary
Joe E. Ross as Sergeant Flint
Don Messick as Spot
Sean B. Pasternak as Lieutenant Bumbles
Recurring characters>
Hong Kong Phooey/Penrod "Penry" Pooch
Sergeant Flint
Rosemary
Spot
Lieutenant Bumbles
Broadcast History First Telecast:September 7, 1974 Last Telecast: September 4, 1976 Number of Episodes: 31
Original Network: ABC
Theme Song and Opening Credits
Theme by Chester Stover, Watts Biggers, Treadwell Covington, and Joseph Harris
Hong Kong Phooey, number one super guy.
Hong Kong Phooey, quicker than the human eye.
He's got style, a groovy style,
and a car that just won't stop.
When the going gets tough, he's really rough,
with a Hong Kong Phooey chop (Hi-Ya!)
Hong Kong Phooey, number one super guy.
Hong Kong Phooey, quicker than the human eye.
Hong Kong Phooey, he's fan-riffic (gong!)