Just another 1984 classic from growing up that I have in my vintage collection. Its classic 22 year old Jim Carrey in his first lead role in a TV Series. Just a little hint, you can check out all 13 episodes on Youtube.
The show was co-created by Allan Burns. The premiere episode introduces Skip Tarkenton (Carrey), a somewhat naive and optimistic young man who has come to Hollywood looking for a job as a cartoonist. When he arrives at a low-budget animation company called Buddy Winkler Productions, he finds out Buddy Winkler has just died, and the company desperately needs new blood. So Skip gets an animation job at the firm, which is nicknamed "The Duck Factory" as their main cartoon is "The Dippy Duck Show".
Other Duck Factory employees seen regularly on the show were man-of-a-thousand-cartoon voices Wally Wooster (played by real-life cartoon voice artist Don Messick); comedy writer Marty Fenneman (played by real-life comedy writer Jay Tarses); artists Brooks Carmichael and Roland Culp, editor Andrea Lewin, and business manager Aggie Aylesworth. Buddy Winkler Productions was now owned by his young, ditzy widow, Mrs Sheree Winkler (Teresa Ganzel), who had been married to Buddy for all of three weeks before his death.
The Duck Factory lasted thirteen episodes; it premiered April 12, 1984. It was directed primarily by Gene Reynolds, Rod Daniel, and Victor Lobel, who each did three episodes. The show initially aired at 9:30 on Thursday nights, directly after Cheers, and replaced Buffalo Bill on NBC's schedule. Jay Tarses, an actor on The Duck Factory, had been the co-creator and executive producer of Buffalo Bill, which had its final network telecast on Thursday, April 5, 1984.
The show changed timeslots in June, moving to Wednesdays at 9:30. The last original episode of The Duck Factory was broadcast on July 11, 1984.
Cast
- Jim Carrey – Skip Tarkenton
- Jack Gilford – Brooks Carmichael
- Nancy Lane – Andrea Lewin
- Jay Tarses – Marty Fenneman
- Don Messick – Wally Wooster/Voice of Dippy Duck
- Julie Payne – Aggie Aylesworth
- Clarence Gilyard Jr – Roland Culp
- Teresa Ganzel – Mrs. Sheree Winkler
