{{Short description|American TV series (1966–1969)}} {{other|Daktari (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = Daktari Clarence Judy 1967.JPG | caption = Clarence and Judy | genre = [[Children's television series|Children's]] [[Dramatic programming|drama]]<br>[[Adventure film|Adventure]] | creator = Art Arthur<br>[[Ivan Tors]] | writer = William Clark<br>[[Meyer Dolinsky]]<br>Lawrence L. Goldman<br>Alf Harris<br>John Hogan<br>Jack Jacobs<br>[[Robert Lees]]<br>Robert Lewin<br>D.D. Oldland<br>S.S. Schweitzer<br>Stanley H. Silverman<br>[[Malvin Wald]] | director = Paul Landres<br>Andrew Marton<br>[[Otto Lang (film producer)|Otto Lang]] | starring = [[Marshall Thompson]]<br>[[Cheryl Miller (actress)|Cheryl Miller]]<br>[[Hari Rhodes]]<br>[[Erin Moran]]<br>[[Yale Summers]]<br>[[Hedley Mattingly]] | theme_music_composer = [[Shelly Manne]]<br>[[Henryk Wars|Henry Vars]] | composer = Herbert Doerfel<br>Shelly Manne<br>Henry Vars | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 4 | num_episodes = 89 | list_episodes = List of Daktari episodes | executive_producer = Ivan Tors | producer = Leonard B. Kaufman | editor = [[George Hively]] | cinematography = [[William A. Fraker]]<br>Fred Mandl<br>Paul Ivano<br>Richard Moore | runtime = 45–48 minutes | company = Ivan Tors Productions<br>[[MGM Television|Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television]] | channel = [[CBS]] | first_aired = {{Start date|1966|01|11}} | last_aired = {{End date|1969|01|15}} | related = {{Plainlist| * ''[[Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion]]'' }} }}
'''''Daktari''''' ([[Swahili language|Swahili]] for "doctor") is an American family drama series that aired on [[CBS]] between 1966 and 1969. The series is an [[Ivan Tors]] Films Production in association with [[MGM Television]] starring [[Marshall Thompson]] as Marsh Tracy, a [[veterinarian]] at the fictional Wameru Study Center for Animal Behavior in [[East Africa]].
==Concept== The show follows the work of Tracy, his daughter Paula ([[Cheryl Miller (actress)|Cheryl Miller]]), and his staff, who frequently protect animals from poachers and local officials. Tracy's pets, a cross-eyed [[lion]] named Clarence and a [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]] named Judy, were also popular characters.<ref name="Woolery">{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series |date=1985 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1651-2 |pages=135–136}}</ref>
''Daktari'' was based upon the 1965 film ''[[Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion]]'', which also stars Thompson as Tracy and Miller as his daughter. The concept was developed by producer [[Ivan Tors]], inspired by the work of Dr. [[Antonie Marinus Harthoorn]] and his wife, [[Susanne Hart|Sue]], at their animal orphanage in [[Nairobi]].<ref name="Hart">{{cite book|last=Hart|first=Susanne|title=Life with Daktari: Two Vets in East Africa|publisher=Atheneum|year=1969|page=35}}</ref> Dr. Harthoorn helped invent the capture gun, and was a tireless campaigner for animal rights. Daktari means 'doctor' in the local Swahili language.
On the series, Clarence did not do all his own stunts; he had a stand-in. Leo (previously known as Zamba), another lion trained by [[Ralph Helfer]], doubled for Clarence whenever any trucks were involved because Clarence was frightened of large motorized vehicles. Leo had his own makeup artist apply cosmetic scarring like Clarence's so that he would resemble Clarence in closeups. An inside joke from the preview trailer for the film ''[[Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion]]'' was that Leo [[Leo the Lion (MGM)#Leo .281957.E2.80.93present.29|the MGM logo]] was not related to Clarence (in addition to similar appearances, the lions had similar temperaments).
Another less friendly lion, also named Leo, doubled for Clarence in some scenes. He was used only for the snarling scenes and scenes not involving proximity with humans. His ferocity was genuine, the result of physical abuse by his previous captors.
In the show's final season, [[child actor|child star]] [[Erin Moran]] joined the cast as Jenny Jones, a seven-year-old orphan who becomes part of the Tracy household.
==Cast== * [[Marshall Thompson]] as Marsh Tracy * [[Cheryl Miller (actress)|Cheryl Miller]] as Paula Tracy * [[Hedley Mattingly]] as [[District officer|District Officer]] Hedley * [[Hari Rhodes]] as Mike Makula * [[Yale Summers]] as Jack Dane (1966–1968) * [[Ross Hagen]] as Bart Jason (1968–1969) * [[Erin Moran]] as Jenny Jones (1968–1969) * Judy the Chimp as Judy
Clarence the Lion died at the age of 7 on July 14, 1969, six months after ''Daktari'' was last telecast on CBS. When he was not being filmed, the lion was booked as an attraction at expositions and died in [[Peoria, Illinois]], where he was scheduled to appear at the Heart of Illinois Fair.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=gL9scSG3K_gC&dat=19690715&printsec=frontpage&hl=en "TV Daktari's Clarence The Lion Is Dead"], ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', July 15, 1969, p1</ref>
Notable guest stars over the years included [[Louis Gossett Jr.]], [[Sterling Holloway]], [[Bruce Bennett]], [[Virginia Mayo]], [[Chips Rafferty]] and [[Paul Winfield]].
[[Bruno (bear actor)|Bruno the Bear]] also appeared as a guest star before he became the main bear playing the title role in the later Ivan Tors series, ''[[Gentle Ben]]''.
==Episodes== {{main|List of Daktari episodes}} The series was broadcast in four seasons, the first in early 1966, and the last three each beginning in September 1966, 1967, and 1968. {{:List of Daktari episodes}}
==Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings== The original broadcasts in the US were on CBS. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Season !! Time slot (ET) !! Rank !! Rating<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle |date=2007 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present |publisher=Ballantine Books |page=1684 |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |edition=Ninth}}</ref> |- | [[1965–66 United States network television schedule|1965–66]] || rowspan="3"|Tuesday at 7:30 pm || 14 || 23.9 |- | [[1966–67 United States network television schedule|1966–67]] || 7 || 23.4 <small>(tied with ''[[Bewitched]]'' and ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'')</small> |- | [[1967–68 United States network television schedule|1967–68]] || 33 || 19.7 |- | [[1968–69 United States network television schedule|1968–69]] || Wednesday at 7:30 pm || 69 || N/A |} According to IMDB it was also broadcast on TV channels in the UK, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia (Croatia), Portugal, and (dubbed) in Germany, France and Romania.
==Production notes== ===Location=== According to the show's closing credits, it was "filmed in Africa and Africa USA", a {{convert|600|acre|km2|adj=on}} wild-animal ranch created by animal trainers [[Ralph Helfer|Ralph and Toni Helfer]] in [[Soledad Canyon]] {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]].<ref>[http://ponderosascenery.homestead.com/vasquez.html "Vasquez Rocks"]. Bonanza: Scenery of the Ponderosa. Retrieved on July 15, 2013.</ref> Ralph Helfer was the animal coordinator of the show. Leonard B. Kaufman, the producer, wrote in liner notes for Shelly Manne's ''Daktari'' that he shot the series on location close to a ranch once owned by Antonio Pintos' father in [[Mozambique]].<ref>Leonard B. Kaufman, liner notes for Shelly Manne, "Daktari", Atlantic Records SD 8157</ref> Indeed, the outdoor scenes involving the actors were shot in the Africa U.S.A. compound in California, with footage of African landscape and animals in between to get the African look and feel. Some of the animals shown were, however, at odds with the location – a tiger (not native to Africa) is shown in the starting credit sequence, as well as an Indian elephant.
Other indoor and some outdoor scenes of the animal hospital were shot in Ivan Tors' studios in Florida.
===Music=== The show had distinctive theme and incidental music, a fusion of [[jazz]] and [[Music of Africa|African]] influences, conducted by American jazz drummer [[Shelly Manne]]. Manne released the associated record, ''[[Daktari (album)|Daktari: Shelly Manne Performs and Conducts His Original Music for the Hit TV Show]]'', on the [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] label in 1967. On the album, [[Mike Wofford]] plays a [[tack piano]] to evoke an African sound, and Manne is joined by percussionists [[Emil Richards]], [[Larry Bunker]], [[Frank Carlson]], and [[Victor Feldman]]. According to the record liner notes, Manne and fellow percussionists play ankle and wrist [[jingle (percussion)|jingle]]s, [[Lujon (musical instrument)|Lujon]], Thai [[mouth organ]]s, [[angklung]]s, [[ocarina]]s, [[vibraphone]]s, [[Timpani|tympani]], and different kinds of [[marimba]]s.
===Vehicles=== The series featured several [[Land Rover]] four-wheel-drive cars and also a [[Jeep Gladiator (SJ)|Jeep Gladiator]] pickup truck with a zebra-striped paint scheme. [[Corgi Toys]] produced a green and black zebra-striped toy version of a Land Rover, available in several different action sets.<ref>[http://corgitoys.free.fr/English/CORGI_GS7_GS14_DAKTARI.htm CORGI GS7 & CORGI GS14 DAKTARI] ''corgitoys.free.fr'', accessed 2021-05-04</ref>
==Home media== [[Warner Bros.]] has released all four seasons on DVD in [[DVD region code#1|Region 1]] via their [[Warner Archive Collection]] manufacture-on-demand series.<ref>Lambert, David (November 15, 2011). [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-1/16211 "Daktari - 'The Complete 1st Season' is Now Available from the Warner Archive"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918234955/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-1/16211 |date=2012-09-18}}. TVShowsOnDVD.com.</ref><ref>Lambert, David (March 12, 2013). [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-2/18184 "Daktari - Packaging Pics for 'The Complete 2nd Season' Shows It's 2 Half-Season Sets Bundled"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315105116/http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-2/18184 |date=2013-03-15}}. TVShowsOnDVD.com.</ref><ref>[http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-3/19969 MOD Release for 'The Complete 3rd Season' is Now Available] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627145004/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-3/19969 |date=2014-06-27}}</ref><ref>[http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-4/21129 The 4th and Final Season is Coming to DVD Very Soon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527041831/http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daktari-Season-4/21129 |date=2015-05-27}}</ref>
==See also== * ''[[Cowboy in Africa]]'' * [[Antonie Marinus Harthoorn]] * [[Born Free]] (1966 movie)
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commons category}} * {{IMDb title|id=0059977}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060712015641/http://aa.1asphost.com/CTVA/US/Adventure/Daktari.htm ''Daktari'' Episode Guide] * [http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=59977 Vehicles as listed at imcdb.org] * {{discogs master|359277}}
[[Category:1966 American television series debuts]] [[Category:1969 American television series endings]] [[Category:1960s American children's television series]] [[Category:American children's adventure television series]] [[Category:CBS original programming]] [[Category:English-language American television shows]] [[Category:Television shows set in Kenya]] [[Category:Live action television shows based on films]] [[Category:Television shows about chimpanzees]] [[Category:Television series about lions]] [[Category:Television series by MGM Television]]