Yogi Bear is smarter than the average bear, 
Yogi Bear is always in the ranger's hair. 
At a picnic table you will find him there 
Stuffing down more goodies than the average bear. 

He will sleep till noon but before it's dark, 
He'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park. 

Yogi has it better than a millionaire 
That's because he's smarter than the average bear.

"Yogi Bear" was the most popular television cartoon creation of TV's early years. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the "Yogi Bear" cartoons first appeared as a component segment of "The Huckleberry Hound Show" in 1958. An inhabitant of Jellystone National Park, with his little bear buddy. Boo Boo, Yogi was for the most part a sarcastic, rule-breaking bear with a great yearning for picnic baskets who credited himself as being "smarter than the average bear."

After three seasons of cartoons on "The Huckleberry Hound Show," Yogi appeared in his first spin-off series in January 1961. "The Yogi Bear Show" was the third Hanna-Barbera series to be syndicated (January 30, 1961) nationally on local stations, sponsored by Kellogg's Cereals. "Top Cat," the fourth Hanna-Barbera series to have Kellogg's as its sponsor, made its prime-time ABC-TV network debut later in the same year.

Featured along with Boo Boo and Yogi's friendly nemesis, Ranger Smith, several of the newer cartoons introduced such bright new characters as Cindy Bear, Yogi's love interest, and Park Ranger Tom Anderson. Ranger Smith's new assistant. Other animated segments included "Snagglepuss," the happy-go-lucky Shakespearian mountain lion, and "Yakky Doodle," about a little duck and his bulldog buddy, Chopper. Yakky was continually pursued by Fibber Fox, but always saved in the nick of time by Chopper. While Snagglepuss resembled comedian Bert Lahr's cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz, Yakky sounded as if he might have been related to Walt Disney's Donald Duck. Vocals for the series were provided by Daws Butler, Don Messick, Doug Young, Janet Waldo, and ventriloquist Jimmy Weldon, as Yakky Doodle.

During the early 1960s both Yogi and his pal Huckleberry Hound became national pitchmen for their sponsor, Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Their appeal to both children and adults created a merchandise phenomenon for the Hanna-Barbera Studios which has grossed over $100 million. Yogi's success also led to a 1961 comic strip that was syndicated in more than 100 newspapers nationwide, and in 1964 he became the first of the Hanna-Barbera characters to appear in a full-length theatrical production entitled "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!"

During the 1970s, 80's and 90's Yogi even managed a few comebacks in new cartoons that dealt with current issues. "Yogi's Gang" premiered on ABC in the fall of 1973, airing from 8:30 to 9:00 A.M., September 8, 1973, through August 31,1974. The following season, the show returned to ABC in the 8:00 A.M. half hour slot and was aired from September 7,1974, through August 30,1975. It was Yogi's first in a series of Saturday morning spin-offs based on the "ABC Saturday Superstar Movie," Yogi's Ark Lark, presented on Saturday morning the previous season. Here Yogi battled such environmental enemies as Mr. Pollution, Mr. Litter, Mr. Waste, Mr. Prankster, and Mr. Bigot, along with several of the old Hanna-Barbera favorites who had been featured over the years in shows of their own. This series was followed closely by "Yogi's Space Race" in 1978 on NBC. Featured in a variety of different formats and time slots, this series gave the Yogi gang new adventures throughout the solar system. A weak attempt to recapture the flavor of the old series, "Space Race" was canceled in midseason. Here is the programming history of "Yogi's Space Race" which ran on NBC on Saturdays: 8:00-9:30 A.M., September 9, 1978, through October 28, 1978; 11:00-12:00 noon, November 4,1978, through January 27,1979; 8:00-8:30 A.M., February 3,1979, through March 3, 1979. Yogi was resurrected in 1985 for "Yogi's Treasure Hunt", syndicated as part of "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" series. "Yogi's Treasure Hunt", like 1973's "Yogi's Gang", featured Yogi along with a cast of classic Hanna-Barbera characters sailed around the world in the magical S.S. Jelly Roger in search of treasures which they would donate to charitable causes. New episodes aired through 1988. In the fall of 1988, new six-minute episodes of "Yogi Bear" were shown in syndication, as were various cartoon episodes of the old shows. Yogi Bear's popularity has never diminished with viewers over the years. In 1990, Yogi Bear reappeared in “Fender Bender 500”,  Hanna-Barbera’s latest “great race” cartoon. In addition to Yogi, it featured Boo Boo, Pixie and Dixie, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and a host of other classic characters competition racing in custom-designed vehicles. “Fender Bender 500" was syndicated as part of Hanna-Barbera's "Wake, Rattle & Roll" series. The series was renamed "Jump, Rattle & Roll" when it appeared in reruns on the Disney Channel.