Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert is an animated primetime television special which originally aired on November 12, 1969, on NBC in the United States.[1] The special stars Fat Albert and the Cosby kids, a group of characters based on people Bill Cosby grew up with in his youth and had been mentioned in his prior stand-up routines. It was followed by an animated series which premiered on CBS three years later in 1972.
Plot[edit]Bill and Russell are eating breakfast, but complain about the "lumps" in the cereal. They are told to finish eating it by their mother before leing to meet up with their friends Nolan, Dumb Donald, Old Weird Harold, and Weasel. Dumb Donald dropped his football down a sewer hole after being told by his mother "not to kick it, not to drop it, not to throw it." Using a wad of gum and Harold's long lanky body, they manage to retrieve it. The boys are challenged to an upcoming football game against the Terrors in which Bill accepts. Although the boys express doubt of winning, Bill reiterates that their friend Fat Albert will be there to help them win the game. Fat Albert appears at the mere mention of his name and with a loud booming "Hey, hey, hey!"
They are soon greeted by their friend Rudy who invites them all to come see a triple feature of The Wolf Man which is playing at the local cinema. Everyone agrees to go, except Fat Albert who does not like scary movies and heads home. The rest of the boys go to see the film (using real footage from the actual movie) and despite putting on a tough front, are clearly scared of the picture. They walk home together where everything proceeds to scare them. They then try to laugh it off by making fat jokes about Fat Albert. They unknowingly pass by his apartment building where he hears them, saddened by their remarks.
On the day of the game, Bill goes to visit Fat Albert who makes it known that he does not want to be friends with him anymore and plans to move away after telling his parents. Bill goes to the game where the Terrors continuously clobber his team. Desperate, Bill goes back to Fat Albert one more time and offers to pay him for the rest of his life to participate in the game, but still refuses. Saddened by Albert's unwillingness, Bill expresses that he's sorry he's moving and sorry that he won't be his friend anymore. Fat Albert unexpectedly appears at the game and, using his weight, helps defeat the Terrors. Fat Albert is hailed a hero and tells his friends that he is not moving after all before proceeding to remind Bill about the payment he offered him earlier.
Release[edit]While NBC did re-air the special twice following its initial airing, it has rarely been seen since. The film is in the collection of the Paley Center for Media.[2] While public showings of the episode are limited, it can be viewed upon request. It was created by Bill Cosby and animator Ken Mundie. It was based on Cosby's stand-up routines, which were based on his childhood. It would later inspire the long-running 1972 animated series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. A second special, Weird Harold, aired on May 4, 1973.[3]
The special has a very different style from the later series. As a stylistic choice, the animators drew directly onto cels with grease pencils and actual footage of Philadelphia were used for backgrounds. Cosby disliked the character designs used in the special, with Mundie explaining that "[Cosby] wanted [the protagonists] to be more a fun bunch of kids." For the football match sequence, stock footage of NFL games play in the background, and when Fat Albert tackles the Green Street Terrors, stock shots of building demolitions are used.[4] The music was provided by Herbie Hancock, who later used some of the music he composed on his album Fat Albert Rotunda. Unlike the later Cosby Kids series and specials, it has not been released on DVD.
The episode was classified as partially lost media, with only brief and limited clips of the special ailable online. An audio recording of a 1971 re-broadcast surfaced online in February 2024.[5] On July 28, 2024, a user uploaded a complete recording of the special to YouTube. This recording was filmed at the Paley Center and synchronized with the audio found earlier in the year.[6][7]
References[edit] ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 273. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020. ^ "HEY, HEY, HEY, IT'S FAT ALBERT (TV)". www.paleycenter.org. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 343. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020. ^ "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids / Classic TV". www.tvparty.com. ^ "Hey, Hey, Hey! - It's Fat Albert [September 12th, 1971 TV Broadcast, AUDIO ONLY, With Commercials], KOAA-TV NBC Channel 5 reel-to-reel recording of final broadcast taped at 1 7/8 IPS". www.youtube.com. ^ "Hey Hey Hey It's Fat Albert [1969] - Full Episode". www.youtube.com. ^ "Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert (found NBC animated special; 1969)". www.lostmediawiki.com. External links[edit] Article featuring concept art and a short clip vteBill CosbyFilmographyDiscographyIn advertisingList of awardsList of honorary degreesComedy albums Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963) I Started Out as a Child (1964) Why Is There Air? (1965) Wonderfulness (1966) Revenge (1967) To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With (1968) 200 M.P.H. (1968) It's True! It's True! (1969) 8:15 12:15 (1969) Sports (1969) Live: Madison Square Garden Center (1970) When I Was a Kid (1971) For Adults Only (1971) Inside the Mind of Bill Cosby (1972) Fat Albert (1973) My Father Confused Me... What Must I Do? What Must I Do? (1977) Bill's Best Friend (1978) Bill Cosby: Himself (1982) Those of You with or Without Children, You'll Understand (1986) Oh, Baby! (1991) Music albums Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings (1967) Bill Cosby Sings Hooray for the Salvation Army Band! (1968) Badfoot Brown & the Bunions Bradford Funeral & Marching Band (1971) Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs (1971) Bill Cosby Presents Badfoot Brown & the Bunions Bradford Funeral Marching Band (1972) At Last Bill Cosby Really Sings (1974) Bill Cosby Is Not Himself These Days (1976) Disco Bill (1977) State of Emergency (2009) Compilations The Best of Bill Cosby (1969) More of the Best of Bill Cosby (1970) Bill (1973) Down Under (1975) Singles "Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)" (1967) Television The Bill Cosby Show (1969–71) The New Bill Cosby Show (1972–73) Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972–85) Cos (1976) Picture Pages (1978–84) The Cosby Show (1984–92) A Different World (1987–93) The Cosby Mysteries (1994–95) Cosby (1996–2000) Little Bill (1999–2004) Fatherhood (2004–05) Stand-up comedyfilms and specials Himself (1983) Bill Cosby 77 (unreleased) Family Camille Cosby Ennis Cosby Erika Cosby Sexual assault cases Andrea Constand lawsuit Trial of Bill Cosby We Need to Talk About Cosby (2022) Related articles Fatherhood (1986) Pound Cake speech (2004) Tetragrammaton Records Collection of African-American art