The Alvin Show
Alvin, Simon and Theodore are three chipmunks who provide their own kind of music to the world, under the guidance of their manager and songwriter David Seville. Meanwhile inventor Clyde Crashcup attempts to convince the audience that he invented various everyday objects (and in some cases places, etc), which he recreates to prove this as fact, before the invention somehow went wrong.
| Ross Bagdasarian | ... Alvin, Simon, Theodore, David Seville |
| Shepard Menken | ... Clyde Crashcup |
| June Foray | ... Mrs. Frumpington |
After the success of his first single “Witch Doctor” Ross Bagdasarian followed it with the immensely popular novelty record “The Chipmunk Song.” These two singles not only saved him from financial ruin, but also saved the ailing record company (Liberty Records) that distributed them. This animated series was created on the back on the record’s success (after selling 4.5 million records in seven weeks, it broke all previous sales in music record history).
The names of the rodents were taken from the names of three of the executives at Liberty Records: Label president Alvin Bennett, Label Vice-President/record producer Si Waronker and Recording Enginneer Ted Keep.
The show was recorded in color but originally broadcasted in black and white before being re-released in color when that became the standard viewing format. The series failed to make much ground in its primetime slot and was cancelled after it first season.
