Daktari


Anybody remeber the TV spinoff, Daktari? Instead of catching animals, it was about a veterinarian in the African bush. I must have been about 7 or 8 when it came out, and it didn't last long.

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It lasted 3 seasons - about average. It ran from 1966 - but a movie "Clarence the cross-eyed lion" was filmed in 1964 and released the following year: it had the same headline stars and was the originator of the series. Whether Hatari! caused them to jump the bandwagon or not I have no idea.

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I remember it. It used to come out on Tuesday evenings around 7pm EST. If you like sci-fi, Marshall Thompson came out in a popular sci-fi movie entitled "it, the Terror from Beyond Space."

-Julius

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"Daktari" is in fact a spin-off of film "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion" and not from John Wayne film "Hatari". "Daktari" means doctor in Swahili, whereas "Hatari" means danger.

“Why was I not made of stone like thee?” The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

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Yes wonderfull series they even made some daktari toys
http://www.theoldtoyguide.com/diecast/corgi/corgi-daktari-safari-gift- set-14.html

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I used to have a Daktari Big Little Book.

I wonder if AFRICA--TEXAS STYLE and COWBOY IN AFRICA were inspired by HATARI. I'm not sure on the dates.

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Actually they were all produced by Ivan Tors, so I guess they were all related. He also produced many animal films and movies. Do you remember Flipper?

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Yep. Never watched it, but I remember the theme song.

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Flipper who? Winfrey?

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Marshall Thompson's autograph is one of the few I have. When I was about 10, he made a personal appearance at an amusement park outside Pittsburgh with several of the DAKTARI animals. He was coming out of the men's room when I accosted him (!) but he was very gracious and even took time to ask my age and what I studied in school.

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Daktari was filmed near Mission Viejo south of LA at Lion Country Safari I believe the name of the place was. Clarence lived to be a very old age and the lady lions preferred him over the younger lion Romeos. He fathered quite a few cubs. I watched that show every week. He was helped by the ladies to walk, get food, and they generally took care of him although in the wild he would have been tossed out and dead by the time he was 12 or so. He lived to be almost double that.

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In the original publicity there is a short list of the animals common to all of these efforts. I believe two of the baby Elephants here and Clarence were even mentioned in the credits of Daktari. I would try to look it up here just to be sure, but IMDB is not 100% accurate. So not finding it here does not mean it is not so.

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It was fairly popular the first season but kind of stalled in the ratings.

Interesting that between 1962-67, animal trapping had become somewhat non-PC and the lead character was recast as a vet who treated animals rather than a trapper who captured them.


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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.

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I had a Daktari lunch pail. As usual, I dropped the damned thermos and busted it by the second day.

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