i remember watching the re-runs of the panther show during the 80's and i'm sure that after the begining credits (animals, pink car,panther walking into manns)and before the start of the 1st panther cartoon, they showed the panther smoking a opium pipe!!
am i remembering this right?
Marc,
You are correct. I remember him with the pipe as well.
Kyle
Why do you assume opium when you see a pipe?
shareWell, and this is from memory, the device looked like a rather elaborate 'Bong' type deal, the kind that they had in chinese opium houses.
I'm sure the bong was later replaced by the panther smoking a ciggy with a filter which was also taken out in later showings.
Also, I'm thinking the Pink Panther is himself the kind of animal you'd hallucinate about if you were high.
Anywho, I'm rambling.
Thanks to Kyle for you help, sorry my thanks was a little late though!
I thought he was smoking a cigarette from a holder...a bit like Peter O'Toole?
"Out, my Little Fishes! You've had enough for today!"
I remember the cigarette too, but recently saw an original with the unmistakeable opium pipe. As mentioned above, the cigarette replaced the pipe when it became too 'adult' for the cartoon. (Later, even the cigarette was removed presumably for the same reason.) I liked that the pipe said something about the character - while very prim and proper, he was also a jazzy, swingin' cat. Even the cigarette hinted at his hep sophistication.
From a fortune cookie: "Be Quicker of Mind Than of Tongue"
not o tool,
david niven
and englishmen had pipes for tobacco, and smoked from pipes all the time. pink is, like niven, an englishman (is based on), not chinese.
> and englishmen had pipes for tobacco...
So did my grampa. But Pink's was a hookah pipe like this: http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/amorton/green%20genie%20hookah.jpg
And the setting was a bright opium lounge, sort of like this: http://www.playgroundfilms.com/inproduction/images/opiumdenbig.jpg
As opium dens fell out of favor for children's characters (here's a realistic view: http://opioids.com/images/manilaopium.jpg...gee, I wownder why), he changed to a cigarette in a long holder (you're right, it was meant to be David Niven-esque), and eventually even that was removed from later episodes. Even some of the earlier episodes' openings were changed to the later, hookah-less, cigarette-less opening for subsequent syndication in the '80s. The guy couldn't catch a break. (Even a couple of slightly-adult-oriented episodes with an alcohol theme disappeared from syndication.)
There's a 124-cartoon DVD set (and several smaller volumes) now available: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009S4J2I/
I have not seen this collection yet, so I don't know whether the hookah and cigarette openings have been restored to the appropriate episodes.
"Be Quicker of Mind Than of Tongue"
The 124-cartoon DVD set has the cigarette openings before every episode. I also have the 4 tape VHS set, they may have the hookah openings, I'll check.
share[deleted]
I don't believe that. I have the DVD set and it still has the cigarette openings. Even in the opening to the original movie he uses a cigarette holder.
I have come to play.