The Beatles’ cartoon series begins in the United States

A cartoon series featuring The Beatles began on this day in the United States. Simply titled The Beatles, it ran until 1969 on the ABC network, with 39 episodes produced over three seasons.

The series was shown on Saturday mornings at 10.30am until 1968, when it was moved to Sunday mornings. Each episode was named after a Beatles song, with stories based on the lyrics.

The Beatles themselves were not directly involved in the production, which was created by Al Brodax and Sylban Buck, and produced by King Features Syndicate. American actor Paul Frees provided the voices for John Lennon and George Harrison, while British actor Lance Percival did the same for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Al Brodax, who produced the series, was later the producer and co-writer of the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. The film’s director, George Dunning, also worked on the cartoon series.