Daktari

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For the Shelly Manne album, see Daktari (album).

Daktari

Clarence and Judy

Children's drama
Genre
Adventure
Art Arthur
Created by
Ivan Tors
William Clark
Meyer Dolinsky
Lawrence L. Goldman
Alf Harris
John Hogan
Jack Jacobs
Written by
Robert Lees
Robert Lewin
D.D. Oldland
S.S. Schweitzer
Stanley H. Silverman
Malvin Wald
Paul Landres
Directed by Andrew Marton
Otto Lang
Marshall Thompson
Cheryl Miller
Starring Hari Rhodes
Yale Summers
Hedley Mattingly
Theme music composer Shelly Manne
 Henry Vars
Herbert Doerfel
Composer(s) Shelly Manne
Henry Vars
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
of seasons 4
of episodes 89 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Ivan Tors
Producer(s) Leonard B. Kaufman
William A. Fraker
Fred Mandl
Cinematography
Paul Ivano
Richard Moore
Editor(s) George Hively
Running time 45–48 minutes
Ivan Tors Productions
Production company(s)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television
Distributor (1969-1970)
Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network CBS
Picture format Metrocolor
Audio format Monaural
January 11, 1966 –
Original release
January 15, 1969
Chronology
Preceded by Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion
Daktari (Swahili for "doctor") is an American family drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series
is an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television starring Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy,
a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Centre for Animal Behaviour in East Africa.

Contents

 1Concept

 2Cast

 3Episodes

 4Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings

 5Production notes

 5.1Location

 5.2Music
 5.3Vehicles

 6Home media

 7See also

 8References

 9External links

Concept[edit]
The show follows the work of Dr. Tracy, his daughter Paula (Cheryl Miller), and his staff, who frequently protect animals
from poachers and local officials. Tracy's pets, a cross-eyed lion named Clarence and a chimpanzee named Judy, were also
popular characters.

Daktari was based upon the 1965 film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion, which also stars Thompson as Dr. Tracy and Miller as
his daughter. The concept was developed by producer Ivan Tors, inspired by the work of Dr. Antonie Marinus Harthoorn and
his wife Sue at their animal orphanage in Nairobi.[1] Dr. Harthoorn was a tireless campaigner for animal rights.
On the series, Clarence did not do all his own stunts; he had a stand-in. Leo, another lion trained by Ralph Helfer, doubled
for Clarence whenever any trucks were involved because Clarence was spooked by these vehicles. Leo had his own
makeup artist apply cosmetic scarring like Clarence's so that he would resemble Clarence in closeups. An inside joke
from the preview trailer for the movie Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion was that Leo the MGM logo was not related to Clarence
(in addition to similar appearances, the lions had similar temperaments).

Another less friendly lion, also named Leo, doubled for Clarence in some scenes. He was used only for the snarling
scenes and scenes not involving proximity with humans. His ferocity was genuine, the result of physical abuse by his
previous owners.

In the show's final season, child star Erin Moran joined the cast as Jenny Jones, a seven-year-old orphan who becomes part
of the Tracy household.

Cast[edit]
Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy
Cheryl Miller as Paula Tracy
Hedley Mattingly as District Officer Hedley
Hari Rhodes as Mike Makula
Yale Summers as Jack Dane (1966–1968)
Ross Hagen as Bart Jason (1968–1969)
Erin Moran as Jenny Jones (1968–1969)
Judy the Chimp as Judy
Judy the Chimp also portrayed "Debbie the Bloop" on Lost in Space.

Clarence the Lion passed away at the age of 7 on July 14, 1969, six months after Daktari was last telecast on CBS.
When he was not being filmed, the lion was booked as an attraction at expositions and died in Peoria, Illinois, where he
was scheduled to appear at the "Heart of Illinois Fair". [2]

Notable guest stars over the years included Louis Gossett Jr., Sterling Holloway, Bruce Bennett, Virginia Mayo, Chips
Rafferty and Paul Winfield.

Bruno the Bear also appeared as a guest star before he became the main bear playing the title role in the later Ivan Tors
series, Gentle