"SUPER PRESIDENT" was DePatie-Freleng's first action-adventure cartoon series that the studio produced in association with Mirisch-Rich Prods. and United Artists Television for NBC in 1967. this cartoon series,mostly regarded as a very bad joke,for depicting a US President as a Super Hero often fell under serious criticism,mostly due to the violence. Fall 1967 was interesting,since Saturday morning cartoons that year,were mostly Super Hero themed,and heavily action adventured. you had the premier of the first "SPIDER MAN" cartoon series,and "THE FANTASTIC FOUR" on ABC-then on CBS,there was "THE SUPERMAN-AQUAMAN HOUR OF ADVENTURE" along with "THE HERCULOIDS","SHAZZAN" and "MOBY DICK and The MIGHTY MIGHTOR"-so with all these serious cartoons,NBC's "SUPER PRESIDENT" cartoon was a nice try but lost seriously to its other competition!The cartoon series also featured the "SPY SHADOW" segment,which wasn't so bad. Ted Cassidy,"Lurch" from "THE ADDAMS FAMILY",and a year before landing the role and voice of "Injun Joe" in "THE NEW ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN" voiced Private Eye Richard Vance,who,through intense mystical training,could animate his "Spy Shadow" alter ego,in his fight against crime and evil! then of course,there was Super President,alias James Norcross,who,with his aide Jerry Sales,fought a variety of both exotic, and inter-galactic menaces,as the main character had possessed the ability to molecularly transform himself into any element,while using his Super Powers for the good of America,,sure wish we had a President like this in real life-but politics aside,this DePatie-Freleng cartoon show didn't last very long,and faded from view by 1968. veteran,and legendary voice over Paul Frees both voiced this character,and narrated the episodes. it was still interesting to watch,and if you overlook the ridiculous aspect,this was a typical 1960s cartoon show, with simple characters,despite being labeled as the worst cartoon ever to run on Saturday mornings. DePatie-Freleng,best known for their main creation,"THE PINK PANTHER",later went-on to make better cartoon shows in their TV history-most notably,"RETURN TO THE PLANET OF THE APES" in 1975,using "JONNY QUEST" designer Doug Wildey,as a character designer, who did a great job with this Fox franchise! but with "SUPER PRESIDENT" it was the first Patriotic Saturday morning super hero ever created,even though it was frowned upon,it was still enjoyable to watch,depending on your sense of humor,and the violence that it depicted-which later incurred the wrath of angry parents,who complained about all the cartoon violence,and changed most of the way Saturday morning cartoons were done and made-giving way,to the likes of "SCOOBY-DOO" and "The ARCHIES"-a fitting change from the Super hero cartoons,that once ruled the weekends!

This series featured two characters, Super President (James Norcross) ( voiced by Paul Frees) and Spy Shadow, the living shadow of Secret Agent Richard Vance (both magnificently voiced by Ted Cassidy). Forget the silly title Super President. What we have is a noble caring man who, with his aide, Jerry Sales, fights menaces to society with his element changing powers. The stories are sometimes silly, but sometimes poignant and profound. The writing varies, but is sometimes excellent. The background music is sometimes very effective. If only this could be commercially released.The Spy Shadow segment (one in each episode) is sometimes silly and sometimes charming. This occurred during the wane of the secret agent era. This, like other children's shows, taught values and emphasized right over wrong. The office of the president was shown with respect. I have fond memories of this wonderful series produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng.

You may not believe it unless you've actually seen it(which I have when this series was repeated in syndicated back in the early 1970's),but there was really a weekly half-hour series back in 1967 called "Super President",also known as "The Super President/Spy Shadow Show". The second billed component character was a more serious variation of Q.T. Hush(q.v.)about a private eye Richard Vance and his independently functioning shadow. Never mind that-you really want to get to the episodes that made up "Super President".James Norcross,chief executive of the United States,was transformed into a Superhero by fallout from a cosmic storm(consider yourself warned about that acid rain). In between conducting press conferences and lighting the White House Christmas tree,Super President flew through the sky without the help of the Air Force One,spending most of his time rescuing his Vice President from various grisly fates. Beyond that the fact that a series about an invulnerable president was ill-advised(at best)a scant that really came about in 1967,four years after the assassination of Kennedy. "Super President/Spy Shadow" was jaw-dropping in its awfulness since this series was a combination of several well-known shows from the 1960's....part "The Wild,Wild West", part "The Man From UNCLE",part "Mannix",not to mention part "I Spy". The result became one of the worst Saturday Morning cartoon shows ever produced not to mention rated as one of the worst toons of all time. Even if it with the serious undertones,creator David DePatie quoted:"I think it was really the worst thing we've ever made. It was a real turkey. We tried to put our comedy people on it,but it really looked terrible."The show however was produced by David DePatie and Friz Freleng,the same team that were behind the theatrical "Pink Panther" cartoon shorts and also under their company,DFE Productions/Mirisch Television-United Artists for NBC-TV that was a one year entry from September 16, 1967 until September 14, 1968. Only 13 episodes were produced in color. As far as the voicework was concerned,Paul Frees was the voice of President James Norcross,and was also the narrator while legendary stockplayer Daws Butler was the voice of Richard Vance,along with the talents of June Foray,Don Messick,Ted Knight,Shep Menken,and Mark Scor.Reason why it sucked? "Super President" made its Saturday Morning network competition against Hanna-Barbera's "The Fantastic Four"(ABC),and "The Herculoids"(CBS),which clobbered it in the ratings.

In the 60s this was the coolest cartoon on the air! The leader of the free world, chief executive one minute, superhero the next. Able to convert his body into any element he desires. Okay, it made no sense, but who cares! I learned a lot about the elements watching this (it's a start, at least!). The other cartoon, Spy Shadow (Super Prez is too good, he doesn't take the whole half-hour to battle the bad guys) is even more fantastic. The plot is equally preposterous ( a secret agent learns total mind control to the point that he can use his shadow to act as his bodyguard/sidekick!) but the action is amazing (certainly more exciting than Man From UNCLE). Depatie-Freleng does it again!