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Creator: “Save Humphrey!”

Humphrey B. Bear's creator sends out a cry for help for a beloved Aussie TV character.

humphreybbRex Heading, the creator of Humphrey B. Bear, says the Australian television icon that has entertained generations of children should not be axed from the small screen after Banksia Productions went into liquidation last week.

Banksia, which owns the licence to the Here’s Humphrey series, was ordered to wind up by the Supreme Court over an alleged debt of $50,102 to WIN-owned Nine South Australia.

Heading created Humphrey in 1965 when he was program director at Channel Nine in Adelaide. He said it was “bloody terrible” Humphrey was now in the hands of liquidators.

“The amount of money that bear earned over the years could have had me retire 14 times over,” he told The Australian.

“The character is iconic.”

Here’s Humphrey‘s last episodes were filmed in 2007 after he went into hibernation in 2003, and the station’s deal allowed it to air repeats until February this year.

Heading hopes someone will step in and buy the licence to Humphrey’s programs and keep the character on air.

Source: The Australian

9 Responses

  1. Humphrey is Iconic.Lots of Us Grew up with Him and I have even met him and the Channel Niners back in the Eighties.

    What would Kerry Packer do assuming he was still alive?

    I admit to watching Humphrey even as an Adult today and No I am not a Parent with Small Children

  2. I also never liked him as a kid. And I still feel a had an extremely fulfilling childhood watching Play School and Sesame Street – you know, where the people actually talked to you.

    Let him go.

  3. Let him go.
    Could not stand him when I was a kid 40+ years ago and still cannot stand him.

    I always thought he was really stupid and made kids dumb.
    Just like the Wiggles.

  4. But Humphrey Bear, like Play School etc. etc. has a new audience every five years. I remember Humphrey in glorious B&W back in the 70’s. He would now be watched by a totally new audience, unlike Happy Days.
    This is sooooo WINTV. They’re looking to get all of Humphrey, including merchandising, overseas sales, etc. from the liquidator for $????
    He was once on the ABC, albiet Australia Network, seen all over Asia and the Pacific. he had a huge fanclub in Fiji.
    Billionaire “Bermuda Bruce” (Gordon) – do you really need A$50K that badly?

  5. Sorry, neonkitten, Humphrey is as relevant to child development today as he was back in the 1960s. Give me the Funny Ol’ Fellow over the mind-numbing drivel of Hi 5 anyday…

  6. Surely ch 9 could step in here. Its only $50,000 and I am sure, through merchandising etc, that he’ll bring in alot more than that.

    Or maybe a bail out by Rudd putting him onto the ABC?

  7. The fact that Banksia is in liquidation speaks volumes for how much the Humphrey brand is worth these days, unfortunately.

    “Happy Days” was iconic too, but if Henry Winkler was still doing The Fonz now it’d be the saddest thing on television.

    They got 40+ years out of the (let’s face it, pretty thin) concept. Be grateful and move on.

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