Friz Freleng so popular that United Artists, distributors of "The Pink Panther", had Freleng produce a short cartoon starring the character, "The Pink Phink" (1964). After "The Pink Phink" won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), Freleng and DePatie responded by producing a whole series of Pink Panther cartoons. Other original cartoon series, among them "The Inspector", "The Ant and the Aardvark", "The Dogfather", "Roland and Rattfink" and "Crazylegs Crane", soon followed. In 1969, "The Pink Panther Show", a Saturday morning anthology program featuring DePatie–Freleng cartoons, debuted on NBC. "The Pink Panther" and the other original DePatie–Freleng series would
Richard Crane (actor) Richard Crane (actor) Richard Ollie Crane (June 6, 1918 – March 9, 1969) was a veteran character actor whose career spanned three decades in films and television. His early career included many uncredited performances in feature films made in the 1940s. Crane was born in New Castle, Indiana. Crane may be best remembered for his portrayal of the title role in the TV science fiction series "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger", which ran for two seasons starting in 1954. In 1952, he signed a seven-year contract that specified he was to make annual tours of the United States, appearing as Jones