Classic Jonny Quest Background Info and Message from Lyle

Welcome to Classic Jonny Quest!

I'm glad you decided to spend a little time with us. This all started, as many stories do, with a relatively minor event when compared to more significant occurrences like the creation of the universe. However, it made quite an impact on me.

That event was the premier of Jonny Quest, a prime-time animated series that debuted on September 18, 1964. At the time, I was an impressionable nine-year-old, and was really not expecting that my life would be changed. I had seen cartoons before, of course, and was used to the likes of The Flinstones, Beany and Cecil, and other "kid's fare". None of that prepared me for the overwhelming experience of seeing the adventures of Jonny, Hadji, Bandit, Race Bannon, and Dr. Benton Quest.

I remember the setting vividly -- sitting in our living room in front of the small black-and-white television that had so wonderously come into our house only two years earlier. I remember my dad had called us in from playing outside (for which I am forever thankful) to watch this new show, and with the first notes of the theme song, I was hooked. At nine, I was just discovering the wonderful world of science fiction; I had just started my lifelong habit of going to the library and searching for something to read that would transport me to worlds previously unimagined. And, now, here came this T.V. show that showed two boys about my age having all of these incredible adventures. I don't think Hanna-Barbera could have custom-designed a better show to grab my attention if they had personally called me on the phone and asked what I wanted. It was only much, much later that I learned the man I really owed this all to was Doug Wildey. Unfortunately, by the time I learned who the man was, he had passed away (in 1994).

As the years passed, and Jonny Quest moved from prime-time to Saturdays and seemingly endless reruns, I followed willingly. Well into the 1970's, I faithfully scanned the weekly T.V. section in the paper to see when and where Jonny and Hadji would show up. It seemed that it was rather hit-or-miss, at times; the show switched networks and times a lot. But I could usually find it without too much trouble.

Then, it disappeared. I moved on with my life, graduating first from high school then from college. I brought along my interest in science (learned by watching Dr. Quest figure things out each week), earning a degree in mathematics (with a minor in physics), and moving on into the rapidly opening computer field. I've grown in many ways since those mid-1960's days, and I've seen the advent of personal computers, the internet, and more. Today (as of 2006), I've become a "veteran" computer programmer/software engineer; I've been doing this for over 30 years now!

Yet I remain that small nine-year-old boy, just waiting to spot Jonny Quest in the T.V. papers once again.

In the year 1996, I stumbled across an internet site that specialized in archiving sound files of T.V. show theme songs. In browsing through the site, I found "jonny_quest_64.wav". Wow, did that ever bring back memories! I must have listened to that theme song for an hour, playing it over and over again. I just could not get enough. Then, I initiated a 'net search, a reasonable next move, on the words "Jonny Quest". I found, among others, Richard Hill's fabulous "Palm Key: the Unofficial Jonny Quest" site. I was inspired. I contributed what I could to Palm Key (I still think that's possibly the best-ever name for a CJQ site), and when that wasn't enough, I constructed my own set of pages, publishing them as the more mundanely-titled "The Classic Jonny Quest Pages". A few months later, I became acquainted with Craig Fuqua, another JQ fan, and the rest, as they say, is history.

My thanks...

To all my fellow classic Jonny Quest fans (you know who you are), I offer this little spot in cyberspace as my personal tribute to those 26 (all too few!) half-hour shows.

To Doug Wildey, who created this wonderful show, and to William Hanna and Joe Barbera, for giving Doug the chance, I humbly dedicate my efforts. And special gratitude goes out to Hoyt Curtin (now also, sadly, passed from this life), who wrote those mesmerizing scores -- how totally awesome and perfect that music was.

And to my dad (who passed away in 1991 from lymphoma and never got to see any of this transpire), I offer a heart-felt "Thanks!" for dragging me inside that Friday night in September 1964 to watch a cartoon. Wow.

Jonny Quest and distinctive likenesses © Hanna-Barbera. All other images, image designs and other image work on this site are © ClassicJQ.com, © Hanna-Barbera or as noted. Text content is © ClassicJQ.com, except where noted otherwise, and may not be shared or re-published without the consent of the author. This is strictly a fan-based site, and is in no way affiliated with or approved by Hanna-Barbera or any other organizations, unless specifically indicated otherwise.