Hollywood Argyles.
"Alley Oop." 45"
1960.

Alley Oop the Song

Written by Dallas Frazier and produced by Gary S. Paxton, "Alley Oop" was a #1 hit single in 1960. The Hollywood Argyles was basically Paxton, who hired some session musicians to record a song he had heard a gas station attendant sing. Paxton went on to produce numerous other recordings, the most well-known being "Monster Mash," another big novelty hit of the 1960s. "Alley Oop" has been recorded by many other artists since, including Dante & the Evergreens, The Dyna-Sores, Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar, and The Beach Boys.

Hamlin was paid royalties from the song, and was able to buy a new red sports car with the money, and Alley Oop bought one himself in the strip not long after.

Alley Oop in Fabulous Funnies Film Cel.

Alley Oop the Television Show

In 1978, Alley Oop was briefly animated for television. Fabulous Funnies was a short-lived, Saturday morning cartoon show featuring popular comic strip characters Broom Hilda, Nancy and Sluggo, the Captain and the Kids (aka The Katzenjammer Kids), and of course Alley Oop and his friends. Oop's friend Foozy acted as the host of the show, introducing each seven-minute segment. Critics blame the show's failure on its mission to promote good manners, each segment serving as a mini-lesson on some social ill, such as smoking or drinking. It only lasted 13 episodes, but one of the staff writers, Sam Simon, lasted a bit longer, later becoming a producer for The Simpsons.

Hip Pocket Theatre.
Alley Oop: The Musical.
Fort Worth, TX: Hip Pocket Theatre, 2005.

Alley Oop the Musical

This musical adaptation of the strip from 2005 was staged by a small production company in Fort Worth. The production featured all of the regular characters, even Dinny and a Tyrannosaurus, both life-sized dinosaur puppets created by master puppeteer Basil Twist. The musical director, Michael H. Price, is also responsible for a musical about comic artist R. Crumb, entitled R. Crumb - The Musical!