The Hillbilly Bears

The Hillbilly Bears is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired as a segment on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show for two seasons, from 1965 to 1967. During the first half of the 1966-67 television season, The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show was split into two seperate shows, and The Hillbilly Bears aired as part of The Atom Ant Show.

Reruns of the series formerly aired on Cartoon Network and Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang.

Overview
A situational comedy (inspired by The Beverly Hillbillies) about the Rugg family of hillbilly bears consisting of Paw Rugg, Maw Rugg, Floral Rugg, and Shag Rugg.

The Hillbilly Bears/Yogi Bear's Family played on a social stereotype of the "hillbilly", with a gun toting, mumbling father Paw Rugg who was always "feudin" ("feudin" was usually a lethargic operation, in which the protagonists fired the same bullet back and forth from the comfort of their rocking chairs) with the neighbors the Hoppers.

Paw Rugg's voice was a mumble, splattered with a few understandable words. Particularly in the first episodes, Paw Rugg's voice was incomprehensible; his speech improved with the later episodes. His wife Maw was a homemaker who appeared as the more levelheaded parent, The fur of his daughter Floral had lemon-colored fur (as opposed to the darker-colored fur of Maw, Paw and Shag) and Floral was the southern belle and most sophisticated member of the family while Shag was a troublemaker who looks up to his father.

Cast

 * Henry Corden - Paw Rugg
 * Jean Vander Pyl - Floral Rugg, Maw Rugg
 * Don Messick - Shag Rugg
 * Paul Frees - Claude Hopper

Season 1

 * 1) "Detour For Sure"
 * 2) "Woodpecked"
 * 3) "Anglers Aweigh"
 * 4) "Stranger Than Friction"
 * 5) "Goldilocks And The Four Bears"
 * 6) "Going, Going Gone Gopher"
 * 7) "Courtin' Disaster"
 * 8) "Picnic Panicked"
 * 9) "Judo Kudos"
 * 10) "Just Plane Around"
 * 11) "War Games"
 * 12) "Bricker Brats"
 * 13) "Slap Happy Grandpappy"
 * 14) "Pooped Pops"
 * 15) "Leaky Creek"
 * 16) "My Fair Hillbilly"
 * 17) "Rickety Rockety-Raccoon"
 * 18) "Modern Inconvenience"
 * 19) "Rabbit Rumble"
 * 20) "Speckled Heckler"

Season 2

 * 1) "Whirly Bear"
 * 2) "Saucy Saucers"
 * 3) "Chipper Chirper"
 * 4) "Gettin' Paws Goat"
 * 5) "Buzzin' Cuzzins"
 * 6) "Do The Bear"

In Other Media

 * The Hillbilly Bears appeared in Yogi's Ark Lark and its spin-off series Yogi's Gang.
 * Pa and Maw Rugg appeared in Yogi's Treasure Hunt.
 * The Hillbilly Bears appeared in a Boomerang short, where Maw takes them on a Jerry Springer-like show due to the fact she can't understand Paw, although the audience assumes that she means she doesn't "understand" him in the sense that she doesn't know who he is anymore. This results in Paw shooting on the wall "I luv you Maw".
 * On the Dexter's Laboratory episode, "Chubby Cheese" an animatronic Paw Rugg is seen playing the xylophone during Chubby's song.
 * The Hillbilly Bears appear in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Guitar Control" defending their home from the SWAT team and Bear. Paw Rugg's name can be seen in Harvey's black book in "BabySitter" and Paw can be seen using a crowbar to tear off the logo for Sebben and Sebben in "The Death of Harvey".

Home Release
The episode "Woodpecked" is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's vol. 1. The episode "Picnic Panicked" is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Vol. 2.