Dick Dastardly

Dick Dastardly, voiced by Paul Winchell, is a fictional character and villain who appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Dastardly's most famous appearances are in the series Wacky Races, his initial appearance, and Wacky Races spinoff Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines.

Related Topics:
Paul Winchell - Fictional character - Villain - Animated series - Hanna-Barbera - Wacky Races - Spinoff - Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines

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In Wacky Races, Dick Dastardly was one of the racers who competed in every episode for first place in a long and hazard-filled cross-country road rally. As his name implies, Dastardly aimed to win solely through cheating and trickery. His race car, named "The Mean Machine," featured all sorts of devious traps for him to use against his opponents. As Wacky Races is inspired by the film The Great Race, so was Dastardly derived from the movie's chief villain, Professor Fate. Dastardly in this series wore old-fashioned racer's gear---a long violet overcoat, long red gloves, and a large striped hat with driving goggles attached. Dastardly also, like the cartoon villain Snidely Whiplash, sported a luxurious handlebar mustache.

Related Topics:
Road rally - Cheating - The Great Race - Overcoat - Goggles - Snidely Whiplash - Mustache

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Dastardly was aided in his schemes by his sidekick, a scruffy dog named Muttley who had a distinctive wheezy laugh.

Related Topics:
Sidekick - Dog - Muttley

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Despite Dastardly and Muttley's attempts, the "double-dealing do-badders", as the opening theme of Wacky Races describes them, failed to win a single race. Dastardly's plans were always foiled either by his or Muttley's incompetence, the actions of another racer, or sheer bad luck, resulting in Dastardly crossing the finish line last, if at all. One of the great ironies of the show was that, if Dastardly had not bothered to cheat, often he would have won fairly. Upon tasting defeat, Dastardly would utter his catchphrase: "Drat, drat, and double drat!"

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Dick Dastardly continued his villainous career in the Wacky Races spinoff Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines, also informally known by some as Stop That Pigeon! (due to the theme song using this phrase repeatedly). In this series, Dastardly and Muttley, as flying aces, with two other pilots, composed the "Vulture Squadron," which tried constantly to stop a messenger pigeon from delivering messages to an opposing army. As in Wacky Races, Dastardly continued to fail miserably at his mission.

Related Topics:
Spinoff - Flying aces - Messenger pigeon

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In later years Dastardly and Muttley were the nemeses for Yogi Bear and his friends in the 1980s series Yogi's Treasure Hunt and the 1970s series Yogi's Gang. This time, Dick repeatedly failed at discovering hidden treasure before Yogi and his team on Yogi's Treasure Hunt and he becomes a spy on Yogi's Gang. Dastardly and Muttley also appeared as teenagers in the short-lived series Yo, Yogi!. The final regular appearances of Dastardly and Muttley were in the "Fender Bender 500" shorts on the early 1990s short-lived series Wake, Rattle and Roll; in those segments, the duo once again appeared in the Mean Machine, but raced against such Hanna-Barbera stalwarts as Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw.

Related Topics:
Nemeses - Yogi Bear - 1980s - Yogi's Treasure Hunt - 1970s - Yogi's Gang - Treasure - Teenagers - Yo, Yogi! - 1990s - Wake, Rattle and Roll - Quick Draw McGraw

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In the TV series Laff-A-Lympics, there was a similar looking (and sounding) character to Dastardly named "The Dread Baron," voiced by John Stephenson. The character's name is an obvious pun on the name of the infamous World War I fighter pilot, the Red Baron. In this series, the Dread Baron was seen wearing a World War I-era German fighter pilot's uniform. The Dread Baron also had a dog similar to Muttley, with grey fur, an orange trenchcoat and a similar name: Mumbly. (Mumbly actually had his own series in which he was a detective.) The two later appeared in the made-for-TV movie, Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose.

Related Topics:
Laff-A-Lympics - John Stephenson - Pun - World War I - Red Baron - German - Mumbly - Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose

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In 1994, British men's magazine Loaded nominated Dick Dastardly as one of the "Greatest Living Englishmen," despite the fact that the character is (from the context of the various series he appeared in and other indicators) an American.

Related Topics:
1994 - British - Loaded - American

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