Hong Kong Phooey, Number 1 Super Guy
Oh, Hong Kong Phooey, you crazy 1970s cartoon back when nothing was racist. It was one of my favorite shows from when I was a kid. I mean, what’s not to love about a martial arts crime-fighting dog?
Penrod “Penry” Pooch, the mild mannered janitor at police station, turned into a crime fighting dog whenever trouble was a-brewing. Like Superman transforming into his superhero persona in a phone booth, Penry would jump into a filing cabinet to transform into Hong Kong Phooey. The filing cabinet always got stuck (‘natch), but his pet cat, Spot, would always come to his rescue.
And instead of “To the bat-mobile,” Phooey and Spot would leap into the “Phooey-mobile,” which could turn into a boat, or helicopter, or pretty much anything, depending on the situation.
Phooey learned all of his crime fighting skills from The Hong Kong Kung Fu Book of Tricks, a correspondence-course martial-arts instruction handbook. Man, I always wanted to get my hands on a copy of that book.
Penry was voice by the incredible Scatman Crothers, who had a resume as long as your arm.
Theme Song
The theme song is jangly and catchy, with an obvious nod to Chinese music. Sort of like the nod to Asian music in The Vapors song “Turning Japanese.”
Lyrics
Who is this super hero? Sarge? No.
Rosemary the telephone operator? No.
Henry the mild mannered janitor? Could be.
Hong kong phooey, number one super guy
Hong kong phooey, quicker than the human eye
He’s got style, a groovy smile, a bod that just won’t stop
When the going gets rough, he’s super tough
With the hong kong phooey chop
Hong kong phooey, number one super guy
Hong kong phooey, quicker than the human eye
Cho chicly lo chicly bow wow wow
Hong Kong Phooey
Fan-rific!
