The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians

Most of the comedians provided their own voices for their animated counterparts, except for Chico and W. C. Fields, both deceased, Zeppo, who had left show business in 1933, and Harpo, also deceased, but no voice was needed for him since his stage persona did not speak. Groucho was still playing himself. Voice actor Paul Frees narrated the show and filled in for those actors who were not able to do their own voices.

The show included such segments as a Marx Brothers skit, which was a reworking of a scene from their Broadway play I'll Say She Is (1924). The skit included their famous Napoleon parody, with Napoleon played by Groucho. The sketch featured animated representations. Romeo Muller is credited as having written special material for the show in addition to the original scripts that came from the various comedians' sketches.

This special and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (released later that year) gave Rankin/Bass their highest TV ratings, even higher than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. More recently, Behr Entertainment was in talks to produce a similar show that would feature cartoon renditions of Jack Benny, George Burns, Abbott and Costello, and Bob Hope. 13 half-hour episodes were proposed.

The majority of the special is an animated vaudeville-style show featuring numerous comedians performing the greatest skits at the palace.

• Flip Wilson does his own take on the story of how Christopher Columbus discovered America in a satirical fashion (using an archive recording from Atlantic Records).
• Jack Benny and George Burns attempt to complain to a traffic cop about the toll to cross the bridge with hilarious results.
• Groucho Marx and his brothers Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, and Harpo Marx, do a recreation of their famous Napoleon parody act from their Broadway play I'll Say She Is, with Groucho playing as Napoleon, and Chico, Zeppo, and Harpo, playing his advisors, Alphonse, Francois, and Gaston, respectively.
• W.C. Fields (voiced here by voice actor and comedian Paul Frees) has trouble trying to prove that he is a sportsmen and impress a woman to marry her daughter at the ski resort, while at the same time has a comical encounter with a Saint Bernard.
• The Smothers Brothers try their best to cooperate in singing a song to woo a princess, but their attempt doesn't go well as planned.

In between the skits, various comedians including Henny Youngman, Jack E. Leonard, George Jessel, and Phyllis Diller tell a few funny jokes as the TV special progresses. Also making cameos in the special are Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Ray Charles, Charlie Chaplin (in silhouette form), and cartoon stars Popeye the Sailor Man, Charlie Brown, Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse and Yogi Bear.

• Jack Benny . . . Himself
• George Burns . . . Himself
• Phyllis Diller . . . Herself
• George Jessel . . . Himself
• Jack E. Leonard . . . Himself
• Groucho Marx . . . Napoleon/Himself
• The Smothers Brothers . . . Themselves
• Flip Wilson . . . Himself
• Henny Youngman . . . Himself
• Paul Frees . . . Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, W. C. Fields, Traffic Cop, additional voices
• Joan Gardner . . . Josephine Bonaparte, additional voices

• Producers/Directors . . . Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
• Special Material . . . Romeo Muller
• Flip Wilson Segment Courtesy . . . Atlantic Records
• Caricatures . . . Bruce Stark
• Continuity Design . . . Don Duga
• Animation Production . . . Mushi Productions
• Animation Supervisor . . . Steve Nakagawa
• Animation . . . Osamu Dezaki, Sadao Miyamoto, Akio Sugino (all uncredited)
• Editorial Supervision . . . Irwin Goldress
• Title Song . . . Maury Laws, Jules Bass
• Music . . . Maury Laws

• The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians on IMDb