The Beagles

[MMBBfan327]

Ah, yes. The famous "Beagles" from I'm assuming Liverpup, lol? Who here has seen The Beagles live and in person? Sadly not me.:(

Any cool stories/history lessons?

[CEC3066]

they were the first cabaret act I remember seeing at my store.

[dheineCECfan]

The Beagles were at the CECPTT in Hoffman Estates, IL since its 1983 opening until replaced by a Big Screen TV in 1984 (at least the CECPTT Hoffman Estates, IL location still kept the King show until the 1986 Little Caesar's Family Fun Pizzaria takeover).

[captslappy]

Here are a few facts about the Beagles and the sideshows in general. I am going to try to relate as much of this as I can specifically to the Beagles.

Actually there were 2 types of "side shows". A caberet was specifically one of three piano players: Dolli D, Artie A. or BB Bubbles.

The other was a lounge show. This included the Beagles, Beach Bowzers and King/King Kat characters. The lounges didn't have publicity posters (the now appearing posters they did of guests and caberets). Also as far as I know, only the lounge acts had neon signs. The caberet stars did not.

Dolli was the first side show... The Beagles along with Artie and King were part of the second wave of side shows.

BB Bubbles, King Kat and the Beach Bowzers were the last wave. These shows only have one reel each as far as we know.

The Beagles specifically had 3 reels of material and were mechanically identical to the Beach Bowzers and could perform the Beach Bowzer shows. Mechanically they are built very similiar to the Warblettes. They use the same rocker mechs and the body style and mouth design is identical.

Show material wise the Beagles used actual Beatles songs and were pretty much limited to the earlier years of their career (when they wore suits before they got all hippied out). The costumes are loosely based on the Sgt. Pepper era uniforms but instead of being multi-colored they were all red. The only original voicing is someone using a British accent who introduces each show and generally made a closing remark as the song faded out. Only one Beagle ever spoke and it was the singer although some of the other Beagles did sing lead vocals. The characters all had the same names as the Beatles: John, George, Paul and Ringo. John was the singer with the Mic, George and Paul were the guitar players (a correctly set up show had Paul with a left handed guitar) and Ringo of course was drums. An interesting note on the guitars... the Bowzers were supposed to have both guitarists playing right handed but you can often tell a retrofit show that used to be the Beagles because one of the guitarists has a left handed guitar. I know this is a Beagles thread but I also wanted to note there were 5 Beach Boys so the Bowzers show wasn't nearly as acurate since it was a 4 piece band and the play on the name is not nearly as clever. Therefore in my opinion the Beach Bowzers is a sloppy take off just like King Kat.

For those interested in mechanical specs the Beagles used 4 character cards in the computer. One for each Beagle. They had 20 movements total that broke down like this: John: 6 (mouth, head right, head left, microphone stand sway, foot tap, body rock), George and Paul: 5 (mouth, head right, head left, guitar strum hand which worked like the King and body rock), Ringo had only 4 movements (mouth, right hand, left hand and body rock). As mentioned the Beach Bowzers were perfectly identical in movements. I don't know if all of the Beagles/Bowzers had "random" movements or not, but the dogs heads would "look around" in between shows when they weren't playing. These movements actually were not random and were a pre-programmed loop of movements that were on the computer's eprom software that kicked in between songs.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

The Beagle shows i saw in 81' and 82' had no random movements. No such thing was ever heard of until the mid-80's when the Rocker stage was introduced. It's interesting to hear that some locations already had this going on long before that!

Yes, i saw the Beagles a lot. I liked them a lot too....they were very neat and the built-in appeal of having them imitate the legendary Beatles was neat. Watching Ringo's hair flap under his chin as he sang was something that stayed with me for many years. It was just neat to me back then.

I could never get into the Bowzers. They sucked! It's strange, as basically it was the same type of show with the same movements and characters pretty much. I don't know, but i never cared much for the characters' appearence or the material they sang. Maybe it's just me. In Brandon,Fl they had the Beagles and Dolli in 81' In 82' the King was put in where the Beagles were in the Lounge. In Spring Hill, FL they also has the Beagles ( though it ran badly as i remember) and Artie in the back room Caberet. When i moved up North here to MA i began my visitations to Danvers. They had the Bowzers and B.B. in 83'. I am pretty sure that this location opened with these acts, but i can't fully confirm this. J probably can though...he was there before i moved up from FL in 83'.

The Bowzers were boring for me...but the Beagles rocked. Weird huh?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Oh...and the Beagles were know as "The Pups from Liverpoodle"

Tis' true!

[captslappy]

A note on the movements... first off there were 3 types of cab/lounge eprom set ups. Originally the caberet (Dolli only) was slaved off the main stage computer. The characters in the showroom played and as soon as they shut off, then Dolli came on. They never ran at the same time. This sort of arrangement was brought back later when some Kings were put in the show room. A "king command" was added to the tape when the show went into intermission turning King on and eventually rephased out. The next chip was a "coin op" meaning you had to pay a token to get them to do a song. The start switch was the token box itself and worked just like an arcade game. Later they had a free show which was on a timer like the balcony. At some point PTT decided that all the animatronic entertainment should be free. Rather than change out the "coin-op" eprom chips to "free show" eproms, they simply replaced the button device (ie coin box) with a button. The Green button said "For a Free Show, push this button and watch me go." This made all the caberet and lounges free regardless of what eprom they used system wide. I suspect that only the later "free" shows that did not use a token box or green button were the only ones that had the ramdom movement sequence. Those shows that did not move randomly simply sat idle. In the case of King, Dolli, Artie, and BB they simply closed their eyes just like the balcony characters did.

[pizzacam]

Actually they were also known as "The Liverpups" AND:

http://sp-com.tripod.com/pizzacam/pizzacam/PTT_Beagles_Poster_008.jpg

[captslappy]

Oh wow! I had no idea the Beagles had a poster. That means the King may have had one too! Although our King did not. That's also the first time I've seen it called the "caberet lounge". Everything I have read identifies the caberet and the lounge as two seperate places. What a find!

[dheineCECfan]

Nice scan of the PTT Beagles Now Appearing poster, pizzacam! Now if only a Sally Sashay Now Appearing poster or Little Shavers Now Appearing poster surfaced...

[MMBBfan327]

HOLY CRAP DUDE!!!!


WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT POSTER?????? THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

[CEC3066]

so during the '89 Danvers remodel that was actually a RETURN ENGAGEMENT for the Bowzers?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

The Bowzers were installed in July of 89'...so they were 'new" to that location. Originally B.B Bubbles was in the Caberet and The King was in the Lounge there. When the 1st post PTT Inc remodel happened in 85' or so, B.B. was scrapped and her room was turned into a serperate Game Room that ran behind the Showoom stage.

During the 2nd remodel in 89' The King and his Lounge was gutted out and the spare Game Room was turned into the Bowzers room. Here the Bowzers were installed, and they were all new to this area. This is where i first saw them. Up until then i never knew of there exsistance!

So no, it was'nt a return apearence.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Nice poster by the way...

Whoever owns it if you want to sell it to a serious collector contact me at cheesevention@yahoo.com.

[MMBBfan327]

I agree, that poster is TOTALLY awesome...btw, since we are talking about posters, do any of you have any spare posters of characters? Anyone would be fine, especially Artie and Foxy, and Harmony.

[captslappy]

Those posters are very hard to come by. I have yet to find any of my own. I doubt anyone else has any. Those are probably even more rare than the robots themselves. Jenn is the only one I know that has then and I promise you she ain't selling...

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

That is correct Sir!

I have Foxxy, Artie, and Madame Oink. I used to have a Dolli, but as i was saying in a earlier post, this one sadly did not survive my move up from FL to MA.

Other posters that i know exsisted were of Harmony, where she is shown holding a handgun! This was of course 1981...but apparently the Company was pressured to remove it. Show manuals from that era state clearly to be sure to put Harmony's guns in her holsters ONLY. She held a lasso in her hand instead of her gun.

We know of the Beagles, and there may well have been one for The King but i never personally ever saw one. That does'nt mean it does'nt exsist though...as the Beagles poster above proves!

The only other posters that were availble back in PTT days was a series of character posters that featured the main Players drawn in typical cartoon style. These were sold in 1980/81 at select locations and consisted of a Classic Rat, Jasper, Pasqually, and maybe even a Munch. No Guests. CEC was on a turquiose backdrop, Jasper on red i beleive, and Pasqually on yellow.

Other posters include the Fan Club poster put out in 82' that was small and only had a drawing of CHuck in his directors hat. One of these was on e-bay some months back i remember. There have also been a lot of the 5th Anniversary artwork posters coming up lately. These are nice, but often pricey.

[MMBBfan327]

Were these posters the size of the '88/'90 CEC/SPP parody posters?

Also Jenn what other things can you share with us? I love to hear this stuff!!!

[captslappy]

I know all the posters were pretty much standard poster size. Not sure of diminsions but having seen the caberet and guest posters as a kid they are the same size as the parody ones.

[pizzacam]

Yeah the poster is 24X36 like the later '88 and '90 parody posters. ;)

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

The posters were very large...almost like movie poster size. They were a challange to keep 'nice" all these years being so large and cumbersome.

This was a great series of posters. They usually featured very early promo shots of the characters. All the ones i have seen show this. Also, the lettering is very cleverly created. It's made out of beads, pearls,gold fabric trim peices and satin material strips. Very very clever way of doing this and it gives the posters a eye catching, unique look.

So Gabe i take it you now own this poster? ;)

[dheineCECfan]

The posters would even fit in the "NOW APPEARING" (same shape as the SPP "NOW APPEARING" ones?) windows.

[MMBBfan327]

That's where they went Darryl.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Uhhhhh yeah....

That't the only place they were used! They were never framed or anything like the Parody posters. The Guest posters were always displayed outside of the building in special window boxes. It was very cool..like the old time show theatres.

Man it was cool...

[captslappy]

Actually the ones at the store I went to were in the lobby but they were in "Now Appearing" boxes.

[MMBBfan327]

I remember from all my visits from 1994-1997 at the Elmbrook Plaza location, they still had the original PTT poster frames that were red (and even had Pizza Time Theatre written on them) and all they ever had in them was a poster with Chuck E. (the costume) with 3 kids blowing out birthday candles and one poster with the same.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yeah...many old ex-PTT's still used the window boxes long after the Guest posters were no longer used. I remember right here at "D" they had the same poster displayed as you describe seeing MMBBFan!

Captain..that's interesting to hear about the posters being inside. I suppose there were locations that did do this as you proved..and that's cool! I never knew they were ever used elsewhere inside the building...i always saw them outside.

[MMBBfan327]

Yeah, I can't remember how long West Allis and Chase kept their posters. I think until the "big" remodel in '98 or so.

*And by 'big' I mean the time when Studio C took over and EVERYTHING was changing.*

[CEC3066]

yeah my store had that same poster too.

[Larry the Tech]

Sorry for the old thread bump

I found this picture on someone's Myspace, and it really puzzles me.
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh204/seahawk99/IMG_1271.jpg

[menutia]

Yup pup... those are the original Beagles. (In somebody's home!)

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

What always puzzled me is how badly the bodies of the Beag's were so out of porportion. If you really look at them, their arms are miles long and their legs are SO short! It's crazy! It is a shame as it kind of ruined the illusion for me. At least shorten up the arms..there is no real reason why they needed to be that long as they have nothing inside them ( just foam..no metal frames).

Check out that photo again and you will see what i mean!

I always felt the cosmetics could have been bumped up a notch more due to the fact they were a tribute to The Beatles. While they did add some nice touches( "George's" cheekbones and thick eyebrows, as an example.. as well as authentic Lennon glasses for "John"..) they could have looked a bit better. When compared to the other Cyberamic designs at that time ( Dolli, Artie..Harmony..) these cosmetics are really basic.

I love The Beagles. They were always one of my fave Lounge acts at PTT.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh204/seahawk99/IMG_1271.jpg

Just thought i would comment on this pic, as there are some itmes that should be addressed for the purists out there...and for info sake:

The Beagles here are miss-arranged. The original presentation had "Ringo" the white dog drummer in the center. " John" is shown above where the other dog on a pedesel "Paul" should be ( they are reversed in this pic). Lastly, "George" was not placed where he is shown here in the center. He was located off to the left hand side, just to the left of "Paul" who was on the left side pedestal. The speaker shown in the center here was actually located behind "John" on the other side of the stage.

The cosmetics here are very faded. The original black terrycloth used for the dogs' noses is completely faded making them appear grey like their fur! Their eyes are also a bit funky and the black "Beagle Wigs" need to be pulled up a little.

Finally, the sign behind them lies: The Beagles never appeared in PTT's "Caberet"....they appeared exclusively in the "Lounge" only.

:D

[pizzacam]

Yeah, you're right about them being out of proportion... that always seemed weird to me too.

We had ours here @ the Military Dr. location until '95 and they were always kept in tip top shape cosmeticwise and mechanically... Although for some reason they could never keep the reels on the capstands... #-o

Anyway, my guess was that the longer arms on the guitars and mic stand were to just give the effect of more movement since the ends of these long arms were supposed to be attached to well working cylinders that would get their arms swinging a bit... :-h

[dheineCECfan]

These Beagles weren't from the long gone after 1 year in operation in 1987 New England Playworld, I guess.

[Leo1]

Give the guy a break. It looks like a fan picture thats in someones house and not PTT.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

That is more then obvious....

I felt a need to address the changes in the pic as some of the newer fans ( and the several people we have visit here researching the PTT Era) may look at this picture and take it at face value. It is important to make sure the story is told right!

:D

[Larry the Tech]

The Beagles are coolio. But I don't think we had em. Were they around in 1981? I think that's when my store opened. We had a King, and maybe Dolli?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yes, 81' was when they appeared.

Most PTT's built in 81' and 82' had both a Caberet and a Lounge room...in additon to the Show Room. At that time, Artie Antlers or Dolli Dimples would be installed in the Caberet, and The Beagles installed in the Lounge. The King appeared in 82' and in most cases replaced The Beagles. In late 82'/early 83' The Beach Bowzers appeared in the Lounge and some locations were graced with the mega-rare B.B. Bubbles in the Caberet.

Smaller locations only had one of the two rooms, but i would say MOST Classic Era PTT's had both if space allowed. Some locations kept their "side shows" long after PTT folded and Showbiz took over control.....there are Stores that still ran The King as well as The Beagles right up until the mid 90's. These were a minority however....