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But have you ever seen a panther that was pink..."

The cartoons may have appealed to children because they were smart, originally designed to amuse the adults in a movie theatre. The Panther continued outwitting the short man with the big nose, for example, sneaking into his house and pretending to be a stuffed panther. Cartoons with other characters were also included, including "The Inspector" (and his sidekick, inspector Deux-Deux), along with "The Ant and the Aardvark." This format remained popular with children for seven years, so popular that a new cereal was introduced called "Pink Panther Flakes." The Panther appeared in the advertisements, in which Henry Mancini's song even received lyrics. ("Pink Panther Flakes / are sweet / and sweet as you Pink Panther color of pink...")

In 1976 NBC gambled on expanding the Saturday Morning show to 90 minutes with "The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show." Unfortunately, to pad the length of the show, they included live-action segments with a comedian reading children's jokes, but it was horribly unsuccessful, and the in 1977 the half-hour cartoon returned. ABC picked up the series for one year in 1978 (mixing the Panther cartoon with cartoons about "Crazylegs Crane.") The last Pink Panther cartoon was produced in 1980, though the cartoon was syndicated and continued be shown on various channels throughout the country on weekday afternoons.

And fortunately for fans, the Pink Panther could still be spotted in the opening credits of the ongoing "Pink Panther" movies. He first returned for the 1975 movie "The Return of the Pink Panther," and appeared in the series' new movies in 1976, 1978, 1982, and 1983. In the 1993 movie "Son of the Pink Panther," he appears in a remarkable sequence where the famous Henry Mancini song is sung acapella by Bobby McFerrin with the Pink Panther directing the music. In 2006 he appeared one more time, in the re-make of the "The Pink Panther" starring Steve Martin.

It culminated more than forty years of being sophisticated and funny.

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