The Canvas Back Squid

The Canvas Back Squid
"Oh yeah? That's what you think."
Premiere date	October 16, 1965
Run time	6:36
Starring	Paul Frees John Stephenson
Music composed by	Ted Nichols
Writer(s)	Tony Benedict Dalton Sandifer
Director(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
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Title card

"The Canvas Back Squid" is the third episode of Squiddly Diddly season one, and came as a segment of The Secret Squirrel Show. It aired on October 16, 1965 on NBC. It was written by Tony Benedict and Dalton Sandifer, and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the founders of Hanna-Barbera.

Squiddly is tricked into taking the place of a pro-wrestler called The Octopus.

Memorable quotes

Squiddly: Uh oh, this is getting a little out of hand -- uh, I mean, tentacle.

Squiddly: What a sore head! I'm gonna find someone who appreciates my talents.

Manager: A talking octopus. Hey, this is what I call typecasting!

The Crusher: The Crusher don't work with a referee. It makes me feel I'm not trusted!
Referee: Rule number one is, uh, when in doubt --- cut out!
Squiddly: Hey, if this is play-acting, I'd better read the script.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Chief Winchley	John Stephenson
Squiddly Diddly	Paul Frees

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Bubbleland

Music

• 0:00 - Main title theme (Ted Nichols)

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: October 16, 1965 on NBC

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	L'Échange	The Exchange
Portuguese	Uma Lula na Lona	A Squid On the Canvas
Spanish	El Cambio	The Change

Home availability

• In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
  • June 10, 1985: The Video Collection releases Squiddly Diddly on VHS.
  • November 3, 1986: The Video Collection releases Squiddly Diddly on VHS.
• In the United States:
  • November 3, 2015: Warner Archive Collection releases The Secret Squirrel Show: The Complete Series on DVD.