Buzz Potamkin
Production
Biography
Potamkin is known for founding Perpetual Motion Pictures (later called Buzzco Associates) with Candy Kugel and Vincent Cafarelli in 1968, which led to the production of hundreds of television advertisements, including the Hawaiian Punch series, MTV's "Top of the Hour" (the moon man), and MTV's "I Want My MTV" campaign. He also established the companies Visionary Media, Project X, and Southern Star Productions, an Australian/American subsidiary of Hanna-Barbera. Potamkin produced the animated specials The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree in 1979 and Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue in 1990, among others. After working at The Walt Disney Company for a short period in 1991, Potamkin was hired by Fred Seibert as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons' Executive Producer & Head of TV, where he oversaw all the studio's output and produced shorts for Cartoon Network's "What a Cartoon!" series through 1996. Potamkin died from pancreatic cancer on April 22, 2012, and was survived by his wife Rosie.
Known For
Follows the surreal adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often antagonized by "The Red Guy", who poses as various characters to scam them.
Cow and Chicken
Various original cartoons by some of today's top animators.
What a Cartoon!
In a world of anthropomorphic felines, two demoted fighter pilots battle evil as high flying masked vigilantes.
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
An animated television series based on Stan and Jan Berenstain's Berenstain Bears children's book series.
The Berenstain Bears
A spoiled brat sends a very long list to Santa Claus who misdelivers the gifts to a town with the same name as the boy, who learns it's better to give than receive.
The Town Santa Forgot
The plot chronicles the exploits of Michael, a teenager who is using marijuana and stealing his father's beer. His younger sister, Corey, is worried about him because he started acting differently. When her piggy bank goes missing, her cartoon tie-in toys come to life to help her find it. After discovering it in Michael's room along with his stash of drugs, the various cartoon characters proceed to work together and take him on a fantasy journey to teach him the risks and consequences a life of drug-use can bring and save the world.
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
Fred is cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in a stage adaption of the classic Christmas story, but is acting a bit stingy in real life.
A Flintstones Christmas Carol
Four children learn the origins of Halloween customs while trying to save the life of their friend.
The Halloween Tree
If the pizza delivery boy delivers a pizza to the Arctic circle in 5 minutes or less he will get a big tip, or so he thinks.
Pizza Boy in No Tip
Buster and Chauncey - the world's greatest Mouse-icians - have arrived in Oberndorf for their shot at the big time: performing for the queen at the annual Christmas Pageant! But on Christmas Eve, Burghermeister Huffenmeir finds all the preparations for the festivities destroyed and the treasure of Oberndorf missing. When he accuses Buster and Chauncey's friend Christina - an orphan in search of her long lost family - it seems certain that Christmas will be ruined. Now it's up to the Moustroes of Mistletoe to help Christina reveal the real culprits, return the treasure and show the town of Oberndorf the true meaning of Christmas.
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night
A goofy crew of extraterrestrial wall-walkers journey to Earth in a quest to learn the meaning of Christmas.
Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls
Cow must save her brother Chicken after he is sent to Hell for smoking. Short film that later became the Cartoon Network show Cow & Chicken
No Smoking
Captain Buzz Cheeply and his robot sidekick, Slide, must escape a planet full of "Blubnoids" who have abnormally sized foreheads but small-sized brains whilst trying to do their laundry.
The Adventures of Captain Buzz Cheeply in "A Clean Getaway"
The Powerpuff Girls must stop Fuzzy Lumpkins
Powerpuff Girls : Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins
Daisy-Head Mayzie wakes up one morning to find a daisy has sprouted from the top of her head. Facing her classmates' taunts and her parents' dismay, Mayzie triumphs at last with the hard-won knowledge that love is more important than fame!
Daisy-Head Mayzie
"The Adventures of the Maltese Cat" is an adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling short story. Producer Larry Spangler had just produced a documentary feature film about polo and he thought having a cartoon proceeding it would add a little something! So he came to Buzzco Associates to produce this very ambitious short.
The Adventures of the Maltese Cat
A worm named Mr. Woim hitchhikes in the middle of the California desert alongside a bird named Mr. Boid. While driving there, Woim crashes Boid's car and they begin to hallucinate.
Boid 'n' Woim
The mounted police has its uniforms stolen, so Yoink and Sergeant Farnsworth Farflung are sent to retrieve them.
Yoink of the Yukon
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City chronicles Strawberry Shortcake's trip to Big Apple City, so she can compete in a baking contest at "the little theater off Times Pear". Strawberry's journey, however, is in jeopardy due to the constant interference of the Peculiar Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak, who is her only competition in the bake-off. The Pieman counts on his kohlrabi cookies and a little trickery to beat Strawberry and her famous shortcake.
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City
The Berenstain Bears Comic Valentine is an animated television special based on the Berenstain Bears children's book series by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Produced by Buzz Potamkin and directed by Mordicai Gerstein and Al Kouzel, the program made its debut on NBC on February 13, 1982.