| Cathy | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Cathy Guisewite |
| Based on | Cathy by Cathy Guisewite |
| Written by | Cathy Guisewite |
| Directed by | Evert Brown |
| Voices of | Kathleen Wilhoite Robert F. Paulsen Allison Argo Shirley Mitchell Emily Levine Gregg Berger Desiree Goyette William L. Guisewite Robert Towers |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lee Mendelson |
| Producer | Bill Melendez |
| Editors | Chuck McCann Julie Gustafson Warren Taylor |
| Camera setup | Nick Vasu |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | Mendelson–Melendez Productions Universal Press Syndicate |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | May 15, 1987 (1987-05-15) |
| Related | |
Cathy is a 1987 animatedtelevision special based on theCathy comic strip byCathy Guisewite.[1] It featuresKathleen Wilhoite as the voice of Cathy Andrews, and was written by Guisewite, executive-produced byLee Mendelson, produced byBill Melendez, and directed by Evert Brown.
The special won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. It was followed byCathy's Last Resort (1988) andCathy's Valentine (1989).
Cathy Andrews is an unmarried woman who dreams of having both a career as president of a conglomerate and a relationship with "Mr. Right," a man who is sensitive, nurturing and sexy. While claiming the 1980s are a golden age to be single, she is envious seeing her friends becoming engaged in droves. She justifies her casual relationship with a man named Irving to her mother, but everyone is disappointed Irving will not be attending her workplace awards ceremony, where Cathy is nominated for employee of the year. One Saturday night, she visits Irving's apartment, to find he is entertaining another woman, Brenda. Although both women storm out on Irving, Cathy returns, and Irving attempts to explain himself. Despite momentarily thinking the affair was brief, Cathy looks into Irving's refrigerator and finds butter on a plate,lasagna and ice trays filled, and realizes it has gone on for weeks.
Cathy's friend Andrea takes her out to look for another man, despite her mother's insistence she stay in the apartment and wait for Irving to call. When Cathy returns, she is disappointed to find heranswering machine blank. After a failed attempt to look throughpersonal ads, she accepts ablind date, but Andrea drives the man away withmace when he arrives, sees them both, and jokes about havingtwo women. When Irving calls to get his possessions back, Cathy tells him to meet her at the awards ceremony, where she wins employee of the year. They then dance.
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At the time aCathy special was announced, the comic strip was being published in 500 newspapers.[2] ProducerLee Mendelson contacted creatorCathy Guisewite about making a television special,[3] which was ultimately produced withBill Melendez.[4]
Guisewite acknowledged her comic was receiving complaints, saying, "The last thing that the world needs is another vulnerable woman," and expressing surprise that a woman would write such a comic. The storyline of the special was created to reflect the character's vulnerability, with Guisewite saying that, despite complaints, her readers liked it. She stated, "The strip is how I work out my anxieties," and that she felt her best comics are drawn from this.[2]
Cathy was initially broadcast onCBS on May 15, 1987.[5] It followedBlondie and Dagwood, another animated special based on a comic strip,Blondie, with regular series pre-empted.[4] Before the special aired, Cathy Guisewite and her mother Anne Guisewite visitedChicago in May 1987 to promote the special and Anne Guisewite's book,Motherly Advice from Cathy's Mom.[6]
Cathy's Last Resort andCathy's Valentine followed on November 11, 1988, and February 10, 1989, respectively.[5]
John J. O'Connor, writing forThe New York Times, wrote "Cathy is the animated equivalent of clever, sophisticate sitcom. It fits snugly into network prime time."[4]Cathy won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 1987.[7]