Banana Splits (1969) 1

One banana, two banana, three banana, four…

If you can finish this theme song, you remember Saturday morning cartoons, psychedelia before the 80s tried to bring it back and prizes hidden at the bottom of sugar-laden breakfast cereals.

Banana Splits (1969) 1

You also know who the ambassadors for National Banana Day are.

Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky confound spellcheck, but are remembered for their technicolor facade. They were also the title hosts for The Banana Splits Adventure Hour that aired on NBC from Sept. 7, 1968 to Sept. 5, 1970. A total of 31 episodes were filmed alternating between live-action and animated portions.

In syndication, the show would become known simply as The Banana Splits running from 1971 to 1982.

Musical segments during the first season were filmed at Six Flags Over Texas, near Arlington, TX. For the second season, filming was done at the Coney Island amusement park near Cincinnati, OH.

The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) was written by N.B. Winkless Jr., though Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan are credited. It would break the Billboard Top 100 at 96 in February of 1969.

Though the series ended in 1970, a made-for-television movie was released on ABC in 1972 called The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park.

The Banana Splits Movie was released in 2019 at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Gold Key published eight issues of the Banana Splits’ adventures from 1969 through 1971 with a crossover in Suicide Squad in 2017.

National Banana Day is recognized the third Wednesday in April.

Bananas are seen as a low-fat, low-calorie snack filled with fiber, potassium and vitamins.