10 Things You Didn't Know About Scooby Doo
3. The Gang Were Based On Characters From An Old Sitcom
When it came to drawing the show’s characters, the animators took inspiration from The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis (which ran on CBS from 1959 to 1963), an inoffensive black and white sitcom whose title character, played by Dwayne Hickman, could never seem to find the right woman.
Tall, blond and athletic, Dobie became the basis for Fred, while his best friend, a beatnik named Maynard G Krebs (Bob Denver), furnished Shaggy with his trademark look. Daphne was based upon Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld) who left after the first season, leaving Dobie to romance a series of interchangeable honeys before settling for Zelda Gilroy (Sheila James Kuehl), a smart, diminutive aficionado of chunky sweaters.
Interesting footnote: Dobie’s nemesis, Milton Armitage, was played by a little known actor named Warren Beatty. Had history played out differently, Beatty could’ve become a lifelong member of Mystery Incorporated.