Hadn't seen this for about 45 years. I'm not sure that the idea of a super powered being with a secret identity was that new, even in those days, but thank you for posting anyway! Happy memories!
Now that this has become the Philadelphia area memory lane page, I can't find anyone that remembers these things but there used to be some sort of train Ride in Lit Brothers dept store AND a truck that used to drive around with something comparable to the kids ride the WHIP (right inside the truck!!!!).No one seems to remember this, someone please say that they remember this, please!!!!.
OMG, it's Old Home Week with all these comments re: VHF TV in the Philly market, ca. 1968. I lived in Somerdale, NJ, and when we'd drive by Sally Starr's house a few miles away (across from the tony Tavistock development) I'd always mention it. Soupy Sales, anyone?
@7Beyonder I heard you loud and clear on that. Sometimes its hard to watch these things and keep it together. I lived in Philly during the 70's was glued to the set every day after school watching Wee Willie Webber. Every theme song from Ultraman thru Tobar the 8th Man is burned into my head. I can be sitting in my office and I'll start whistling the Marine Boy theme out nowhere. Secretly, I still wish I was Racer X.
@holdencaufield agreed!!!!! They don't make thigs like these anymore and having the best babysitters anywhere anymore,especially since wee willie webber passed a simpler time and great philly memories to boot
Okay, this was scary. 1967, age 6 --"Destroy the human race?" Used to watch after getting home from YMCA day camp. (Camp Beaver. Really.) Oh, the innocence lost.
Yeah, great Philly memories. Loved all those shows on channel 17, and Wee Willie was my fave! I met him once when my dad drove up to Camden to Zinmann Furs (that's really dating me!) on a Sat. afternoon. Bill Webber was there and took me off my dad's hands so he could shop. There was a lounge area downstairs inthe store where he ordered me a Coke and then watched the Eagles game. I was too shy to say a word to him, just reveled in the moment. Good, fun times.
The American intro of 8th Man was produced at Hal Seegar Productions which would put Sharples as a good candidate for composing the silly song. There is no doubt of this because Hal Seegar Production logo is in every original leader on the 16mm prints.
Joe Oriole absolutely DID NOT supervise the English dubbing, but perhaps he worked on the Intro (only). ABC Films hired Copri Films International in Miami to produce the English dub and it was scripted by Reuben Guberman (Prince Planet)
I was so little when this was shown TV, but I still remembered the theme song still Today,that was in early 1960s I think I was 3 or 4 years old,Its amazing what Strong impressions can stay with a child,.we watched this Sat mornings.
It's funny how they made an American style intro for this show even thow the show is anime. Old school anime. Needless to say 8-man in his human form looks a lot like Superman when he's Clarke Kent.
Wee Willie Webber, Gene London, Sally Starr, Cheif Halftown, Captain Noah. The Lorenzo Stomp!!!!! All Hero's and good babysitters too. Thank God they were all good people, because I would have jumped off a cliff if they told me it was the thing to do. My Neighbors Kids could use a little Davey and Goliath right now to put some morals into Them. Watching something like southpark would have put me on punishment back then. Now it's probably required study.
@holdencaufield200 yup I remember them all ,, Capt Noah and his magical arc and Sally Starr just retired in NJ ..Gene London has a yahoo group that he himself is a member of .I go there off and on ...lost of memories and photos of back then
@holdencaufield200 Wee Will Webber was the show on channel 17 back in 67-68. He showed plenty of cartoons,serials and BBC's Doctor Who on his show. I remember 8th man,Astro Boy,Prince Planet,Marine Boy,Speed racer,Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers with Buster Crabbe. Yeah Lorenzo the hobo,had some cool stuff too. Never saw Capt Noah much. Funny ,when I to get ready to go to school,Capt Kangaroo used to be on before I went out the door. Gene London used to be on all week and Saturdays.
@holdencaufield200: Where did you get that cockamamie idea from? Most kids watch age appropriate shows like Spongebob Squarepants or Fairly Oddparents or Dora The Explorer-they're NOT watching South Park or Family Guy. I think that you, like may others here, are just making assumptions (and you know the old saying about that.)
@Neville6000 The only assumption is that I am somehow thinking about Family Guy, so your "old saying" laughably applies to you, expecially since I never even mentioned it. My statement; "probably required study" is an exaggeration to make a point. Since most people here know that cartoons are generally not "required study". (and you know what they say about "cockamamie" people that don't understand normal dialogue.)
Oh my Ch 17 and Wee Willie Webber with a kids show block from like 3 to 7 everyday!
AstroBoy,MarineBoy,Speed Racer,Prince Plane and 8thMan .Then the live action shows @ 7 like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.WPHL was one of the few stations in the USA to show Doctor Who around 1971 or 2 with Jon Pertwee!!!
Does anybody else remember Ch 48 popping off the air for hours and sometimes days??
@kristell9 I remember 8th Man smoking special cigarettes to get extra power, too. I think they must've edited those smoking scenes out of the series. I haven't seen them since I was a kid. But thanks for confirming this memorable and unusual plot detail. I was hoping that I hadn't imagined it on my own!
what i remember about tobor was in one episode he needed energy tovibrate through a wall and he took out an energy stick from his belt buckle and smoked it
to fiscusd i also remember being sad about the back story, seeing that tobor was the 8th man ie 8th robot made by whoever made him i always worried about what happened to the other 7. it also creeped me out a little that he was aperson before he was a robot. i think he died in an accident then roboticised
@Jim382 - I also remember "Kimba", "Marine Boy" and good ol' Dr. Shock. Just about everyone I knew watched "Wee Willie Weber", "Dr. Shock" and "Captain Philadelphia", who was on the old WKBS, channel 48.
They used to run this along with "Astro Boy", "Prince Planet", "Speed Racer" and other shows in the Philadelphia area in the afternoon on "Wee Willie Weber's Cartoon Club". Used to run home from the bus to watch this. Loved it.
@7Beyonder: Exactly. Almost in tears. Things were good in a different way back then. I used to run around the dining room table during the theme song, trying to go as fast as Tobor. Good times.
@JimCutler - because there were seven before him. Story is simple (and familiar) a detective is murdered and a scientist transfers him to a robotic body. The scientist did seven before this one...but this detective and the technological advanced robotics after seven tries... the 8th one, worked.
i am begining to find movies and music boring its always revolving around humans and what humans think and what they can create out of what they think. even the most deep subject man its like yeah whatever and as if pointing this out makes me any less bland.
OMG!!!!! I just did a major flashback to the late 1960's!!! I remember this cartoon being popular at the same time Astro Boy, Prince Planet, and Gigantor were. Gas was 32 cents a gallon then. Wow, total mind trip!!! LOL Takes me back to when I was 7 years old and living in Virginia!! Now I want some Cherry Smash soda pop as well. Oh year, a small Slurpee was only 10 cents also. LOL
This is the first time I've seen the American animated opening since 1967!
This, as crude as it was is light years better than the TBS opening in Japan.
This was done by Trans-Lux, the same people that brought you Felix the Cat and the butchered, bastardized "Speed Racer" (Mach Go Go Go).
The animation for the opening was directed by Seymour Kneitel (of the old Max Fleischer Studios) and the music by Winston Sharples (also Felix the Cat)
I remember watching this cartoon when all of a sudden we had a blackout. The big one that shut down the whole eastern seaboard. I was 5 years old 1965. My oldest sister was stuck on a Bronx subway for hours. I associate this cartoon with hours of mayhem & worry in my family. Good times
This was a great show, but did anyone see the late 80's or early 90's anime movie? He moved on roller skates, ferchrissake. He looked like a jammer on a roller derby team.
dude this was my dads F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E tv show when he was little, he loved it so much he bought all of them like 5 years ago from some place so we own them all now :D
Again, my mother, my being around 10 years-old at the time, clued me in to the existence of "8th Man" one day after school. After that I wanted to run faster than the human eye could follow, fly and have an auxiliary brain in my shoulder. My favorite episode is when 8th Man knocks a missile out of the sky using one of his eyes as a laser (?).
Another great show, replete with imagination stimulating themes, from my childhood.
Those guns some of the bad guys used: Needle Blasters; were cool.
My gosh, does this clip bring back memories. I recall a local low-power independent TV station back in the 60's briefly showing the "8th Man" animated show. Thanks for sharing this "blast from the past" with us.
The memory of this cartoon was recently triggered. I remember living in the projects (Langfield) and this guy would come around almost every day to deliver eggs. One morning my Mom was so mad at me because I thought it was funny to sing Tobor the Eggman when he came to the door.
I remember my cousin and I running around in that pose. You know, the sprinter just out of the blocks. But we did it like the cartoon. Motionless arms and upper body and super speedy legs. LOL!!!! Too funny.
Funny you should mention that!!!! When I was a kid, I loved Tobar but I always heard "ape man" in the song instead of "8th man". I could never understand why the song called him "ape man" when he never turned into an ape man. This clip brings back my childhood.
Even as a kid I was amused by the pure illogic of a "pre-historic monster created by martians to destroy the human race." If one creates something in the present, then obviously it isn't pre-historic. Furthermore, even if it's supposed to be a replica of something pre-historic, the whole concept of a dinosaur from mars is a bit weird. If they have the technology to get from there to here, then it seems that they would also have access to weaponry that's a little more sophisticated than Godzilla.
Oh..good gosh! Where is your imagination! (LOL!!!) Believe you me, I asked the same kinda question when I was a child watching this and ever since, my parents kept watching me...kinda strangely... :)
I remember as a child we kids use to call ourselves Tobor the 8th man. We were crazy about this series back then. Now with the new movie of Astro Boy coming out, will be seeing a movie of the 8th man too. I hope so, this time I hope they use real people instead of anime characters...
Actually....you will be seeing a "Tobar the 8th Man" kinda film. It's the remake (grrrr!) of RoboCop. It has been widely suspected that RoboCop got its origins in Tobar the 8th Man.
At last, I know the identity of ONE voice associated with the series, 'gotmilk'- thank you for revealing this! Your grandfather and the other cast members did a pretty good job "translating" these episodes. But not receiving on-screen credit (other than "ABC Films" at the very end)? UNFAIR!!!
I watched it right after school, when I was in 3rd grade. A few years ago, I was at a memorabilia show in NYC, and I found a guy selling the whole series on DVD. I bought it, of course. A great memory jolt.
Yes it's true. Tobar had "special cigarettes" that gave him power. He would ask for a "last smoke" before a villian attempted to destroy him, and that last smoke gave him power. Also know that Ralph Bakshi - the guy who later made "Fritz the Cat" did this openng animation of the USA version of Tobar early in his career (he also worked at Disney as an animator...too!!!)
Wow cool, I watched this as a kid, this brings back memories. But I do remember him smoking cigarettes to get energy and wonder if this was a tobacco company cartoon? HAHA I don't really care, he has an atomic reactor in his chest and blew a hole in a wall once. THANKS FOR TOBOR!!
I watched in nyc in the 1960's,when it was new.I found a few vhs tapes in video stores.Now in the evening,when theres nothing to watch on all 80 channels, i put 8TH MAN on.You'll sleep great,wonderfull peacefull sleep,like a kid again.
Murdered by criminals, Detective Yokota's body is retrieved by Professor Tani and taken to his laboratory. There, Tani performs an experiment that has failed seven times in the past; Yokoda is the latest subject to have his life force transferred into an android body. For the first time, the experiment is successful. Yokoda is reborn as the armor-skinned android 8 Man.
What a flash back to when I was 7 years old! I remember when Tobar use to have a spare brain under his arm that he would use. Would love to see a full cartoon version.
to me this was the best of the early u.s. tv anime of all tme ,even better than astroboy,gigantor,and kimba. if you can get any of the original episodes, please show them. thanks a lot and keep 'em coming
Amazing isn't it? THIS is the first tv series about cyborgs, which is the inspiration behind Shotaro Ishinomori's Cyborg 009. And THAT manga by Ishinomori was the inspiration for the creation of Robocop! I really love how these things are connected.
Joe Oriolo supervised the English dubbing of the series for ABC Films, and knew several animators at Paramount Cartoon Studios {who produced the "Casper" theatrical cartoons at Paramount, and TV cartoons for Harvey Films}, and got them to "moonlight" for him in creating the animated "American" title (Ralph Bakshi was working for Terrytoons at the time); Winston Sharples wrote the music for the "American" theme- he also wrote the "FELIX THE CAT" theme for Oriolo a few years before.
I am 48 and this was my favoite in 65-66'. I can't find anyone that did'nt grow uo in St. Louis that has seen it ? Where has anyone else seen it in the 60's. It was cut off because he turned into Tobar from smoking a joint !
No, no, no, they weren't joints they were miniature atomic fuel rods that looked like cigarettes. Incidentally, Ralph Bakshi had a hand in making that opening title, that wasn't the one used in Japan.
My bad...the Amazing Three was a duck, bunny rabbit & a horse...Bobby Byers (voice of the bunny rabbit) was the voice of Prince Planet not Billy Lou Watt.
Wow! I can't believe I finally got to hear that old theme song. I think it was around 1969 when I first watched that quality show. He also had a robot dog but I can't remember the name. Thanks for posting.
Tobor had special energy cigarettes that he carried in a cigarette case on his belt. Bad guys who made the mistake of allowing Tobor to have a final smoke before attempting to kill the exhausted Tobor were shocked to see him return to the strenght of 10,000 men.
Half a century here too. In addition to 2,4,5,9,11, and of course 13 were the UHF channels below the standard channels on the rabbit ear antenna tv. The opening promo was meant to inspire interest in the show.
Interesting piece of trivia for you...this opening animation was created by Harvey Animation (Casper) for the USA market. As a kid, I always wondered why the 'look' of the opening was so different from the rest of the program.
If i tell you my age i would have to ( IN CARTOON LINGO) Destroy You. Lets say ive reached Half Century in age. TV was still kinda new. there was no color and you had like 6 tv channels 2,4,5,9,11, and of course 13 and still there was nothing to watch.
Billy Lou Watt (who was really a woman) was the voice of Astroboy, his twin Prince Planet, Kimba and Billy Spanks (the guy who operated Gigantor). She died around 9/11/2001 from natural causes at age 70.
I remember watching this show in Japan (in Japanese) back in the mid 60's, I was about 7 years old. If memory serves, the title sounded like "eight-so man". Maybe if someone seeing this speaks Japanese, they could correct me :)
I remember Tobor the 8th Man all too well. He ran just as the Flash runs. What no one remembers is the follow up cartoon. The Amazing Three where three friendly aliens take over the bodies of a rabbit, horse, and I believe a frog and they combat bad guys on earth. They travel inside a big wheeel which is small on the outside but a huge command station on the inside.
NOOOOOOW....I REMEMBER ASTROBOY! I can't believe I could forget this. How could I forget Astroboy? This is getting spooky. Is there an Astroboy video on Youtube? I'm going to look!
I have been asking 1000's of people if they remembered Tobor over the last 40 years. Everyone I talked to said they never heard of him. I was beginning to think I just made it up in my mind. Wow....am I relieved. Tobar is a real cartoon and I actually did see it! Not just a fiment of my imagination!
I remember the title of that episode, 'Evil'-"Samantha, the Nuclear Witch"; when you consider that "BEWITCHED" had just become a smash hit on TV at the time, and that the people who dubbed "8th MAN" into English were fond of using "cute" and/or topical names for some of the supporting characters ("Dr. Goldshrinker", for one), what else would you have thought of calling her in English?
In response to the post which asked about 1st through 7th man, there actually was a 7th. Tobor was Project #8 created by Professor Genious for some super secret organization. His evil rival (whose name escapes me-perhaps someone remembers) was working at the same time on Project #7. Her name was Samantha. She and Tobor duked it out in one episode. H
I'm having flashbacks. Wow, I forgot how cute Tobor was. lol!
reneecalling 1 month ago
Anyone Remember Space Ace?
toltec19 1 month ago
英語版もいい味ででる！
222JIRO222 1 month ago
Hadn't seen this for about 45 years. I'm not sure that the idea of a super powered being with a secret identity was that new, even in those days, but thank you for posting anyway! Happy memories!
BrianFStevenson 1 month ago
this is actual the being of anmie in u.s.a though our parents didn't know the name they knew it was foregin that's it
liamnaruto 1 month ago
this was animated by ralph baski...actually, they never shown the original opening, BIGBADLAMOT
BIGBADLAMONT 2 months ago
Another favourite of mine along with 'Prince Planet', 'Gigantor' and 'Marine Boy'.
The Japanese sure knew how to do it better than most back in the 1960's.
Oops! Can't forget 'The Samurai' and 'The Phantom Agents' though not cartoons but still great 1960's shows.
mar28lene 3 months ago
Thumbs up if you sang along.
edybeast 4 months ago 3
@edybeast I put my thumb up.
If you get on your knees and thank the Good Lord for YouTube, raise your hand.
Juliaflo 3 months ago
@Juliaflo raising my hand.
A happy memory from when life was simpler.
edybeast 3 months ago
Thumbs up if you sang along.
edybeast 4 months ago
I remember both of those, we go a long way back .
TheCliff175 4 months ago
Now that this has become the Philadelphia area memory lane page, I can't find anyone that remembers these things but there used to be some sort of train Ride in Lit Brothers dept store AND a truck that used to drive around with something comparable to the kids ride the WHIP (right inside the truck!!!!).No one seems to remember this, someone please say that they remember this, please!!!!.
holdencaufield200 4 months ago
@holdencaufield200 I remember
farmwire 3 months ago
OMG, it's Old Home Week with all these comments re: VHF TV in the Philly market, ca. 1968. I lived in Somerdale, NJ, and when we'd drive by Sally Starr's house a few miles away (across from the tony Tavistock development) I'd always mention it. Soupy Sales, anyone?
50zcarsman 5 months ago
Brings back memories of sitting in my Grandmother's attic in St Mary's, PA to watch this, back around 1968.
Pbirv 5 months ago
@7Beyonder I heard you loud and clear on that. Sometimes its hard to watch these things and keep it together. I lived in Philly during the 70's was glued to the set every day after school watching Wee Willie Webber. Every theme song from Ultraman thru Tobar the 8th Man is burned into my head. I can be sitting in my office and I'll start whistling the Marine Boy theme out nowhere. Secretly, I still wish I was Racer X.
Ranzabar 7 months ago 2
@holdencaufield agreed!!!!! They don't make thigs like these anymore and having the best babysitters anywhere anymore,especially since wee willie webber passed a simpler time and great philly memories to boot
RedArwBus 7 months ago
Okay, this was scary. 1967, age 6 --"Destroy the human race?" Used to watch after getting home from YMCA day camp. (Camp Beaver. Really.) Oh, the innocence lost.
prestush 7 months ago
Yeah, great Philly memories. Loved all those shows on channel 17, and Wee Willie was my fave! I met him once when my dad drove up to Camden to Zinmann Furs (that's really dating me!) on a Sat. afternoon. Bill Webber was there and took me off my dad's hands so he could shop. There was a lounge area downstairs inthe store where he ordered me a Coke and then watched the Eagles game. I was too shy to say a word to him, just reveled in the moment. Good, fun times.
Lisamck16 7 months ago
My childhood, right here!
SpookMrsSpooky 8 months ago
The American intro of 8th Man was produced at Hal Seegar Productions which would put Sharples as a good candidate for composing the silly song. There is no doubt of this because Hal Seegar Production logo is in every original leader on the 16mm prints.
Joe Oriole absolutely DID NOT supervise the English dubbing, but perhaps he worked on the Intro (only). ABC Films hired Copri Films International in Miami to produce the English dub and it was scripted by Reuben Guberman (Prince Planet)
fueledbylove 8 months ago
I was so little when this was shown TV, but I still remembered the theme song still Today,that was in early 1960s I think I was 3 or 4 years old,Its amazing what Strong impressions can stay with a child,.we watched this Sat mornings.
thorshammer1348 8 months ago
It's funny how they made an American style intro for this show even thow the show is anime. Old school anime. Needless to say 8-man in his human form looks a lot like Superman when he's Clarke Kent.
MDthornton83 9 months ago
Wee Willie Webber, Gene London, Sally Starr, Cheif Halftown, Captain Noah. The Lorenzo Stomp!!!!! All Hero's and good babysitters too. Thank God they were all good people, because I would have jumped off a cliff if they told me it was the thing to do. My Neighbors Kids could use a little Davey and Goliath right now to put some morals into Them. Watching something like southpark would have put me on punishment back then. Now it's probably required study.
holdencaufield200 10 months ago 10
@holdencaufield200
Amen to that!
graph180 8 months ago
@holdencaufield200 yup I remember them all ,, Capt Noah and his magical arc and Sally Starr just retired in NJ ..Gene London has a yahoo group that he himself is a member of .I go there off and on ...lost of memories and photos of back then
katcampbell1 7 months ago
@holdencaufield200 Howabout Happy The Clown? Blue ends up!
wildridetoo 5 months ago
@holdencaufield200 Wee Will Webber was the show on channel 17 back in 67-68. He showed plenty of cartoons,serials and BBC's Doctor Who on his show. I remember 8th man,Astro Boy,Prince Planet,Marine Boy,Speed racer,Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers with Buster Crabbe. Yeah Lorenzo the hobo,had some cool stuff too. Never saw Capt Noah much. Funny ,when I to get ready to go to school,Capt Kangaroo used to be on before I went out the door. Gene London used to be on all week and Saturdays.
jay55also 4 months ago
@holdencaufield200: Where did you get that cockamamie idea from? Most kids watch age appropriate shows like Spongebob Squarepants or Fairly Oddparents or Dora The Explorer-they're NOT watching South Park or Family Guy. I think that you, like may others here, are just making assumptions (and you know the old saying about that.)
Neville6000 3 weeks ago
@Neville6000 The only assumption is that I am somehow thinking about Family Guy, so your "old saying" laughably applies to you, expecially since I never even mentioned it. My statement; "probably required study" is an exaggeration to make a point. Since most people here know that cartoons are generally not "required study". (and you know what they say about "cockamamie" people that don't understand normal dialogue.)
holdencaufield200 3 weeks ago
Oh my Ch 17 and Wee Willie Webber with a kids show block from like 3 to 7 everyday!
AstroBoy,MarineBoy,Speed Racer,Prince Plane and 8thMan .Then the live action shows @ 7 like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.WPHL was one of the few stations in the USA to show Doctor Who around 1971 or 2 with Jon Pertwee!!!
Does anybody else remember Ch 48 popping off the air for hours and sometimes days??
EJDW 10 months ago
@EJDW Yep! The old UHF stations were great!
McNabbulous 8 months ago
@EJDW I remember how ch. 48 used to do. loved 17 and 29... Wee Willie Webber was the bomb... Dang so long ago......
TKICEMAN217 8 months ago
Is this the one where the guy gets his super power from cigarettes he keeps in his belt buckle?
kristell9 10 months ago
@kristell9 I remember 8th Man smoking special cigarettes to get extra power, too. I think they must've edited those smoking scenes out of the series. I haven't seen them since I was a kid. But thanks for confirming this memorable and unusual plot detail. I was hoping that I hadn't imagined it on my own!
odantoro 2 months ago
Tobor robot spelled backwards how awesome is that!!!I loved the wink of his eye at the end of his intro....ahhhhh love at first sight!!
suange105 10 months ago
what i remember about tobor was in one episode he needed energy tovibrate through a wall and he took out an energy stick from his belt buckle and smoked it
further8 10 months ago
to fiscusd i also remember being sad about the back story, seeing that tobor was the 8th man ie 8th robot made by whoever made him i always worried about what happened to the other 7. it also creeped me out a little that he was aperson before he was a robot. i think he died in an accident then roboticised
defenestraterable 11 months ago
Dr Shock! OMG, that's a name I haven't heard in a loooong time!
Steve27302 11 months ago
@Jim382 - I also remember "Kimba", "Marine Boy" and good ol' Dr. Shock. Just about everyone I knew watched "Wee Willie Weber", "Dr. Shock" and "Captain Philadelphia", who was on the old WKBS, channel 48.
16924fps 1 year ago
sounds alot llike the theme to "Car 54 where are you"?"
abcbatman1966 1 year ago
This looked ahead of it's time. Looks like a good series
ssyoda 1 year ago
Tobor was one of my favorites also. Who here besides me remembers that Tobor is Robot spelled backwards? That was how they came up with his name.
fiscusd 1 year ago
I have a couple of VHS tapes with episodes of Tobor The 8th Man. You can buy them online. It's still as entertaining as when I was a kid in the 60's.
arkincousin 1 year ago
They used to run this along with "Astro Boy", "Prince Planet", "Speed Racer" and other shows in the Philadelphia area in the afternoon on "Wee Willie Weber's Cartoon Club". Used to run home from the bus to watch this. Loved it.
16924fps 1 year ago
@16924fps OMG...WPHL 17! Also my intro to "Kimba the White Lion" and "Marine Boy".. and let's not forget Saturday afternoons with Dr. Shock...
Jim382 1 year ago
Man I was like 8 and I remember these as a kid in L.A. after school. Better than Saturday morning cartoons.
jtatex 1 year ago
@jtatex Hmmm, I remember it coming on at 9:30am on Sunday's right before Wonderama. (Yep, kid from the 60's L.A. as well). :-)
tonybklyn 1 year ago
dgostei
MrJop03 1 year ago
im almost in tears....this takes me back to a simpler time, a time in my youth where I can say I was truly happy....
it used to come on at 3PM in philadelphia.....
7Beyonder 1 year ago 7
@7Beyonder: Exactly. Almost in tears. Things were good in a different way back then. I used to run around the dining room table during the theme song, trying to go as fast as Tobor. Good times.
aguy1 1 year ago
@AGGeiger This was one of my favorite on WPIX as well!
ddtannenbaum 1 year ago
Wow -- this was neat -- I used to watch the show religiously on Channel 11 in New York.
AGGeiger 1 year ago
@AGGeiger Me too!! I was in 3rd grade (1965/66)
ftsjr 1 year ago
Marine boy, Kimba, Herculoids, Prince Planet, Astro Boy, Gigantor we got in Aust but not Tobor. I feel ripped off.
horatio422006 1 year ago 2
The monster breaking up a kid's softball game @ 00:23 was really low.
hanoc101 1 year ago
Wow, for all these years I thought his name was "Tobor the 8 Man". I never knew it was the "8th" man. You never stop learning.
RRaquello 1 year ago
@RRaquello
Wow all these years I thought it was Tobor the Apeman !! What the hell was I thinking.
bobbyluy 1 year ago
I watched, too back in the day. Why was he the "8th" man though?
JimCutler 1 year ago
@JimCutler - because there were seven before him. Story is simple (and familiar) a detective is murdered and a scientist transfers him to a robotic body. The scientist did seven before this one...but this detective and the technological advanced robotics after seven tries... the 8th one, worked.
Mandi7882 1 year ago
@Mandi7882 Thanks! I never knew that.
JimCutler 1 year ago
@JimCutler Basically, in today's terms, as a robot, he was version 8.0. He actually had an older "sister" named Samantha 7.
omgitsmikegravel 1 year ago
TERRIFIC....................
EBEFRANK 1 year ago
man , talk about going wayy back in time here.looks like a flimation cartoon there. i watched this on wgntv9 in the 1960s.. cool anine
coloradostar50 1 year ago
00:58 - 60's cool face, no one will know me!
DW793 1 year ago
i am begining to find movies and music boring its always revolving around humans and what humans think and what they can create out of what they think. even the most deep subject man its like yeah whatever and as if pointing this out makes me any less bland.
ventilize 1 year ago
@ventilize yeah! I,m with you, I think!!
bro8664 1 year ago
i knew i didn't imagine this cartoon
funkzilla1001 1 year ago
Hell, I'm old enough to remember watching these on TV. I grew up the NY metro area and I believe they were broadcast on Ch 11.
4knobby7 1 year ago
@4knobby7
I watched it too. It was either Ch. 11 or 9, back when they had afternoon programming kids could enjoy.
gfpirate 1 year ago
Dont remember this at all (im 45) i dont think was shown in Britain
mercian7 1 year ago
"call tobor the 8th man..." I even remembered the lyrics and this was from 40 yrs. I even new tobor was robot backwards because my uncle told me.
MrKellymansman 1 year ago
I feel vindicated!
I'd mention this cartoon in conversation and NO ONE had ever heard of it...
therealtroubleman 2 years ago
@therealtroubleman It was good to see an old friend again, my son says he looks like a cross between Bob Dobbs and Ryan Higa.
supernukunuku 1 year ago
OMG!!!!! I just did a major flashback to the late 1960's!!! I remember this cartoon being popular at the same time Astro Boy, Prince Planet, and Gigantor were. Gas was 32 cents a gallon then. Wow, total mind trip!!! LOL Takes me back to when I was 7 years old and living in Virginia!! Now I want some Cherry Smash soda pop as well. Oh year, a small Slurpee was only 10 cents also. LOL
cruiseguyhawaii 2 years ago
This is the first time I've seen the American animated opening since 1967!
This, as crude as it was is light years better than the TBS opening in Japan.
This was done by Trans-Lux, the same people that brought you Felix the Cat and the butchered, bastardized "Speed Racer" (Mach Go Go Go).
The animation for the opening was directed by Seymour Kneitel (of the old Max Fleischer Studios) and the music by Winston Sharples (also Felix the Cat)
vawlkee 2 years ago 2
I remember watching this cartoon when all of a sudden we had a blackout. The big one that shut down the whole eastern seaboard. I was 5 years old 1965. My oldest sister was stuck on a Bronx subway for hours. I associate this cartoon with hours of mayhem & worry in my family. Good times
picwis1 2 years ago
WOWW I forgot about this one...I was just a little shit kid in the 60's then!!!!COOL!!
slagdraggin1313 2 years ago
no crapping
jimkelly49 2 years ago
I discovered this in the late 60s on KEMO TV in the SF Bay Area. Never missed an episode.
edybeast 2 years ago
This was a great show, but did anyone see the late 80's or early 90's anime movie? He moved on roller skates, ferchrissake. He looked like a jammer on a roller derby team.
wmdbassplayer 2 years ago
didnt the 8 man got his powers from a scientist . because he was in a severe car accident .. who knows ..?
koolwen51 2 years ago
no he was killed by gang members i'm old euongh to remeber this it was on saturday mornings your parnets was kids when this was on born in 1961
jimkelly49 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
GAYYYY!
speedseduction 2 years ago
dude this was my dads F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E tv show when he was little, he loved it so much he bought all of them like 5 years ago from some place so we own them all now :D
Teresa4823 2 years ago
sometimes you even see the old commercials accidentally copied from the tv on them lol
Teresa4823 2 years ago
Classic cartoon opening, one of the Best!!
seaness267 2 years ago
Again, my mother, my being around 10 years-old at the time, clued me in to the existence of "8th Man" one day after school. After that I wanted to run faster than the human eye could follow, fly and have an auxiliary brain in my shoulder. My favorite episode is when 8th Man knocks a missile out of the sky using one of his eyes as a laser (?).
Another great show, replete with imagination stimulating themes, from my childhood.
Those guns some of the bad guys used: Needle Blasters; were cool.
TralfazConstruction 2 years ago
@TralfazConstruction I too remember the "spray needle blaster" Always wanted one as a kid.
boxfitter 1 year ago
@boxfitter You know it, 'Boxfitter'.
TralfazConstruction 1 year ago
My gosh, does this clip bring back memories. I recall a local low-power independent TV station back in the 60's briefly showing the "8th Man" animated show. Thanks for sharing this "blast from the past" with us.
JubalCalif 2 years ago
Do you remember what the name Tobor means?? Well, Tobor, is robot spelled backwards!
albalonybalony 2 years ago 2
You can buy the original B&W series on DVD from Amazon
fixfred99 2 years ago
The memory of this cartoon was recently triggered. I remember living in the projects (Langfield) and this guy would come around almost every day to deliver eggs. One morning my Mom was so mad at me because I thought it was funny to sing Tobor the Eggman when he came to the door.
trencherknight 2 years ago 2
As a Phillies fan, I called Tony Taylor the 8th man due to his uni number and this cartoon.
ur1sab 2 years ago 2
I remember my cousin and I running around in that pose. You know, the sprinter just out of the blocks. But we did it like the cartoon. Motionless arms and upper body and super speedy legs. LOL!!!! Too funny.
Temujin55 2 years ago
is tobor the one that had an atomic clock in his chest that once ran out ?
etrax2000 2 years ago
My Dad used to sing me to sleep with this song. He called him The Ape Man.
clairful 2 years ago
Funny you should mention that!!!! When I was a kid, I loved Tobar but I always heard "ape man" in the song instead of "8th man". I could never understand why the song called him "ape man" when he never turned into an ape man. This clip brings back my childhood.
HeyMrKong33 2 years ago
Wow I am traveling back in time with this one
Orlandoshortsale 2 years ago
How about astro boy...smile....Cooke
larrycancooke2 2 years ago
I was beginning to think I'd imagined this cartoon. YouTube and Google rock.
abrahamaniac 2 years ago
I watch this in WVA as a child.
ruracinme50 2 years ago
i remember this i thought it was called henry the h man so long ago the mind plays tricks on you.
thejetskiguy 2 years ago
Yep I got them on VCR too and that is the beginning from when we watched it!
ezryder888 2 years ago
Even as a kid I was amused by the pure illogic of a "pre-historic monster created by martians to destroy the human race." If one creates something in the present, then obviously it isn't pre-historic. Furthermore, even if it's supposed to be a replica of something pre-historic, the whole concept of a dinosaur from mars is a bit weird. If they have the technology to get from there to here, then it seems that they would also have access to weaponry that's a little more sophisticated than Godzilla.
IDLERACER 2 years ago
Oh..good gosh! Where is your imagination! (LOL!!!) Believe you me, I asked the same kinda question when I was a child watching this and ever since, my parents kept watching me...kinda strangely... :)
Mandi7882 2 years ago
Yeah, I think EVERYONE gets that Tobor is Robot spelled backwards my friend. You didn't really have to point that out. It's pretty obvious.
amazingprovideo 2 years ago
I remember as a child we kids use to call ourselves Tobor the 8th man. We were crazy about this series back then. Now with the new movie of Astro Boy coming out, will be seeing a movie of the 8th man too. I hope so, this time I hope they use real people instead of anime characters...
54nomore 2 years ago
Actually....you will be seeing a "Tobar the 8th Man" kinda film. It's the remake (grrrr!) of RoboCop. It has been widely suspected that RoboCop got its origins in Tobar the 8th Man.
Mandi7882 2 years ago
This opening is very similar to a Fleisher Studios Superman cartoon entitled The Artic Giant.
jonnylovegrapes 2 years ago
This opening is very similar to a Fleisher Studios Superman cartoon entitled The Artic Giant.
jonnylovegrapes 2 years ago
watched this, often, as a youngster..life was so much simpler, back then...
curlingto 2 years ago
At last, I know the identity of ONE voice associated with the series, 'gotmilk'- thank you for revealing this! Your grandfather and the other cast members did a pretty good job "translating" these episodes. But not receiving on-screen credit (other than "ABC Films" at the very end)? UNFAIR!!!
fromthesidelines 2 years ago
the voice of the guy is my grandpa jerry burke he always talks bout the show so i you tubed it
gotmilk10101 2 years ago
I watched it right after school, when I was in 3rd grade. A few years ago, I was at a memorabilia show in NYC, and I found a guy selling the whole series on DVD. I bought it, of course. A great memory jolt.
ftsjr 3 years ago
I remember Tobor fighting killer Bees then lastly...The Queen..era 1964~5. Bad cartoon.
LEHIGHDRIVE 3 years ago
Yes it's true. Tobar had "special cigarettes" that gave him power. He would ask for a "last smoke" before a villian attempted to destroy him, and that last smoke gave him power. Also know that Ralph Bakshi - the guy who later made "Fritz the Cat" did this openng animation of the USA version of Tobar early in his career (he also worked at Disney as an animator...too!!!)
Mandi7882 3 years ago
Wow cool, I watched this as a kid, this brings back memories. But I do remember him smoking cigarettes to get energy and wonder if this was a tobacco company cartoon? HAHA I don't really care, he has an atomic reactor in his chest and blew a hole in a wall once. THANKS FOR TOBOR!!
trevjr 3 years ago
I watched in nyc in the 1960's,when it was new.I found a few vhs tapes in video stores.Now in the evening,when theres nothing to watch on all 80 channels, i put 8TH MAN on.You'll sleep great,wonderfull peacefull sleep,like a kid again.
1952kid 3 years ago
I found a VHS of this show in NYC, cool stuff, I wonder how much I could get for it?
lycanthrope1962 3 years ago
amazing---it's been decades..thank you for sharing! what a classic theme song!
pcsbeat 3 years ago
oooh shit 8 man
mrnaji 3 years ago
This guy smoke cigarretes to get energy if I am not mistaken!
1975tooto 3 years ago
Yep.
He would do a cool pose when he used them.
ronito6 3 years ago
The Neo Geo Game was sooooo cool back in the nineties. It gave me a break from street fighter carpal tunnel. ^^
BentoBoxBobbyTV 3 years ago
Is this show ever gonna air again on TV in The USA? I am just Asking!!
demonicanthonyalbert 3 years ago
Who were the first seven men?
Yonchenko 3 years ago
A great animated action show. Recently, at a TV memorabilia expo, I bought the entire series on DVD. What a terrific memory jolt!
ftsjr 3 years ago 2
Does anyone know why he's called the 8th man?
nibbles64 3 years ago
Murdered by criminals, Detective Yokota's body is retrieved by Professor Tani and taken to his laboratory. There, Tani performs an experiment that has failed seven times in the past; Yokoda is the latest subject to have his life force transferred into an android body. For the first time, the experiment is successful. Yokoda is reborn as the armor-skinned android 8 Man.
TOBORTHE8MAN2000 3 years ago 2
Wow!!! Kinda like Robocop eh?
lycanthrope1962 3 years ago
This web site never ceases to amaze me.
Arkady63 3 years ago
So I was watching and liking anime. Speed never cut it. Kimba rocked. Wow
I didnt think I would even find this on youtube.
walleywhirled 3 years ago
What a flash back to when I was 7 years old! I remember when Tobar use to have a spare brain under his arm that he would use. Would love to see a full cartoon version.
dcg294 3 years ago 2
at least we know who would win in a fight between Tobor and Godzilla.
yokaimonsters 3 years ago
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOR YEARS
bigsteady0033 3 years ago
to me this was the best of the early u.s. tv anime of all tme ,even better than astroboy,gigantor,and kimba. if you can get any of the original episodes, please show them. thanks a lot and keep 'em coming
jazzmandan50 3 years ago 2
Mega Man stole 8th Man's costume.
Just saw the cartoon for the first time yesterday. Good stuff!
mac100100 3 years ago
Amazing isn't it? THIS is the first tv series about cyborgs, which is the inspiration behind Shotaro Ishinomori's Cyborg 009. And THAT manga by Ishinomori was the inspiration for the creation of Robocop! I really love how these things are connected.
jonjonbalaos 3 years ago
Joe Oriolo supervised the English dubbing of the series for ABC Films, and knew several animators at Paramount Cartoon Studios {who produced the "Casper" theatrical cartoons at Paramount, and TV cartoons for Harvey Films}, and got them to "moonlight" for him in creating the animated "American" title (Ralph Bakshi was working for Terrytoons at the time); Winston Sharples wrote the music for the "American" theme- he also wrote the "FELIX THE CAT" theme for Oriolo a few years before.
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
I am 48 and this was my favoite in 65-66'. I can't find anyone that did'nt grow uo in St. Louis that has seen it ? Where has anyone else seen it in the 60's. It was cut off because he turned into Tobar from smoking a joint !
quiggg 3 years ago
No, no, no, they weren't joints they were miniature atomic fuel rods that looked like cigarettes. Incidentally, Ralph Bakshi had a hand in making that opening title, that wasn't the one used in Japan.
Staszu13 3 years ago
I think this guy used to smoke cigarettes to get his energy (just like Popeyes spinach)!Someone help me with this one!
1975tooto 3 years ago
See my comments from 2 months ago.
Oscar2098 3 years ago
Oh my Goodness!! I haven't seen this in ages. And yes I do remember Astro Boy and Gigantor. I also remember Stingray. I just love memory lane.
meanmsval 3 years ago
wow.......lol....i remember this....tobor...that was robot spelled backwards....great childhood memories...
smush48 3 years ago
I wana relive my childhood in Hawaii.
animeultrafan 3 years ago
Yes there is a Japanese verison of the song longer verison u see in usa...
Lehnerd57 3 years ago
Is there is a Japanese
music of this :)
hilarioph 3 years ago
My bad...the Amazing Three was a duck, bunny rabbit & a horse...Bobby Byers (voice of the bunny rabbit) was the voice of Prince Planet not Billy Lou Watt.
Oscar2098 3 years ago
Major flashback. I've been looking for this for a long time. Thanks for posting it.
azcactus2008 3 years ago
I never realized the first 24 seconds of this song is a complete rip-off of WEST SIDE STORY'S "Gee, Officer Krupke."
PrincePurple 3 years ago
Wow! I can't believe I finally got to hear that old theme song. I think it was around 1969 when I first watched that quality show. He also had a robot dog but I can't remember the name. Thanks for posting.
kellymac60 3 years ago
When he was getting weak he had to smkoe a special cigarette. I wonder what was in it? Hmmmm....
Bopalena 3 years ago
Tobor had special energy cigarettes that he carried in a cigarette case on his belt. Bad guys who made the mistake of allowing Tobor to have a final smoke before attempting to kill the exhausted Tobor were shocked to see him return to the strenght of 10,000 men.
Oscar2098 3 years ago
Half a century here too. In addition to 2,4,5,9,11, and of course 13 were the UHF channels below the standard channels on the rabbit ear antenna tv. The opening promo was meant to inspire interest in the show.
Oscar2098 3 years ago
Interesting piece of trivia for you...this opening animation was created by Harvey Animation (Casper) for the USA market. As a kid, I always wondered why the 'look' of the opening was so different from the rest of the program.
balto6051 3 years ago
I have a feeling they will make this into a movie just like Speed Racer. Makes me wonder what it will be like.
dkrusen 3 years ago
What they should make a movie about is GIGANTOR. If you re old enough and don't remember GIGANTOR
Your cartoon membership is hereby Void.
richycraig 3 years ago
Well I am just 21 years old and how old are you?
dkrusen 3 years ago
If i tell you my age i would have to ( IN CARTOON LINGO) Destroy You. Lets say ive reached Half Century in age. TV was still kinda new. there was no color and you had like 6 tv channels 2,4,5,9,11, and of course 13 and still there was nothing to watch.
richycraig 3 years ago
Back in the late 60's, early 70's the Japanese DID make a live action version of GIGANTOR called GIANT ROBOT, I believe.
Nefarioso 3 years ago
Billy Lou Watt (who was really a woman) was the voice of Astroboy, his twin Prince Planet, Kimba and Billy Spanks (the guy who operated Gigantor). She died around 9/11/2001 from natural causes at age 70.
Oscar2098 3 years ago
I remember watching this show in Japan (in Japanese) back in the mid 60's, I was about 7 years old. If memory serves, the title sounded like "eight-so man". Maybe if someone seeing this speaks Japanese, they could correct me :)
gnorville 3 years ago
Thank you for posting this. I still remembered the theme song as it was playing. I have to send this to all of my friends.
chuggachuggawoowoo 3 years ago
I remember Tobor the 8th Man all too well. He ran just as the Flash runs. What no one remembers is the follow up cartoon. The Amazing Three where three friendly aliens take over the bodies of a rabbit, horse, and I believe a frog and they combat bad guys on earth. They travel inside a big wheeel which is small on the outside but a huge command station on the inside.
Oscar2098 3 years ago
Nobody I spoke to remembers this cartoon either. I remember watching this every afternoon after school. Brings back memories!
mach1joey 3 years ago
Yep....Now, I'm starting to remember more! I was living in the St. Louis area at the time!
vcomp1960 3 years ago
If you forgot this i wonder does anyone remember AstroBoy Cartoon.
richycraig 3 years ago
NOOOOOOW....I REMEMBER ASTROBOY! I can't believe I could forget this. How could I forget Astroboy? This is getting spooky. Is there an Astroboy video on Youtube? I'm going to look!
vcomp1960 3 years ago
I DO! I DO!
myfriendcaffeine 3 years ago
I have been asking 1000's of people if they remembered Tobor over the last 40 years. Everyone I talked to said they never heard of him. I was beginning to think I just made it up in my mind. Wow....am I relieved. Tobar is a real cartoon and I actually did see it! Not just a fiment of my imagination!
vcomp1960 3 years ago
I had the exact same experience. All I could remember was the intro song. Everybody I asked thought I was wacked.
The FBI is helpless, hes 20 stories tall............
I am so glad to have found this.
getsie 3 years ago
I thought this was SOOOOO cool when I was 8..now it seems to pale before Superman and Batman, but I loved Tobor way back when.....
mrpentium 3 years ago
Incidentally, the Chief's name was "Fumblethumbs"...again, "cute" names {"Jenny Heartsweet"}!
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
I remember the title of that episode, 'Evil'-"Samantha, the Nuclear Witch"; when you consider that "BEWITCHED" had just become a smash hit on TV at the time, and that the people who dubbed "8th MAN" into English were fond of using "cute" and/or topical names for some of the supporting characters ("Dr. Goldshrinker", for one), what else would you have thought of calling her in English?
fromthesidelines 3 years ago
In response to the post which asked about 1st through 7th man, there actually was a 7th. Tobor was Project #8 created by Professor Genious for some super secret organization. His evil rival (whose name escapes me-perhaps someone remembers) was working at the same time on Project #7. Her name was Samantha. She and Tobor duked it out in one episode. H