{"id":7027970,"date":"2026-08-05T05:03:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T05:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/on-the-trail-of-tobor-the-8th-man-part-2\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T05:03:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T05:03:33","slug":"on-the-trail-of-tobor-the-8th-man-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7027970","title":{"rendered":"On the Trail of Tobor the 8th Man, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0continued from part 1<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Tailoring <\/span>the series was <\/span>an
\narduous <\/span>task. <\/span>Loops <\/span>of film, 10 to
\n15 seconds <\/span>in length, were cut by
\neditor-director Gonzalo Rodriguez, who was responsible for marking the second
\nworkprint with a grease pencil, indicating where and how the episode should be
\nsectioned. <\/span>Once <\/span>marked, <\/span>the <\/span>print <\/span>was <\/span>handed
\n<\/span>over <\/span>to <\/span>the <\/span>husband <\/span>and <\/span>wife <\/span>editing
\n<\/span>team of Rene and Gloria Gutierrez who would execute the actual cutting. <\/span>A fully sectioned episode would result in
\nas many as 280 pieces of film, each of which was then taped at the ends to be
\nused by the actors performing the dubbing. <\/span>The
\nnumbered loops were threaded <\/span>one <\/span>at <\/span>a <\/span>time <\/span>onto <\/span>two <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>facility\u2019s <\/span>projectors, <\/span>simultaneously <\/span>by <\/span>18-year
\n<\/span>old Jose <\/span>Nickse <\/span>and <\/span>Jose <\/span>\u201cCheo\u201d <\/span>Ibarra, <\/span>a <\/span>ferocious <\/span>Cuban <\/span>counter-revolutionary <\/span>who <\/span>had\u00a0participated in the Bay of Pigs
\nInvasion and continued to carry a gun wrapped in a newspaper to work with him
\nevery day.<\/span><\/p>\n

To assist the actors\u2019 attempts to
\nmatch their lines to that of their cartoon counterparts on-screen, <\/span>the <\/span>original <\/span>Japanese
\n<\/span>audio <\/span>track, <\/span>residing
\n<\/span>as <\/span>an <\/span>optical <\/span>stripe <\/span>on <\/span>the <\/span>film <\/span>loop
\nbeing <\/span>projected, <\/span>was <\/span>piped <\/span>into <\/span>the <\/span>actors\u2019
\n<\/span>headphones. <\/span>In <\/span>this <\/span>way, <\/span>the <\/span>English-speaking
\nactors could attempt to match the rhythms and cadences of the Japanese actors
\non the original audio recordings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Sound <\/span>engineers <\/span>Henry <\/span>Lopez <\/span>and <\/span>chain-smoking <\/span>Manuel <\/span>Sole <\/span>recorded
\n<\/span>the <\/span>new <\/span>dialogue onto <\/span>16mm <\/span>magnetic <\/span>film, <\/span>an <\/span>audio <\/span>format <\/span>that <\/span>matched <\/span>the <\/span>format <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>celluloid <\/span>film. As each looping session produced successful recordings of
\ndialogue read by the actors, the <\/span>Gutierrezes <\/span>would <\/span>painstakingly <\/span>reassemble <\/span>the <\/span>sections <\/span>of <\/span>magnetic <\/span>audio <\/span>against
\na workprint of film (of an episode).<\/span><\/p>\n

After the audio tracks of the
\nnew English dialogue had been pieced together, editor Rodriguez <\/span>and <\/span>dubbing <\/span>supervisor, <\/span>Manny <\/span>San <\/span>Fernando,
\n<\/span>would <\/span>thread <\/span>the <\/span>workprint <\/span>and the 16mm magnetic <\/span>film containing the new audio into the
\nfacility\u2019s Movieola, \u201c\u2026sliding the sound back and forth; adjusting to fit the
\naction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After aligning the new audio
\ntrack, it was combined with the original 8-Man
\n<\/i>music and effects (M&E) tracks to produce the finished audio. <\/span>\u201cA \u2018safety\u2019 or back-up of the sound was
\nmade <\/span>onto <\/span>1\/4 <\/span>inch <\/span>tape <\/span>with <\/span>a synch-pulse,\u201d remembers Henry <\/span>Lopez.
\n<\/span>Then <\/span>\u201c\u2026the 16mm audio \u2018mix
\ndown\u2019 was sent to the lab and transferred to optical negative and combined with
\nthe negative of the actual episode, creating a composite.\u201d <\/span>It is from this composite that multiple
\n16mm prints of each episode of the series were struck and delivered to the
\ntelevision stations for broadcast.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each <\/span>episode <\/span>was <\/span>reviewed
\n<\/span>and <\/span>edited <\/span>by <\/span>Manny <\/span>San <\/span>Fernando, <\/span>Sr, <\/span>removing <\/span>any <\/span>scenes
\nof graphic violence that while permissible in Japan would have
\nraised the hackles of U.S. censors. <\/span>San
\nFernando also found himself editing gingerly (wherever possible) around scenes
\nin which Japanese ideograms, or kanji, were displayed prominently on street
\nsigns and building placards. <\/span>This was
\ndone to minimize potential confusion to American viewers who wouldn\u2019t know that
\nthe animation was of Japanese origin. <\/span>When
\nkanji couldn\u2019t be avoided in a scene, the ensuing explanation would often be
\none of unintended hilarity.<\/span><\/p>\n

For <\/span>instance, <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>episode, <\/span>\u201cThe <\/span>Light <\/span>That <\/span>Burned,\u201d <\/span>Copri <\/span>script <\/span>man <\/span>Reuben <\/span>Guberman simply wrote a line of narration
\nthat explains the unavoidable appearance of Japanese kanji as \u201c\u2026fancy
\ninitials\u2026\u201d. <\/span>To Guberman, it was as
\ngood an explanation as any.<\/span><\/p>\n

This and other attempts to explain
\naway the Japanese writing that permeates the series border on the absurd. <\/span>Like many dubbing gaffs, these evasions
\nmust have sounded as awkward <\/span>and <\/span>amusing
\n<\/span>to <\/span>the <\/span>dubbers <\/span>then <\/span>as <\/span>is <\/span>does <\/span>to <\/span>us <\/span>now.\u00a0 <\/span>However, <\/span>these\u00a0obstacles <\/span>never <\/span>slowed <\/span>Copri\u2019s
\n<\/span>energetic <\/span>writer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

Reuben Guberman, a self-described
\n\u201cfat Jewish maverick\u201d and native New Yorker who dabbled <\/span>in <\/span>everything <\/span>from <\/span>managing <\/span>a <\/span>newspaper <\/span>to <\/span>hosting <\/span>Miami <\/span>radio <\/span>shows <\/span>\u201cBagels
\nfor <\/span>Breakfast\u201d <\/span>and <\/span>\u201cMensa <\/span>on <\/span>the <\/span>Air\u201d <\/span>at <\/span>station
\n<\/span>WEDR, <\/span>in <\/span>1964 <\/span>was <\/span>looking
\n<\/span>for <\/span>something interesting to
\nchallenge him, when he discovered Miami\u2019s dubbing scene and sold Prinz on his
\ngifts as a writer of copy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using only the rough plot outlines
\nprovided by the Japanese and the main character names created by Fernandez in
\nNew York, Guberman went to work scripting the action and formulating the names
\nof future 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>characters. <\/span>The villains, many of whom were members of
\nthe sinister organization Intercrime, ended up with some amusing monikers: <\/span>Evil <\/span>Jaw, <\/span>Ice <\/span>Finger, <\/span>Dr. <\/span>Spectra, <\/span>Mr. <\/span>Browbeat, <\/span>Cold <\/span>Knuckle, <\/span>etc. <\/span>These <\/span>names were often derivations of the
\noriginal Japanese names such as that of Baron Stormy (i.e. Baron Typhoon in the
\noriginal).<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruby, as he was
\naffectionately known by <\/span>his fellow
\ncast and crew mates, would sit in his darkened garage for countless hours
\nrunning the episodes on a 16mm projector, scene after <\/span>scene, <\/span>forward, <\/span>then <\/span>in <\/span>reverse,
\n<\/span>then\u00a0forward again in order to
\ncreate dialogue for 8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man<\/i>.
\n<\/span>\u201cWe <\/span>really <\/span>had <\/span>nothing <\/span>to <\/span>work <\/span>from. So, all the lines came from my head. <\/span>I just made them up to support the story
\nor whatever the action was,\u201d remembered Guberman.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRuby was a machine,\u201d states
\nCopri colleague Mark Harris in admiration. <\/span>\u201cHe
\nwas amazing with <\/span>the <\/span>rate <\/span>he <\/span>would <\/span>turn-out <\/span>the <\/span>scripts; <\/span>he worked
\n<\/span>very <\/span>hard <\/span>on <\/span>the <\/span>loops, <\/span>matching <\/span>his\u00a0<\/span>dialogue <\/span>to the <\/span>labials.\u201d <\/span>With <\/span>Guberman\u2019s <\/span>scripts
\n<\/span>being <\/span>turned <\/span>out at <\/span>a
\nbreakneck <\/span>pace,\u00a0<\/span>the <\/span>English <\/span>language
\n<\/span>version <\/span>of <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>now <\/span>needed <\/span>a <\/span>cast <\/span>and <\/span>a <\/span>dubbing <\/span>director.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For <\/span>the <\/span>lead <\/span>role <\/span>of <\/span>Tobor <\/span>the <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man, <\/span>acting <\/span>producer
\n<\/span>Gene <\/span>Prinz <\/span>had <\/span>already <\/span>hired <\/span>radio
\njourneyman Jerry Berke from station WGBS in Miami and intended to delegate the
\nrest of the casting to a dubbing director, once he\u2019d selected one.<\/span><\/p>\n

One <\/span>evening <\/span>at <\/span>a <\/span>Miami <\/span>dinner
\n<\/span>theater, <\/span>Prinz <\/span>happened
\n<\/span>to <\/span>see <\/span>a <\/span>performance <\/span>directed
\n<\/span>by Frank Schuller and clearly liked what he saw. <\/span>He left a business card asking Schuller to contact him.<\/span><\/p>\n

I called Gene and he asked me if
\nI had ever directed any dubbing before and I told him \u2018No, but that I was
\ninterested,\u201d recalls Schuller, who like most of the cast members he would eventually\u00a0assemble <\/span>to <\/span>put <\/span>English <\/span>into <\/span>the
\nmouths <\/span>of 8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man<\/i>\u2019s\u00a0c<\/span>haracters, <\/span>was <\/span>a\u00a0jobbing actor always looking for
\nthe next gig, <\/span>when he wasn\u2019t
\nworking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Directing the 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>dub would mean extra
\nmoney. <\/span>Although, there was precious
\nlittle of that to go around, as it turned out.
\n<\/span>The 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>dub
\nwould be produced on the meagerest of budgets.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As <\/span>soon <\/span>as <\/span>Schuller
\n<\/span>had <\/span>signed <\/span>on <\/span>as <\/span>director,
\n<\/span>he <\/span>began <\/span>approaching <\/span>people <\/span>in <\/span>his <\/span>personal
\nnetwork to fill the roles. <\/span>\u201cI brought
\nin some of the other actors that I knew from community theater,\u201d states
\nSchuller.<\/span><\/p>\n

He hired actress and dancer
\nSandy Warshaw to voice the parts <\/span>of
\nJenny Heartsweet and her kid brother, Skip <\/span>Pepper. <\/span>\u201cFrank
\n<\/span>told <\/span>me\u2026you\u2019re <\/span>a <\/span>dancer <\/span>and <\/span>dubbing <\/span>has <\/span>a <\/span>lot <\/span>to <\/span>do <\/span>with <\/span>rhythm.
\n<\/span>I think that you will be able to pick it up immediately,\u201d says Warshaw
\nrecalling her conversation with Schuller. <\/span>Local
\ninstructor of radio production, Bob Gaynor, was given the <\/span>role <\/span>of <\/span>Chief <\/span>Fumblethumbs. <\/span>Other <\/span>cast <\/span>members
\n<\/span>hired <\/span>by <\/span>Schuller\u00a0included chief
\nradio announcer at Miami Beach\u2019s WKAT, Arnie Warren, and actors Jack Metzger
\nand Mark Harris. <\/span>Even script man
\nReuben Guberman was press-ganged\u00a0<\/span>into <\/span>the <\/span>dubbing <\/span>studio
\n<\/span>on <\/span>occasion. <\/span>\u201cRuby <\/span>had <\/span>that <\/span>gravelly <\/span>voice,\u201d
\n<\/span>said <\/span>Mark Harris; perfect for
\nvillains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dubbing <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/span><\/i>was non-union <\/span>work, and <\/span>as a <\/span>result,
\n<\/span>some <\/span>of the <\/span>actors
\n<\/span>being solicited for <\/span>roles, <\/span>declined
\n<\/span>to <\/span>audition. <\/span>Florida
\n<\/span>was <\/span>and <\/span>is <\/span>a <\/span>right-to-work <\/span>state <\/span>and <\/span>without
\n<\/span>union contracts, ABC Films and Copri could avoid paying union scale
\nwages. <\/span>The actors who performed the
\ndubbing were paid a minimum rate of $5.00 per session and a dollar a loop,
\nthereafter. <\/span>Conversely, director
\nSchuller was paid by the reel. <\/span>The
\nmajority of in-house <\/span>staff <\/span>was <\/span>salaried. <\/span>Sound <\/span>engineer, <\/span>Henry <\/span>Lopez, <\/span>who <\/span>started
\nat <\/span>Copri <\/span>as <\/span>an <\/span>office boy, earned only $30.00 per month. <\/span>\u201cAnd I had to have a car!\u201d he exclaims.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the actors were
\nbetter at dubbing than others,\u201d says Schuller and presumably could <\/span>earn <\/span>more <\/span>per <\/span>session. <\/span>Guberman,
\n<\/span>when <\/span>asked <\/span>about
\n<\/span>his <\/span>looping <\/span>efforts,
\n<\/span>made <\/span>no bones <\/span>about <\/span>the <\/span>fact <\/span>that <\/span>he <\/span>\u201c\u2026was <\/span>considered <\/span>one <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>best.\u201d <\/span>Once <\/span>a <\/span>script
\n<\/span>had <\/span>been finished, <\/span>\u201c\u2026we <\/span>could <\/span>complete
\n<\/span>(the <\/span>dubbing <\/span>of) <\/span>maybe <\/span>one <\/span>episode <\/span>a <\/span>day; <\/span>maybe
\n<\/span>more,\u201d remembers Schuller.<\/span><\/p>\n

The non-union status of the work
\nalso meant that no credit would be given to anybody involved. <\/span>The openings and closings of each 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>episode would contain
\nno <\/span>credits <\/span>at <\/span>all, <\/span>with <\/span>the <\/span>exception
\n<\/span>of <\/span>a <\/span>single <\/span>line <\/span>during
\n<\/span>the <\/span>closing <\/span>sequence stating
\n<\/span>that <\/span>the <\/span>series had <\/span>been <\/span>distributed <\/span>by <\/span>ABC <\/span>Films.
\n<\/span>That <\/span>suited <\/span>Schuller
\n<\/span>just <\/span>fine <\/span>as <\/span>he <\/span>(and <\/span>others) <\/span>were quite concerned about the punitive
\nthreats constantly tossed around by local union mouthpieces <\/span>should
\n<\/span>any <\/span>of <\/span>them <\/span>be <\/span>caught
\n<\/span>working <\/span>scab <\/span>jobs <\/span>like <\/span>the <\/span>dubbing <\/span>of <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man<\/i>. Their union pensions and health care were on the line.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the cast worked for low wages supplying the new audio, the producers decided the series opening would
\nhave to be changed. <\/span>The original
\nJapanese title sequence was deemed unusable.
\n<\/span>The same went for the <\/span>Japanese
\ntheme song. <\/span>So, the purse strings\u00a0were <\/span>loosened, <\/span>slightly, <\/span>and <\/span>a <\/span>modest
\n<\/span>allocation <\/span>made <\/span>for <\/span>new <\/span>animation <\/span>and <\/span>scoring. <\/span>\u201cIt was one of the few luxuries we were
\nafforded on this,\u201d stated Guberman.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is unknown if the U.S.
\nanimators who animated the new title sequence were supplied with <\/span>much <\/span>reference <\/span>material
\n<\/span>in <\/span>order <\/span>to <\/span>match <\/span>the <\/span>appearance <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>Japanese
\n<\/span>artwork, but the final result was sloppy and bore only a passing resemblance to
\nthe original <\/span>TCJ animation.
\nSimilarly, <\/span>the <\/span>newly <\/span>composed <\/span>theme <\/span>also <\/span>set <\/span>quite <\/span>a <\/span>different <\/span>tone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead <\/span>of Hagiwara\u2019s exciting, pulsing march, <\/span>the new theme was a dumbed-down ditty crafted to appeal to
\nchildren. <\/span>The composition, written in
\nall likelihood by the talented Win <\/span>Sharples,\u00a0who started scoring animation features and shorts in the late 1930s with the Max Fleischer studio in New York before partnering with Hal Seeger in the late 1950s.\u00a0 He is probably best remembered for the music for King Features Syndicate TV cartoons including Popeye and Tennessee Tuxedo.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his new 8th Man theme is one of his lesser efforts, and is very similar in structure and tempo to John Strauss\u2019 1961 comedic theme for NBC\u2019s \u201cCar 54, Where Are You?\u201d, which completely undermines the action and the original intent of the TCJ animators.\u00a0The
\nSaturday-morning mindset in the West was that cartoons were for kids, despite
\nevery effort by Disney, Fleischer and their peers to elevate animation to a
\nrespected art form.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sidebar<\/b>: <\/span>The <\/span>identity <\/span>of <\/span>U.S. <\/span>animation <\/span>outfit <\/span>that <\/span>produced
\n<\/span>the <\/span>new main title cannot be
\nconfirmed, completely. <\/span>The appearance
\nof a Hal <\/span>Seeger <\/span>Productions\u2019 <\/span>title <\/span>card <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>leaders
\n<\/span>of <\/span>surviving <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man film <\/span>prints <\/span>is <\/span>a <\/span>strong <\/span>indicator
\n<\/span>that <\/span>Seeger\u2019s <\/span>shop <\/span>did <\/span>the <\/span>work. <\/span>This isn\u2019t surprising since Seeger did a
\nlot of commercial animation for ABC Films and Hal Seeger, himself, admits the
\njob was offered to him. <\/span>However, both
\nSeeger and long-time employee Lenny Bird deny creating this particular
\nsequence. <\/span>They claim that when ABC
\nFilms brought them the job, they were too busy to accept it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Hal Seeger<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Furthermore, Seeger\u2019s former
\nanimation department head, Myron Waldman, <\/span>also <\/span>stated
\n<\/span>that <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span>is
\n<\/span>not <\/span>familiar <\/span>to <\/span>him <\/span>and <\/span>that <\/span>he \u201c\u2026would have remembered anything that
\nbad.\u201d <\/span>In spite of all the protests
\nand denials, all indications are that Seeger\u2019s shop did the work and they are
\nnow, in hindsight, simply embarrassed by it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Reuben Guberman was convinced that animation maverick Ralph Bakshi, of \u201cFritz the Cat\u201d and \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d fame, had done the work.\u00a0 However, Bakshi also denied being involved \u201cDidn’t do it; haven’t seen it.\u201d <\/span>The only other animation house to have
\nbeen mentioned in association with 8th<\/sup>
\nMan at various times is Oriolo Film Studios. <\/span>Known primarily for its work
\n<\/span>on <\/span>The <\/span>Mighty <\/span>Hercules <\/span><\/b>series and the rarely seen English
\ndubs of Mushi <\/span>Productions\u2019 <\/span>Ribbon <\/span>no <\/span>Kishi <\/b>[ <\/span>\u30ea\u30dc\u30f3\u306e\u9a0e\u58eb <\/span>] <\/span>series (<\/span>a.k.a.\u00a0<\/span>Princess <\/span>Knight <\/span><\/b>or <\/span>Choppy <\/span>and <\/span>the <\/span>Princess<\/b>) <\/span>and <\/span>the <\/span>Sino-American\u00a0<\/span>hybrid
\nanime, Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero <\/b>[<\/span>\u30b8\u30e7\u30cb\u30a4\u30b5\u30a4\u30d5\u30a1\u30fc<\/span>], Don
\nOriolo, the son of late animator Joe Oriolo, seems to \u201c\u2026vaguely <\/span>remember
\n<\/span>some <\/span>layout <\/span>work <\/span>for <\/span>the <\/span>8th <\/span>Man <\/span>being
\n<\/span>done by (his) father\u2026\u201d but this claim is highly unlikely.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

While <\/span>a <\/span>preponderance <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>evidence
\n<\/span>points <\/span>to <\/span>Hal <\/span>Seeger\u2019s <\/span>studio for the clumsy animation, and to Winston “Win” Sharples as the new theme\u2019s composer, the identities behind the U.S. 8th<\/sup> Man title sequence remain
\nformally \u2018unconfirmed\u2019.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As <\/span>Copri <\/span>completed <\/span>the <\/span>dubbing, <\/span>trouble
\n<\/span>was <\/span>brewing <\/span>back <\/span>in <\/span>New <\/span>York. <\/span>When <\/span>Plitt <\/span>took the decision to have the series
\ndubbed in Miami, he took with him all of the prep work done at Titra. <\/span>\u201cRather than pay Screen Actors’ Guild
\nprices, which we HAD<\/u> <\/b>to
\ncharge in New York, Plitt ran to Florida. <\/span>The
\ntrouble was that he kept the character names and concepts that others created. <\/span>He stole the ideas,\u201d says Ladd
\ndisgustedly.<\/span><\/p>\n

That Plitt and ABC Films were
\ndetermined to pinch pennies isn\u2019t surprising.
\n<\/span>And if that meant moving the production to a right-to-work state like
\nFlorida to circumvent union pay scales, that is what they would do. <\/span>And did.<\/span><\/p>\n

Worse <\/span>still, <\/span>according <\/span>to <\/span>Ladd, <\/span>was <\/span>that <\/span>Plitt <\/span>\u201c\u2026sold <\/span>Hank <\/span>Booraem <\/span>(programming <\/span>director at <\/span>WPIX) <\/span>on <\/span>the <\/span>notion
\n<\/span>that <\/span>the <\/span>expert <\/span>soundtrack <\/span>work <\/span>that <\/span>Booraem
\n<\/span>knew <\/span>and <\/span>loved <\/span>on
\nGigantor <\/i>and the 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>pilot would be the standard for the entire 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>series!\u201d <\/span>As a <\/span>result <\/span>of <\/span>Plitt\u2019s <\/span>bait <\/span>& <\/span>switch
\n<\/span>act, <\/span>\u201c\u2026a <\/span>very <\/span>well-known <\/span>feud <\/span>of <\/span>sorts <\/span>developed <\/span>between Booraem and Plitt.\u201d <\/span>Ladd recalls that\u201c\u2026Booraem <\/span>claimed he had been deceived by Plitt and
\nABC Films, and that the dubbing of the series was amateurish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, continues Ladd,
\n\u201c\u2026when Plitt went to other stations to sell the series, including <\/span>WPIX <\/span>affiliate <\/span>WGN <\/span>in <\/span>Chicago,
\n<\/span>he <\/span>wouldn’t <\/span>show <\/span>the <\/span>buyers
\n<\/span>any <\/span>of <\/span>the <\/span>episodes that had
\nbeen produced in Florida at Gene Prinz\u2019s \u2018$1.98 School of Dubbing\u2019. <\/span>Rather he showed them only the pilot that
\nPeter had made in New York. <\/span>Naturally,
\nthe buyers thought they would be getting New York quality!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter Fernandez concurs with Ladd
\nstating that he had also heard that \u201cthe buyers weren\u2019t too happy.\u201d <\/span>Of course, everybody at Copri was
\noblivious to the battle raging between producers and station programmers in <\/span>New York and Chicago. <\/span>What mattered to them was that the series
\nwas in the can and that more work was in the pipeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Sidebar<\/b>: <\/span>Fred Ladd, age 91 at the
\ntime of this writing, continues to have very strong feelings about 8th<\/sup> Man<\/i>, and he isn\u2019t shy
\nabout expressing them whenever the subject arises, more than 50 years later.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He considers the original
\ndub of the series to be a wasted opportunity;
\n<\/span>great <\/span>potential <\/span>marred <\/span>by <\/span>unskilled
\n<\/span>handling <\/span>at <\/span>Copri,\u00a0<\/span>and one that he wouldn\u2019t
\nhave squandered, had the project been his. <\/span>Ladd\u2019s
\nclaim of involvement with 8th<\/sup> Man<\/i><\/b>, however, is
\ncontested by Peter Fernandez, who wrote and directed the pilot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFred was never involved. <\/span>We were competitors at that time, and
\nalthough we\u2019re friends now, we didn\u2019t work together on 8th<\/sup> Man<\/i>,\u201d states Fernandez.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ladd\u2019s insistence regarding
\nhis involvement eventually softened over <\/span>the <\/span>course <\/span>of <\/span>our <\/span>interviews, <\/span>but <\/span>maintains <\/span>that <\/span>he <\/span>was <\/span>kind <\/span>of
\n<\/i>involved and alludes, vaguely, to the death of his then business partner <\/span>as <\/span>a <\/span>reason
\n<\/span>for <\/span>his <\/span>lack <\/span>of <\/span>formal
\n<\/span>participation <\/span>on <\/span>the <\/span>dub <\/span>of the pilot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ladd also claims <\/span>to have had first rights <\/span>of refusal over many of <\/span>the anime properties peddled in the U.S.,
\nand even makes a point in lectures of claiming to have turned down Speed Racer<\/i>. <\/span>Fernandez just <\/span>chuckles <\/span>and <\/span>states <\/span>he <\/span>believes <\/span>that <\/span>Ladd <\/span>is <\/span>just <\/span>embellishing <\/span>or mis-remembering.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever Ladd\u2019s reasons are
\nfor claiming involvement with the 8th<\/sup>
\nMan <\/i>dub, it cannot be doubted <\/span>that
\nhe was much moved by series, and keeps in his memory many of the more esoteric
\ndetails of the production recounted in this article.<\/span><\/p>\n

His <\/span>final word on the subject <\/span>is <\/span>that despite the level of success the
\nseries <\/span>achieved <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>U.S. and in other English speaking <\/span>territories, the achievement would have
\nbeen far greater had he and his team been allowed to direct the dub.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With new opening visuals and a
\nnew theme song, 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>premiered
\non Tuesday, September 7, 1965 at 4:00 PM. <\/span>On
\nstation WPIX in New York, from 4:00 PM \u2013 4:30 PM, 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>proceeded to wallop its competition. <\/span>\u201cWe owned that time slot!\u201d declared
\nGuberman triumphantly. <\/span>During the
\nratings hoopla, Jerry Berke, the voice of 8th Man himself, made a trip from
\nFlorida to the New York station to meet fans and sign autographs. <\/span>Even the new theme song proved infectious
\nand, according to Berke, was performed by pianist and songwriter Steve
\nLawrence, as a bit of kitsch on the Tonight Show (unverified). <\/span>\u201cIt was a real kick!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>also played quite successfully in the Latino markets as El
\nOctavo Hombre <\/i><\/b>well into the 1970s.\u00a0<\/span>And<\/span> <\/span>while<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> <\/span>is<\/span> <\/span>unconfirmed<\/span> <\/span>that<\/span> <\/span>Copri<\/span> <\/span>also<\/span> <\/span>produced<\/span> <\/span>the Spanish and Portuguese dubs of <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man<\/i>, it is certainly
\nplausible,<\/span> <\/span>even<\/span> <\/span>likely,<\/span>
\n<\/span>since<\/span> <\/span>Copri<\/span> <\/span>specialized<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>dubbing product
\ninto those languages for distribution in South and Central America.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n


As <\/span>with <\/span>the <\/span>original
\n<\/span>Japanese <\/span>version, <\/span>the <\/span>U.S. <\/span>adaptation
\n<\/span>proved <\/span>to <\/span>be <\/span>a <\/span>success <\/span>across\u00a0<\/span><\/span>age<\/span> <\/span>demographics.<\/span> <\/span>Reuben<\/span>
\n<\/span>Guberman<\/span> <\/span>stated,<\/span> <\/span>\u201cWe<\/span> <\/span>were<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>big<\/span> <\/span>hit<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> <\/span>college<\/span>
\n<\/span>kids\u2026who\u00a0<\/span>loved the James
\nBond and sci-fi elements of show.\u201d<\/span> <\/span>Even
\nby the second quarter of 1966, the ARB ratings for <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>on WPIX in New<\/span>
\n<\/span>York<\/span> <\/span>alone<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>pulling<\/span> <\/span>an<\/span> <\/span>11
\nshare<\/span> <\/span>(28%),<\/span> <\/span>clobbering<\/span> <\/span>The <\/span>Mike Douglas <\/span>Show<\/i><\/b>,<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>midday<\/span>
\n<\/span>movie and <\/span>The Cisco Kid<\/i><\/b>.<\/span> <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man\u2019s <\/i>popularity in the
\nU.S. even resulted in some small scale merchandising efforts, including an <\/span>8th Man <\/i>Halloween costume manufactured
\nby <\/span>Ben Cooper, Inc.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Unfortunately,<\/span> <\/span>by<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>mid-1970s, <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>had<\/span>
\n<\/span>all<\/span> <\/span>but<\/span> <\/span>vanished<\/span> <\/span>from the
\ntelevision airwaves.<\/span> <\/span>The black &
\nwhite animation kept it from being a viable property in the era of color
\nprogramming. ABC Films ceased operations in 1973 and its library became an
\nasset of WorldVision, whose holdings now reside under the umbrella of Paramount<\/span> <\/span>Television<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>ultimately<\/span> <\/span>Viacom.
\n<\/span>Currently, Paramount\u00a0<\/span>Television\u2019s licensing
\ndivision reports that it no longer holds any licenses to the <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>property.<\/span> <\/span>It can be assumed that after ABC Films
\nInc.\u2019s holdings were transferred to WorldVision<\/span> <\/span>30<\/span> <\/span>years<\/span> <\/span>ago,<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>broadcast<\/span> <\/span>license<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>series<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>allowed<\/span> <\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>expire,<\/span> <\/span>with all rights reverting back to the
\nJapanese.<\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>1980s,<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>explosion<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>home<\/span> <\/span>video<\/span> <\/span>market,<\/span>
\n<\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>episodes,<\/span> <\/span>considered by some to be public domain,
\nturned-up occasionally on cassette under variant titles, including a release
\nthat came with a free package of microwave popcorn (i.e. \u201cKiddy Popcorn
\nClassics\u201d released by NAV, Inc. in 1988).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sidebar<\/b>: <\/span>For reasons unknown, the
\ntelevision programming publications of the 1960s, including T.V. Guide<\/b>, never managed to list <\/span>the <\/span>series\u2019 <\/span>title
\n<\/span>correctly. <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man<\/i>, <\/span>the <\/span>correct
\n<\/span>title, <\/span>is <\/span>referred
\n<\/span>to indifferently as Eighth Man<\/i><\/b>, Tobor the Eighth Man <\/i><\/b>and The
\nFantastic Eighth Man<\/i><\/b>. <\/span>As a
\nresult, subsequent home video marketing <\/span>efforts <\/span>use <\/span>any <\/span>one <\/span>of <\/span>a <\/span>number <\/span>of <\/span>title <\/span>variations <\/span>that <\/span>are apt to cause
\nconfusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then, in the early 1990s, 20
\nof the original English-dubbed episodes were released in a four<\/span> <\/span>volume<\/span>
\n<\/span>VHS set<\/span> <\/span>by<\/span> <\/span>Video<\/span> <\/span>Rarities,
\nstruck<\/span> <\/span>from surviving<\/span> <\/span>16mm<\/span> <\/span>prints.<\/span> <\/span>And<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>dealer rooms<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>sci-fi<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>comic<\/span> <\/span>book<\/span> <\/span>conventions<\/span> <\/span>across<\/span>
\n<\/span>America, <\/span>8th <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>episodes<\/span> <\/span>continued to<\/span> <\/span>be<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>staple<\/span>
\n<\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>bootleg<\/span> <\/span>tape<\/span> <\/span>dealers<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>many<\/span> <\/span>years.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Even<\/span> <\/span>today,<\/span> <\/span>despite<\/span>
\n<\/span>its<\/span> <\/span>age,<\/span> <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/i>continues to be manifested in
\nvarious guises.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

It <\/span>has<\/span> <\/span>been<\/span> <\/span>argued<\/span> <\/span>that<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>inspiration<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>1973<\/span> <\/span>ABC-distributed<\/span> <\/span>series,<\/span>
\n<\/span>The <\/span>Six <\/span>Million\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>Dollar
\nMan<\/i><\/b>, starring Lee Majors, was indeed <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man<\/i>. According<\/span> <\/span>to
\nFred Ladd, \u201cthere’s no question that the<\/span> <\/span>bionic
\nman idea<\/span> <\/span>was spun-off of <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man<\/i>.<\/span> <\/span>That concept<\/span> <\/span>came from novelist<\/span> <\/span>Martin<\/span> <\/span>Caidin,<\/span>
\n<\/span>my<\/span> <\/span>one-time<\/span> <\/span>neighbor<\/span>
\n<\/span>who<\/span> <\/span>mentored me a little in
\nthe making of my animated feature <\/span>Pinocchio in Outer Space.<\/i><\/b>\u201d<\/span> <\/span>Caidin authored the novel <\/span>Cyborg
\n<\/i><\/b>in 1972 upon which <\/span>The Six Million Dollar Man <\/i><\/b>television
\nseries is based.<\/span> <\/span>It just proves that
\nno idea or script goes un-recycled in Hollywood.<\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span> <\/span>fact,<\/span>
\n<\/span>due<\/span> <\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>story\u2019s<\/span> <\/span>staying<\/span>
\n<\/span>power,<\/span> <\/span>8-Man <\/span><\/i>received<\/span> <\/span>the big<\/span>
\n<\/span>screen<\/span> <\/span>treatment in<\/span> <\/span>1992<\/span> <\/span>when<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>produced as a<\/span> <\/span>live action film, starring actor Kai Shishido in the title
\nrole.<\/span> <\/span>In 1993,<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>adventure<\/span> <\/span>continued<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>an<\/span> <\/span>original<\/span>
\n<\/span>animated<\/span> <\/span>video (i.e. OAV)
\nentitled <\/span>8-Man After<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n


Again,<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>1997,<\/span> <\/span>Fred<\/span> <\/span>Ladd,<\/span> <\/span>still<\/span> <\/span>smitten<\/span> <\/span>by<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>idea<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>\u201ca<\/span> <\/span>robot
\nthat can cry\u2026\u201d attempted to resuscitate interest in the original <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>series with the idea
\nof colorizing it.<\/span> <\/span>He \u201c\u2026pitched the
\nidea to Bert Cohen at WorldVision.<\/span> <\/span>Cohen
\ninitiated an in-house search for the <\/span>8th<\/sup>
\nMan <\/i>negatives and discovered that many of them had disappeared from
\nWorldVision\u2019s storage.\u201d recalls Ladd.<\/span> <\/span>However,
\nCohen\u2019s interest had been piqued and Ladd initiated discussions in Tokyo with
\nthe TBS programming and legal departments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cProgramming<\/span> <\/span>noted<\/span> <\/span>that<\/span> <\/span>TBS<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>running<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>show<\/span> <\/span>from\u00a0<\/span>time<\/span> <\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>time<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>middle<\/span>
\n<\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>night.\u201d<\/span> <\/span>states<\/span> <\/span>Ladd,<\/span> <\/span>mainly<\/span> <\/span>due<\/span> <\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0r<\/span>etrograde<\/span> <\/span>nature\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>animation<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>ubiquitous<\/span> <\/span>chain<\/span> <\/span>smoking<\/span> <\/span>exhibited<\/span>
\n<\/span>by<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>characters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately,<\/span> <\/span>\u201c\u2026when<\/span>
\n<\/span>all<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>said<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>done,<\/span>
\n<\/span>TBS<\/span> <\/span>decided<\/span> <\/span>it<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>better<\/span>
\n<\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>invest<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>new
\nprogramming than colorize old shows with problematic scenes,\u201d concludes Ladd, <\/span>regretfully.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>Japan,<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>original
\n<\/span>8-Man
\n<\/span><\/i>remains a<\/span> <\/span>late<\/span> <\/span>night staple<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>continues to<\/span> <\/span>generate profits<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>licensees<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>form<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>action<\/span> <\/span>figures,<\/span> <\/span>OAVs<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>home<\/span> <\/span>video<\/span> <\/span>releases.<\/span>
\n<\/span>8-Man <\/i>period collectibles,
\nincluding vinyl toys and original record album releases fetch exorbitant sums
\non Yahoo Japan\u2019s auction<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

site.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

After <\/span>TCJ <\/span>Animation\u2019s <\/span>initial
\n<\/span>success <\/span>with <\/span>8-Man
\nand Tetsujin-28 go<\/i>, it went on to produce such anime classics as Y\u00fbsei
\nSh\u00f4nen Pap\u00ee <\/span><\/i><\/b>[ <\/span>\u904a\u661f\u5c11\u5e74\u30d1\u30d4\u30a3<\/span>] (i.e. Prince Planet<\/i><\/b>), and Y\u00fbsei
\nKamen <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u904a\u661f\u4eee\u9762<\/span>] (i.e. Asteroid Mask <\/i><\/b>or Planet
\nMask<\/i><\/b>).<\/span><\/p>\n

In
\n1973, TCJ underwent <\/span>a name change <\/span>to Aiken (or Eiken) [<\/span>\u30a8\u30a4\u30b1\u30f3<\/span>] and continued to produce television cartoon series such as Garasu
\nno Kamen <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30ac\u30e9\u30b9\u306e\u4eee\u9762<\/span>] (i.e. Glass Mask<\/i><\/b>) and Ginga
\nPatororu PJ <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u9280\u6cb3\u30d1\u30c8\u30ed\u30fc\u30eb\uff30\uff2a<\/span>] (a.k.a Galactic
\nPatrol PJ<\/i><\/b>). <\/span>One of its more
\nrecent efforts was the 1996 anime Kiko-chan Sumairu <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u304d\u3053\u3061\u3083\u3093\u3059\u307e\u3044\u308b<\/span>] (i.e. Kiko-chan\u2019s Smile<\/i><\/b>) produced for TBS.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, none<\/span> <\/span>of these<\/span>
\n<\/span>later efforts<\/span> <\/span>had quite the
\nimpact<\/span> <\/span>that <\/span>8-Man <\/i><\/b>did,<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>that
\nmay explain why (at the time of this writing), <\/span>8-Man <\/i><\/b>may still be seen
\non television in Japan; one<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>few<\/span> <\/span>black<\/span> <\/span>&<\/span> <\/span>white<\/span>
\n<\/span>cartoon<\/span> <\/span>series<\/span> <\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>have<\/span> <\/span>survived<\/span>
\n<\/span>long<\/span> <\/span>past<\/span> <\/span>its<\/span> <\/span>expected<\/span> <\/span>shelf-<\/span>life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Epilogue<\/span>:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>deadlines <\/span>on <\/span>a <\/span>monthly <\/span>comic <\/span>book or <\/span>weekly <\/span>animation <\/span>series <\/span>can <\/span>be <\/span>brutal <\/span>with <\/span>so much riding on the creators\u2019 abilities to produce on-time and on-budget.<\/span><\/p>\n

Original <\/span>8-Man <\/span>manga <\/span>artist,
\n<\/span>Jir\u00f4 <\/span>Kuwata, <\/span>near <\/span>the <\/span>end <\/span>of <\/span>8-Man<\/i>\u2019s <\/span>run, <\/span>suffered <\/span>what <\/span>can
\nonly be described as a mental breakdown from overwork and stress. <\/span>With the intention of committing <\/span>suicide,
\n<\/span>he was arrested <\/span>for <\/span>carrying
\n<\/span>a <\/span>gun, <\/span>a <\/span>very <\/span>serious
\n<\/span>offense in Japan, and jailed. <\/span>The
\nscandal ended his tenure on the 8-Man <\/i>manga
\nand with Sh\u00f4nen Magazine, and the last chapter\/issue of 8-Man <\/i>would be completed by other artists on Kuwata\u2019s staff. <\/span>The last installment in the story did not
\nsee publication until 1992.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuwata <\/span>eventually <\/span>recovered, <\/span>developed <\/span>a <\/span>rich <\/span>spiritual
\n<\/span>life, <\/span>and <\/span>resumed
\n<\/span>his <\/span>career <\/span>as <\/span>an
\nillustrator<\/span> <\/span>producing<\/span> <\/span>some
\nof<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>original<\/span>
\n<\/span>Urutora<\/span> <\/span>Sebun<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30a6\u30eb\u30c8\u30e9\u30bb\u30d6\u30f3<\/span>] <\/span>(i.e<\/span>. <\/span>Ultra<\/span> <\/span>Seven<\/span><\/i><\/b>) <\/span>manga <\/span>and <\/span>the <\/span>recently <\/span>re-discovered <\/span>Batman <\/span><\/i><\/b>comics <\/span>called
\n<\/span>Batto-Manga! <\/span><\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30cf\u30fc\u30c9\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc] (i.e. Bat-Manga!<\/i><\/b>). <\/span>He died in 2020 at age 85.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After the 8-Man manga and anime ended, writer Kazumasa Hirai, who had also been ground down by the extreme schedule went on to create the popular manga series\u00a0<\/span>Urufu <\/span>Gai <\/span><\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30a6\u30eb\u30d5\u30ac\u30a4<\/span>] <\/span>(i.e. <\/span>Wolf <\/span>Guy<\/i><\/b>) <\/span>and <\/span>Genma <\/span>Wars <\/span><\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u5e7b\u9b54\u5927\u6226\u30b7\u30ea\u30fc\u30ba<\/span>]. <\/span>He died in 2015.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

8-Man <\/span><\/i>theme <\/span>song <\/span>vocalist <\/span>Shigeru
\n<\/span>Katsumi, <\/span>whose <\/span>real <\/span>name <\/span>was <\/span>Seiya <\/span>Tsumura
\n(<\/span>\u6d25\u6751\u8aa0\u4e5f<\/span>), <\/span>had <\/span>a <\/span>number
\n<\/span>of <\/span>additional <\/span>hits <\/span>during <\/span>the <\/span>1960s. <\/span>However,
\n<\/span>by <\/span>1975, <\/span>he <\/span>was <\/span>suffering from dramatic personal and
\nprofessional reversals.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a rage, Katsumi strangled his
\nmistress with a rope and stuffed her corpse into the boot of his car.<\/span> <\/span>He was arrested and charged with capital
\nmurder.<\/span> <\/span>Toshiba EMI, his recording
\nlabel, scandalized by the ghastly event, dropped him immediately.<\/span> <\/span>His recordings were then subsequently
\ndestroyed in the company\u2019s attempts to erase all evidence that the singer had
\never been associated with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

After serving seven years of a ten
\nyears sentence for the killing, he was paroled and lived in relative obscurity
\nuntil his death in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike many of the original
\nJapanese creators and producers of the <\/span>8-Man
\n<\/i>manga and anime, most of the cast and crew at Copri in the U.S. saw their
\nwork on the <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>cartoon
\nseries as a job and little more.<\/span> <\/span>\u201cI
\nneeded a new car; a VW Beetle,\u201d recalls Arnie Warren, \u201c\u2026and I made enough to
\nbuy the Beetle.<\/span> <\/span>Thanks, Tobor.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the exceptions perhaps
\nof Jerry Berke, for whom 8th<\/sup>
\nMan <\/i>is and has always been a source of delight and Reuben Guberman, who was
\nequally <\/span>proud of his <\/span>work on 8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/i>and
\nits ratings coup, the series is regarded in hindsight by most of those involved
\nas a charming if somewhat crude effort. <\/span>\u201cI
\njust couldn\u2019t believe that this was the same 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>we had worked on. <\/span>I just don\u2019t remember it looking so primitive,\u201d exclaimed Henry\u00a0<\/span>Lopez<\/span> <\/span>after<\/span> <\/span>viewing<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>few
\nepisodes<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>first<\/span> <\/span>time<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>over<\/span> <\/span>30<\/span> years.<\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nstaff and crew of Copri in the years following 8th<\/sup> Man <\/i><\/b>would
\nalso produce English dubs <\/span>of <\/span>Prince <\/span>Planet <\/span><\/i><\/b>and <\/span>W3 <\/span><\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30ef\u30f3\u30c0\u30fc\u30b9\u30ea\u30fc<\/span>] (<\/span>a.k.a. <\/span>The <\/span>Amazing <\/span>3<\/i><\/b>), <\/span>as <\/span>well <\/span>as <\/span>the <\/span>live-action <\/span>kaij\u00fb, <\/span>Jaianto <\/span>Robo <\/span><\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30b8\u30e3\u30a4\u30a2\u30f3\u30c8\u30ed\u30dc<\/span>] <\/span>(a.k.a. <\/span>Johnny <\/span>Sokko <\/span>and <\/span>His <\/span>Flying
\n<\/span>Robot<\/i><\/b>), in addition to hundreds of theatrical feature films and
\nshorts from all over the world for which none of them ever got credit.<\/span><\/p>\n

To add insult to injury, various
\nanimation historians, stumped since the early 1980s for accurate data about the
\n<\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>dub (due to the
\nabsence of any credits whatsoever), often attribute the work to other actors,
\nother directors and other production outfits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Copri<\/span> <\/span>International<\/span> <\/span>Films,<\/span> <\/span>Inc.<\/span> <\/span>eventually<\/span> <\/span>closed<\/span>
\n<\/span>shop<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>early<\/span> <\/span>1970s.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Many<\/span> <\/span>members of <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man\u2019s <\/i>cast and crew
\ncontinued to dub at Copri until the end, adapting some of Japan\u2019s<\/span> <\/span>classic<\/span>
\n<\/span>cartoon<\/span> <\/span>series<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>western<\/span> <\/span>audiences,<\/span> <\/span>helping<\/span> <\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>pave<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>way<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>modern <\/span>anime.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reuben Guberman, after a long
\ncareer writing for film and television, returned to his stomping grounds in the
\nnortheast and eventually went on to become a sales manager for a pharmaceutical
\nfirm where he authored several books about management.<\/span> <\/span>He passed away in 2000 from lung cancer at age 74.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Harris would direct the dubs
\nof <\/span>The
\nAmazing 3 <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>Prince Planet <\/i><\/b>series (in which he
\nalso voiced the Dan Dynamo character), eventually leaving in 1967 to pursue other work.<\/span> <\/span>He passed in 2001 at his vacation home in
\nUtah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Manny
\nSan Fernando, Sr would go on to direct the dub for American International
\nPictures <\/span>(AIP) <\/span>series <\/span>Johnny <\/span>Sokko
\n<\/span>and <\/span>His <\/span>Flying <\/span>Robot <\/i><\/b>as <\/span>well <\/span>as <\/span>an <\/span>unseen <\/span>English
\n<\/span>dub of Toho\u2019s epic fantasy Nippon Tanj\u00f4 <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u65e5\u672c\u8a95\u751f<\/span>] retitled The Three Treasures <\/i><\/b>for Seven Arts. <\/span>He also wrote and acted in several K.
\nGordon Murray movies including Savages From Hell <\/i><\/b>(a.k.a. Big
\nEnough, Old Enough<\/i><\/b>) and La Momia Azteca Contra el Robot Humano <\/i><\/b>(a.k.a.
\nThe <\/span>Robot vs
\n<\/span>the <\/span>Aztec <\/span>Mummy)<\/i><\/b>. <\/span>Manny, <\/span>still <\/span>in <\/span>his <\/span>early <\/span>60s, <\/span>passed in 1982 following a heart attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having<\/span> <\/span>acted<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>over<\/span> <\/span>400<\/span> <\/span>national<\/span>
\n<\/span>commercials<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>television<\/span> <\/span>series<\/span> <\/span>including<\/span> <\/span>Cheers<\/i><\/b>,<\/span> <\/span>Hill Street Blues <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>L.A. Law<\/i><\/b>, <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/i>Man <\/b>director,
\nFrank Schuller, is now semi-retired in Los Angeles and enjoys a life of writing
\nand traveling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jerry<\/span> <\/span>Berke,<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>man<\/span> <\/span>behind<\/span> <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man\u2019s <\/span><\/i>sonorous<\/span> <\/span>English<\/span>
\n<\/span>voice,<\/span> <\/span>continues<\/span> <\/span>working<\/span>
\n<\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>radio and currently lives
\nin New Jersey.<\/span> <\/span>He\u2019s on the internet
\nand loves to hear from <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man
\n<\/i>fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandy Warshaw, who<\/span> <\/span>went on to voice Diana Worthy in <\/span>Prince
\nPlanet<\/i><\/b>, continued to act, direct, and dance, and recently taught
\ntheater at Miami Dade Community College.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bob<\/span> <\/span>Gaynor<\/span> <\/span>never<\/span> <\/span>did<\/span> <\/span>any<\/span> <\/span>more<\/span> <\/span>dubbing<\/span> <\/span>after <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>and<\/span> <\/span>continued<\/span> <\/span>his<\/span> <\/span>teaching<\/span> <\/span>career until his retirement from Miami
\nLakes Technical Institute, where super-achieving students<\/span> <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>radio<\/span> <\/span>broadcasting<\/span> <\/span>are<\/span> <\/span>bestowed<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> <\/span>The<\/span> <\/span>Bob Gaynor<\/span> <\/span>Special<\/span> <\/span>Talent<\/span> <\/span>Award<\/span>. <\/i><\/b>He passed away in 2013 at age 84.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arnie<\/span> <\/span>Warren,<\/span> <\/span>after<\/span> <\/span>buying<\/span>
\n<\/span>his<\/span> <\/span>Volkswagon<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> <\/span>his
\n<\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>earnings,<\/span> <\/span>provided<\/span>
\n<\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>voice of<\/span> <\/span>Warlock<\/span>
\n<\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>Prince <\/span>Planet <\/span><\/i>and<\/span>
\n<\/span>later<\/span> <\/span>established<\/span> <\/span>himself<\/span>
\n<\/span>as<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>successful<\/span> <\/span>radio<\/span> <\/span>personality and author.<\/span> <\/span>He passed at age 73 in 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

Copri\u2019s Raul Corvison and
\nManuel Sole are both deceased, and attempts to locate technicians Jose Ibarra,
\nGonzalo Rodriguez and the Gutierrezes have been unsuccessful. Former
\nprojectionist Jose Nickse entered the priesthood and became a long-serving
\npastor at St. Brendan\u2019s Catholic Church in Miami, until his death in December
\n2002. Father<\/span> <\/span>Nickse<\/span> <\/span>had<\/span> <\/span>fond<\/span> <\/span>memories<\/span>
\n<\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>his<\/span> <\/span>days<\/span> <\/span>at<\/span> <\/span>Copri<\/span>
\n<\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>still<\/span> <\/span>delights<\/span>
\n<\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>recalling<\/span> <\/span>Cuban actor Oswaldo Calvo dubbing the
\nvoice of <\/span>Mr. Magoo <\/i>cartoons in
\nSpanish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sound<\/span> <\/span>engineer,<\/span> <\/span>Henry<\/span> <\/span>Lopez,<\/span>
\n<\/span>who<\/span> <\/span>was<\/span> <\/span>only<\/span> <\/span>18<\/span> <\/span>years<\/span> <\/span>old<\/span> <\/span>when<\/span> <\/span>he<\/span> <\/span>helped<\/span>
\n<\/span>to<\/span> <\/span>engineer<\/span> <\/span>the sound<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>8th<\/sup> <\/span>Man <\/span><\/i>at<\/span> <\/span>Copri,<\/span>
\n<\/span>also<\/span> <\/span>recorded<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>mixed<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>sound<\/span> <\/span>for <\/span>Prince <\/span>Planet <\/i>and<\/span> <\/span>The Amazing 3<\/i>, plus
\ndozens of features and shorts.<\/span> <\/span>Henry
\nleft Copri in 1968 to work for the prestigious<\/span>
\n<\/span>Criteria<\/span> <\/span>Studios<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>continues<\/span> <\/span>working<\/span>
\n<\/span>today<\/span> <\/span>as<\/span> <\/span>an<\/span> <\/span>independent<\/span> <\/span>soundman<\/span>
\n<\/span>in film in Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Copri president, Gene
\nPrinz, still resides in Florida with his family and spends much of his time
\ndoing business abroad as the proprietor of one of the world\u2019s largest teak
\nplantations.<\/span><\/p>\n

ABC Films\u2019 Henry \u2018Hank\u2019 Plitt
\nlater acquired the ABC Theater chain, and rebranded it as Plitt Theaters, Inc.,
\nwhich eventually became part of the Cineplex Odeon Corporation. Plitt passed
\naway in 1993 and is now remembered chiefly for his involvement in the capture
\nof Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher during WWII.<\/span><\/p>\n

8th<\/sup> Man <\/i>pilot director, Peter
\nFernandez, would achieve legendary status with his iconic dubs of <\/span>Kaitei
\nSh\u00f4nen Marine <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u6d77\u5e95\u5c11\u5e74\u30de\u30ea\u30f3<\/span>] (i.e. <\/span>Marine Boy<\/i><\/b>) in 1966 and <\/span>Speed
\nRacer <\/i><\/b>in 1967<\/span>. <\/span>Starting in
\nthe late 1990s, Peter served as director for the Cartoon Network\u2019s <\/span>Courage <\/span>the <\/span>Cowardly
\nDog <\/i><\/b>series.<\/span> <\/span>In 2008, Peter
\nmade a cameo appearance as a race announcer in the Wachowski\u2019s feature film
\nadaptation of <\/span>Speed Racer<\/i>. <\/span>He passed at age 83 in 2010 from lung
\ncancer<\/span>. <\/span>All efforts to locate his
\npilot dub of <\/span>8th<\/sup> Man <\/i><\/b>have been unsuccessful.<\/span><\/p>\n

An amusing postscript to Peter\u2019s
\nlong career\u2026 he is mentioned by name in director-turned-author Quentin
\nTarantino’s 2021 novelization of his feature film <\/span>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood <\/i><\/b>as
\nhaving dubbed the fictional Italian westerns made by fictional actor, Rick
\nDalton.<\/span> <\/span>Tarantino certainly knows his
\nHollywood minutia as Peter did in fact write<\/span>
\n<\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>direct<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>1967<\/span> <\/span>English<\/span>
\n<\/span>dub<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>Sergio<\/span> <\/span>Leone\u2019s<\/span> <\/span>A <\/span>Fistful <\/span>of <\/span>Dollars<\/i><\/b>,<\/span> <\/span>which\u00a0<\/span>catapulted<\/span> <\/span>television<\/span> <\/span>actor<\/span> <\/span>Clint<\/span> <\/span>Eastwood<\/span> <\/span>into<\/span> <\/span>movie<\/span> <\/span>super-<\/span>stardom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fred Ladd
\nproduced the monumentally successful dub of Mushi Productions\u2019 <\/span>Jangaru
\nTaitei <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u30b8\u30e3\u30f3\u30b0\u30eb\u5927\u5e1d<\/span>] rechristened <\/span>Kimba
\nthe <\/span>White Lion <\/i><\/b>for U.S.
\nsyndication in 1966. In<\/span> <\/span>keeping<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> <\/span>his<\/span> <\/span>anime<\/span> <\/span>heritage,<\/span> <\/span>he<\/span> <\/span>served<\/span> <\/span>as<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>creative<\/span>
\n<\/span>consultant<\/span> <\/span>for<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>U.S<\/span>. <\/span>version of <\/span>Bish\u00f4jo Senshi S\u00ear\u00e2 M\u00fbn <\/i><\/b>[<\/span>\u7f8e\u5c11\u5973\u6226\u58eb\u30bb\u30fc\u30e9\u30fc\u30e0\u30fc\u30f3\u516c\u5f0f\u30db\u30fc\u30e0\u30da\u30fc\u30b8<\/span>] (a.k.a. <\/span>Sailor Moon<\/i><\/b>), continued
\nto license the classic <\/span>Gigantor <\/i><\/b>series, and until the
\ndecade of the aughts made frequent convention appearances around the country as
\nthe honorary grandfather and champion of classic anime in the western hemisphere<\/span>. <\/span>He passed at age 94 in <\/span>2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

To those whose efforts
\nsparked the imaginations of kids around the world, and who helped to inspire <\/span>Robo
\nCop<\/i><\/b>, <\/span>The Six Million Dollar Man, Holmes and Yo-Yo, Now and Again<\/i><\/b>, Mann & Machine, Android Cop,<\/i><\/b> and other genre fare, we salute you.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Special <\/span>thanks to<\/span><\/i><\/b>: <\/span><\/span><\/i>Kay Arnold, <\/span>Ralph Bakshi, <\/span>Rey <\/span>Baumel, <\/span>Jerry Berke, <\/span>Lenny Bird, Hendrik <\/span>“Hank” <\/span>Booraem
\n<\/span>IV, <\/span>Paul <\/span>B. Brown, Catherine \u201cBobbie\u201d Byers, Jo
\nChen, Richard Chiaro, David Clevinger, Jr., George DeVries, Peter Fernandez,
\nKazuhiko <\/span>Fujita, <\/span>Kazumi
\n<\/span>Fujita, <\/span>Bob <\/span>Gaynor,
\n<\/span>Hal <\/span>Golden, <\/span>Reuben
\n<\/span>and <\/span>Tammy <\/span>Guberman, <\/span>Mark <\/span>Harris, <\/span>Jason
\n<\/span>Hofius, <\/span>Glen Johnson, Fred
\nLadd, Matthew King, Kelly Patrick Lannan, Shu-Min <\/span>Liang, David Lomazoff, Henry Lopez, Don Markstein, Christian
\nMartel, Dave Merrill, Jack Metzger, Paul Nagel, Kurt Nagle, Father Jose Nickse,
\nYoshiko Ochiai, Don Oriolo, Corrine Orr, Neil Patrick, Gene Prinz, Manny San
\nFernando, Jr., Frank Schuller, Hal Seeger, Winston Sharples, Jr., Eiko Shu,
\nMyron Waldman, Arnie Warren, Sandy Warshaw and Kiyoshi Yamamoto.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Editor’s
\n note: Some minor stylistic changes were made 11 hours after the
\noriginal posting, but they do not affect the content of the article.
\nPlease use the updated version when citing the article.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0continued from part 1 Tailoring the series was an arduous task. Loops of film, 10 to 15 seconds in length, were cut by editor-director Gonzalo Rodriguez, who was responsible for marking the second workprint with a grease pencil, indicating where and how the episode should be sectioned. Once marked, the print was handed over to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7027971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[191906,12036,98637,101761,191907,12303],"tags":[2261,385,3341,191908,2130],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7027970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-8th-man","category-anime","category-history","category-japan","category-japanimation","category-manga","tag-8th","tag-man","tag-part","tag-tobor","tag-trail"],"yoast_head":"\nOn the Trail of Tobor the 8th Man, part 2 - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7027970\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On the Trail of Tobor the 8th Man, part 2 - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0continued from part 1 Tailoring the series was an arduous task. Loops of film, 10 to 15 seconds in length, were cut by editor-director Gonzalo Rodriguez, who was responsible for marking the second workprint with a grease pencil, indicating where and how the episode should be sectioned. 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