Daniel and the Dixie Diggers

Daniel and the Dixie Diggers is a Sally animatronic show produced in 1982, the first of the company's Showmation ensemble shows. It is considered by Sally themselves to be their most popular 'animal band show,' as it has been installed in numerous venues worldwide since its inception in 1982. It is also the only show produced by Sally to have the most showtape content ever recorded and the most configuration options to date.

Historical Background

Initial Development

In the late 1970s, Sally Unlimited began producing primitive, animated figures of human caricatures. They were often modeled after real people (the company's namesake, a woman named Sally, was one of the first to be modeled after), and were sold upon client request across the U.S. Around that time, ideas about an ensemble cast of characters came about, primarily in the form of anthropomorphic dogs as part of a Dixieland jazz band. Janet Sherman, a former actress known for performing at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre in Jacksonville, joined Sally as the head of soundtrack and script production.(1) Tim Lawrence, a designer based in Jacksonville at the time and who worked for Sally in its early years, would be involved in designing the earliest concepts of this show. Instruments envisioned for this show included a piano, a trumpet, a banjo, a saxophone, and a trombone. Some of the characters depicted in sketches and maquettes would closely align in design with the characters present in the finalized show. Lawrence left Sally and Jacksonville in 1981, halfway into the Dixieland band's development, to pursue a short career with Animated Show Productions in California. Lawrence was recruited by Sally's former Vice President at that time, Thomas Reidenbach, to develop the Capt. Andy's RiverTowne concept in collaboration with the Animated Playhouse Corporation. Sally's co-founder, John Wood, confirmed that he was originally involved with RiverTowne's initial planning. However, due to the departures of Reidenbach and Lawrence, as well as a fallout in negotiations over exclusivity contracts, Capt. Andy's became a competitor of Sally's and their upcoming riverboat show of dogs. As a result, John Wood personally sent a legal letter to ASP and APC demanding them to make necessary changes so RiverTowne can avoid plagiarizing what evolved into Daniel and the Dixie Diggers.(2) It has been debated which is the first client to request the Dixie Diggers, as two of the first installations would intertwine in terms of timeframes. The current consensus is that Pizza Pizzazz Funtime Food Emporium, a family entertainment center in Ohio, was the first to be installed but did not publicly debut until May 28, 1982. The second of these installations, Mark Twain's Riverboat Playhouse in Kendall, FL would ultimately premiere before Pizza Pizzazz, marking the official debut of DATDD to be March 25, 1982. As to avoid another Capt. Andy's RiverTowne situation, Sally maintained the rights to Daniel and the Dixie Diggers so they could sell shows to many different clients worldwide.

Configuration Options

By 1983, Sally offered different configuration options for the "Mark Twain's Showboat" variant of the Dixie Diggers. If requested, clients could convert the Mark Twain with Clem (Host Set) and Betty B. Birthday with Wally Wish (Birthday Set) stages to operate on turntables with alternative acts on their reverse sides. Both of these were never* installed at any venues that contained this version, but are outlined by Sally as follows: Additionally, it was planned for the character of Scratchmo to be spun off as an "individual entertainer" in the same vein as Colonel Beau. However, despite the existence of a soundtrack with exclusive programming, the solo Scratchmo may have been a failed alternative, as no documentation supports if it was sold to a client.

From Quintet to Trio

For around eight years, Sally produced sets of Dixie Diggers shows with at least five characters for numerous venues. Around 1990, Whiteco (the former parent company of the Celebration Station chain of entertainment centers) requested an all-new interpretation of the show, to be paired with the Sally character of Jethro P. Hogg for their future locations. This variant would see the removal of Huck L. Berry and Sir Percival from the main cast, with the character of Colonel Beau becoming an alternative banjoist (a version of Beauregard with a banjo had already been present in Hank and Beau shows by this point). A total of 11 shows in this format were built exclusively for the chain, though several sets would be built for other venues too.

Characters and Bios

Daniel T. Bones

(Singing Voice: Gene Hodges) The great dane leader of his 'motley group,' Daniel grew up in a poor family that lived in a New York neighborhood (specifically, The Bronx). Claiming to have been an aspiring lawyer and even a mountain climber, Daniel has also been said to be a romantic lover in his childhood. As mentioned in the Trio segments (events shared with Mark Twain's character in the expanded version), second-grader Daniel once met a girl named Becky, who he tried to impress with his gymnastic skills and interest in frogs. In his later years, he would leave his home in New York to form a musical group with friends who shared the same passion for performing Dixieland jazz across the generations, with Daniel taking the lead as the pianist and head vocalist in many songs.

Colonel Beaufort T. Beauregard the III

(Speaking Voice: Doug Burel) Colonel Beauregard is an elderly sheepdog who is the band's sole drummer (in the quintet and expanded shows), as well as the secondary banjoist (exclusive to the trio show) from Kentucky who loves to honor his family's roots in the Confederacy. Depending on whichever interpretation of the Dixie Diggers is being presented, Col. Beau's personality can range from making brief jokes to telling tales about his life, which are sometimes debated by others to be false (in one case, he even spoke about an excerpt from Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). No matter the interpretation, Beau has always expressed a love for dixie songs and nostalgia revolving around ' fighting for the cause.'

Scratchmo

(Voiced by David Reeves) Based on the real-life Louis Armstrong ('Satchmo'), Scratch is a bulldog from Kansas City who, as a child, wished to be the first astronaut to walk on the moon (according to the Trio segments) until Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin accomplished the feat in 1969. Despite his disappointment, he would later discover a love in the 'horn,' and sitting in on jam sessions on Twelfth Street. He also loves his spouse, Ernestine, despite her 'plump' weight. Although he primarily plays his trumpet in the band's many songs, there are times when Scratch sings (often as a solo) the blues and other familiar jazz numbers of the day.

Huck L. Berry

Named after Mark Twain's very own Huckleberry Finn, beagle Huck was born on a family farm in the hills of North Carolina. The only thing he ever wanted as a young pup was a pinto horse for Christmas but gifted a wind-up car instead, much to his dismay. In the years after he joined the Dixie Diggers, Huck's homestead became less productive due to the decline in demand for milk and eggs, and the work on the farm proved to be tiresome to him. Aside from his career as the band's banjoist, his married life with Peggy Sue is said to have been just as great (even if he doesn't make any 'big decisions'). He is one of two characters only seen in the quintet and expanded shows (the other being Sir Percival, see below).

Sir Percival

The 'royalty of the group,' Sir Percival is the only Dixie Digger not originally hailing from America but instead from London, England. Whenever he's not playing his clarinet during songs, he may be perky enough to tell his 'tall tales' to the other members, often followed by debate. He has never been to Alaska, though claims to have visited Australia to see its strange exotic animals. Because he does not appear in the trio version of the show (like Huck), his tall-tale personality and some details relating to his character would be recycled for Colonel Beauregard.

Locations

Mark Twain's Showboat

Standard Dixie Diggers Quintet

Dixie Diggers Quintet + Mark Twain & Clem

Dixie Diggers Quintet + Betty B. & Wally Wish

Daniel and the Dixie Diggers with Jethro P. Hogg

Sally Official Key:

Not Flipped (NF): Facing stage, Jethro show on Left of DATDD Center Stage Flipped: Facing stage, Jethro show on Right of DATDD Center Stage *Former Celebration Stations acquired by Zuma Fun Center at the time of the list's creation.

Standard Dixie Diggers Trio

Unconfirmed

References

  1. https://www.sallydarkrides.com/post/remembering-jan-sherman-sally-dark-rides-memorializes-long-time-co-worker-and-friend
  2. https://youtu.be/DqUgmo5Gl_4?si=BHQf8bIeFGe4h9pr
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