Series Description

The Daktari TV show was a 60 minute, adventure/drama series on CBS about a veterinarian and conservationist (Dr. Tracy) who ran an animal study station in Africa along with his daughter (Paula), an American (Jack Dane), and a native African guy. Perhaps the two most beloved characters were Paula's pets, "Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion" and the mischievious "Judy the Chimpanzee".

Daktari Cast

Marshall Thompson .... Dr. Marsh Tracy
Cheryl Miller .... Paula Tracy
Hari Rhodes .... Mike Makula
Yale Summers .... Jack Dane (1966-1968)
Ross Hagen .... Bart Jason (1968-1969)
Erin Moran .... Jenny Jones (1968-1969)

Daktari Trivia:

Daktari was inspired by the 1965 theatrical movie titled, "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion" and also by the career of Dr. A.M. "Toni" Harthoorn who operated an animal orphanage located in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Harthoorn was a staunch animal rights advocate. He also invented the "capture gun" which shoots darts to sedate animals so they could be captured for medical attention with a minimum of harm.

While Erin Moran is best known for her roles on the series "Happy Days" and it's "spin-off" series, "Joanie Loves Chachi", her first major role was as "Jenny Jones" on Daktari. She played a seven-year-old orphan (although Erin was actually only five-years-old at the time) who was given a home by Dr. Tracy! In 2005, Erin came in at #71 on VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars List"!

Daktari is generally credited as having been filmed at "Africa USA" in Acton, California and at Greenwich Studios in Miami, Florida. This leads one to believe that there were no scenes shot in Africa itself. Daktari's producer, "Leonard B. Kaufman", however, made notes in the show's theme song musical score about having shot Daktari on location in Mozambique so it's likely that some scenes were shot there also.

Daktari is the Swahili word for "Doctor".

The animal study station run by Dr. Tracy was a fictional place named the, "Wameru Study Center for Animal Behavior" located in East Africa.

Daktari's creator and executive producer, "Ivan Tors" also produced the series, "Flipper (1964)" and "Men Into Space", among others.