Whenever Godzilla and King Kong clash, it's often seen as a battle of the East versus the West. The King of the Monsters is one of Japan's most famous cultural exports, while the Eighth Wonder of the World is as American as apple pie despite his Skull Island origins. Turns out it's not actually that simple. There have been several American Godzilla films at this point, of course, but Japan has made plenty of King Kong content. (Kongtent, if you will.) There's 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla, but there's also The King Kong Show, which premiered 60 years ago and was the first anime ever made for America.
The King Kong Show, which premiered on ABC on September 10, 1966, had its origins in the United States. Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, the duo behind those beloved stop-motion Christmas specials in addition to a host of other classic animation, developed a King Kong series after getting permission from RKO, the studio behind the big ape's debut feature. The show followed Kong after he befriends young Bobby Bond and his family, Professor Carl Bond and teenage daughter Susan. They go on all sorts of adventures together, battling various monsters and fending off the evil designs of Dr. Who, a mad scientist who wants to capture Kong. (The show had no official connection to the James Bond franchise, whose first film was titled Dr. No, nor did it have a connection to the British sci-fi series Doctor Who.) Episodes of The King Kong Show featured a segment about the giant gorilla and a segment titled Tom of T.H.U.M.B., which was about a secret agent who had been shrunk down to a tiny, espionage-ready size.
