“Yabba-dabba-doo! 

Flinstones, meet the Flinstones

They’re the modern Stone Age Family

From the town of Bedrock

They’re a page right out of history…”

I can still hear that toon in my head after all these years!  That’s the beginning of The Flinstones theme song from the Saturday cartoon that my brother and I watched on Saturday mornings when the weather was too nasty to go out to play.  (Of course, in Southern California, that doesn’t happen very often.)

Meet Fred Flinstone, the patriarch of the Flinstone family.  He is married to Wilma, and they have a cute little girl named Pebbles.  You can find them in the town of Bedrock, although they have had different addresses.  Mostly, they can be found at 345 Cave Stone Road.

You’ll know Fred is around when you hear him belt out “Yabba-dabba-doo!”  He’s a loud-mouthed and offensive, constantly scheming ways to improve his family’s working-class lot in life, often with unintended results.

Fred’s obstinate and ill-tempered personality was based on Ralph Kramden from the 1950s television series The Honeymooners and Chester A. Riley from The Life of Riley.  That temper comes out when his immature best friend Barney bugs and pesters him, which makes him frequently mad and aggravated.

The better side of Fred’s personality is that he is mainly friendly, kind-hearted and selfless.  He’ll even go out of his way to help someone.  Fred is also a very caring and loving husband and father.

To support his family, Fred began his working career as a “bronto-crane operator” at Slate Rock and Gravel Company.  Once Pebbles and Barney’s kid Bamm-Bamm became teenagers, Fred and Barney left the company to become officers on the Bedrock police force.  Both returned to their old jobs working for Mr. Slate, once their kids grew up and left home.

Fred’s interests include bowling, playing pool, poker, gambling (he has a serious gambling problem), playing golf, coaching baseball, and lounging around the house.  Although he is a good bowler, he never cold beat Blowhard Sandstone.  Too bad, because Blowhard is more obnoxious than Fred!

Inventing is another one of Fred’s hobbies, although his inventions always tend to backfire.  Take “412up” for example.  The horrible soft drink he created was intended to cure hiccups but instead caused invisibility!  Yikes!!