Here's an article about Aniforms (among other things), a technique for creating cartoons on the fly that the article says was also used "on an unsold game show pilot hosted by Alex Trebek called
Malcolm." The technique, which uses a foam figure with manipulation rods and wires, goes back to the early 1960s and was seen, perhaps most famously, on
Captain Kangaroo. There's also this anecdote about the creator of Aniforms, Morey Bunin:
In the 1970s Bunin appeared along with two “impostors” as the creator of “live cartoons” on the long-running panel show To Tell the Truth. A smart-mouthed Brookynese Aniforms character ... took over the hosting duties and told each panelist when they could ask questions. When he got to Peggy “Crass” there was a big laugh at his rib at Peggy Cass, who feigned petulance and said, “Hey! I thought you were so cute before but now I’m not so sure!”
(Mods, feel free to move this to the Archive if you think it's worth saving. I wasn't sure where it belonged.)
