Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends

Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends
GenreComedy
Created byRichard Concepcion
Opening theme"Custer's Last Stand" by Apollo 100
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes780
Production
Camera setupSingle-camera (individual episodes)
Multi-camera (studio interview episodes)
Running time28 minutes
Original release
ReleaseFebruary 21, 1983 (1983-02-21)[1] –
April 28, 2017 (2017-04-28)

Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends is an independently produced puppet and variety show created and produced by Richard J. Concepcion (September 16, 1957 – August 1, 2017).[2] The show was broadcast weekly on public-access cable TV in New York City from 1983 to 2017. The show ran on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Queens Public TV, and aired online every Sunday afternoon over the Pawpet Broadcasting Network before the Funday Pawpet Show.

The show, which is based in Rapid Transit Rabbit's hometown of New York City, followed him, and his friends Cuppy, Rupert and Mejeep, both in town, and around the country on their adventures. This could be in the form of puppets interacting with each other via a traditional puppet stage, or in the form of a video documentary.

Throughout the years, the Rapid T. Rabbit character has attended many events such as the Doo-Dah Parade in Ocean City, New Jersey,[3] and the Long Island Ducks Mascot Day[4] among others, including the New York City Easter Parade. While Rapid T. Rabbit was a very involved with local events in the New York City area, he was commonly mistaken as the "Easter Bunny" by kids according to an interview with Concepcion in The New York Times.[2]

Rapid also made appearances on various other television shows including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 1999[5][6] and with local fandoms including the Chuck E. Cheese and ShowBiz Pizza fandom (from 2004 until 2013) at "Cheesevention", as well as in the furry fandom at conventions such as Anthrocon and Midwest Furfest as a Guest of Honor in 2000.[7]

In 2011, the program was the subject of a featured exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image.[8][9]

Production

Background

Concepcion was born in Upper Manhattan in New York City, to a family that had emigrated from the Philippines. In the mid-to-late 1960s, he watched Jim Henson and the Muppets on The Ed Sullivan Show.[10] In 1973, he wrote a letter to the Sesame Street character Big Bird, which earned him an invitation to the series' filming at Reeves Teletape Studios by puppeteer Caroll Spinney.[10][5][11] He attended Hunter College of the City University of New York, where he worked as a technical aid in the college's television classroom studio during his senior years.[10][12] During college, Concepcion interned in Manhattan Cable TV's (now Time Warner Cable) programming department.[13][10] He graduated with honors, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Media.[10][12] Following his graduation, he began working as a master control room operator at Manhattan Cable. Concepcion was fascinated by the rise of public-access television, and volunteered as a camera operator at ETC Studios (later Metro-Access Studios[14][15]).[10]

Production of Rapid T. Rabbit

In 1983, Concepcion started developing his own public-access television program, choosing to use puppetry for the show as he did not have graphic arts training for animation.[13][10][16] He cited Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, The Banana Splits, the Muppets, and his invitation to Sesame Street as his influences for the show.[17][10][11] Concepcion chose a rabbit character as the host of the show, inspired by his favourite cartoon rabbit characters, including Bugs Bunny, and purchased a floppy-eared rabbit puppet from a magic shop in Midtown Manhattan to use for the show.[10] He named the character "Rapid Transit Rabbit", in reference to his frequent use of the New York City Subway system.[13][10][16] The show was initially shot in black and white, but was later changed to color photography.[10] In the summer of 1984, Chuck E. Cheese appeared as a guest on the show, hosting a party with a live audience of children. The children's happy reaction inspired Concepcion to make a walk-around fursuit costume for Rapid T. Rabbit.[10] In 1986, Concepcion started wearing a costume built by Tony Guastella. A better costume was built by Stagecraft Inc. and funded by Caroll Spinney in 1990.[13][10]

In May 2010, Concepcion began writing Riding With The Rabbit, a monthly column in the Carousel News and Trader magazine.[18] He died on August 1, 2017.[19]

Main cast

  • Rapid Transit Rabbit – Host
  • Cuppy – Co-host
  • Mejeep the Meeping Ferret – Co-host
  • Rupert – Supporting character and Rapid's puppet nephew

Special guest appearances

References

  1. ↑ Metro-Access staff (February 1983). "The Newsletter for Public Access Producers". Metro-Access Inc. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Belkin, Lisa (April 13, 1987). "Public-Access TV: Behind the Scenes". The New York Times. p. C18. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Who's Who at the Doo Dah Parade - America's Greatest Family Resort | Official Site of Ocean City, NJ". Ocean City New Jersey. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ Rapid T. Rabbit & Friends at LI Ducks Mascot Day 2005. YouTube. LilPup. 2005. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Brown, Rich (September 21, 1999). A Hare Piece - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021. Brown, Rich (September 21, 1999). Rich Brown interviews Rapid T. Rabbit. YouTube. Comedy Central. Archived from the original on May 1, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Press". Pressed Fur. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  7. ↑ Patten, Fred (February 3, 2017). Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015. McFarland & Company. p. 172. ISBN 9781476663814.
  8. ↑ "Museum of the Moving Image: TV Party press release" (PDF). Museum of the Moving Image. February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Before the Web, It Was Public Access: A New Museum Exhibition Leads Visitors Back to the Days of Rapid T. Rabbit". The Wall Street Journal. February 11, 2011. p. A20.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Concepcion, Richard J. (February 22, 1999). "Biographical Information on Richard J. Concepcion, creator of Rapid T. Rabbit". Rapid T. Rabbit's New York City Rabbit Hole. Archived from the original on May 30, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Behind the Mascot. YouTube. Mascot Movie Inc., Random Acts of Entertainment, Sublimedia. September 18, 2004. Retrieved August 1, 2026. Behind the Mascot: Rapid T. Rabbit. YouTube. Mascot Movie Inc., Random Acts of Entertainment, Sublimedia. September 18, 2004. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Richard Concepcion". Facebook. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Zeman, Ned (December 1990). "American Kabuki: Celebrating the Unappreciated American Art of Performing in Really Large, Furry Costumes". Spy Issue #12. Spy Publishing Partners. pp. 50–52, 54. Retrieved August 1, 2026. Notes
  14. ↑ Galvin, Kristen (September 6, 2013). "TV Party: Downtown New York Scenes Live on Your TV Screen". Journal of Popular Music Studies. 25 (3). Wiley Periodicals, Inc.: 326–348. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  15. ↑ Callard, Andrea. "Man in Orbit: An Interview with John Lurie". INCITE. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Doff, Adrian; Foster, Tim; Gaims, Ruth; Redman, Stuart; Rimmer, Wayne (January 29, 2015). Cambridge English Empower Elementary Teacher's Book. Cambridge University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9781107466449. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ PlayNET staff (December 1986). "Behind the Screens: PlayNET Featured On Cable TV Show". PlayNET. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  18. ↑ Concepcion, Richard J. (May 2010). "Riding With The Rabbit". The Carousel News and Trader. The Carousel News and Trader, Inc. p. 17. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  19. ↑ Hawkins, Matt (October 19, 2017). "R.I.P. Rapid T. Rabbit". Medium. Archived from the original on November 21, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  20. ↑ Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends show #693. YouTube. Richard J. Concepcion. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  21. ↑ Rapid T. Rabbit-Show.706. YouTube. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  22. ↑ Rapid T. Rabbit interviews Chuck E. Cheese. YouTube. Funny Carrot Productions. 1994. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  23. ↑ Telly Monster Drop Kicks Rapid T. Rabbit off Sesame Street. YouTube. Richard J. Concepcion. 1991. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  24. ↑ Big Bird and Oscar call in to Rapid T. Rabbit Show. YouTube. Richard J. Concepcion. December 16, 2019.
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